Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shock Wave Treatment Enhances Cell Proliferation and Improves Wound Healing by ATP Release-coupled Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase (ERK) Activation*

Background: Signaling pathways underlying beneficial effects of extracorporeal shock wave treatment (ESWT) remain to be completely elucidated. Results: ESWT enhances cell proliferation in vitro and wound healing in vivo. Conclusion: ESWT-induced ATP release and subsequent extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation are prerequisites for enhanced cell proliferation and wound healing. Significance: Deciphering the involved signaling cascades provides the basis for ESWT as clinical wound healing treatment. Shock wave treatment accelerates impaired wound healing in diverse clinical situations. However, the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of shock waves have not yet been fully revealed. Because cell proliferation is a major requirement in the wound healing cascade, we used in vitro studies and an in vivo wound healing model to study whether shock wave treatment influences proliferation by altering major extracellular factors and signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation. We identified extracellular ATP, released in an energy- and pulse number-dependent manner, as a trigger of the biological effects of shock wave treatment. Shock wave treatment induced ATP release, increased Erk1/2 and p38 MAPK activation, and enhanced proliferation in three different cell types (C3H10T1/2 murine mesenchymal progenitor cells, primary human adipose tissue-derived stem cells, and a human Jurkat T cell line) in vitro. Purinergic signaling-induced Erk1/2 activation was found to be essential for this proliferative effect, which was further confirmed by in vivo studies in a rat wound healing model where shock wave treatment induced proliferation and increased wound healing in an Erk1/2-dependent fashion. In summary, this report demonstrates that shock wave treatment triggers release of cellular ATP, which subsequently activates purinergic receptors and finally enhances proliferation in vitro and in vivo via downstream Erk1/2 signaling. In conclusion, our findings shed further light on the molecular mechanisms by which shock wave treatment exerts its beneficial effects. These findings could help to improve the clinical use of shock wave treatment for wound healing.
Decision Processes, Agency Problems, and Information: An Economic Analysis of Capital Budgeting Procedures

Corporations use a variety of processes to allocate capital. This article studies the benefits and costs of several common budget procedures from the perspective of a model with agency and information problems. Processes that delegate aspects of the decision to the agent result in too many projects being approved, while processes in which the principal retains the right to reject projects cause the agent to strategically distort his information about project quality. We show how the choice of a decision process depends on these two costs, and specifically on severity of the agency problem, quality of information, and project risk. Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.
Neuroprotective Properties of the Benzodiazepine Receptor, Partial Agonist PNU-101017 in the Gerbil Forebrain Ischemia Model

PNU-101017 is a novel, imidazoquinoline amide and benzodiazepine receptor partial agonist that has high affinity for the GABAA receptor subtypes containing the α1 and α3 or α5 subunits. At each of these receptors, the compound is a partial agonist with approximately 50% of the intrinsic activity of the full agonist diazepam. In view of the previously demonstrated anti-ischemic effects of some GABA agonists, the purpose of this study was to determine the ability of PNU-101017 to salvage selectively vulnerable neuronal populations in the gerbil forebrain ischemia model. In an initial set of experiments, male gerbils were pretreated 30 minutes before ischemia induction (5 minutes) with PNU-101017 (3, 10, or 30 mg/kg intraperitoneally) and again 2 hours after reperfusion. In vehicle (0.05 N HCl)-treated gerbils, the loss of hippocampal CA1 neurons at 5 days was 80%. PNU-101017 was shown to produce a dose-related increase in CA1 neuronal survival; at either 10 or 30 mg/kg, the loss of CA1 neurons was only 21% (P < 0.005 versus vehicle). A second experiment, examined the therapeutic window for PNU-101017 using the dose level of 30 mg/kg intraperitoneally. Administration of the first of two doses (2 hours apart) at the time of reperfusion resulted in an identical decrease in CA1 damage at 5 days to that seen with preischemic treatment (P < 0.003 versus vehicle). Even with a delay of the initial dosing until 4 hours after reperfusion, PNU-101017 reduced CA1 neuronal loss to only 32% (P < 0.01 versus vehicle). In a third experiment in which the duration of the ischemic insult was increased to 10 minutes and the brains were not analyzed until 28 days after ischemia, daily PNU-101017 dosing for the full 28 days still significantly preserved CA1 neurons, although less effectively than in the milder 5 minute-ischemia model. The loss of dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons was also reduced. The neuroprotective effect of PNU-101017 was not associated with any overt CNS depression and it did not correlate with hypothermia. This benzodiazepine-receptor partial agonist may have potential for the treatment of global cerebral ischemia.
Type I Interferon Induced by Streptococcus suis Serotype 2 is Strain-Dependent and May Be Beneficial for Host Survival

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 is an important porcine bacterial pathogen and emerging zoonotic agent mainly responsible for sudden death, septic shock, and meningitis, with exacerbated inflammation being a hallmark of the infection. However, serotype 2 strains are genotypically and phenotypically heterogeneous, being composed of a multitude of sequence types (STs) whose virulence greatly varies: the virulent ST1 (Eurasia), highly virulent ST7 (responsible for the human outbreaks in China), and intermediate virulent ST25 (North America) are the most important worldwide. Even though type I interferons (IFNs) are traditionally associated with important antiviral functions, recent studies have demonstrated that they may also play an important role during infections with extracellular bacteria. Upregulation of IFN-β levels was previously observed in mice following infection with this pathogen. Consequently, the implication of IFN-β in the S. suis serotype 2 pathogenesis, which has always been considered a strict extracellular bacterium, was evaluated using strains of varying virulence. This study demonstrates that intermediate virulent strains are significantly more susceptible to phagocytosis than virulent strains. Hence, subsequent localization of these strains within the phagosome results in recognition of bacterial nucleic acids by Toll-like receptors 7 and 9, leading to activation of the interferon regulatory factors 1, 3, and 7 and production of IFN-β. Type I IFN, whose implication depends on the virulence level of the S. suis strain, is involved in host defense by participating in the modulation of systemic inflammation, which is responsible for the clearance of blood bacterial burden. As such, when induced by intermediate, and to a lesser extent, virulent S. suis strains, type I IFN plays a beneficial role in host survival. The highly virulent ST7 strain, however, hastily induces a septic shock that cannot be controlled by type I IFN, leading to rapid death of the host. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved in the control of inflammation and subsequent bacterial burden could help to develop control measures for this important porcine and zoonotic agent.
The role of phonology in visual word recognition: Reading acquisition vs. skilled reading

The goal of this paper is to investigate the role phonology plays for visual word recognition and the change this role undergoes in the course of reading acquisition by providing data on German readers at different stages of reading proficiency. Erroneous responses in a semantic decision task, which employs words that are either homophonous or graphemically similar to a word of a previously introduced semantic field, were compared at different stages of reading development (i.e. in second- and fourth-grade school children and adults). In all age groups, subjects committed significantly more errors with homophones than with words graphemically similar to a word related to the given semantic field. The results show that phonological recoding plays an important role for visual word recognition not only with beginners but also in skilled readers and, hence, corroborate phonological models of reading.
The Ess1 prolyl isomerase is linked to chromatin remodeling complexes and the general transcription machinery

The Ess1/Pin1 peptidyl‐prolyl isomerase (PPIase) is thought to control mitosis by binding to cell cycle regulatory proteins and altering their activity. Here we isolate temperature‐sensitive ess1 mutants and identify six multicopy suppressors that rescue their mitotic‐lethal phenotype. None are cell cycle regulators. Instead, five encode proteins involved in transcription that bind DNA, modify chromatin structure or are regulatory subunits of RNA polymerase II. A sixth suppressor, cyclophilin A, is a member of a distinct family of PPIases that are targets of immuno suppressive drugs. We show that the expression of some but not all genes is decreased in ess1 mutants, and that Ess1 interacts with the C‐terminal domain (CTD) of RNA polymerase II in vitro and in vivo. The results forge a strong link between PPIases and the transcription machinery and suggest a new model for how Ess1/Pin1 controls mitosis. In this model, Ess1 binds and isomerizes the CTD of RNA polymerase II, thus altering its interaction with proteins required for transcription of essential cell cycle genes.
Evaluating Standards of Social Work Supervision in Child Welfare and Hospital Social Work

Abstract Using the Recommended Standards for Social Work Supervision developed by the Australian Association of Social Workers, supervisors and supervisees who occupied social work positions in Community Services Victoria (CSV), a statutory child welfare department (N=94) and in nine Melbourne teaching hospitals (N=139) completed self-administered questionnaires on the nature of the supervision which they gave or received. The extent to which reported supervisory practices conform to key recommended standards is analysed. The standards were upheld to a greater degree in hospital social work than in statutory child welfare. However, only minor differences between the two fields were found in the degree to which supervision was perceived to encompass administrative, educational and supportive functions. The findings provide a baseline for evaluating changes in supervisory practices within and between different fields of practice. They are also useful for agencies trying to develop performance indicators in .
Are Changes in Views about Mathematics Teaching Sufficient? The Case of a Fifth-Grade Teacher

The subject of this case study-Karen Hill-represents a modest success for the California reform movement in mathematics at this point in the implementation process. Karen's views about mathematics teaching have undergone change as a result of using the new, more conceptually oriented math curriculum adopted by the district. Given support and encouragement by her school and district, these changes in viewpoint might eventually lead to changes in her classroom practice. At the present time, however, the evidence is at best mixed: although Karen does show some willingness to experiment with the innovations called for by math reformers, her teaching of mathematics remains very traditional.
Communication Privacy Management and College Instruction: Exploring the Rules and Boundaries that Frame Instructor Private Disclosures

This study examines the ways in which privacy rules are developed and boundaries are coordinated within the student–teacher relationship using Petronio's Communication Privacy Management theory as a framework. Forty-one college instructors described the specific criteria they use to develop privacy rules and the conditions under which boundaries become permeable surrounding the private information they shared with their students. Findings suggest that rules were created based on content and relational motivations and contextual factors. Teachers also assessed the risks and benefits to such disclosures and enacted various avoidant strategies to prevent sanctions, damage to their credibility, and to maintain student comfort. Privacy boundaries became permeable based on the relationship with the student and shared experiences. Interestingly, tensions arose for some teachers as they worked to negotiate the desire to remain true to their personal identities and maintain the expectations of their teaching role.
Ethics, intimacy and distance in longitudinal, qualitative research: Experiences from Reality Check Bangladesh

This article contributes to debates about ethical and methodological dilemmas experienced in international development studies. It departs from a research experience based on a longitudinal study, the Reality Check Approach, that puts intimacy, immersion and consensus at its core. These concepts signify an ethically motivated approach that aims to ‘give voice’ to people living in poverty. They also describe an ideal research relationship assumed as the basis for good quality data. The article examines the difficulties encountered when faced with ambiguous meanings in people’s responses, and shortcomings of the approach. These include the combining of ethical and instrumental motivations in the research framework and ambivalent roles and conflicting ethics, highlighted in the conflictual notions of ‘giving someone space to talk’ and ‘making someone talk’.
TOWARDS A NEW MODEL OF BRANCH ATTACHMENT

Abstract The branch attachment model set out by Alex Shigo in the Canadian Journal of Botany is 25 years old this year. Despite the model's wide use in arboricultural literature, it can be shown by simple logical argument to be erroneous. Ongoing investigations into the nature and strength of branch attachments at Myerscough College and the University of Manchester have highlighted the need for a new anatomical model for these attachments to inform research. Arguments against Shigo's model are given and a new model is offered that considers the mechanical and conducting functions of xylem and its ontogenesis.
Identifying priorities to improve maternal and child nutrition among the Khmu ethnic group, Laos: a formative study

Abstract Chronic malnutrition in children remains highly prevalent in Laos, particularly among ethnic minority groups. There is limited knowledge of specific nutrition practices among these groups. We explored nutritional status, cultural beliefs and practices of Laos' Khmu ethnic group to inform interventions for undernutrition as part of a Primary Health Care (PHC) project. Mixed methods were used. For background, we disaggregated anthropometric and behavioural indicators from Laos' Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. We then conducted eight focus group discussions and 33 semi‐structured interviews with Khmu villagers and health care workers, exploring beliefs and practices related to nutrition. The setting was two rural districts in Luang Prabang province, in one of which the PHC project had been established for 3 years. There was a higher prevalence of stunting in the Khmu than in other groups. Disaggregation showed nutrition behaviours were associated with ethnicity, including exclusive breastfeeding. Villagers described strong adherence to post‐partum food restrictions for women, while little change was described in intake during pregnancy. Most children were breastfed, although early introduction of pre‐lacteal foods was noted in the non‐PHC district. There was widespread variation in introduction and diversity of complementary foods. Guidance came predominantly from the community, with some input from health care workers. Interventions to address undernutrition in Khmu communities should deliver clear, consistent messages on optimum nutrition behaviours. Emphasis should be placed on dietary diversity for pregnant and post‐partum mothers, encouraging exclusive breastfeeding and timely, appropriate complementary feeding. The impact of wider governmental policies on food security needs to be further assessed.
Exploring Traditional and Virtual Team Members’ “Best Practices”

Social cognitive theory is used to develop a research model that was tested by examining employees’ experiences of being a member in a traditional or virtual team. A self-efficacy for teamwork measure was developed based on best practices identified through case studies and existing literature. Then a survey of team members demonstrated that self-efficacy for teamwork is influenced by fellow team members’ modeling practices and relates strongly to a team member’s perceptions of effectiveness. Differential outcomes for traditional and two types of technology-supported virtual teams (distributed and hybrid) were found: Self-efficacy for teamwork was more important in virtual teams, providing empirical support for the importance of the best practices in this context.
The Independence Gap and the Gender Gap

An independence gap, in which women are on average 6 percentage points less likely than men to view themselves as political independents, has existed in the United States for at least 40 years. Women opt for weak partisanship, while men choose the leaning-independent category. Demographic differences between men and women do not explain this gap. Indirect evidence indicates it may be due to men placing a greater value on separateness and women placing a greater value on connections with others. When leaning independents are ignored, the partisan gender gap appears to be due mainly to women's greater attraction to the Democratic Party, but when these independents are folded in with the appropriate partisan group, the gender gap is seen to be due equally to mens' greater attraction for the Republicans
Availability-aware energy-efficient virtual machine placement

Availability, as a part of Service Level Agreement (SLA), is a critically important issue in cloud services, as an application may not be able to run after certain server or network failures. Cloud service providers seek to not only fulfill the SLA, but also simultaneously minimize their operating costs, which are dominated by the energy consumption. In order to minimize the impact of a server/switch failure inside the datacenter on a single application, one would like to spread out the Virtual Machines (VM) for the application across different racks. However, in doing so, the power consumption may increase significantly. In this paper, we develop a variance-based metric to measure the risk of violating the availability requirement. We then propose two heuristic algorithms to place VMs in online and offline manners, respectively. These algorithms aim to strike a balance between minimizing the risk of violating the availability requirement and minimizing the energy, in order to reduce the overall cost.
Post-panopticism and school inspection in England

In this paper, I draw on a study of school leaders’ experiences of inspection to argue that repeated changes to school inspection policy in England constitute a post-panoptic regime. Thinking with and against Foucault, I elaborate post-panopticism, here characterised by: subjects’ visibility; ‘fuzzy’ norms; the exposure of subjects’ failure to comply; the disruption of identity-constituting fabrications; its dependence on external ‘experts’; and its neo-conservative devalorisation of the interests of the socio-economically disadvantaged. The paper argues that post-panopticism depends on subjects having become disciplined through panopticism, whose apparatus it employs, and reveals the state’s explicit exercise of power.
Automated Wormscan

There has been a recent surge of interest in computer-aided rapid data acquisition to increase the potential throughput and reduce the labour costs of large scale Caenorhabditis elegans studies. We present Automated WormScan, a low-cost, high-throughput automated system using commercial photo scanners, which is extremely easy to implement and use, capable of scoring tens of thousands of organisms per hour with minimal operator input, and is scalable. The method does not rely on software training for image recognition, but uses the generation of difference images from sequential scans to identify moving objects. This approach results in robust identification of worms with little computational demand. We demonstrate the utility of the system by conducting toxicity, growth and fecundity assays, which demonstrate the consistency of our automated system, the quality of the data relative to manual scoring methods and congruity with previously published results.
Personal Social Networks and Dual Disorders: A Literature Review and Implications for Practice and Future Research

ABSTRACT Objectives: To review and examine the literature on social networks and dual disorders, and the separate literatures on social networks in relation to mental illness and substance abuse respectively, and to consider implications for practice and research. Methods: Papers selected for review included empirical studies of social networks and/or social support of adults with diagnosed substance use and/or mental disorders. Results: Thirty-six studies met the criteria for review which is organized around three themes: structural characteristics of social networks, network composition, and the impact of social networks on treatment and recovery. Conclusions: Social networks function both as a predictor as well as an outcome of mental illness and substance use. Understanding and assessment of social networks is important to understanding addictive behaviors. Further research is needed in the following areas: the role of social networks in readiness for treatment, entry into and participation in treatment, and support for recovery; the impact of treatment and peer support programs on social networks; social networks in relation to a wider range of mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder); and the impact of race, ethnicity, and gender on social networks of adults with dual disorders. In addition, the role that families play in treatment and recovery as well as the impact of clients' dual disorders upon family members needs examination.