Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Combined liver‐kidney transplantation for children with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD): indication and outcome

In ARPKD, mutations in the PKHD1 gene lead to remodeling of the kidneys and liver. These may result in progressive liver fibrosis with portal hypertension requiring combined liver and kidney transplantation (CLKT). There is currently no consensus on the indication for CLKT and data on long‐term outcomes are scarce. We analyzed in detail the pretransplant liver symptomatology, laboratory and ultrasound data, histological studies, and genotypes in eight patients undergoing CLKT. The median age was 10.1 years (range 1.7–16) and median follow‐up was 4.6 years (range 1.1–8.9). All patients had clinical signs of portal hypertension and abnormal ultrasound findings. Congenital hepatic fibrosis was present in all pretransplant biopsies (6 out of 8 patients) and in all explanted livers. All patients survived; liver and kidney graft survival was 72% and 88%, respectively. Liver and kidney function were stable in all patients with a median eGFR of 70 ml/min/1.73 m² (range 45–108 ml/min/1.73 m²). Height‐SDS improved significantly after 12, 24, and 36 months (P = 0.016, 0.022 and 0.018 respectively). The indication for CLKT remains challenging and controversial. A favorable outcome for patients with ARPKD can be achieved by using the degree of portal hypertension, longitudinal ultrasound examinations, and preoperative liver histology as parameters for CLKT.
The Fairness of Formal Budgetary Procedures and Their Enactment

Regression analysis of questionnaire data from 149 managers across 96 predominately manufacturing firms supported an interaction between fairness perceptions of formal budgetary procedures and their enactment by supervisors. Specifically, formal budgetary procedures justice was significantly (p <. 05) related to job performance (positively), helping behavior (positively), and propensity to create budgetary slack (negatively) when budgetary procedures enactment justice was high, but not when it was low. The results suggest that managers exhibit particularly positive organizational behavior when they view both the formal budgetary procedures and the supervisory enactment of these procedures as fair.
School climate and psychosomatic health: a multilevel analysis

This study examined the importance of aspects of the school climate for adolescents' psychosomatic health using multilevel modelling. Analyses were based on 18,571 ninth-grade students distributed over 1,026 classes and 284 schools in the greater Stockholm area in 2004 and 2006. Both individual- and contextual-level associations between aspects of the school climate and student health were explored. While most of the aspects of the school climate under study were related to health at the individual level, only 2 of them seemed to convey an additional contextual effect reaching beyond the students who were directly affected. Thus, better health was found in classes where many students reported getting immediate teacher help with their schoolwork, and worse health was found in classes where harassment was more commonly reported. These findings remained when a number of school-contextual characteristics were adjusted for.
Origin of colossal magnetoresistance in LaMnO3 manganite

Significance Magnetoresistance is the change of resistance in the presence of an external magnetic field. In rare-earth manganite compounds, this change is orders of magnitude stronger than usual and it is promising for developing new spintronic and electronic devices. The colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) effect has been observed only in chemically doped manganite compounds. We report the realization of CMR in a compressed single-valent LaMnO3 manganite compound. Pressure generates an inhomogeneous phase constituted by two components: a nonconductive one with a unique structural distortion and a metallic one without distortion. The CMR takes place when the competition between the two phases is at a maximum. We identify phase separation as the driving force for generating CMR in LaMnO3. Phase separation is a crucial ingredient of the physics of manganites; however, the role of mixed phases in the development of the colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) phenomenon still needs to be clarified. We report the realization of CMR in a single-valent LaMnO3 manganite. We found that the insulator-to-metal transition at 32 GPa is well described using the percolation theory. Pressure induces phase separation, and the CMR takes place at the percolation threshold. A large memory effect is observed together with the CMR, suggesting the presence of magnetic clusters. The phase separation scenario is well reproduced, solving a model Hamiltonian. Our results demonstrate in a clean way that phase separation is at the origin of CMR in LaMnO3.
Regulating impressions of others to affirm images of the self

People tailor their judgments of others to affirm images they possess of themselves. If this assertion is correct, people with favorable self-views should judge others in ways that aggrandize their own skills, but those with unfavorable self-views should not. We conducted an experiment in which participants with positive or negative views of their social skills took a test that purportedly measured those skills, achieving either a high or low score in the process. They then judged the social skills of a person who had achieved a moderately high score and one who had achieved a moderately low score. Positive self-view participants showed evidence of self-aggrandizement. Positive self-view participants who posted low performances themselves rated both targets as high, thus protecting their favorable images of self. Positive self-view participants who achieved high scores themselves extolled the skills of the high-performing target but denigrated the skills of the low-performing one, thus heightening the uni.
ANTLIA B: A FAINT DWARF GALAXY MEMBER OF THE NGC 3109 ASSOCIATION

We report the discovery of Antlia B, a faint dwarf galaxy at a projected distance of ∼72 kpc from NGC 3109 ( M V ∼ − 15 mag ? > ), the primary galaxy of the NGC 3109 dwarf association at the edge of the Local Group. The tip of the red giant branch distance to Antlia B is D = 1.29 ± 0.10 Mpc, which is consistent with the distance to NGC 3109. A qualitative analysis indicates the new dwarf's stellar population has both an old, metal-poor red giant branch ( ≳ 10 Gyr , ? > [Fe/H] ∼ −2), and a younger blue population with an age of ∼200–400 Myr, analogous to the original Antlia dwarf, another likely satellite of NGC 3109. Antlia B has H i gas at a velocity of v helio , H I ? > = 376 km s−1, confirming the association with NGC 3109 (vhelio = 403 km s−1). The H i gas mass (MH i = 2.8 ± 0.2 × 105 M ⊙ ? > ), stellar luminosity (MV = −9.7 ± 0.6 mag) and half light radius (rh = 273 ± 29 pc) are all consistent with the properties of dwarf irregular and dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Volume, and is most similar to the Leo P dwarf galaxy. The discovery of Antlia B is the initial result from a Dark Energy Camera survey for halo substructure and faint dwarf companions to NGC 3109 with the goal of comparing observed substructure with expectations from the Λ+Cold Dark Matter model in the sub-Milky Way regime.
The molecular biology of bovine immunodeficiency virus: a comparison with other lentiviruses

Abstract Bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) was first isolated in 1969 from a cow, R-29, with a wasting syndrome. The virus isolated induced the formation of syncytia in cell cultures and was structurally similar to maedi-visna virus. Twenty years later, it was demonstrated that the bovine R-29 isolate was indeed a lentivirus with striking similarity to the human immunodeficiency virus. Like other lentiviruses, BIV has a complex genomic structure characterized by the presence of several regulatory/accessory genes that encode proteins, some of which are involved in the regulation of virus gene expression. This manuscript aims to review biological and, more particularly, molecular aspects of BIV, with emphasis on regulatory/accessory viral genes/proteins, in comparison with those of other lentiviruses.
A Bourdieusian perspective on becoming and being a postgraduate supervisor: the role of capital

The objective of this paper is to map the role of capital in the process of learning to become a postgraduate supervisor. Economic, technological and geopolitical changes in higher education call into question previous assumptions about supervision. Supervision is no longer primarily seen as an intellectual and social enterprise but is increasingly seen as professional work, where one's capital (or lack of) shapes the process of being and becoming a supervisor. It is frequently assumed that the students are the only ones learning in a supervisory relationship. Novice supervisors are, however, often left to their own devices to discover or learn the inherent rules, epistemologies and ontologies in becoming and being supervisors through a process of compromise and negotiation. In this article, we specifically focus on the need for novice supervisors to understand and navigate the field, and plot their career trajectories, as a constant exchange of different aspects of capital. This article is conceptual, rather than empirical. We suggest that it may be helpful to understand the field of supervision in a Bourdieusian sense, with specific reference to the role of (academic) capital in the formative processes of becoming and being a supervisor. We discuss social capital, gender and race, age, values, beliefs and experiences, as well as linguistic abilities, as factors influencing the individual habitus of the supervisor in relation to the doxa of the field.
Alcohol-Related Cancers in Mediterranean Countries

In most countries bordering the Mediterranean, alcohol ranks second to tobacco as a risk factor for cancer. It is directly implicated in cancer of the mouth, larynx, hypopharynx and esophagus. For all these cancers a dose-response relationship has been demonstrated as well as a combination with the effect of tobacco, the two effects being multiplicative. Alcohol is also responsible for liver cancer developing on alcoholic cirrhosis. In addition, it has been suggested that alcohol consumption may be related to an increased risk of breast cancer.
Characterization of Cellular Responses Involved in Reparative Dentinogenesis in Rat Molars

During primary dentin formation, differentiating primary odontoblasts secrete an organic matrix, consisting principally of type I collagen and non-collagenous proteins, that is capable of mineralizing at its distal front. In contrast to ameloblasts that form enamel and undergo programed cell death, primary odontoblasts remain metabolically active in a functional tooth. When dentin is exposed to caries or by operative procedures, and when exposed dentinal tubules are treated with therapeutic dental materials, the original population of odontoblasts is often injured and destroyed. The characteristics of the replacement pool of cells that form reparative dentin and the biologic mechanisms that modulate the formation of this matrix are poorly understood. Based on the hypothesis that events governing primary dentinogenesis are reiterated during dentin repair, the present study was designed to test whether cells that form reparative dentin are odontoblast-like. Cervical cavities were prepared in rat first molars to generate reparative dentin, and animals were killed at various time intervals. In situ hybridization with gene-specific riboprobes for collagen types I and III was used to study de novo synthesis by cells at the injured dentin-pulp interface. Polyclonal antibodies raised against dentin sialoprotein (DSP), a dentin-specific protein that marks the odontoblast phenotype, were used in immunohistochemical experiments. Data from our temporal and spatial analyses indicated that cells forming reparative dentin synthesize type I but not type III collagen and are immunopositive for DSP. Our results suggest that cells that form reparative dentin are odontoblast-like.
Feasibility of a social networking site to promote physical activity in adults

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of a social networking website on promoting physical activity in an ethnically diverse group of adults. Participants were recruited from English classes at an urban adult education center. Initial measurements included height, weight, and a study-specific survey about exercise and social media use. Participants were invited to join a social networking website as part of an 8-week intervention to promote physical activity. Feasibility of the intervention was determined by analysis of the website use and post-intervention focus groups. Eighteen individuals completed baseline testing and were invited to join the social networking group (4 males, 14 females, 35 ± 13 years of age, mean ± standard deviation). Only six study participants (all women) joined the social networking group. Website visits significantly decreased from the first month to the second month, but participants spent significantly more time per visit during the second compared to the first month. Participants found the website easy to use and informative. Barriers to joining the networking group included time and internet access. Although a social networking site may be utilized to promote healthy behaviors, there are barriers that limit participation in this type of intervention, particularly in a group of ethnically diverse adults. Future studies need to examine how to encourage participants to join and how to effectively use a social networking group to promote physical activity.
Aquaporin-4 square array assembly: Opposing actions of M1 and M23 isoforms

Osmotic homeostasis in the brain involves movement of water through aquaporin-4 (AQP4) membrane channels. Perivascular astrocyte end-feet contain distinctive orthogonal lattices (square arrays) assembled from 4- to 6-nm intramembrane particles (IMPs) corresponding to individual AQP4 tetramers. Two isoforms of AQP4 result from translation initiation at methionine residues M1 and M23, but no functional differences are known. In this study, Chinese hamster ovary cells were transfected with M1, M23, or M1+M23 isoforms, and AQP4 expression was confirmed by immunoblotting, immunocytochemistry, and immunogold labeling. Square array organization was examined by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. In astrocyte end-feet, >90% of 4- to 6-nm IMPs were found in square arrays, with 65% in arrays of 13-30 IMPs. In cells transfected with M23, 95% of 4- to 6-nm IMPs were in large assemblies (rafts), 85% of which contained >100 IMPs. However, in M1 cells, >95% of 4- to 6-nm IMPs were present as singlets, with <5% in incipient arrays of 2-12 IMPs. In M1+M23 cells, 4- to 6-nm IMPs were in arrays of intermediate sizes, resembling square arrays in astrocytes. Structural cross-bridges of 1 × 2 nm linked >90% of IMPs in M23 arrays (≈1,000 cross-bridges per μm2) but were rarely seen in M1 cells. These studies show that M23 and M1 isoforms have opposing effects on intramembrane organization of AQP4: M23 forms large square arrays with abundant cross-bridges; M1 restricts square array assembly.
The effect of vibration on active and passive range of motion in elite female synchronized swimmers

Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess the acute effects of vibration and stretching on passive and active forward split range of motion in elite adult female synchronized swimmers. Eleven athletes performed a passive forward split test measuring the height of the anterior superior iliac spine on both sides and an active split test on both sides by adopting an inverted split position. Then athletes were assigned randomly by right or left leg to receive vibration on one leg while stretching. The contralateral leg was stretched but did not receive vibration and served as the control. The treatment involved a 40-s exposure to vibration of the forward leg in a split and 40 s of vibration to the rear leg in a split. The athletes were then post-tested using the same protocols. The results indicated that the vibration had a statistically significant influence on passive forward split flexibility, but not active split flexibility. The results of this study confirm earlier work and further demonstrate the efficacy of vibration in enhancing range of motion in a passive split position. Given that it is often difficult to achieve large changes in range of motion with already highly trained elite athletes, this methodology shows considerable promise. Vibration may not be powerful enough to evoke changes in active range of motion in spite of the changes in passive range of motion.
Diagnostic Role of 18F-FECH-PET/CT Compared with Bone Scan in Evaluating the Prostate Cancer Patients Referring with Biochemical Recurrence

18F-FECH-PET/CT has been proved to be an imaging agent for prostate carcinoma. However, its role in detecting the bone metastases is still blurred owing to the lack of related studies. The purpose of our study was to assess the efficacy of PET with 18F-ethylcholine in assessing the bone status and to compare the results with that of conventional bone scan findings. For this purpose, we selected 37 patients (mean age 69 ± 7), who had been referred for restaging purposes due to biochemical recurrences and underwent both 18F-FECH-PET/CT and bone scan in a short interval. Generally 18 patients out 37 patients referred with biochemical relapse were confirmed to have bone involvement. From 18 confirmed bone involvement cases, 18F-FECH-PET/CT identified correctly the bone involvement in 15 cases with overall sensitivity of 83.3%. On the other hand, bone scan identified 17 out of 18 confirmed cases with overall sensitivity of 94.4%. The lesion-related results show that the sensitivity of each investigation differs with the anatomical regions, and by comparing both results, 18F-FECH-PET/CT was mostly superior to bone scan; however, without a statistical significance (P > 0.1). In conclusion, no significant gain in sensitivity was achieved using bone scan compared with 18F-FECH-PET/CT.
Metabolic flexibility: the key to long-term evolutionary success in Bryozoa?

Oxygen consumption (M.O2) and activity were evaluated in Antarctic Bryozoa. Three species representing two different morphologies, flat sheet, laminar forms, Isoseculiflustra tenuis and Kymella polaris, and the bush form Camptoplites bicornis were used. In Bryozoa, activity is measured as the proportion of colony zooids with their lophophores extended. In I. tenuis and K. polaris, residual analysis showed that the percentage of zooids with extended lophophores was not correlated with colony M.O2. Lophophore extension is, therefore, a poor measure of activity, and other costs (e.g. growth, reproduction, storage) probably form the major metabolic costs. M.O2 per unit of ash–free dry mass (AFDM) in the laminar forms was low compared with other Antarctic marine invertebrates, but not lower than brachiopods and echinoderms. However, the lowest rate here, 16.8 μg O2 g AFDM−1 h−1 for a K. polaris colony, is (to our knowledge) the lowest for any animal so far reported. MO2 per unit of AFDM for C. bicornis, however, is among the highest reported for sessile or slow moving Antarctic marine ectotherms, with values similar to those for bivalve and gastropod molluscs. The highest rate, 527 μg O2 g AFDM−1 h−1 for one colony is (to our knowledge) the highest reported for polar animals of this type. Extreme diversity in metabolic strategy may explain the bryozoan long evolutionary record and great success in shallow marine environments worldwide.
Ant Colony Technique for Optimizing the Order of Cascaded SVM Classifier for Sunflower Seed Classification

In Seed Testing Laboratory (STL), test for other distinguishable variety (ODV) is carried out for the seed sample received from the seed producer after harvesting. This is done to obtain foundation/certified tag from the seed certification department before marketing the product. This is currently done manually by observing the morphological characteristics of the seeds through the naked eye. This is a time-consuming process for the STL and there is a chance for human error in identifying ODV. Hence, there is the need for the machine vision technique to automate the process of identifying ODV in the seed testing laboratory. Various techniques for varietal identification of sunflower seeds are explored in this paper. Experiments are performed on a dataset that contains ten varieties of sunflower seeds and the success rate achieved using various techniques is reported in this paper. In cascaded support vector machine (SVM), the order in which the classifier blocks are arranged plays an important role in improving the classification rate. The main contribution of this paper lies in the manipulation of ant colony optimization technique for obtaining the order of cascaded SVM by maximizing the total probability of correct decision. When the SVM is cascaded in optimum order, classification rate has been increased from $88.32\%$ (obtained using the actual order) to $98.82\%$ for kernel linear discriminant analysis based boundary descriptors. The closed form expression for computing the total probability of correct detection of the constructed cascaded SVM classifier is also reported in this paper.
Insights into Information-seeking and Communicating Behaviour of Academics

Abstract This paper discusses the information-seeking behaviour of academics in relation to the productivity of academics in South African Universities, with particular reference to the University of Zululand, through a survey of 105 academics. It was established that the nature of the discipline and the rank of the academic, which normally corresponds with the academic qualification, experience, exposure and research productivity level, largely determine the information-seeking behaviour. Academics mainly need information for career development, and occupational and professional needs. Furthermore, university libraries, which currently face budget cuts on acquisitions, still play a pivotal role in information access by the academics. It is confirmed that the use of “local environment” is dominant for intra- and inter-university information access network and system. It is recommended that avenues that work colleagues can use to interact should be supported, and career challenges that stimulate productivity by academics, such as research and publication, should be maintained and sustained.
Noninformative Vision Causes Adaptive Changes in Tactile Sensitivity

The last few years have witnessed a rapid growth of research investigating how information is integrated across sensory modalities, a process at the core of our everyday perceptual experiences. The present study focuses on the integration of vision and touch and, in particular, how tactile perception is affected by a view of the relevant body part containing no information about the tactile stimulus itself. Previous studies have established that this “noninformative vision” can improve subsequent tactile discrimination (Kennett et al., 2001; Taylor-Clarke et al., 2004a), a finding we confirm in the present study. However, we also report here that noninformative vision impairs the detection of tactile stimuli and the discrimination of near-threshold stimuli. These effects are shown to resemble, and indeed combine additively with, shifts in discrimination and detection thresholds produced by adaptation to suprathreshold tactile stimulation. We conclude that noninformative vision of the body does not simply enhance somatosensory processing, but rather it induces adaptive changes in tactile sensitivity via shifts in gain control operating within a bimodal sensory system. This constitutes a novel means by which vision of the body can alter tactile perception.