Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary Relationships among Virulence-Associated Histidine Kinases

ABSTRACT A strong relationship between virulence-associated sensor histidine kinases of fungi and those in Streptomyces coelicolorwas observed, and phylogenetic analysis suggested that bacterium-to-eukaryote horizontal gene transfer had occurred between ancestors of these organisms. Phylogenetic analysis also identified a group of histidine kinases orthologous to theStreptomyces proteins that includes Pseudomonas aeruginosa GacS. We provide evidence that GacS is important for swarming motility, lipase production, and virulence in mice and had evolved to have partial functional overlaps with PhoQ, a less-related virulence-associated histidine kinase.
Postcesarean Epidural Morphine: A Dose-Response Study

The purpose of this study was to describe the dose-response relationship of epidural morphine for postcesarean analgesia for quality of analgesia and relation to the side effects of pruritus, nausea, and vomiting. Sixty term parturients undergoing nonurgent cesarean delivery were enrolled and randomized to receive a single dose of epidural morphine after delivery (0,1.25, 2.5, 3.75, or 5 mg). A patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) device provided free access to additional analgesics. PCA morphine use and the incidence and severity of side effects were recorded for 24 h. Data were analyzed with analysis of variance, Student’s t-tests, and &khgr;2 analysis. Nonlinear regression was used to describe a dose-response curve. PCA use differed significantly among groups (P < 0.001); PCA use was significantly greater in Group 0 mg than Groups 2.5, 3.75, and 5 mg (P < 0.05). PCA use was also significantly greater in Group 1.25 mg than Groups 3.75 and 5 mg (P < 0.05). Pruritus scores were significantly higher in all groups given epidural morphine than the control group (0 mg) (P < 0.05), but did not differ among the treatment groups (1.25–5 mg), although pruritus scores were significantly higher in treatment groups than in the control (P < 0.05). No relation was found between epidural morphine dose and incidence or severity of nausea and vomiting. We concluded that, for optimal analgesia, augmentation of epidural morphine with systemic analgesics or other epidural medications may be necessary. Implications: Quality of analgesia increases as the dose of epidural morphine increases to at least 3.75 mg; increasing the dose further to 5 mg did not improve analgesia. Side effects were not dose related. For optimal analgesia, augmentation of epidural morphine with systemic analgesics or other epidural medications may be necessary.
Sulforaphane as a Potential Protective Phytochemical against Neurodegenerative Diseases

A wide variety of acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases, including ischemic/traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, share common characteristics such as oxidative stress, misfolded proteins, excitotoxicity, inflammation, and neuronal loss. As no drugs are available to prevent the progression of these neurological disorders, intervention strategies using phytochemicals have been proposed as an alternative form of treatment. Among phytochemicals, isothiocyanate sulforaphane, derived from the hydrolysis of the glucosinolate glucoraphanin mainly present in Brassica vegetables, has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in several in vitro and in vivo studies. In particular, evidence suggests that sulforaphane beneficial effects could be mainly ascribed to its peculiar ability to activate the Nrf2/ARE pathway. Therefore, sulforaphane appears to be a promising compound with neuroprotective properties that may play an important role in preventing neurodegeneration.
Measuring Pharmacy Performance in the Area of Medication Adherence: Addressing the Issue of Risk Adjustment

BACKGROUND: Pharmacies and pharmacists play an important role in the health care system, improving health outcomes and enhancing quality through better pharmaceutical care. Yet, little information is available to accurately evaluate pharmacy store quality and thereby encourage quality improvement at the pharmacy store level. OBJECTIVES: To (a) assess pharmacy performance in the area of medication adherence and (b) examine the impact of risk adjustment of performance scores on pharmacy rankings. METHODS: We used proportion of days covered (PDC) to compute pharmacy performance scores using the 2007 Mississippi Medicare administrative claims dataset. We calculated unadjusted and adjusted quality scores for 685 pharmacies serving 137,497 eligible Medicare beneficiaries. Risk-adjusted quality scores were computed using a hierarchical logistic regression model (Method 1) and the shrinkage estimators of the model (Method 2). Patient demographics, income subsidy status, and comorbidity burden were used as variables for risk adjustment. RESULTS: Unadjusted scores showed low levels of agreement (Cohen’s kappa less than 0.45) with risk-adjusted scores in identifying statistical outliers based on 95% CIs. Unadjusted scores also failed to identify 39%-43% of the top 20% and bottom 20% of pharmacies and displayed moderate agreement (0.4 less than kappa less than 0.5) with risk-adjusted scores. Pharmacy classifications based on risk-adjusted scores obtained from different statistical methods showed high levels of agreement (0.79 less than kappa less than 0.98). CONCLUSIONS: In the risk-adjustment methods presented here, we account for many patient characteristics previously reported to be associated with medication adherence and available in our dataset. Risk-adjusted scores produced more robust indicators of pharmacy quality than unadjusted scores. Depending on the availability of important variables in the source data, the use of risk-adjusted quality indicators may lead to better evaluation of pharmacy quality and should be considered when providing public reports on pharmacy quality.
The project of the other: developing inclusive learning communities in schools

This paper considers the possible nature and membership of learning communities in schools and what evidence there may be of middle leaders trying to develop and sustain learning communities with their colleagues, even though these communities encompass asymmetrical power relationships between members. Although it is argued that students and support staff are part of these learning communities, not apart from them, the limited evidence from this study does not support this. How power is used and distributed to construct collaborative cultures, and the part played by middle leaders, is central to the development of a learning community. The promotion of dialogue and consultation amongst members helps them to generate a sense of community which, in turn, enables them to tackle effectively the tasks and dilemmas facing them. Empirical evidence from a small scale study in England indicates the ways in which some middle leaders have tried to build learning communities, and their colleagues’ views on their efforts, while negotiating the value‐laden tensions and dilemmas inherent in all middle management posts in educational organisations.
Quality of life in schizophrenia

Skantze K, Malm U, Dencker SJ, May PRA. Quality of life in schizophrenia.The strong move from inpatient treatment to community care for chronic schizophrenic patients made it urgent to investigate their quality of life and living conditions in the community. This paper describes 61 schizophrenic outpatients' own view of their quality of life, obtained through the Quality of Life Self-Report (QLS-100). This new method includes a semistruetured interview, dealing with satisfaction and dissatisfaction as reported in the QLS-100. The self-reported quality of life is reviewed in relation to facts about the patients' standard of living, housing, sex, age, and survival time in the community. The quality of life of schizophrenic patients is also presented in comparison with a contrast group of university students. The outcome indicates that it is neither possible nor adequate to infer a person's quality of life from his standard of living, but that quality of life should be evaluated by the person himself. The ar.
Pedagogical stylistics, literary awareness and empowerment: a critical perspective

Based on the premise that stylisticians who are involved with teaching should be aware of the pedagogical orientation and reading paradigms which inform their practice, this article questions whether critical pedagogy can dialogue with stylistics as an approach to working with literary texts in the classroom. The theoretical claims are illustrated with examples from two Literary Awareness workshops in an EFL situation. The argument leads to the conclusion that irrespective of the political orientation and a rather romantic view of education, some of the ideas proposed by critical pedagogy can still contribute to the area of pedagogical stylistics in the years to come. The article concludes with a recommendation for more empirical research in the area.
Modeling fish production for southern California's petroleum platforms

California's oil platforms are nearing the end of their productive lives and therefore will be decommissioned in the near future. These structures have been shown to be important habitats for both settlement and growth for reef fishes. Important information on the biological effects (i.e., loss of biomass and production) of different decommissioning options has not yet been explored in detail. An important step in the assessment of these different decommissioning options is to look at the potential loss of fish production and habitat under the different alternatives. Using the large amount of information available on fish abundances at these structures, we have created a model to estimate the standing stock of fishes and production that would be lost because of both partial (removal from surface to 85 ft) and complete removal (the 2 decommissioning options being considered). Complete removal of a platform will likely eliminate most of its fish biomass; however, this study has shown that for rockfishes, which settle predominantly below 85 feet (26 m) and move deeper as they age, partial removal through topping would leave more than 90% of the fish biomass at the deeper platforms. Modeling of larval dispersal suggests that platforms provide an important opportunity for recruitment of fish larvae and that many larvae produced near the platforms would settle elsewhere in the region. The results presented here indicate that, even if topped, the potential contribution of platform habitat to biological resources (e.g., fish production) in this region is significant. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2015;X:000–000. ©2015 SETAC
Patterns of relationship regulation: German and French adolescents' perceptions with regard to their mothers

Following a person-centered approach, the present study focuses on inter- and intracultural similarities and differences in patterns of relationship regulation by adolescents with regard to their mothers in a sample of 153 French and 154 German adolescents. Starting from theoretical assumptions of individuation in adolescence as the process of balancing autonomy and relatedness, a classification approach was applied providing four theoretically derived clusters of relationship regulation, namely “harmonious,” “tense,” “primary,” and “secondary” relationship regulation patterns. Countries did not differ in numbers of adolescents in the “harmonious” and “tense” clusters. More patterns of “primary” relationship regulation were found between German adolescents and their mothers, whereas French families had a higher prevalence of “secondary” regulation patterns. Clusters were validated by maternal parenting (from adolescents' perspectives) and adolescents' optimism. Results on patterns of regulation are discussed in a theoretical framework of intrafamily processes of relationship regulation and implications for family functioning are addressed.
Performance and error budget of a GLAO system

Reliable prediction of the image quality delivered by a ground-layer AO (GLAO) system can be made using several methods, given the parameters of the instrument and the statistics of the turbulence profile above the observatory. Extensive data accumulated over several years at different sites indicate that GLAO can bring a significant gain in performance for classical astronomical observations, and at visible wavelengths. This gain can become spectacular on nights with calm upper atmosphere that happen infrequently but regularly at all sites studied so far. Starting from an ideal GLAO system, the influence of various instrumental errors (wave-front sensing, time delay, tilt, optics ripple, etc.) is studied, leading to the formulation of an error budget for GLAO. As the performance metrics of GLAO and classical AO are very different, we propose a new criterion for balancing error contributions.
Structure and serology of O-antigens as the basis for classification of Proteus strains

This review is devoted to structural and serological characteristics of the O-antigens (O-polysaccharides) of the lipopolysaccharides of various Proteus species, which provide the basis for classifying Proteus strains to Oserogroups. The antigenic relationships of Proteus strains within and beyond the genus as well as their O-antigenrelated bioactivities are also discussed.
Do highly concentrated gadolinium chelates improve MR brain perfusion imaging? Intraindividually controlled randomized crossover concentration comparison study of 0.5 versus 1.0 mol/L gadobutrol.

PURPOSE To assess the potential advantages of using a 1.0 mol/L versus 0.5 mol/L gadobutrol formulation for magnetic resonance (MR) brain perfusion imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-three healthy volunteers were enrolled in an intraindividually controlled, randomized crossover comparison study. Two gadobutrol formulations-0.5 and 1.0 mol/L- were randomly injected during two separate treatment periods. For intraindividual comparison of effectiveness parameters, single-section gradient-echo brain perfusion MR imaging was performed under identical conditions for both investigations. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations were performed. Differences between the two gadobutrol formulations were evaluated at analysis of covariance and tested for statistical significance (P <.05) with a t test. RESULTS Use of 1.0 mol/L gadobutrol resulted in a significantly smaller bolus width at half maximum signal intensity decrease, a smaller mean peak time, a higher contrast and contrast-to-noise ratio between gray and white matter, and significant increases in both maximum change in transverse relaxation rate (DeltaR2max) and differences in peak enhancement in gray matter among all volunteers (P <.001). In white matter, increases in DeltaR2max (P =.262) and in differences in peak enhancement (P =.262) were smaller and not significant (P =.292). Parameter map analysis revealed improved quality and superior contrast in relative regional cerebral blood flow (P =.034) and mean transit time (P <.001). The lack of difference regarding relative regional cerebral blood volume maps was consistent with the use of the same dose of each gadobutrol formulation. CONCLUSION Brain perfusion images obtained with 1.0 mol/L gadobutrol were superior to those obtained with 0.5 mol/L gadobutrol in healthy volunteers examined with the described MR imaging protocol.
"Willed action": a functional MRI study of the human prefrontal cortex during a sensorimotor task.

Functional MRI (fMRI) was used to examine human brain activity within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during a sensorimotor task that had been proposed to require selection between several responses, a cognitive concept termed "willed action" in a positron emission tomography (PET) study by Frith et al. [Frith, C. D. , Friston, K. , Liddle, P. F. & Frackowiak, R. S. J. (1991) Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. B 244, 241-246]. We repeated their sensorimotor task, in which the subject chooses to move either of two fingers after a stimulus, by fMRI experiments in a 2.1-T imaging spectrometer. Echo-planar images were acquired from four coronal slices in the prefrontal cortex from nine healthy subjects. Slices were 5 mm thick, centers separated by 7 mm, with nominal in-plane spatial resolution of 9.6 x 5.0 mm2 for mean data. Our mean results are in agreement with the PET results in that we saw similar bilateral activations. The present results are compared with our previously published fMRI study of a verbal fluency task, which had also been proposed by Frith et al. to elicit a "willed action" response. We find a clear separation of activation foci in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for the sensorimotor (Brodmann area 46) and verbal fluency (Brodmann area 45) tasks. Hence, assigning a particular activated region to "willed action" is not supported by the fMRI data when examined closely because identical regions are not activated with different modalities. Similar modality linked activations can be observed in the original PET study but the greater resolution of the fMRI data makes the modality linkages more definite.
Purity and Corruption: Chinese Communist Party Applicants and the Problem of Evil

In contemporary China, university students play a key ideological role as the future vanguard of the nation and for this reason they are intensely courted by the Chinese Communist Party. This article addresses the moral ambiguities of this courtship for students, who face the paradox that while the party centre and collectivist authoritarian ideology invariably claims moral superiority, individual party cadres are frequently exposed as morally corrupt. The evil of cadre corruption becomes the nodal point for questioning party morality, a central stake in support of collectivist authoritarian ideology as well as in its denunciation. For students, the problem of evil within the force, representing the collective good is never resolved in either false consciousness or an unmasking of ideology. Doubt instead proceeds as two incommensurable interpretations of party morality persist in suggesting themselves, and this I suggest has important implications for our understanding of political legitimacy in authoritarian states.
Is that website for me?

This study proposes and tests a moderated mediation model for website-self-congruency effects triggered by the visual designs of websites. The model specifies the conditions (i.e. when participants are not involved with the product category) in which website-self-congruency effects emerge, and identifies specific cognitive processes (i.e. generating self-referencing and self-brand connection perceptions) and affective processes (i.e. experiencing positive emotions and browsing enjoyment) that mediate the influence of website-self-congruency effects on attitudes and purchase intentions. The findings of this study support the proposed model and hypotheses, and thereby offer significant implications for research and practice.
Tracing the cosmic growth of supermassive black holes to z ∼ 3 with Herschel

We study a sample of Herschel selected galaxies within the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-South and the Cosmic Evolution Survey fields in the framework of the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) Evolutionary Probe project. Starting from the rich multiwavelength photometric data sets available in both fields, we perform a broad-band spectral energy distribution decomposition to disentangle the possible active galactic nucleus (AGN) contribution from that related to the host galaxy. We find that 37 per cent of the Herschel-selected sample shows signatures of nuclear activity at the 99 per cent confidence level. The probability of revealing AGN activity increases for bright (L_(1−1000) > 10^(11) L_⊙) star-forming galaxies at z > 0.3, becoming about 80 per cent for the brightest (L_(1−1000) > 10^(12) L_⊙) infrared (IR) galaxies at z ≥ 1. Finally, we reconstruct the AGN bolometric luminosity function and the supermassive black hole growth rate across cosmic time up to z ∼ 3 from a far-IR perspective. This work shows general agreement with most of the panchromatic estimates from the literature, with the global black hole growth peaking at z ∼ 2 and reproducing the observed local black hole mass density with consistent values of the radiative efficiency ϵ_(rad) (∼0.07).
Multi-temporal evaluation with CHRIS of coastal forests

— In 2001, ESA launched the Project for On-Board Autonomy (PROBA) small satellite as a technology demonstrator. One of the instruments on board was the Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS), which acquires imagery from 415 nm to 1050 nm. In Mode 4, CHRIS acquires 18 bands at the full spatial resolution of 18 m. CHRIS acquires 5 hyperspectral images over an angular range of 55 degrees along track. In 2004, five clear CHRIS image sets were acquired throughout the summer over the Greater Victoria Watershed District (GVWD). One image set was acquired within one day of a Hyperion acquisition. These CHRIS acquisitions were undertaken for our Evaluation and Validation of CHRIS for National Forests Project. The many new challenges of working with multi-angle and multi-temporal imagery such as orthorectification and atmospheric correction related to producing forest products are discussed in this paper. This paper reports on the analysis of the CHRIS data for creating forest data products for species recognition for sustainable forest management. Earlier experiments with airborne, 1m multi-angle data (FIFEDOM sensor from MDA) over the GVWD demonstrated that the following forest information could be obtained: individual tree location, stand density, tree height, crown size, crown shape, and gap probability.
Rapamycin potentiates the effects of paclitaxel in endometrial cancer cells through inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors modulate signaling pathways involved in cell cycle progression, and recent phase II trials demonstrate activity in patients with endometrial cancer. Our objective was to examine the effects of combination therapy with rapamycin and paclitaxel in endometrial cancer cell lines. Paclitaxel inhibited proliferation in a dose‐dependent manner in both cell lines with IC50 values of 0.1–0.5 nM and 1–5 nM for Ishikawa and ECC‐1 cells, respectively. To assess synergy of paclitaxel and rapamycin, the combination index (CI) was calculated by the method of Chou and Talalay. Simultaneous exposure of cells to various doses of paclitaxel in combination with rapamycin (1 nM) resulted in a significant synergistic anti‐proliferative effect (CI <1, range 0.131–0.920). Rapamycin alone did not induce apoptosis, but combined treatment with paclitaxel increased apoptosis over that of paclitaxel alone. Treatment with rapamycin and paclitaxel resulted in decreased phosphorylation of S6 and 4E‐BP1, two critical downstream targets of the mTOR pathway. Rapamycin decreased hTERT mRNA expression by real‐time RT‐PCR while paclitaxel alone had no effect on telomerase activity. Paclitaxel increased polymerization and acetylation of tubulin, and rapamycin appeared to enhance this effect. Thus, in conclusion, we demonstrate that rapamycin potentiates the effects of paclitaxel in endometrial cancer cells through inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis and potentially increased polymerization and acetylation of tubulin. This suggests that the combination of rapamycin and paclitaxel may be a promising effective targeted therapy for endometrial cancer.