Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Residues Essential for Panton-Valentine Leukocidin S Component Binding to Its Cell Receptor Suggest Both Plasticity and Adaptability in Its Interaction Surface

Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), a bicomponent staphylococcal leukotoxin, is involved in the poor prognosis of necrotizing pneumonia. The present study aimed to elucidate the binding mechanism of PVL and in particular its cell-binding domain. The class S component of PVL, LukS-PV, is known to ensure cell targeting and exhibits the highest affinity for the neutrophil membrane (Kd∼10−10 M) compared to the class F component of PVL, LukF-PV (Kd∼10−9 M). Alanine scanning mutagenesis was used to identify the residues involved in LukS-PV binding to the neutrophil surface. Nineteen single alanine mutations were performed in the rim domain previously described as implicated in cell membrane interactions. Positions were chosen in order to replace polar or exposed charged residues and according to conservation between leukotoxin class S components. Characterization studies enabled to identify a cluster of residues essential for LukS-PV binding, localized on two loops of the rim domain. The mutations R73A, Y184A, T244A, H245A and Y250A led to dramatically reduced binding affinities for both human leukocytes and undifferentiated U937 cells expressing the C5a receptor. The three-dimensional structure of five of the mutants was determined using X-ray crystallography. Structure analysis identified residues Y184 and Y250 as crucial in providing structural flexibility in the receptor-binding domain of LukS-PV.
Diversity of Geotrichum candidumStrains Isolated from Traditional Cheesemaking Fabrications in France

ABSTRACT The diversity of French fungus-ripened cheeses is due partly to the succession of fungi that colonize the cheese during ripening.Geotrichum candidum appears in the early stages of ripening on soft cheeses such as Camembert and semihard cheeses such as St. Nectaire and Reblochon. Its lipases and proteases promote flavor development, and its aminopeptidases reduce bitterness imparted by low-molecular-weight peptides in cheese. We assessed the genetic diversity of G. candidum strains by using random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR correlated with phenotypic tests for carbon assimilation and salt tolerance. Strains were isolated from milk, curd, and cheese collected in seven major cheesemaking regions of France. Sixty-four isolates were characterized. We found high genetic diversity of G. candidum even within the same cheesemaking regions. Strains did not group according to region. All of the strains from the Haute-Savoie were able to assimilate lactate as the sole source of carbon, while lactate assimilation varied among strains from the Auvergne. Strains varied ind-mannitol assimilation, and none used citrate as the sole source of carbon. Yeast-like colony morphology predominated in Reblochon, while all of the strains isolated from St. Nectaire were filamentous. The RAPD-PCR technique readily differentiatedGeotrichum fragrans isolated from milk and curd in a St. Nectaire cheesemaking facility. This study reveals an enormous diversity of G. candidum that has been empirically selected through the centuries by the cheesemakers of France.
Predictors of Marital Physical Violence: Personal and Relational Characteristics

Abstract Conjugal violence is a complex phenomenon that deserves attention because of its prevalence. The aim of this study was to verify the predictive power of the family-of-origin experiences, early maladaptive schemas, love, marital adjustment and family climate to marital physical violence occurrence. In this quantitative, correlational and explanatory study 186 men and 186 women took part, aged from 19 to 81 (M=41,17; SD=12,75). The instruments used measured general information, family of origin (FBQ), maladaptive schemes (YSQs), love (TLS), marital adjustment (DAS), family climate (FCI) and marital conflicts (CTS2). The results showed an association between the studied variables. In addition, the variables family conflict and sexual abuse in childhood were predictive of physical violence committed by women, while marital dissatisfaction was the predictor of marital violence committed by men. In view of the results, it can be established that the phenomenon of violence in intimate relationships is multidetermined, requiring attention from health professionals.
Spanish principals: Motives for accession and difficulties in enacting the role

This work explores the relationships between principals’ motivations for entering the principalship and the difficulties they experienced during their first year as principals. Survey data were collected from a sample of 2042 Spanish principals. They answered a questionnaire assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, difficulties experienced when doing instructional, informational, and administrative tasks, and other personal and contextual characteristics. The scales developed to measure motivations and difficulties displayed adequate psychometric properties. The results showed the preponderance of intrinsic motivations. Administrative mundane tasks were perceived as the most difficult ones. We also found that non-administrative instructional tasks were more difficult for those principals who were more extrinsically motivated. Some gender differences were observed in motivations and difficulties. Women placed lower value on extrinsic motivations than men. Furthermore, while the difficulty of administrative tasks in their first year as principal was placed higher by women than men, those tasks that are more relationship-oriented (i.e. informative and instructional tasks) were rated as more difficult by men than women. Although internal incentives and administrative overload characterize most of the public Spanish principals, some findings pointed to the possibility of other profiles of principals that should be investigated in further studies. Implications for the design of principalship training are also discussed.
The role of evoked potential and MR imaging in assessing multiple sclerosis: a comparative study.

INTRODUCTION The role of evoked potential (EP) in evaluating multiple sclerosis (MS) has changed with the advent of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Given the possibly varied nature and distribution of pathologic lesions in Asian MS, this study compared the diagnostic usefulness of EPs to that of MR imaging among Chinese subjects. METHODS This was a retrospective study of MS patients treated at the Kwong Wah Hospital, Hong Kong, between June 2004 and June 2009. The visual (VEPs), brainstem auditory (BAEPs), somatosensory (SEPs) and trigeminal (TSEPs) EPs were compared with MR imaging for correlation and usefulness using the chi-square test. Sensitivities and specificities were calculated. RESULTS The results showed that abnormalities were detected in the three modalities of EP among the 17 patients studied (VEP 82 percent, median and tibial SEP 65 percent, BAEP 47 percent). Compared with MR imaging, VEP was far more useful at detecting optic nerve lesions, while SEP was less sensitive at detecting cord lesions. BAEP was able to localise lesions along the auditory pathways at a rate that was almost similar to that of MR imaging (non-inferiority). Both TSEP and MR imaging for trigeminal nerves were negative in the two patients with trigeminal neuralgia. In some instances, EPs yielded abnormalities that were undetected by conventional MR imaging, and the sensitivity increased with the number of EP modalities. CONCLUSION EP may be considered in clinical situations in which MR imaging is negative or cannot be performed. They may also be performed when evaluating treatment response, long-term prognosis and nonspecific changes on MR imaging.
Implementing critical literacy in A1 undergraduate students

The aim of this article is to analyze the current teaching practices utilized with undergraduate students at Universidad de Ibagué, who are required to complete Reading Comprehension coursework to obtain their professional degree. Two different methods for Critical Literacy proposed by Clarke and Whitney, and McLaughlin and DeVoogd, are used as examples for piloting and implementation stages respectively. Two different groups belonging to the same level were chosen to perform the activities during the second academic year of 2017. The collected data was analyzed using Grounded Thoery procedures. Results showed that critical literacy is not a task that has been well developed at the Language Center. Therefore, the author suggests that teacher education in the area of Critical Literacy should be implemented in pedagogical training.
Linguistic Complexity, Information Processing, and Public Acceptance of Supreme Court Decisions

August 28-31. We are grateful for the comments provided by Lisa Holmes. Scholars suggest that judges have an incentive to use complex language to increase support for their decisions. Research on the effects of processing fluency, however, points towards a different set of expectations. Using a survey experiment, we manipulate the complexity of the language conveying two recent Court decisions, the institutional source of these decisions, and the presence of party cues. For the less polarizing of the two decisions, we find support for the predictions drawn from the literature on processing fluency and the dual processing theory of the mind. By decreasing processing fluency, complex decision language can both decrease acceptance of the decision and diminish the importance of basic cues in arriving at this judgment. The presence of legalistic terminology, however, can increase acceptance of a decision, perhaps due to the persuasiveness of references to legal authority and the importance of legal terms as a type of positive legal symbol. 1 One of the hallmarks of law is its complexity. The decisions and legal opinions rendered by courts are no exception. While studies of judicial behavior typically conceptualize the complexity of a court case as a function of the number of legal issues or legal provisions at stake 2010), the most obvious and proximate source of complexity is the very language used by judges in their opinions.
The Gang's All Queer: The Lives of Gay Gang Members

How is masculinity negotiated for gay men in gangs? The question that Panfil asks throughout this book provides a disruption of the 'heterosexual imaginary' of assumed heterosexuality, hyper-masculinity and hyper-sexuality within gangs. Illustrating her qualitative analysis with in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork of 53 queer gang members in Ohio, she considers how masculinity is constantly negotiated for queer gang members, rendering their invisibility within literature across the fields of criminology, sociology and queer theory no more.
A preliminary study to determine criteria for personalized e-commerce

Web design is one of several critical factors for the acceptance and success of an e-commerce website. A good web design influences user's satisfaction and intention to use the website. The purpose of the study was to determine criteria for personalized e-commerce with a method recommended by users in using an e-commerce. This study used a qualitative method to analyze three components of web design i.e. information, navigation, and visual designs. Data collection was performed using in-depth interview technique on participants who have been familiar with online transactions. Data showed that participants preferred navigation and information designs rather than visual design.
Effects of socioeconomic status on physical and mental health of hemodialysis patients in Japan: differences by age, period, and cohort

Study purpose Whether or not socioeconomic status (SES)-related differences in the health of hemodialysis patients differ by age, period, and birth cohort remains unclear. We examined whether SES-related gaps in physical and mental health change with age, period, and birth cohort for hemodialysis patients. Methods Data were obtained from repeated cross-sectional surveys conducted in 1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011, with members of a national patients’ association as participants. We used raking adjustment to create a database which had similar characteristics to the total sample of dialysis patients in Japan. SES was assessed using family size-adjusted income levels. We divided patients into three groups based on their income levels: below the first quartile, over the second quartile and under the third quartile, and over the fourth quartile. We used the number of dialysis complications as a physical health indicator and depressive symptoms as a mental health indicator. We used a cross-classified random-effects model that estimated fixed effects of age categories and period as level-1 factors, and random effects of birth cohort as level-2 factors. Results Relative risk of dialysis complications in respondents below the first quartile compared with ones over the fourth quartile was reduced in age categories >60 years. Mean differences in depressive symptoms between respondents below the first quartile and ones over the fourth quartile peaked in the 50- to 59-year-old age group, and were reduced in age groups >60 years. In addition, mean differences varied across periods, widening from 1996 to 2006. There were no significant birth cohort effects on income differences for dialysis complications or depressive symptoms. Conclusion The number of dialysis complications and depressive symptoms in dialysis patients were affected by income differences, and the degree of these differences changed with age category and period.
Estrogen protects the inner retina from apoptosis and ischemia-induced loss of Vesl-1L/Homer 1c immunoreactive synaptic connections.

PURPOSE Protective effects of estrogen on nerve cells including retinal neurons have been described previously. However, subcellular effects on synaptic connectivity in mild ischemia more closely resembling ischemic conditions found in diabetic or sickle cell retinopathy and stenosis of the carotid artery have not been identified. The present study quantitatively analyzed effects of estrogen administration on synaptic connections of neurons in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) of the retina. METHODS Staining of Vesl-1L/Homer 1c (V-1L) immunoreactivity and TUNEL cytochemistry were used to quantify neuroprotective effects at the synaptic level in a model of mild retinal ischemia induced by temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion in the adult rat. RESULTS V-1L immunoreactivity was found in both synaptic layers, postsynaptic to glutamatergic ribbon synapses. Mild retinal ischemia led to a significantly higher percentage reduction in the number of V-1L-positive synapses in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) compared with the percentage of TUNEL-positive apoptotic neurons in the GCL. Estrogen prevented ischemia-induced loss of V-1L-immunoreactive synapses in the IPL and apoptosis of cells in the GCL. CONCLUSIONS Immunoreactivity for V-1L can be used as a synaptic marker for early changes before more severe neurodegenerative events. The present results suggest that estrogen protects neurons in the GCL including RGCs from both apoptosis and early changes in synaptic connections associated with ischemia and potentially preceding apoptosis.
A hypothesis linking sodium and lithium reabsorption in the distal nephron.

BACKGROUND A hypothesis is proposed linking Na(+) and Li(+) reabsorption in the distal nephron. The handling of these two ions in the distal nephron is related because they share the same apical membrane entry mechanism: the amiloride-sensitive Na(+) channel (ENaC). However, the two ions exit the cell through different transport mechanisms: Na(+) via the Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase and Li(+) via the Na(+)/H(+) exchanger. Studies in rats have shown that under normal circumstances hardly any Li(+) is reabsorbed in the distal nephron, so that the urinary excretion of Li(+), expressed as a fraction of the delivery to the early distal tubule (FE(Li dist)), amounts to approximately 0.97. In contrast, during severe dietary Na(+) restriction, FE(Li dist) decreases to 0.50-0.60. Our hypothesis is that the absence of distal Li(+) reabsorption during intake of a normal diet can be explained by a negative driving force for Li(+) entrance across the apical membrane in those segments in which ENaC is active. METHOD We propose a model that incorporates this concept. RESULTS The model indicates that the lowering of FE(Li dist) during dietary Na(+) restriction can be explained by activation of apical ENaC in extra sub-segments further downstream. In these extra sub-segments the driving force for Li(+) reabsorption is positive, leading to significant Li(+) reabsorption. During dietary K(+) restriction, FE(Li dist) is reduced to 0.35-0.55. The model shows that this reduction in FE(Li dist) can be explained by hyperpolarization of the apical membrane in ENaC-containing sub-segments, which is known to occur in this condition. CONCLUSION We conclude that the model may improve current understanding of both Na(+) and Li(+) handling in the distal nephron.
Linkage analysis of DRD2, a marker linked to the ataxia-telangiectasia gene, in 64 families with premenopausal bilateral breast cancer.

Recent reports suggest that subjects who are heterozygous for the ataxia-telangiectasia gene are at increased risk of breast cancer. We conducted linkage analyses of 64 families with premenopausal bilateral breast cancer using DRD2, a marker linked to the ataxia-telangiectasia locus at 11q22-23. We assumed a model with dominant transmission of breast cancer. Lod scores summed over all families provided strong evidence against tight linkage (e.g., a lod score of -6.08 at theta = 0.00001), although a single family provides suggestive evidence of tight linkage to DRD2. Evidence against linkage to 11q was strongest among families that may involve the BRCA1 breast cancer susceptibility gene on 17q21. However, we did not observe evidence of linkage to 11q among the remaining subgroup with neither a family history of ovarian cancer nor the appearance of linkage to 17q21.
Narrative Engagement and Vicarious Interaction with Multiple Characters

This study investigates how audience members relate to and vicariously interact with multiple characters while viewing a narrative. Under the framework of the theory of situation models, we applied a real-time thought-listing technique that incorporated Twitter and focused on three debuting TV dramas to explore how the participants followed multiple characters while watching prime-time television dramas. We examined 3,274 tweets across the three TV series and found that monitoring a greater diversity of characters is associated with an increased number of questions asked and more accurate predictions of future events. The participants who made more accurate predictions had higher narrative engagement. In addition, the participants who had more thoughts about the self tracked a greater diversity of characters and made more accurate predictions about the plot. The results are discussed in terms of the developing literature on narratives in mass communication and entertainment research.
Streamlining the generation of an osteogenic graft by 3D culture of unprocessed bone marrow on ceramic scaffolds

Mesenchymal stromal cells are present in very low numbers in the bone marrow, necessitating their selective expansion on tissue culture plastic prior to their use in tissue‐engineering applications. MSC expansion is laborious, time consuming, unphysiological and not economical, thus calling for automated bioreactor‐based strategies. We and others have shown that osteogenic grafts can be cultured in bioreactors by seeding either 2D‐expanded cells or by direct seeding of the mononuclear fraction of bone marrow. To further streamline this protocol, we assessed in this study the possibility of seeding the cells onto porous calcium phosphate ceramics directly from unprocessed bone marrow. Using predetermined volumes of bone marrow from multiple human donors with different nucleated cell counts, we were able to grow a confluent cell sheath on the scaffold surface in 3 weeks. Cells of stromal, endothelial and haematopoietic origin were detected, in contrast to grafts grown from 2D expanded cells, where only stromal cells could be seen. Upon implantation in nude mice, similar quantities of bone tissue were generated as compared to that obtained by using the conventional number of culture expanded cells from the same donor. We conclude that human osteogenic grafts can be efficiently prepared by direct seeding of cells from unprocessed bone marrow. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluating DoS Attacks against Sip-Based VoIP Systems

The multimedia communication is rapidly converging towards Voice over Internet - commonly known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is the standard used for session signaling in VoIP. Crafty attackers can launch a number of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks on a SIP based VoIP infrastructure that can severely compromise its reliability. In contrast, little work is done to analyze the robustness and reliability of SIP severs under DoS attacks. In this paper, we show that the robustness and reliability of generic SIP servers is inadequate than commonly perceived. We have done our study using a customized analysis tool that has the ability to synthesize and launch different types of attacks. We have integrated the tool in a real SIP test bed environment to measure the performance of SIP servers. Our measurements show that a standard SIP server can be easily overloaded by sending simple call requests. We define the performance metrics to measure the effects of flooding attacks on real time services - VoIP in SIP environment - and show the results on different SIP server implementations. Our results also provide insight into resources' usage by SIP servers under flooding attacks. Moreover, we show that how a well known open source SIP server can be crashed through 'INVITE of Death' - a malformed SIP packet maliciously crafted by our tool.
Radial motion bias in macaque frontal eye field

The visual responsiveness and spatial tuning of frontal eye field (FEF) neurons were determined using a delayed memory saccade task. Neurons with visual responses were then tested for direction selectivity using moving random dot patterns centered in the visual receptive field. The preferred axis of motion showed a significant tendency to be aligned with the receptive-field location so as to favor motion toward or away from the center of gaze. Centrifugal (outward) motion was preferred over centripetal motion. Motion-sensitive neurons in FEF thus appear to have a direction bias at the population level. This bias may facilitate the detection or discrimination of expanding optic flow patterns. The direction bias is similar to that seen in visual area MT and in posterior parietal cortex, from which FEF receives afferent projections. The outward motion bias may explain asymmetries in saccades made to moving targets. A representation of optic flow in FEF might be useful for planning eye movements during navigation.