Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences Evaluation of Antioxidant and Cytoprotective Activities of Artemisia Ciniformis Extracts on Pc12 Cells

Original article Objective(s): In the current study antioxidant capacities of five different extracts of Artemisia ciniformis aerial parts were evaluated by cell-free methods. Then seven fractions of the potent extract were selected and their antioxidant capacity was assayed by cell free and cell based methods. Materials and Methods: Antioxidant ability was measured using the: 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test, β-carotene bleaching (BCB) method and ferrous ion chelating (FIC) assay. Total phenolic contents (TPC) of all the samples also were determined. The cytoprotective effect of fractions was evaluated by measuring the viability of cells after exposure to doxorubicin (DOX). The mechanism of action was studied by investigating caspase-3, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), the level of super-oxide dismutase (SOD) and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Results: Hydroethanolic extract exhibited a notably higher antioxidant activity and phenolic content. Among the fractions (A to G) of hydroethanolic extract, the highest antioxidant capacity was observed in the Fraction E. Moreover, 24 hr pretreatment of PC12 cells with fractions B, C and D decreased DOX-induced cytotoxicity. In addition, pre-treatment of cells with fraction B resulted in significant decrease in generation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increase in the activity of SOD. We were able to demonstrate remarkable reduction in the activity of caspase-3 and increase in MMP in PC12 cells following pretreatment with fraction B. Conclusion: Our observations indicated that the fraction B of A. ciniformis hydroetanolic extract possessed protective effect on oxidative stress and apoptosis induced by DOX in PC12 cells.
We're Cool, Mom and Dad Are Swell: Basic Slang and Generational Shifts in Values

�� Not all slang terms are created equal. Though slang is commonly described as serving a variety of social and psychological functions, it is not generally noted that these different functions imply the existence of different categories of slang. This paper outlines one particular kind of slang, what I call basic slang, and identifies the functions that shape its use and longevity. To illustrate the significance of basic slang and the semantic structure that underlies it, I present here an extensive social and historical discussion of the basic slang terms swell and cool with attention to their uses in American speech from the 1910s to the present. Briefly, a basic slang lexeme is a slang expression that emerges when a young generation or cohort takes on a set of values starkly opposed to the values of its elders and begins to use a positive slang expression that is semantically linked to its new value orientation. It differs from most slang in that it typically endures for one or more generations, is used pervasively, and is applied to a wide array of referents as a general term of approval. The basic slang terms discussed here, swell and cool, can in many contexts be loosely glossed as meaning ‘good’. But in addition to this broad applicability, both swell and cool have core referents, namely, the values adhered to by the young generation that distinguish them from their elders. These basic slang terms are subtypes of what Flexner (1975) calls a counterword, an expression whose meaning has expanded to a broader and more general applicability than that of the term’s original referent. It is the special semantic structure of counterwords that makes them particularly appropriate as basic slang terms and helps account for their unique qualities: that is, their endurance over long periods not merely in occasional use, but as pervasively used slang expressions whose main functions are (1) to express approval and (2) to align the speaker with an attitude or set of values characterizing his or her generation. The slang terms cool and swell and the attitudes that comprise their core meanings allow their users to employ them tirelessly for decades and not “wear them out,” because those who use them in their heyday never tire of identifying themselves with the values they represented. Counterwords that serve as
Vaccinia Virus Protein C6 Is a Virulence Factor that Binds TBK-1 Adaptor Proteins and Inhibits Activation of IRF3 and IRF7

Recognition of viruses by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) causes interferon-β (IFN-β) induction, a key event in the anti-viral innate immune response, and also a target of viral immune evasion. Here the vaccinia virus (VACV) protein C6 is identified as an inhibitor of PRR-induced IFN-β expression by a functional screen of select VACV open reading frames expressed individually in mammalian cells. C6 is a member of a family of Bcl-2-like poxvirus proteins, many of which have been shown to inhibit innate immune signalling pathways. PRRs activate both NF-κB and IFN regulatory factors (IRFs) to activate the IFN-β promoter induction. Data presented here show that C6 inhibits IRF3 activation and translocation into the nucleus, but does not inhibit NF-κB activation. C6 inhibits IRF3 and IRF7 activation downstream of the kinases TANK binding kinase 1 (TBK1) and IκB kinase-ε (IKKε), which phosphorylate and activate these IRFs. However, C6 does not inhibit TBK1- and IKKε-independent IRF7 activation or the induction of promoters by constitutively active forms of IRF3 or IRF7, indicating that C6 acts at the level of the TBK1/IKKε complex. Consistent with this notion, C6 immunoprecipitated with the TBK1 complex scaffold proteins TANK, SINTBAD and NAP1. C6 is expressed early during infection and is present in both nucleus and cytoplasm. Mutant viruses in which the C6L gene is deleted, or mutated so that the C6 protein is not expressed, replicated normally in cell culture but were attenuated in two in vivo models of infection compared to wild type and revertant controls. Thus C6 contributes to VACV virulence and might do so via the inhibition of PRR-induced activation of IRF3 and IRF7.
Compressional characteristics of four starches

Compression data about barley, corn, potato and wheat starches were obtained by two methods: the ejected tablet method and the tablet‐in‐die‐method. These data were analysed using the Heckel and the Cooper‐Eaton equations. The Heckel equation appeared to be the more sensitive in distinguishing the various stages during the compression. Die filling and rearrangement processes for the starches were especially dependent on particle size and shape and thus on contact area between particles. Densification of large starch particles (potato starch) owed more to die filling and less to rearrangement. Densification of small particles (corn starch) was the reverse. Starch having a wide particle size distribution (wheat) or an irregular particle shape (barley) underwent a relatively small amount of densification as a result of die filling and a relatively great amount of densification because of rearrangement of particles during tableting. The tendency of the starches to total and pure plastic deformation was dependent on particle size, size distribution and particle shape. Corn starch was the most prone to plastic flow with only little elastic recovery. Potato starch also flowed plastically with ease. Barley and wheat starches were the more elastic.
A Dual Role for Corneal Dendritic Cells in Herpes Simplex Keratitis: Local Suppression of Corneal Damage and Promotion of Systemic Viral Dissemination

The cornea is the shield to the foreign world and thus, a primary site for peripheral infections. However, transparency and vision are incompatible with inflammation and scarring that may result from infections. Thus, the cornea is required to perform a delicate balance between fighting infections and preserving vision. To date, little is known about the specific role of antigen-presenting cells in viral keratitis. In this study, utilizing an established murine model of primary acute herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 keratitis, we demonstrate that primary HSV keratitis results in increased conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) and macrophages within 24 hours after infection. Local depletion of cDCs in CD11c-DTR mice by subconjuntival diphtheria toxin injections, led to increased viral proliferation, and influx of inflammatory cells, resulting in increased scarring and clinical keratitis. In addition, while HSV infection resulted in significant corneal nerve destruction, local depletion of cDCs resulted in a much more severe loss of corneal nerves. Further, local cDC depletion resulted in decreased corneal nerve infection, and subsequently decreased and delayed systemic viral transmission in the trigeminal ganglion and draining lymph node, resulting in decreased mortality of mice. In contrast, sham depletion or depletion of macrophages through local injection of clodronate liposomes had neither a significant impact on the cornea, nor an effect on systemic viral transmission. In conclusion, we demonstrate that corneal cDCs may play a primary role in local corneal defense during viral keratitis and preserve vision, at the cost of inducing systemic viral dissemination, leading to increased mortality.
Monetary policy regimes with hybrid output gaps and inflation rates with an application to EU-accession countries

This paper studies implications of alternative monetary policy regimes as discretionary and commitment policy rules for (relatively) closed and small open economies. For each of these two economy types a model with possible frictions in nominal prices (and wages) is constructed. Such a model is suited for the study of effects of monetary policy rules on inflation rates and output gaps and allows for forwardand backward-looking behavior when determining inflation and output dynamics. We consider each of the EU-accession CEECs as a small open economy being largely dependent on external shocks and evaluate the empirical size of forwardand backward-looking expectations in these countries. Moreover, we verify whether output gaps and deviations of marginal costs from their equilibrium are good approximations of each other in estimates of hybrid versions of the New Keynesian Phillips curve. ∗We are grateful to conference participants at the AEA Conference in Washington in January 2003 and the International CESifo ’Area Conference on Macro, Money and International finance’ in Munich in February 2003. We would like to thank Jim Malley, University of Glasgow, and Eric Mayer, Universitat Wurzburg, for providing very valuable comments on a previous version of the paper. Giovanni Di Bartolomeo acknowledges the financial support from the University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’ (MURST 2000) and the University of Antwerp (Special Research Fund) and Bas van Aarle acknowledges the financial support from the FWO (Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Vlaanderen). †Corresponding author, Faculty of Applied Economics UFSIA-RUCA, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, B2000 Antwerp; Phone: +32 (0)3 220 4149, Fax: +32 (0)3 220 4585, Email: joseph.plasmans@ua.ac. be.
Using a web-based repository to integrate testing tools into programming courses

Improving the quality of software developed in the 21st century is one of the major challenges in the software industry. Addressing this problem will require that academic institutions play a key role in training developers to produce high quality software. Unfortunately, students and instructors continue to be frustrated by the lack of support provided when selecting appropriate testing tools and program analyzers to verify programs under development. In this paper we present an approach that integrates the use of software testing tools into programming and software engineering courses. The approach consists of three phases, developing an online repository with learning resources, training instructors in the area of testing techniques and tools, and integrating the use of testing tools into various programming courses. We also present the results of the first instructors' workshop and studies on integrating testing tools into two courses, CS2 and Software Engineering (SE).
Neurodevelopmental Outcome of Infants with Viral Meningitis in the First Three Months of Life

We prospectively evaluated the neurodevelopmental outcome of infants with documented viral meningitis to determine (1) whether deficits in physical growth, development, speech and language, hearing, or intelligence occur; and (2) if so, at what age these deficits can be detected. Sixteen infants with documented enteroviral meningitis under the age of 90 days and a control group of 13 patients matched for age, race, sex, and socioeconomic status were followed up prospectively for 3 years with annual evaluations, which included a developmental evaluation by a pediatric developmentalist, articulation and language tests by a speech-language pathologist (Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development, Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language Scale (REEL), Preschool Language Scale (PLS), Revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-R), Photo Articulation Test, audiometric screening), and intelligence tests by a psychometrist (Bayley Scales of Infant Development [BSID] and Stanford-Binet). No deficits were demonstrated in growth, development, hearing, BSID, articulation, and expressive language. Subtle but significant (P<0.05) deficits were documented in the study group compared with the control group in the receptive component of the REEL, all subsections of the PLS, the PPVT-R, and the verbal comprehension/ language-processing section (Factor II) of the Stanford-Binet. These differences could be reliably detected by 3 years of age. We conclude that viral meningitis in young infants may cause subtle deficits in language skills, particularly receptive language. We recommend that children who have had enteroviral meningitis during early infancy be monitored carefully for language development and, perhaps, receive increased language stimulation in the home prior to school entry in order to optimize their learning potential.
Informal and formal reconciliation strategies of older peoples' working carers: the European carers@work project

Faced with a historically unprecedented process of demographic ageing, many European societies implemented pension reforms in recent years to extend working lives. Although aimed at rebalancing public pension systems, this approach has the unintended side effect that it also extends the number of years in which working carers have to juggle the conflicting demands of employment and caregiving. This not only impinges on working carers’ well-being and ability to continue providing care but also affects European enterprises’ capacity to generate growth which increasingly relies on ageing workforces. The focus of this paper will thus be a cross-national comparison of individual reconciliation strategies and workplace-related company policies aimed at enabling working carers to reconcile both conflicting roles in four different European welfare states: Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
The Influence of Catalysis on Mad2 Activation Dynamics

Mad2 is a key component of the spindle assembly checkpoint, a safety device ensuring faithful sister chromatid separation in mitosis. The target of Mad2 is Cdc20, an activator of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C). Mad2 binding to Cdc20 is a complex reaction that entails the conformational conversion of Mad2 from an open (O-Mad2) to a closed (C-Mad2) conformer. Previously, it has been hypothesized that the conversion of O-Mad2 is accelerated by its conformational dimerization with C-Mad2. This hypothesis, known as the Mad2-template hypothesis, is based on the unproven assumption that the natural conversion of O-Mad2 required to bind Cdc20 is slow. Here, we provide evidence for this fundamental assumption and demonstrate that conformational dimerization of Mad2 accelerates the rate of Mad2 binding to Cdc20. On the basis of our measurements, we developed a set of rate equations that deliver excellent predictions of experimental binding curves under a variety of different conditions. Our results strongly suggest that the interaction of Mad2 with Cdc20 is rate limiting for activation of the spindle checkpoint. Conformational dimerization of Mad2 is essential to accelerate Cdc20 binding, but it does not modify the equilibrium of the Mad2:Cdc20 interaction, i.e., it is purely catalytic. These results surpass previously formulated objections to the Mad2-template model and predict that the release of Mad2 from Cdc20 is an energy-driven process.
Perceived managerial and leadership effectiveness within Mexican and British public sector hospitals: A cross‐nation comparative analysis

Stephen M. Shortell, dean of the School of Public Health, distinguished professor of health policy and management, and professor of organization behavior in the Haas School of Business, University of California-Berkeley, has argued that evidence-based management needs to be married with evidence-based medicine if sustainable improvement in the delivery, quality, cost, and outcomes of care are to be achieved. And this, he suggests, calls for an effective partnership between academics and practitioners to ensure that relevant practice-grounded research is correctly translated for practicing healthcare managers to use in their day-to-day activities (Grazier, 2004). His call is particularly urgent due to the dearth of best evidence to support evidence-based management in the field of medicine and healthcare.
Aggressive behavior in response to violence exposure: is it adaptive for middle-school children?†

The role of aggression in adaptation to family and community violence was examined in a sample of 667 inner-city schoolchildren studied annually over three years in middle school. Regression analyses indicated that the association between Year 1 exposure to family and community violence and Year 2 aggression was mediated by aggression occurring contemporaneously with Year 1 exposure. Cognitive justification of aggression and friends' delinquency made small independent contributions to prediction of Year 2 aggression, delinquency, and externalizing behaviors. Year 2 aggression mediated the association between Year 1 community violence victimization and Year 3 negative adaptation (internalizing problems, anxiety, and depression). Year 2 aggression also mediated the negative association between Year 1 witnessing community violence and Year 3 positive adaptation (self-esteem). Cognitive justification of aggression and friends' delinquency made independent contributions to Year 3 negative adaptation. The pattern of relations among variables infrequently varied by gender. Implications for intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
Balance, literacy acceleration, and responsive teaching in a summer school literacy program for elementary school struggling readers

Abstract The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of a balanced, accelerated, and responsive literacy program on the reading growth of elementary school struggling readers. The participants in this study were 10 second‐grade children identified as underachieving in reading who were enrolled in an elementary school summer program. This study was conducted as a formative experiment, an emerging research design in which quantitative and qualitative data are collected and analyzed in relation to an established pedagogical goal. An analysis of the data revealed that students grew in their word identification abilities, fluency, strategic comprehension abilities, perceptions of themselves as readers, attitudes toward reading, and instructional reading levels. The importance of educators implementing self‐constructed balanced literacy programs was discussed. The accelerated progress of students was detailed, and the importance of implementing responsive reading programs was considered. Implications for future reading research and instruction were provided.
Preparing Special Education Administrators for Inclusion in Diverse, Standards-Based Contexts: Beyond the Council for Exceptional Children and the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium

Special education administrators must be prepared for their leadership roles in inclusive, culturally diverse, standards-based school settings. These challenges create the need for new skills, required for effective special education leaders in the 21st century. In this article, the authors examine the standards used to prepare special education administrators, and they offer new insights into the knowledge and skills needed to facilitate the inclusion of diverse students with disabilities in standards-based classrooms.
Osmotic properties of pea internodes in relation to growth and auxin action.

The water transport properties of etiolated pea (Pisum sativum L.) internodes were studied using both dynamic and steady-state methods to determine (a) whether water transport through the growing tissue limits the rate of cell enlargement, and (b) whether auxin stimulates growth in part by increasing the hydraulic conductance of the growing tissue.Measurements using the pressure probe technique showed that the hydraulic conductivity of cortical cell membranes was the same for both slowly growing and auxin-induced rapidly growing cells (membrane hydraulic conductivity, about 1.5 x 10(-5) centimeters per second per bar). In a second technique which measured the rate of water movement through the entire pea internode, the half-time for radial water flow was about 60 seconds and was not altered by auxin application. These results indicate that auxin does not alter the hydraulic conductance of pea stem tissue, either at the cellular or the whole tissue level.Measurements of the turgor pressure of cortical cells, combined with osmotic pressure measurements of expressed cell sap, show that the water potential of growing pea stems was about -3 bars. When the growth rate was altered by various treatments, including decapitation, auxin application, cold temperature, and KCN treatment, the water potential was independent of the growth rate of the stem. We attribute the depression of the water potential in young pea stems to the presence of solutes in the cell wall free space of the tissue. This interpretation is supported by the results of infiltration and perfusion experiments.From the results of these dynamic and steady-state experiments, we conclude that the internal gradient in water potential (from the xylem to the epidermis) needed to sustain cell enlargement is small (no greater than 0.5 bar). Thus, the hydraulic conductance of the tissue is sufficiently large that it does not control or limit the rate of cell enlargement.
The content of imagery use in youth sport

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the content of young athletes’ imagery use. The participants were 7–8 (n = 24), 9–10 (n = 30), 11–12 (n = 35), and 13–14 (n = 21) year‐old male and female athletes competing in both team and individual sports. Sixteen focus groups, two for each age category and gender, were used as the method of data collection. Each focus group consisted of 6–8 participants grouped by gender and age and was structured to assess what they image in sport. Emerging from the focus groups were five content categories of imagery including imagery sessions, the effectiveness of imagery, the nature of imagery, the surroundings, and the type of imagery. These categories support previous imagery research conducted with adult athletes (Munroe, Giacobbi, Hall, & Weinberg, 2000). Imagery with respect to age and gender are discussed.