Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The cell adhesion molecule, VCAM‐1, is selectively elevated in serum in pre‐eclampsia: does this indicate the mechanism of leucocyte activation?

surgery at the primary operation is preferable to a later staged procedure, which is often given low priority, may be more difficult, and possibly will be ignored especially in the face of recurrence. Although we consider all pelvic cancers for salvage, we have our best results with women who have an isolated central recurrence of their cervical tumour (52 % five-year survival). In conclusion, we agree with the Gateshead view that exenteration offers a reasonable prospect of survival in women with recurrent pelvic cancer but feel that early reconstruction will improve the quality of life still further.
Chain Gangs: New Aspects of Hyaluronan Metabolism

Hyaluronan is a matrix polymer prominent in tissues undergoing rapid growth, development, and repair, in embryology and during malignant progression. It reaches 107 Daltons in size but also exists in fragmented forms with size-specific actions. It has intracellular forms whose functions are less well known. Hyaluronan occurs in all vertebrate tissues with 50% present in skin. Hyaluronan provides a scaffold on which sulfated proteoglycans and matrix proteins are organized. These supramolecular structures are able to entrap water and ions to provide tissues with hydration and turgor. Hyaluronan is recognized by membrane receptors that trigger intracellular signaling pathways regulating proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Cell responses are often dependent on polymer size. Catabolic turnover occurs by hyaluronidases and by free radicals, though proportions between these have not been determined. New aspects of hyaluronan biology have recently become realized: involvement in autophagy, in the pathology of diabetes. , the ability to modulate immune responses through effects on T regulatory cells and, in its fragmented forms, by being able to engage several toll-like receptors. It is also apparent that hyaluronan synthases and hyaluronidases are regulated at many more levels than previously realized, and that the several hyaluronidases have functions in addition to their enzymatic activities.
A Latent Class Analysis of the Criterion-Related and Construct Validity of the Goldthorpe Class Schema

This paper assesses whether a class structure can be discerned using job characteristics as indicators of class positions derived from employment relations. A structure underlying the distribution of these characteristics is identified using latent class analysis. The relation between this structure and the J. Goldthorpe class schema is then modelled, allowing an assessment of the latter's criterion-related validity. Both the latent class representation of class structure and Goldthorpe schema are then used to predict a range of outcome measures - vote, earnings, work orientation, class identity, and probability of unemployment - which are expected to vary by class position and which therefore provide a basis for assessing the schema's construct validity. The analysis reveals a class structure defined in terms of groups of individuals that share similar class characteristics and provides evidence that the Goldthorpe schema displays, to a reasonable degree, both criterion-related and construct validity as a measure of this structure. The discussion elaborates on several issues raised by this analysis in particular and by the adoption of validation procedures more generally
Haplotype Profile Comparisons Between Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Populations from Mexico with Those from Puerto Rico, South America, and the United States and Their Implications to Migratory Behavior

ABSTRACT Fall armyworm [Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith)] is a major economic pest throughout the Western Hemisphere of maize, cotton, sorghum, and a variety of agricultural grasses and vegetable crops. Previous studies demonstrated extensive annual migrations occurring as far north as Canada from overwintering locations in southern Florida and Texas. In contrast, migratory behavior in the rest of the hemisphere is largely uncharacterized. Understanding the migration patterns of fall armyworm will facilitate efforts to predict the spread of pesticide resistance traits that repeatedly arise in this species and assess the consequences of changing climatic trends on the infestation range. Four independent fall armyworm colonies derived from widely separated populations in Mexico and two field collections were examined for their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene haplotypes and compared with other locations. The Mexico populations were most similar in their haplotype profile to those from Texas and South America, but also displayed some distinctive features. The data extend the haplotype distribution map in the Western Hemisphere and confirm that the previously observed regional differences in haplotype frequencies are stable over time. The Mexico collections were associated with haplotypes rarely found elsewhere, suggesting limited migratory interactions with foreign populations, including those in neighboring Texas.
Instilling Hope for Peace During Intractable Conflicts

A set of studies explored the possibility to instill hope for peace in the context of intractable conflicts. The first study examined Jewish-Israelis’ hopes for peace following a message from an out-group communicator. Results show that participants’ hopes increased after viewing a Palestinian conclude that the conflict was solvable. This held true regardless of whether the Palestinian communicator identified as a militant or a peace activist. However, Jewish-Israelis’ hopes for peace were not altered when an article, ostensibly written by conflict experts, concluded that the Palestinian–Israeli conflict was resolvable. In order to explore whether these trends are unique to group members involved in intergroup conflict, we replicated the study on uninvolved third-party participants. The article offers a comparison of belief malleability between those who experience conflict first hand and those who observe it from afar and presents strategies that may instill hope for peace in group members immersed in protracted violent conflicts.
Monitoring neonatal fungal infection with metabolomics

Abstract The objective of our study was to evaluate the capability of the metabolomics approach to identify the variations of urine metabolites over time related to the neonatal fungal septic condition. The study population included a clinical case of a preterm neonate with invasive fungal infection and 13 healthy preterm controls. This study showed a unique urine metabolic profile of the patient affected by fungal sepsis compared to urine of controls and it was also possible to evaluate the efficacy of therapy in improving patient health.
The Formation and Value of IT-Enabled Resources: Antecedents and Consequences of Synergistic Relationships

This paper informs the literature on the business value of information technology by conceptualizing a path from IT assets-that is, commodity-like or off-the-shelf information technologies-to sustainable competitive advantage. This path suggests that IT assets can play a strategic role when they are combined with organizational resources to create IT-enabled resources. To the extent that relationships between IT assets and organizational resources are synergistic, the ensuing IT-enabled resources are capable of positively affecting firms' sustainable competitive advantage via their improved strategic potential. This is an important contribution since IT-related organizational benefits have been hard to demonstrate despite attempts to study them through a variety of methods and theoretical lenses. This paper synthesizes systems theory and the resource-based view of the firm to build a unified conceptual model linking IT assets with firm-level benefits. Several propositions are derived from the model and their implications for IS research and practice are discussed.
New measurements reveal weaknesses of image quality metrics in evaluating graphics artifacts

Reliable detection of global illumination and rendering artifacts in the form of localized distortion maps is important for many graphics applications. Although many quality metrics have been developed for this task, they are often tuned for compression/transmission artifacts and have not been evaluated in the context of synthetic CG-images. In this work, we run two experiments where observers use a brush-painting interface to directly mark image regions with noticeable/objectionable distortions in the presence/absence of a high-quality reference image, respectively. The collected data shows a relatively high correlation between the with-reference and no-reference observer markings. Also, our demanding per-pixel image-quality datasets reveal weaknesses of both simple (PSNR, MSE, sCIE-Lab) and advanced (SSIM, MS-SSIM, HDR-VDP-2) quality metrics. The most problematic are excessive sensitivity to brightness and contrast changes, the calibration for near visibility-threshold distortions, lack of discrimination between plausible/implausible illumination, and poor spatial localization of distortions for multi-scale metrics. We believe that our datasets have further potential in improving existing quality metrics, but also in analyzing the saliency of rendering distortions, and investigating visual equivalence given our with- and no-reference data.
The Effect of Transformational Leadership and Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance

This study aims to determine the effect of transformational leadership and job satisfaction to employee performance. The method used in this study was 'explanatory research' with the techniques of collecting data through questionnaires. Analysis of processing the data is by using multiple regression and partial. The results showed that transformational leadership and job satisfaction influence to performance positively and significantly either partially or simultaneously. Recommendations made to management are that management can maintain and even increase the factors that can effect performance in this study.
Parental Involvement as a Moderator to the Relationship between Exposure to Violence and Academic Outcomes among Youth of African Descent

Abstract:The present study examined the moderating effect of parental involvement on the relationship between exposure to violence and academic outcomes. Seventy-four 4th and 5th graders of African descent from an urban neighborhood in the United States, completed self-report questionnaires on the variables of interest. The authors found that exposure to violence was negatively correlated to academic self-esteem, and support was established for parental involvement as a moderator between exposure to violence and academic performance. The results indicate that children of African descent who are exposed to increased community violence may have lower academic self-esteem. Furthermore, increased parental involvement in the child’s academic activities provides a buffer between exposure to violence and the child’s academic outcomes.
A ‘chemotactic dipole’ mechanism for large-scale vortex motion during primitive streak formation in the chick embryo

Primitive streak formation in the chick embryo involves significant coordinated cell movement lateral to the streak, in addition to the posterior–anterior movement of cells in the streak proper. Cells lateral to the streak are observed to undergo ‘polonaise movements’, i.e. two large counter-rotating vortices, reminiscent of eddies in a fluid. In this paper, we propose a mechanism for these movement patterns which relies on chemotactic signals emitted by a dipolar configuration of cells in the posterior region of the epiblast. The ‘chemotactic dipole’ consists of adjacent regions of cells emitting chemo-attractants and chemo-repellents. We motivate this idea using a mathematical analogy between chemotaxis and electrostatics, and test this idea using large-scale computer simulations. We implement active cell response to both neighboring mechanical interactions and chemotactic gradients using the Subcellular Element Model. Simulations show the emergence of large-scale vortices of cell movement. The length and time scales of vortex formation are in reasonable agreement with experimental data. We also provide quantitative estimates for the robustness of the chemotaxis dipole mechanism, which indicate that the mechanism has an error tolerance of about 10% to variation in chemotactic parameters, assuming that only 1% of the cell population is involved in emitting signals. This tolerance increases for larger populations of cells emitting signals.
Study of montelukast for the treatment of respiratory symptoms of post-respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis in children.

RATIONALE A pilot study (Bisgaard H; Study Group on Montelukast and Respiratory Syncytial Virus. A randomized trial of montelukast in respiratory syncytial virus postbronchiolitis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2003;167:379-383) reported the efficacy of montelukast in post-respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitic respiratory symptoms. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and safety of montelukast, 4 and 8 mg, in treating recurrent respiratory symptoms of post-RSV bronchiolitis in children in a large, multicenter study. METHODS This was a double-blind study of 3- to 24-month-old children who had been hospitalized for a first or second episode of physician-diagnosed RSV bronchiolitis and who tested positive for RSV. Patients (n = 979) were randomized to placebo or to montelukast at 4 or 8 mg/day for 4 weeks (period I) and 20 weeks (period II). The primary end point was percentage symptom-free days (%SFD; day with no daytime cough, wheeze, and shortness of breath, and no nighttime cough). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS No significant differences were seen between montelukast and placebo in %SFD over period I: mean +/- SD for placebo and for montelukast at 4 and 8 mg were 37.0 +/- 30.7, 38.6 +/- 30.4, and 38.5 +/- 29.9, respectively. Least-squares mean differences (95% confidence interval) between montelukast (4 mg) and placebo and between montelukast (8 mg) and placebo were 1.9% (-2.9, 6.7) and 1.6% (-3.2, 6.5), respectively. Secondary end points were similar across treatments. Both doses were generally well tolerated. During the first two treatment weeks, average %SFD was approximately 29%. In post hoc analyses of patients (n = 523) with persistent symptoms (%SFD < or = 30% over Weeks 1-2), differences in %SFD were seen between montelukast and placebo over Weeks 3-24: difference were 5.7 (0.0, 11.3) for montelukast (4 mg) minus placebo and 5.9 (0.1, 11.7) for montelukast (8 mg) minus placebo. CONCLUSIONS In this study, montelukast did not improve respiratory symptoms of post-RSV bronchiolitis in children.
Heuristics as Effort Reduction Mechanisms in Management Accounting – Some Evidence on Process Characteristics and Pre-Conditions

The objective of this paper is to provide a fresh look at use of heuristics in management accounting from a process-oriented perspective. In experimental study 1 participants facing an accounting decision mostly ignored advice to decide rationally (e.g. in the sense of strictly following the instructions of the equal weights rule) and instead used heuristics in an ostensibly rational decision task. A detailed process analysis of these heuristics is provided through a verbal protocol analysis in study 2, which showed the typically involved phased strategy. Accountability, as introduced in study 3, is however one external factor that is strongly linked with the use of available cues and departing from (at least reported) non-compensatory rules. Overall, it is suggested that participants facing a management accounting task may not always act according to the laws of (economic) rationality, but under certain circumstances, their decision making can be seen as an adaptive strategy to cope with a complex and uncertain environment. A theoretical framework of this sort of heuristic reasoning in management accounting is suggested, together with possibilities of future research.
Antecedents of Cross-Cultural Adaptation Stress in Short-Term International Assignments

ABSTRACT This study examines the role of cultural intelligence, perceived language fluency, and number of previous international experiences during a short-term international community service project in a foreign country. Based on a sample of 171 undergraduate and graduate students, the findings suggest that motivational cultural intelligence significantly impacted lowering cross-cultural adaptation stress levels experiences during short-term trips, while perceived language ability significantly increased stress levels. In addition, the control variables of age and gender were also found to significantly impact stress levels. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Productive disciplinary engagement within didactical transactions

This paper relates to students’ productive disciplinary engagement (PDE) within the teaching of gymnastics in Tunisia. Students’ engagement is investigated from the pragmatist and social-interactionist perspective of the didactic joint action framework in conjunction with productive disciplinary engagement. Data were collected through ethnographic observations using video recordings and teacher interviews during a 12th grade gymnastics unit conducted by a female teacher in a senior high school. Analyses of students’ actions were carried out during significant episodes when they worked without the direct presence of the teacher. The study draws attention to how breaches of the didactic contract initiated by students promote knowledge content development and how students contribute to the situated didactic process. The analyses of students’ contrasted cases (two high-skilled, two low-skilled students) highlight how students actively participate in shaping their learning. The discussion points out some generic patterns that keep students engaged in a PDE. The paper is concluded with a consideration of the utility of the two theoretical frameworks for understanding student learning in physical education lessons.
Probing the character of norms : A factorial survey analysis of the norms of political action

The purpose of this paper is twofold : first, to contribute to the methodology for measuring norms; and second, to measure the norms of political action among a sample of respondents in Leipzig, in the former East Germany, in 1993. They highlight four aspects of norms : (1) polarity, whether a norm is prescriptive, proscriptive, or bipolar; (2) conditionality, whether a norm holds under all circumstances; (3) intensity, the degree to which individuals subscribe to the norm; and (4) consensus, the extent to which members of a a society share a norm. They show how the factorial survey pioneered by P. H. Rossi enables development of procedures for measuring these four aspects of norms, and they carry out for the first time a factorial survey analysis of the norms of political action. The results indicate that prescriptive, proscriptive, and bipolar norms coexist, as do individuals subscribing to unconditional norms, conditional norms, and no norms at all. While over two-thirds of the measured norms are bipolar, a strong minority (almost 23 percent) are prescriptive; proscriptive norms, though less numerous than prescriptive norms, are stronger than prescriptive norms. Finally, individuals disagree on the content of norms
Leukocyte extravasation into the pancreatic tissue in transgenic mice expressing interleukin 10 in the islets of Langerhans

Transgenic expression of interleukin 10 (IL-10) in the islets of Langerhans leads to a pronounced pancreatic inflammation, without inflammation of the islets of Langerhans and without diabetes. A scattered infiltration of macrophages (M pi) precedes localized accumulations of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and M pi. This recruitment of inflammatory cells to the pancreas is somewhat surprising, since the biological activities of IL-10 in vitro indicate that IL-10 is a powerful immunosuppressive cytokine. Since endothelial cells play a major role in leukocyte extravasation, we examined if vascular changes and extralymphoid induction of peripheral and mucosal type vascular addressins contributed to IL-10-induced homing of mononuclear cells to the pancreas. The endothelium lining small vessels was highly activated in areas of inflammation, as the endothelial cells became cuboidal, and exhibited increased expression of major histocompatibility complex class II (Ia), intercellular adhesion molecule 1, and von Willebrand Factor. Furthermore, induction of vascular addressins simultaneously with accumulation of mononuclear cells around islets and vessels indicated that the endothelial cells take on the phenotype of differentiated endothelium specialized for leukocyte extravasation. In conclusion, pancreatic inflammation and vascular changes are prominent in IL-10 transgenic mice. We hypothesize that IL-10, in addition to its immuno-inhibitory properties, is a potent recruitment signal for leukocyte migration in vivo. These effects are relevant for in vivo therapeutic applications of IL-10.
Relational Health in Transitions: Female Adolescents in Chemical Dependency Treatment

ABSTRACT Background: Adolescent substance use (SU) remains a serious problem. Inpatient, primary care, and self-treatment models for chemical dependency (CD) yield varying degrees of success impacting the sequelae of chronic or episodic SU. Relational engagement among adolescent substance users is a long known influential factor in the development, maintenance and transformation of addictive behaviors. Objectives: Following tenets of Relational-Cultural Theory and using the Relational Health Indices for Youth (RHI-Y), a validated survey tool for adolescents, we sought to measure relational health (RH) during times of transitions during CD treatment. This article addresses use of the tool and its potential for improving addictions research and practice. Methods: During 2015–2017 we explored differences in RH scores in adolescent girls entering inpatient CD treatment at three points: 51 at admission, 39 at discharge, and 13 at 3 months post-discharge. Data were analyzed using a generalized linear mixed model to compare changes in domain scores of RH. Results: Changes in RH scores were significant in the friend domain, but not the mentor and community domains. The RHI-Y shows promise in discerning RH change during transitions in CD treatment.
Conjugation of Uridine with Oleanolic Acid Derivatives as Potential Antitumor Agents

According to fused two bioactive moieties together by bonds covalently and available as a new single hybrid entity known as pharmacophore hybridization, a total of 10 targeted uridine–oleanolic acid hybrids were synthesized. Most of these hybrids showed excellent proliferation inhibition against tested Hep‐G2, A549, BGC‐823, MCF‐7, and PC‐3 tumor cell lines (IC50 < 8 μm), even with some IC50 values under 0.1 μm. The detection of cytotoxicity selectivity revealed that hybrids 5 and 18 exhibited low cytotoxicity toward normal human liver cell HL‐7702. Further studies revealed that selected hybrid 5 could induce apoptosis in Hep‐G2 cells through the investigation of acridine orange/ethidium bromide, Hoechst 33258 fluorescence stainings, and annexin V/propidium iodide assay. It was also found that hybrid 5 could induce mitochondrial membrane potential disruption, arrest Hep‐G2 cell line at G1 phase, and activate effector caspase‐3/9 to trigger cell apoptosis.