Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crystal Structures of QacR-Diamidine Complexes Reveal Additional Multidrug-binding Modes and a Novel Mechanism of Drug Charge Neutralization*

The Staphylococcus aureus multidrug-binding protein QacR represses transcription of the plasmid-encoded membrane protein QacA, a multidrug efflux transporter. QacR is induced by multiple structurally dissimilar monovalent and bivalent cationic lipophilic compounds, many of which are effluxed from the cell by QacA via the proton motive force. The multidrug-binding pocket of QacR has been shown to be quite extensive and features several glutamates and multiple aromatic residues. To date, the structure of only one QacR-bivalent cationic drug complex (that of QacR bound to dequalinium) has been determined, and how other longer or shorter bivalent cationic compounds bind is unknown. Here we report the crystal structures of QacR bound to two cytotoxic bivalent diamidines, pentamidine and hexamidine. These compounds are structurally similar, differing by only one methylene carbon in the alkyl chain linker. However, this small difference results in very dissimilar binding modes. Similar to dequalinium, hexamidine spans the multidrug-binding pocket, and its positively charged benzamidine groups are neutralized by residues Glu-57 and Glu-120. Pentamidine binds QacR in a novel fashion whereby one of its benzamidine groups interacts with residue Glu-63, and the other is neutralized by carbonyl and side chain oxygen atoms. Thus, these structures demonstrate that a formal negative charge is not a prerequisite for binding positively charged drugs and underscore the versatility of the QacR and, likely, all multidrug-binding pockets.
Motive Based Segmentation of the Cultural Tourism Market: A Study of Turkish Domestic Tourists

This article examines cultural tourists' motivations for travel and provided support for the idea that cultural tourists are not solely motivated by the potential for deep cultural experiences. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 270 domestic tourists in 52 provinces in Turkey whose primary travel purpose was cultural. Factor analysis indicated eight motivation factors, which were termed: “Adventure, Creativeness and Challenge,” “Knowledge and Experience,” “Achievement and Autonomy,” “Rest and Relaxation,” “Sports and Socialization,” “Escape,” “Family Togetherness,” and “Fun and Travel Bragging. ” Cluster analysis of factor scores indicated that cultural tourists could be classified into five distinct groups, each with different travel motivations. The accuracy of the cluster classification was tested using discriminant analysis. Delineated clusters were labelled: “Relaxation Seekers,” “Sports Seekers,” “Family Oriented,” “Escapists,” and “Achievement and Autonomy Seekers. ” Each tourist type possessed different demographic and trip behavior characteristics. Interestingly, none of the groups was primarily motivated by the factors that are most closely linked to ideas of culture. Although the results cannot be generalized beyond the study population, this study confirmed the applicability of the methodology for segmenting the Turkish domestic cultural tourism market in terms of travel motivations. The implications of marketing to various tourist types are discussed.
Beyond Micro-credit: Putting Development Back into Micro-finance

Introduction Introduction to the financial sector in India Part 1: Micro-finance and development Micro-finance and social and economic security Micro-finance and livelihoods - the challenge of BASIX Micro-finance and people's organisations Micro-finance and system-wide change Part 2: Micro-finance: organisations and institutions Self-help groups and Grameen Bank groups: What are the differences? by Malcolm Harper Costs in micro-finance: What do urban self-help groups tell us? by Mathew Titus Exploring empowerment and leadership at the grassroots: Social entrepreneurship in the SHG movement in India by Ajit Kanitkar Sustainability and development: Evaluating the performance of Indian micro-finance by Sanjay Sinha and Frances Sinha Rising to the challenge of scale in India: Growing the micro-finance sector by Mathew Titus Emerging lessons and challenges by Thomas Fisher Appendix:Capacity-building and organisational learning project for development finance in India Glossary Bibliography Index About the authors and contributors. Bibliography Index
Radiofrequency ablation improves prognosis compared with ethanol injection for hepatocellular carcinoma < or =4 cm.

BACKGROUND & AIMS The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcome of percutaneous radiofrequency (RF) ablation, conventional percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI), and higher-dose PEI in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) 4 cm or less. METHODS A total of 157 patients with 186 HCCs 4 cm or less were randomly assigned to 3 groups (52 patients in the conventional PEI group, 53 in the higher-dose PEI group, and 52 in the RF group). Clinical outcomes in terms of complete tumor necrosis, overall survival, local tumor progression, additional new tumors, and cancer-free survival were compared across 3 groups. RESULTS The rate of complete tumor necrosis was 88% in the conventional PEI group, 92% in the higher-dose PEI group, and 96% in the RF group. Significantly fewer sessions were required to achieve complete tumor necrosis in the RF group than in the other 2 groups (P < .01). The local tumor progression rate was lowest in the RF group (vs the conventional PEI group, P = .012; vs the higher-dose PEI group, P = .037). The overall survival rate was highest in the RF group (vs the conventional PEI group, P = .014; vs the higher-dose PEI group, P = .023). The cancer-free survival rate was highest in the RF group (vs the conventional PEI group, P = .019; vs the higher-dose PEI group, P = .024). Multivariate analysis determined that tumor size, tumor differentiation, and the method of treatment (RF vs both methods of PEI) were significant factors in relation to local tumor progression, overall survival, and cancer-free survival. CONCLUSIONS The results show that RF ablation yielded better clinical outcomes than conventional and higher-dose PEI in treating HCC 4 cm or less.
Successful Pregnancies After Adequate Hormonal Replacement in Patients With Combined Pituitary Hormone Deficiencies

Context: Women with hypopituitarism have lower pregnancy rates after ovulation induction. Associated pituitary hormone deficiencies might play a role in this poorer outcome. Objective: We evaluated fertility treatment and pregnancy outcomes in five women with childhood-onset combined pituitary hormone deficiencies (CPHD). Patients and Methods: Five women with CPHD were referred for fertility treatment after adequacy of hormone replacement was determined. Patients were subjected to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) for timed intercourse, intrauterine insemination, or in vitro fertilization, according to the presence or absence of other infertility factors (male or tubal). Results: All women became pregnant. The number of COS attempts until pregnancy was achieved varied between 1 and 5. The duration of COS resulting in at least one dominant follicle varied between 9 and 28 days, and total gonadotropin consumed varied between 1200 and 3450 IU. Two patients with severely suppressed basal gonadotropin levels since an early age had a cancelled COS cycle. All pregnancies were singleton except one (monochorionic twin gestation). The gestational ages at birth ranged from 35 weeks to 39 weeks and 4 days; three patients underwent cesarean section, and two had vaginal deliveries. Only one newborn was small for gestational age (delivered at 35 weeks). Conclusion: Adequate hormonal replacement prior to ovarian stimulation resulted in successful pregnancies in patients with childhood-onset CPHD, indicating that hormone replacement, including growth hormone, is an important step prior to fertility treatments in these patients.
Use of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals.

BACKGROUND Despite a consensus that the use of health information technology should lead to more efficient, safer, and higher-quality care, there are no reliable estimates of the prevalence of adoption of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals. METHODS We surveyed all acute care hospitals that are members of the American Hospital Association for the presence of specific electronic-record functionalities. Using a definition of electronic health records based on expert consensus, we determined the proportion of hospitals that had such systems in their clinical areas. We also examined the relationship of adoption of electronic health records to specific hospital characteristics and factors that were reported to be barriers to or facilitators of adoption. RESULTS On the basis of responses from 63.1% of hospitals surveyed, only 1.5% of U.S. hospitals have a comprehensive electronic-records system (i.e., present in all clinical units), and an additional 7.6% have a basic system (i.e., present in at least one clinical unit). Computerized provider-order entry for medications has been implemented in only 17% of hospitals. Larger hospitals, those located in urban areas, and teaching hospitals were more likely to have electronic-records systems. Respondents cited capital requirements and high maintenance costs as the primary barriers to implementation, although hospitals with electronic-records systems were less likely to cite these barriers than hospitals without such systems. CONCLUSIONS The very low levels of adoption of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals suggest that policymakers face substantial obstacles to the achievement of health care performance goals that depend on health information technology. A policy strategy focused on financial support, interoperability, and training of technical support staff may be necessary to spur adoption of electronic-records systems in U.S. hospitals.
Leading Corporate Citizens: Vision, Values, Value Added

Part 1 - A Context for Leading Corporate Citizens 1. Leading Corporate Citizenship: Vision, Values, Value Added 2. The Three Spheres of Human Civilization Part 2 - Leading Corporate Citizens with Vision, Values, and Value Added 3. Personal and Organizational Vision 4. Values in Management Practice: Operating with Integrity 5. Value Added: The Impact of Vision and Values Part 3 - Leading Corporate Citizens and their Stakeholders 6. Stakeholders: The Relationship Key 7.Managing Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship 8. Investment and Assessment for Corporate Citizenship 9. Sustainability and the Global Village Part 4 - Leading Corporate Citizens into the Future 10. Global Standards/Global Village 11. Values Added: Global Futures 12. Leading Global Futures: The Emerging Paradigm of Leading Corporate Citizenship
Seasonal Adjustment of Employment to Demand and Revenues in Tourist Hotels During Expansion and Stagnation

Abstract The monthly distribution of employment in hotels is, presumably, strongly related to demand for hotel services and to the derived revenue. Analysis of the monthly distributions of these indicators at tourism hotels in Israel during the years 1992-1997 revealed two types of maladjustment. First, the amplitude of the distribution for bed-nights and revenues is much higher than the counterpart distribution for employment. Second, the distributions differ in their measure of skewness. While the employment distribution is negatively skewed towards the autumn months, the distributions of the revenues and more so that of the demand for bed-nights services, are positively skewed towards the spring. Hotel management seems to be more alert to reducing the employment maladjustment during years of stagnation than years of expansion. Several hypotheses are suggested in order to explain the maladjustment. A part of it is probably associated with the allocation of overtime working hours. Another portion seems to be related to the efforts made by hotel management to retain trained workers year round in return for their consent to work for low pay.
Conflict in organizational decision making: an exploratory study of its effects in for-profit and not-for-profit organizations

Though past research has shown that conflict may improve organizational decision making, business executives may have very different perceptions of the effects of conflict than executives of not-for-profit organizations. This exploratory study deals with executives' descriptions of the effects of conflict on their own organizations' decisions. Results show that high conflict is associated with high quality for the executives of not-for-profit organizations but with low quality for executives of for-profit organizations. Analysis of executives' written descriptions of these decisions suggests some reasons for this difference.
Gait Speed and Gait Variability Are Associated with Different Functional Brain Networks

Gait speed and gait variability are clinically meaningful markers of locomotor control that are suspected to be regulated by multiple supraspinal control mechanisms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between these gait parameters and the functional connectivity of brain networks in functionally limited older adults. Twelve older adults with mild-to-moderate cognition “executive” dysfunction and relatively slow gait, yet free from neurological diseases, completed a gait assessment and a resting-state fMRI. Gait speed and variability were associated with the strength of functional connectivity of different brain networks. Those with faster gait speed had stronger functional connectivity within the frontoparietal control network (R = 0.61, p = 0.04). Those with less gait variability (i.e., steadier walking patterns) exhibited stronger negative functional connectivity between the dorsal attention network and the default network (R = 0.78, p < 0.01). No other significant relationships between gait metrics and the strength of within- or between- network functional connectivity was observed. Results of this pilot study warrant further investigation to confirm that gait speed and variability are linked to different brain networks in vulnerable older adults.
The Influence of Attentional Focus Instructions and Vision on Jump Height Performance

Purpose: Studies have suggested that the use of visual information may underlie the benefit associated with an external focus of attention. Recent studies exploring this connection have primarily relied on motor tasks that involve manipulation of an object (object projection). The present study examined whether vision influences the effect of attentional focus on the performance of body movements through space (body projection). Method: Participants (N = 24, Mage = 25.0 ± 3.3 years) performed a maximum vertical jump in a room with a 4-m ceiling under full-vision and no-vision conditions. Additionally, participants performed 3 trials under each of 3 attentional conditions, presented in a counterbalanced order: external focus (ExF; “concentrate on the ceiling and try to touch it”), internal focus (InF; “concentrate on your fingers and try to bring them up as high as possible”), and control (Con; no-focus instruction). Results: Results indicated that regardless of visual condition, a statistically significant difference was observed such that participants in the ExF condition (30.93 ± 8.37 cm) jumped significantly higher than participants in both the InF (30.09 ± 8.66 cm, p = .004, d = 0.68) and Con (30.23 ± 8.73 cm, p = .002, d = 0.57) conditions. Furthermore, jump height was overall significantly higher in the full-vision condition compared with the no-vision condition (p = .004, d = 0.47). Importantly, there was no interaction between ExF and vision. Conclusion: The present findings demonstrate the benefit of an ExF on a body projection task and further provide evidence of the independence of ExF and visual information.
Private Sector Investment in Agricultural Research in Pakistan

Private sector investment in agricultural research in Pakistan, although growing in importance, is limited at present and with a few exceptions, has not had a significant impact on agricultural production and productivity. The publicly funded agricultural research system has made the major contribution to increases in production and productivity growth. However the impressive gains of the past cannot be achieved with the current underfunded public research system which makes it all the more important for private sector investment in agricultural research to achieve its full potential in areas of its comparative advantage. This paper identifies the magnitude of private sector agricultural research investment in Pakistan and discusses some of the current policy constraints that hamper its scope. Information was gathered through informal and formal surveys of multinational and national firms conducting agricultural research in Pakistan in the areas of inputs and product processing. Although private sector investment in agricultural research has more than doubled in the past ten years, uncertainty persists surrounding privatisation issues, unresolved intellectual property rights regulation, and the enforcement of seed certification and truth-in-labelling rules and regulations.
Risk factors of breast cancer in north of Iran: a case-control in Mazandaran Province.

INTRODUCTION Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Iranian women. This study aimed to determine risk factors for breast cancer in the north of Iran. METHOD A matched case-control study was conducted in Mazandaran province of Iran in 2004 of 250 biopsy proven cases of breast cancer and 500 neighbor controls that were matched by age within a 3 year period. Statistical analysis was carried out using conditional logistic regression with the backward elimination method and crude and adjusted odds ratios with related 95% CIs were estimated with Stata 8.0 software RESULTS Multivariate analysis showed that higher education (OR=4.70, 95%CI: 1.71-12.88), late menopause (OR=4.18, 95%CI: 2.54-6.88), history of induced abortion (OR=1.62, 95%CI: 1.13-2.31), positive first-degree family history of breast cancer (OR=3.14, 95%CI: 1.37-7.20), and BMI (OR=1.02, 95%CI: 1.01-1.03) were risk factors for breast cancer. Furthermore, having more episodes of full term pregnancy (OR=0.87, 95%CI: 0.80-0.95), longer duration of breast feeding (OR=0.993, 95%CI: 0.989-0.997) and parity more than 2 were shown to be protective factors. CONCLUSIONS Our study revealed the role of some modifiable determinants of breast cancer that can be focused by public health intervention in the northern community of Iran. Accordingly, the women who have one or more of the following risk factors should take the special attention to risk of breast cancer: obesity, being menopause, positive family history of breast cancer and history of induced abortion. The protective effect of longer duration of breast feeding should be encouraged too.
Changing engagement of youth in old and new media literacy: patterns, functions and meanings

The goal of this dissertation is to examine the changing engagement of youth in the large variety of out-of-school literacy practices, including uses of old and new media. The main focus is on Dutch youth from the lower tracks of prevocational secondary education, who often struggle with the literacy demands of the school curriculum. In line with a socio-cultural perspective on literacy this dissertation moves away from a research tradition that approaches literacy as a set of individual reading and writing skills. An alternative way of conceptualizing literacy is proposed in terms of family resemblances, a notion borrowed from the German philosopher Wittgenstein: Literacy activities do not share one common set of features, but throughout activities similarities – great and small – crop up and disappear. From this perspective, which underpins the research presented in this dissertation, literacy is a broad and complex concept that encompasses traditional print-based media, new (digital) media and their various but sometimes interrelated uses. In the general introduction of the dissertation features associated with literacy are discussed, each influenced greatly by new technologies, which have increased the different ways of engaging in literacy. These features form the building blocks of the literacy concept adopted in the research presented. Guttman’s Facet Theory was used to implement this definitional framework in research. To examine the changing literacy engagement of youth, four empirical studies were conducted. A recurrent theme throughout each of the studies is engagement in epistemic literacy, which is a concept borrowed from Wells (1987) to denote more ‘detached’ and reflective uses of old and new media that transcend the immediate context of our personal experience and are strongly related to the goals of schooling. Given the concerns that exist over the rising engagement of youth in the new media, the studies address to what extent the youth under investigation exploit the epistemic potential of new media. In the first study, literacy engagement patterns were investigated of 70 seventh grade students from the lower tracks of Dutch prevocational secondary education. In the second study the diversity of media lifestyles adopted by 503 eighth grade students from all educational tracks were examined. A longitudinal approach was adopted in the third study in order to investigate possible shifts in the literacy practices of the same group of youth included in the first study. Finally, in the fourth study the quantitative research is complemented with data from in-depth interviews, which were used to investigate the motives and possible shifts in the motives youth mentioned for engaging in literacy when in grade 7, compared to when they were in grade 9.
A population-based cross-sectional study of barriers to uptake of eye care services in South India: the Rapid Assessment of Visual Impairment (RAVI) project

Objective To assess the barriers to uptake of eye care services among those with avoidable impairment in the population aged ≥40 years in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Community setting. Participants Of 7800 participants recruited from one urban and two rural locations using a two-stage cluster random sampling methodology, 7378 (95%) were examined. Eye examinations were conducted using a rapid assessment protocol. Visual impairment (VI) was defined as presenting visual acuity <6/18 in the better eye. For the purpose of this study, VI caused due to cataract or uncorrected refractive error was considered avoidable VI. A validated questionnaire was used to collect information on barriers for uptake of services among those who had avoidable VI. Primary outcome Barriers to uptake of services among those with avoidable VI. Results The prevalence of avoidable VI was 11.8% (95% CI 11.0% to 12.5%; n=868). Among these, 71.1% (n=617) individuals reported ‘person-related’ barriers whereas 28.9% (n=251) individuals reported ‘service-related’ barriers to uptake of services. Among the ‘person-related’ barriers, the leading barrier was ‘lack of perceived need’ (61.1%; n=377) for reasons such as old age, good vision in the other eye. This was followed by ‘no one to accompany’ (20.3%; n=125). Of the 251 individuals who had ‘service-related’ barriers, lack of affordability was the major barrier (76.1%; n=191) followed by lack of accessibility (12.7%; n=32). Over 11% (n=28) of the individuals were advised to wait for cataract surgery. Conclusions Person-related barriers are more common than service-related barriers in Andhra Pradesh. As the barriers trend more towards ‘person-related’ phenomenon such as person's attitude and ‘felt need’ to improve vision, newer and much intensive awareness campaigns are needed to bring about an attitudinal/behavioural change among individuals to improve the uptake of services.