Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of cyclic polylactate (CPL) on the growth of cloned leukemic cells in vitro

A novel supramolecular oligomer, cyclic polylactate (CPL), was first discovered in the culture medium of HeLa‐S tumour cells, and was reported to inhibit the growth of FM3A ascites tumour cells by inhibiting the activities of pyruvate kinase (PK) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH). We have now synthesized CPL‐containing oligomers with polymerization numbers ranging from 9 to 19, by prolonged heating and rapid mixing of a carbohydrate compound of the L‐lactic acid monomer (C3H6O3) under decreased pressure and have studied its effects on the growth of leukemic cells. Treatment with 0.02 mg/ml CPL inhibited the growth of HL60 and TF‐1 cells, while the growth of K562 cells was inhibited by 0.2 mg/ml CPL. A concentration of 2 mg/ml CPL was required to inhibit granulocyte‐macrophage progenitor cell (CFU‐GM) and burst‐forming unit erythroid (BFU‐E) precursor colony formation among normal bone marrow cells. Furthermore, 7A6 antigen expression and DNA ladder formation were observed in leukemic cells cultured with CPL, indicating that CPL induces apoptotic changes in these cells. These findings suggest that CPL might be a useful chemotherapeutic agent for leukemia. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Accountability or “Good Decisions”? The Competing Goals of Civil Society Participation in International Governance

Civil society participation in international and European governance is often promoted as a remedy to its much-lamented democratic deficit. We argue in this paper that this claim needs refinement because civil society participation may serve two quite different purposes: it may either enhance the democratic accountability of intergovernmental organisations and regimes, or the epistemic quality of rules and decisions made within them. In comparing the European Union and World Trade Organization (WTO) in the field of biotechnology regulation we find that many participatory procedures officially are geared towards the epistemic quality of regulatory decisions. In practice, however, these procedures provide little space for epistemic deliberation. Nevertheless, they often lead to enhanced transparency and hence improve the accountability of governance. We also find evidence confirming findings from the literature that the different roles assigned to civil society organisations as “watchdogs” and “deliberators” are at times difficult to reconcile. Our conclusion is that we need to acknowledge potential trade-offs between the two democratising functions of civil society participation and should be careful not to exaggerate our demands on civil society organisations.
The Relation Between Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Polymorphisms and Normal Tension Glaucoma

Purpose: We investigated whether polymorphisms of the endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) gene are associated with normal tension glaucoma (NTG). We also investigated whether the eNOS polymorphisms are associated with NTG subgroups [NTG with and without optic disc hemorrhage (DH)]. Methods: A total of 251 patients with NTG and 245 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. DNA from peripheral blood leukocytes was extracted, and the genotypes of 4 polymorphisms (rs2070744, rs1549758, rs1799983, and rs2566514) in the eNOS gene were determined using restriction fragment length polymorphism and the SNaPshot method. The primary outcome was to investigate the relation between eNOS polymorphisms and NTG. The secondary outcome was to compare the frequencies of the polymorphic genotypes among the NTG subgroups. Bonferroni correction was used to adjust for type I error. Results: In all subjects, the genotype distribution was in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. None of the 4 polymorphisms showed any significant difference in the frequencies of alleles or genotypes between the NTG patients and controls. In the further analysis comparing the genotypic frequencies between NTG with DH and normal controls, the CC/CT genotype of rs2070744 was significantly associated with DH in NTG patients (genotypic association test, P-value=0.0041). On the multiple logistic regression analysis adjusted for covariates such as sex and age, the NTG with DH was associated with polymorphic genotypes of rs2070744 with a borderline significance (additive genetic model, P=0.0070). Conclusions: Our results indicates that eNOS rs2070744 can be associated with NTG patients with DH. This finding suggests that the eNOS polymorphism may be a genetic risk factor in the development of DH in NTG patients.
Dissociating object-based and space-based affordances

In what we term the orientation effect, faster spatial responses are made to the corresponding task irrelevant orientation of an object. We ask how this effect relates to object affordances, how attention may be involved, and how the effect relates to the better understood Simon effect. Two separate stimulus-response compatibility effects (an orientation effect and a Simon effect) were observed when spatial responses were made to photographs of objects whose orientation and location had been simultaneously manipulated. When attentional demands were high these separate effects were found using hand responses and foot responses, suggesting an abstract rather than specific coding of object affordances. However, when attentional demands were low only the Simon effect was observed, suggesting that, in order to obtain the orientation effect, objects must be represented at the level of an object.
Beaked whales echolocate on prey

Beaked whales (Cetacea: Ziphiidea) of the genera Ziphius and Mesoplodon are so difficult to study that they are mostly known from strandings. How these elusive toothed whales use and react to sound is of concern because they mass strand during naval sonar exercises. A new non–invasive acoustic recording tag was attached to four beaked whales (two Mesoplodon densirostris and two Ziphius cavirostris) and recorded high–frequency clicks during deep dives. The tagged whales only clicked at depths below 200 m, down to a maximum depth of 1267 m. Both species produced a large number of short, directional, ultrasonic clicks with no significant energy below 20 kHz. The tags recorded echoes from prey items; to our knowledge, a first for any animal echolocating in the wild. As far as we are aware, these echoes provide the first direct evidence on how free‐ranging toothed whales use echolocation in foraging. The strength of these echoes suggests that the source level of Mesoplodon clicks is in the range of 200–220 dB re 1 µPa at 1 m. This paper presents conclusive data on the normal vocalizations of these beaked whale species, which may enable acoustic monitoring to mitigate exposure to sounds intense enough to harm them.
The international protean career: four women's narratives

Purpose – Using narratives from four women following international careers in France, this paper seeks to offer an insight into the depth and complexity of career issues for women working in a foreign country.Design/methodology/approach – This is a qualitative hermeneutic inductive research undertaking on international protean careers, using in‐depth interview data together with contextual information regarding the specificity of the location in question.Findings – The concept of the protean career is highlighted in the findings. This concept is described as “having an ability to reform oneself” also referred to as “morphing”. The findings in this study demonstrate how the women in the sample had the proven capability of morphing their professional role over time due to circumstance.Research limitations/implications – The findings are limited as they cannot be generalised to a wider population due to the small sample size. However, the aim was not to generalise, but to share an in‐depth collection of real.
Naturalizing the Acting Self: Subjective vs. Anonymous Agency

This paper considers critically the enterprise of naturalizing the subjective experience of acting intentionally. I specifically expose the limits of the model that conceives of agency as composed of two stages. The first stage consists in experiencing an anonymous intention without being conscious of it as anybody's in particular. The second stage disambiguates this anonymous experience thanks to a mechanism of identification and attribution answering the question: “who is intending to act? ” On the basis of phenomenological, clinical, methodological and empirical considerations, I contrast the two-stage anonymity–attribution model of agency with an alternative view that intends to bypass these problems by defining agency as intrinsically subjective at the pre-reflective level.
Exploring gender differences in leaders' occupational self‐efficacy

Purpose – This study focuses on gender differences in the relationship between transformational leadership and leader's occupational self‐efficacy. The aim is to explain how female and male leaders develop their self‐efficacy. This knowledge is important for leaders as well as organizations (e.g. human resources departments). Design/methodology/approach – A total of 58 leaders were asked to indicate their transformational leadership as well as their occupational self‐efficacy, and 113 followers to indicate these leaders' transformational leadership. Hypotheses were examined using regression analyses.Findings – We found no significant relationship between self‐rated transformational leadership and occupational self‐efficacy for women, although we did find a positive relationship for men. No interaction effect with respect to leaders' occupational self‐efficacy could be found between leaders' gender and follower‐rated transformational leadership.Research limitations/implications – Whereas the relationship be.
How useful are discussion boards and written critical reflections in helping social work students critically reflect on their field education placements?

Critical reflection is regarded as a necessary skill in social work practice. While there is extensive literature on the need to develop the skills for critical reflection, there is little research into whether discussion boards and guided critical incident questions are useful in helping social work students develop critical reflection. This article reports an exploratory study conducted about the use of discussion boards and written reflections by social work students undertaking field placement. Results indicate that, conducted within a safe learning environment, students do engage with both discussion boards and written reflections to critically reflect on their social work practice.
Coronary heart disease risk factors, coronary artery calcification and epicardial fat volume in the Young Finns Study.

AIMS We investigated associations of pre-clinical coronary heart disease (CHD), adolescence and adulthood CHD risk factors, and epicardial fat volume (EFV), which is thought to influence CHD pathology. METHODS AND RESULTS EFV and coronary calcium scores were quantified using computed tomography imaging for 557 subjects from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study in 2007. CHD risk marker levels were assessed repeatedly from 1980 to 2007. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), carotid distensibility, and brachial flow-mediated dilatation were measured by vascular ultrasound in 2007. Increased EFV was cross-sectionally associated with male sex, increased waist circumference, body-mass index (BMI), cIMT, metabolic syndrome prevalence, levels of apolipoprotein B, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, blood pressure, insulin, and fasting glucose, as well as ever smoking, alcoholic intake, and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), carotid distensibility and physical activity in adulthood. In BMI-adjusted analyses, only apolipoprotein B, ever smoking, alcohol intake and metabolic syndrome prevalence were independently associated with EFV. In adolescence, skinfold thickness, BMI, and insulin levels were higher and HDL-C lower with increasing EFV. Subjects in the lowest vs. highest quarter of EFV had consistently lower BMI across the early life-course. CONCLUSION Associations of CHD risk markers with EFV were attenuated after multivariable adjustment. We found no evidence of increased EFV being independently associated with pre-clinical atherosclerosis. EFV was most strongly associated with BMI and waist circumference. Subjects with higher EFV had consistently higher BMI from age 12 suggesting that life-long exposure to higher BMI influences the development of EFV.
Effect of the addition of polyunsaturated fatty acids to the diet on the growth and fecundity of Daphnia galeata

1. The importance of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), in particular eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), for the growth and development of Daphnia galeata (Sars) was tested using food types differing in PUFA and EPA contents. 2. Life history experiments of D. galeata fed with the cryptophyceans Rhodomonas lacustris (Pascher & Ruttner) and Cryptomonas pyrenoidifera (Gentler), and the green alga Scenedesmus acutus (Meyen), showed that both cryptophycean species were higher in quality than S. acutus. 3. Since the cryptomonads contained significant amounts of EPA while no EPA could be detected in Scenedesmus, tests were performed to ascertain whether EPA was responsible for the differences in food quality. Feeding daphnids a mixed diet of Scenedesmus and emulsion particles that were rich in EPA and DHA, resulted in a significant improvement in the intrinsic population growth rate. The initial difference in food quality between Scenedesmus and the cryptomonads was completely compensated for by addition of emulsion to the Scenedesmus food. 4. From the observed stimulatory effect of the addition PUFA to the daphnid diet, this study concludes that the presence of such long-chain PUFA improves food quality for daphnids.
Stability and change of attachment representations during emerging adulthood: An examination of mediators and moderators of change

Using Bartholomew’s model of attachment (K. Bartholomew, 1990; K. Bartholomew & L. Horowitz, 1991), we explored stability and change of attachment in a group of young adults graduating from university and examined reasons for change of attachment. Consistent with previous research, we found that attachment dimensions were moderately stable; however, several variables predicted change. We explored the effect of changing relationship status and parental divorce on attachment and found that individuals who remained single reported lower stability of avoidance over time. Next, we tested whether distress reported before the transition would mediate stability of attachment. The results provided some support for J. Bowlby’s (1969/1982) proposal that distress would be associated with stability and change of attachment. We found that participants who reported low distress at Time 1 (T1) were more likely to report changes in attachment anxiety than participants who reported high distress at T1.
Reducing prisoner vulnerability and providing a means of empowerment: evaluating the impact of a Listener Scheme on the Listeners

A 37% rise in suicides among prisoners in 2007 focused attention on the needs of vulnerable prisoners (Ministry of Justice, 2008). Suicide is a common cause of death in prisons partly because there are a large number of very vulnerable individuals in these settings, and also because of a lack of appropriate resources to support them, for example therapeutic interventions such as counselling (Appleby, 2006). A range of suicide prevention strategies has been developed in prisons, one of which is the Listener Scheme, in which volunteer prisoners are trained to provide confidential support to fellow prisoners who are distressed or vulnerable. There is, however, a significant gap in our knowledge of Listeners' own experiences and the impact on them as individuals. Interpretative phenomenological analysis is used in this study to explore the process, and the findings indicate that Listeners experience significant personal growth alongside changing attitudes to self and others.
Computational quality control tools for mass spectrometry proteomics

As mass‐spectrometry‐based proteomics has matured during the past decade, a growing emphasis has been placed on quality control. For this purpose, multiple computational quality control tools have been introduced. These tools generate a set of metrics that can be used to assess the quality of a mass spectrometry experiment. Here we review which types of quality control metrics can be generated, and how they can be used to monitor both intra‐ and inter‐experiment performances. We discuss the principal computational tools for quality control and list their main characteristics and applicability. As most of these tools have specific use cases, it is not straightforward to compare their performances. For this survey, we used different sets of quality control metrics derived from information at various stages in a mass spectrometry process and evaluated their effectiveness at capturing qualitative information about an experiment using a supervised learning approach. Furthermore, we discuss currently available algorithmic solutions that enable the usage of these quality control metrics for decision‐making.
Specification of the enveloping layer and lack of autoneuralization in zebrafish embryonic explants

We have analyzed the roles of cell contact during determination of the outermost enveloping layer (EVL) and deeper neurectoderm in zebrafish embryos. Outer cells, but not deeper cells, are specified to express the EVL‐specific marker, cyt1 by late blastula. EVL specification requires cell contact or close cell proximity, because cyt1 is not expressed after explant dissociation. The EVL may be homologous to the Xenopus epithelial layer, including the ventral larval epidermis. While Xenopus epidermal cytokeratin gene expression is activated by bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, zebrafish cyt1 is not responsive to BMPs. Zebrafish early gastrula ectodermal explants are specified to express the neural markers opl (zic1) and otx2, and this expression is prevented by BMP4. Dissociation of zebrafish explants prevents otx2 and opl expression, suggesting that neural specification in zebrafish requires cell contact or close cell proximity. This finding is in contrast to the case in Xenopus, where ectodermal dissociation leads to activation of neural gene expression, or autoneuralization. Our data suggest that distinct mechanisms direct development of homologous lineages in different vertebrates. Developmental Dynamics 232:85–97, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Exploring emotional and imitational android-based interactions in autistic spectrum disorders

1 Interdepartmental Research Center “E. Piaggio”, University of Pisa, Italy 2 Scientific Institute Stella Maris (IRCCS), Pisa, Italy Individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) have impairments in processing of social and emotional information. To widen emotive responsiveness, the employment of robotic systems to engage proactive interactive responses in children with ASDs has been recently suggested. Understanding and teaching the processing of socio-emotional abilities is the inspiring principle of this novel approach and could be of tremendous clinical significance. Encouraging studies with robotic dolls, mobile robots and humanoids acting as social mediators have provided important insights and demonstrate the necessity of long term studies. In this study we report on a series of experiments on four subjects affected by ASDs as they interact with a biomimetic android. We assessed both their spontaneous behavior and reactions to therapist presses in correlation with the time course of the physiological and behavioral data, as well as the focusing of attention towards the android’s eye movements and the spontaneous ability to imitate gesture and facial expressions. Overall, subjects demonstrated a decrease in dysfunction in the areas of social communication, implying a marked improvement in these areas after interacting with the android. EXPLORING EMOTIONAL AND IMITATIONAL ANDROID-BASED INTERACTIONS IN AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS
Classification of mental tasks in the prefrontal cortex using fNIRS

Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is rapidly gaining interest in both the Neuroscience, as well as the Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) community. Despite these efforts, most single-trial analysis of fNIRS data is focused on motor-imagery, or mental arithmetics. In this study, we investigate the suitability of different mental tasks, namely mental arithmetics, word generation and mental rotation for fNIRS based BCIs. We provide the first systematic comparison of classification accuracies achieved in a sample study. Data was collected from 10 subjects performing these three tasks. An optode template with 8 channels was chosen which covers the prefrontal cortex and only requires less than 3 minutes for setup. Two-class accuracies of up to 71% average across all subjects for mental arithmetics, 70% for word generation and 62% for mental rotation were achieved discriminating these tasks from a relax state. We thus lay the foundation for fNIRS based BCI using additional mental strategies than motor imagery and mental arithmetics. The tasks were chosen in a way that they might be used for user state monitoring, as well.
Cervical Spine Disorders in Infants and Children

&NA; The evaluation of children with cervical spine disorders requires an understanding of the anatomic and developmental features that are particular to the pediatric spine. In this article, cervical spine developmental anatomy is briefly reviewed, along with common radiographic features of the pediatric cervical spine. The epidemiology, clinical presentation, and management of congenital cervical anomalies are considered. The evaluation and management of pediatric cervical trauma are also reviewed. Other disorders with common cervical spine involvement, such as skeletal dysplasias, connective tissue disorders, inflammatory arthritides, and storage disorders, are discussed.
Dissipativity of extended Pouzet–Runge–Kutta methods for neutral delay integro-differential equations

This paper is concerned with dissipativity of extended Pouzet–Runge–Kutta methods for neutral delay integro-differential equations. The finite-dimensional and infinite-dimensional dissipativity results of the (k, l)-algebraically stable extended Pouzet–Runge–Kutta methods are obtained under suitable conditions.