Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Down-Regulating Sphingolipid Synthesis Increases Yeast Lifespan

Knowledge of the mechanisms for regulating lifespan is advancing rapidly, but lifespan is a complex phenotype and new features are likely to be identified. Here we reveal a novel approach for regulating lifespan. Using a genetic or a pharmacological strategy to lower the rate of sphingolipid synthesis, we show that Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells live longer. The longer lifespan is due in part to a reduction in Sch9 protein kinase activity and a consequent reduction in chromosomal mutations and rearrangements and increased stress resistance. Longer lifespan also arises in ways that are independent of Sch9 or caloric restriction, and we speculate on ways that sphingolipids might mediate these aspects of increased lifespan. Sch9 and its mammalian homolog S6 kinase work downstream of the target of rapamycin, TOR1, protein kinase, and play evolutionarily conserved roles in regulating lifespan. Our data establish Sch9 as a focal point for regulating lifespan by integrating nutrient signals from TOR1 with growth and stress signals from sphingolipids. Sphingolipids are found in all eukaryotes and our results suggest that pharmacological down-regulation of one or more sphingolipids may provide a means to reduce age-related diseases and increase lifespan in other eukaryotes.
Ascus cytology of Podospora anserina.

SUMMARY: The ascus cytology of Podospora anserina (Ces.) Rehm, a secondarily homothallic Pyrenomycete fungus, has been followed under the light microscope from the crozier, through karyogamy and the three nuclear divisions in the ascus (the first two constituting a meiosis and the third a mitosis) to the first spore mitosis and spore maturation. The spindles remain widely separated at division II, during which segregation for mating type is said to occur. After division III, in which the spindles are transverse, the ascus contains four pairs of sister nuclei. The realignment of the nuclei so that two non-sister nuclei are included in each of the four spores is brought about by the movements of the centrosomes or, more likely, of their outer portions. Spore delimitation, which starts from these organelles, appears as a thin cleavage line separating the spore plasm from the epiplasm of the ascus. A mitosis in the spore initial followed by degeneration of one of the four daughter-nuclei in the primary appendage leads to an imbalance in the mating-type factors in the spore. The wall of the mature spore is separable into three layers, the middle one of which is pigmented. The mucilaginous secondary appendage formed at each end of the spore is already present before the primary appendage is cut off.
Process Tracing of Emotional Responses to TV Ads: Revisiting the Warmth Monitor

Because of the transient nature of some emotions stimulated during TV commercials, measurement of emotional reactions at various points during an ad requires process tracing. This research discusses the analysis of process-tracing data using the Warmth Monitor as an illustration. We show that the establishment of the reliability and validity of process-tracing measures hinges on a suitable choice of the relevant domain of (co)variance in the data. The Warmth Monitor is shown to provide a reliable measure of warmth, but questions remain regarding the construct's meaning and valid measurement. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.
Bioinformatic analyses to select phenotype affecting polymorphisms in HTR2C gene

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in serotonin related genes influence mental disorders, responses to pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments. In planning association studies, researchers that want to investigate new SNPs have to select some among a large number of candidates. Our aim is to guide researchers in the selection of the most likely phenotype affecting polymorphisms. Here, we studied serotonin receptor 2C (HTR2C) SNPs because, till now, only relatively few of about 2000 are investigated.
Identity Development in Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract Identity status interviews involving five domains of life (religious beliefs, political ideology, occupational career, intimate relationships, and lifestyle) were conducted with 249 women and men at ages 27 and 36. The results on overall identity and domain-specific identities confirmed our general hypothesis as to the strengthening of the commitment process: (1) stability was higher in the identity statuses involving commitment (identity achievement and foreclosure) than in the statuses not involving commitment (identity diffusion and moratorium); (2) an increase in the salience of identity domains could be attributed to an increase in the commitment process; (3) transitions into identity statuses involving commitment were more frequent than transitions into statuses not involving commitment; indicating that both identity achievement and foreclosure might be end points of identity development. It was concluded that the results pointed to identity development in adulthood rather than to a random fluctuation in identity statuses over time.
Decoys and Regulatory “Receptors” of the IL-1/Toll-Like Receptor Superfamily

Members of the IL-1 family play a key role in innate and adaptive immunity and in the pathogenesis of diverse diseases. Members of IL-1R like receptor (ILR) family include signaling molecules and negative regulators. The latter include decoy receptors (IL-1RII; IL-18BP) and “receptors” with regulatory function (TIR8/SIGIRR; IL-1RAcPb; DIGIRR). Structural considerations suggest that also TIGIRR-1 and IL-1RAPL may have regulatory function. The presence of multiple pathways of negative regulation of members of the IL-1/IL-1R family emphasizes the need for a tight control of members of this fundamental system.
‘Taking it back to the office’: A practitioner perspective of the value of a PhD

For the past six years I have faced a recurring question from family, friends and co-workers – ‘why are you bothering – do you not want to work and become a lecturer? ’ While I welcomed the interest this showed in some aspect of my life as a PhD student it also felt like a bit of a let-down. Why did people view my curiosity for learning and developing as a waste of time and nothing more than a vain desire to be the centre of attention in the lecture theatre. Little perhaps did I and they know how doing a PhD gave me a new vista on life, work and problem solving. I am glad I took up the challenge and here I share my personal experience
The student experience of piloting multi-modal performance feedback tools in health and social care practice (work)-based settings

The aim of this study was to evaluate newly developed performance feedback tools from the student perspective. The tools were innovative in both their mode of delivery and the range of stakeholders they involved in the feedback process. By using the tools in health and social care settings, students were able to engage in interprofessional assessment of common competences and obtain performance feedback from a range of stakeholders not commonly involved in work-based learning; these included peers and service users. This paper discusses the ways in which the performance feedback tools were developed by a collaborative programme and compares their delivery, across a wide range of professions and work-based settings, in paper-based, web-based and mobile formats. The tools were evaluated through a series of profession-specific focus groups involving 85 students and 7 professions. The data were analysed thematically and reduced to three key categories: mode of delivery, assessment tool dynamics and work-based issues. These will be discussed in detail. The students agreed that the structured way of capturing and documenting feedback from several sources would support their practice placement learning. The reflective nature of the tools and the capacity for guiding reflection was also welcomed. The concepts of gaining service user, peer and/or interprofessional feedback on performance were new to some professions and evoked questions of reliability and validity, alongside appreciation of the value they added to the assessment process.
A comparison of miltefosine and sodium stibogluconate for treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in an Ethiopian population with high prevalence of HIV infection.

BACKGROUND Antimonials are the mainstay of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) treatment in Africa. The increasing incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection requires alternative safe and effective drug regimens. Oral miltefosine has been proven to be safe and effective in the treatment of Indian VL but has not been studied in Africa or in persons with HIV and VL coinfection. METHODS We compared the efficacy of miltefosine and sodium stibogluconate (SSG) in the treatment of VL in persons in Ethiopia. A total of 580 men with parasitologically and/or serologically confirmed VL were randomized to receive either oral miltefosine (100 mg per day for 28 days) or intramuscular SSG (20 mg/kg per day for 30 days). RESULTS The initial cure rate was 88% in both treatment groups. Mortality during treatment was 2% in the miltefosine group, compared with 10% in the SSG group. Initial treatment failure was 8% in the miltefosine group, compared with 1% in the SSG group. Among the 375 patients (65%) who agreed to HIV testing, HIV seroprevalence was 29%. Among patients not infected with HIV, initial cure, mortality, and initial treatment failure rates were not significantly different (94% vs. 95%, 1% vs. 3%, and 5% vs. 1% for the miltefosine and SSG groups, respectively). Initial treatment failure with miltefosine occurred in 18% of HIV-coinfected patients, compared with treatment failure in 5% of non-HIV-infected patients. At 6 months after treatment, 174 (60%) of the 290 miltefosine recipients and 189 (65%) of the 290 SSG recipients experienced cure; 30 (10%) of 290 in the miltefosine group and 7 (2%) of 290 in the SSG group experienced relapse, and the mortality rate was 6% in the miltefosine group, compared with 12% in the SSG group. HIV-infected patients had higher rates of relapse (16 [25%] of 63 patients), compared with non-HIV-infected patients (5 [5%] of 131). CONCLUSIONS Treatment with miltefosine is equally effective as standard SSG treatment in non-HIV-infected men with VL. Among HIV-coinfected patients, miltefosine is safer but less effective than SSG.
On the Optimal Order of Reading Source Code Changes for Review

Change-based code review, e.g., in the form of pull requests, is the dominant style of code review in practice. An important option to improve review's efficiency is cognitive support for the reviewer. Nevertheless, review tools present the change parts under review sorted in alphabetical order of file path, thus leaving the effort of understanding the construction, connections, and logic of the changes on the reviewer. This leads to the question: How should a code review tool order the parts of a code change to best support the reviewer? We answer this question with a middle-range theory, which we generated inductively in a mixed methods study, based on interviews, an online survey, and existing findings from related areas. Our results indicate that an optimal order is mainly an optimal grouping of the change parts by relatedness. We present our findings as a collection of principles and formalize them as a partial order relation among review orders.
The Relationship between Visioning Behaviours of Leaders and Follower Burnout

This paper investigates whether the perceived visioning behaviours of leaders influence the burnout process experienced by their followers. A structural equation model was used to examine these relationships using a sample of 480 senior managers from an Australian law-enforcement organization. Differences in the relationships between the two factors of visioning behaviour and aspects of burnout were identified. Inspirational motivation (concept-based) reduced the central factor of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion (psychological strain). Inspirational motivation (image-based) had a positive effect on personal accomplishment (self) and reduced depersonalization. The paper discusses the implications for leaders and followers and identifies directions for future research.
Education age at marriage and marital duration: is there a relationship?

This study examines a 10% random sample of Californias 1977 divorcing population for variations in marital duration age at marriage and education of husbands and wives. The authors focus on age at marriage and education which continue to be of primary importance in family research. The hypotheses that there is a positive relationship between marital duration in a divorcing population and age at marriage and degree of formal education are not supported. Treating the independent variables separately shows no consistent relationship with marital duration nor for the most part does the analysis using dummy variables; treating them simultaneously shows neither independent variable to be associated consistently with the dependent variable. However age at marriage is quite influential in th opposite direction from that hypothesized. In other words when husbands and wives have had at least some college education couples married at younger ages apear to have longer marriages. The authors point out the possibility that teenage marriages may experience higher divorce rates than other kinds of marriages but still last relatively longer. Very young spouses may be more willing to divorce because their chances of remarriage are excellent; they may also have fewer financial problems or children to stand in the way of divorce. On the other hand they may stay married longer because they are not capable financially or emotionally of divorce or may not be aware of alternatives to a stressful marriage. The studys population--couples who obtained a final divorce--may differ from the total population. Also the authors are studying duration of marriage which does not necessarily account for quality of marriage.
Children with Moderate Acute Malnutrition with No Access to Supplementary Feeding Programmes Experience High Rates of Deterioration and No Improvement: Results from a Prospective Cohort Study in Rural Ethiopia

Background Children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) have an increased risk of mortality, infections and impaired physical and cognitive development compared to well-nourished children. In parts of Ethiopia not considered chronically food insecure there are no supplementary feeding programmes (SFPs) for treating MAM. The short-term outcomes of children who have MAM in such areas are not currently described, and there remains an urgent need for evidence-based policy recommendations. Methods We defined MAM as mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) of ≥11.0cm and <12.5cm with no bilateral pitting oedema to include Ethiopian government and World Health Organisation cut-offs. We prospectively surveyed 884 children aged 6–59 months living with MAM in a rural area of Ethiopia not eligible for a supplementary feeding programme. Weekly home visits were made for seven months (28 weeks), covering the end of peak malnutrition through to the post-harvest period (the most food secure window), collecting anthropometric, socio-demographic and food security data. Results By the end of the study follow up, 32.5% (287/884) remained with MAM, 9.3% (82/884) experienced at least one episode of SAM (MUAC <11cm and/or bilateral pitting oedema), and 0.9% (8/884) died. Only 54.2% of the children recovered with no episode of SAM by the end of the study. Of those who developed SAM half still had MAM at the end of the follow up period. The median (interquartile range) time to recovery was 9 (4–15) weeks. Children with the lowest MUAC at enrolment had a significantly higher risk of remaining with MAM and a lower chance of recovering. Conclusions Children with MAM during the post-harvest season in an area not eligible for SFP experience an extremely high incidence of SAM and a low recovery rate. Not having a targeted nutrition-specific intervention to address MAM in this context places children with MAM at excessive risk of adverse outcomes. Further preventive and curative approaches should urgently be considered.
Innate and adaptive immunity in Candida albicans infections and saprophytism

Underlying acquired immunity to the fungus Candida albicans is usually present in adult immunocompetent individuals and is presumed to prevent mucosal colonization progressing to symptomatic infection. Exploration of immunological events leading to Candida resistance or susceptibility has indicated the central role of the innate and adaptive immune systems, the relative contribution of which may vary depending on the site of the primary infection. Nevertheless, acquired resistance to infection results from the development of Th1 responses. Cytokines produced by Th1 cells activate phagocytic cells to a candidacidal state. In contrast, cytokines produced by Th2 cells inhibit Th1 development and deactivate phagocytic effector cells. Because reciprocal influences have been recognized between innate and adaptive Th immunity, it appears that an integrated immune response determines the life‐long commensalism of the fungus at the mucosal level, as well as the transition from mucosal saprophyte to pathogen.
Attitudes towards condom use for prevention of HIV infection in Botswana.

Attitudes to condom use for prevention of HIV infection in Botswana were examined. Data collection was by personal interview of 1349 respondents throughout the country. Alcohol is believed to be the single main barrier to condom use. Others include: beliefs that condoms are not effective, emotional barriers to condom use, cultural traditions and complacency. Men appear to have a greater tendency to agree with beliefs that encourage nonuse of condoms. There was evidence to suggest that a holder of an attitude in one area such as cultural belief is likely to hold a similar attitude in almost all other areas. The implication of this finding for theory development is that attitudes are not independent of each other. The implications for policy action are straightforward: an effective strategy for attacking the negative attitudes should put emphasis on men and be broadly educative in the sense of attacking several attitudes simultaneously, rather than one at a time.
Safety and efficacy of the nMARQ catheter for paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation.

AIMS Circular irrigated radiofrequency ablation using the nMARQ catheter has recently been introduced for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). The aim of this study is to report the safety and efficacy of catheter ablation using this technology in patients with paroxysmal and persistent AF. METHODS AND RESULTS The data of a prospective registry describing the experience of a single operator using this technology on 327 consecutive patients were analysed. The mean procedure time was 69 ± 22 min for paroxysmal AF (n = 228) and 75 ± 23 min for persistent AF (n = 97). Follow-up was available for 206 (63%) patients for 6 ± 5 months (range 1-23, median 3.3). Single procedure success off antiarrhythmic drugs was 75% in paroxysmal AF and 52% in persistent AF. Including the 5% redo cases and those on antiarrhythmic medication, freedom from AF was documented in 90 and 83% of paroxysmal and persistent AF patients, respectively. There were no serious complications in the first 325 patients, but the last two consecutive patients (0.6%) developed atrio-oesophageal fistulas and had a fatal outcome. The catheter has been recalled from market. CONCLUSION The nMARQ catheter is a highly effective tool for treatment of paroxysmal and persistent AF. Nevertheless, the occurrence of life-threatening oesophageal fistulas is of major concern and requires further investigation.
Automatic sports genre categorization and view-type classification over large-scale dataset

This paper presents a framework with two automatic tasks targeting large-scale and low quality sports video archives collected from online video streams. The framework is based on the bag of visual-words model using speeded-up robust features (SURF). The first task is sports genre categorization based on hierarchical structure. Following on the second task which is based on automatically obtained genre, views are classified using support vector machines (SVMs). As a consequence, the views classification result can be used in video parsing and highlight extraction. As compared with state-of-the-art methods, our approach is fully automatic as well as domain knowledge free and thus provides a better extensibility. Furthermore, our dataset consists of 14 sport genres with 6850 minutes in total. Both sport genre categorization and view type classification have more than 80% accuracy rates, which validate this framework's robustness and potential in web-based applications.
Down‐regulation of caveolin‐1 in glioma vasculature: Modulation by radiotherapy

Primary brain tumors, particularly glioblastomas (GB), remain a challenge for oncology. An element of the malignant brain tumors' aggressive behavior is the fact that GB are among the most densely vascularized tumors. To determine some of the molecular regulations occuring at the brain tumor endothelium level during tumoral progression would be an asset in understanding brain tumor biology. Caveolin‐1 is an essential structural constituent of caveolae that has been implicated in mitogenic signaling, oncogenesis, and angiogenesis. In this work we investigated regulation of caveolin‐1 expression in brain endothelial cells (ECs) under angiogenic conditions. In vitro, brain EC caveolin‐1 is down‐regulated by angiogenic factors treament and by hypoxia. Coculture of brain ECs with tumoral cells induced a similar down‐regulation. In addition, activation of the p42/44 MAP kinase is demonstrated. By using an in vivo brain tumor model, we purified ECs from gliomas as well as from normal brain to investigate possible regulation of caveolin‐1 expression in tumoral brain vasculature. We show that caveolin‐1 expression is strikingly down‐regulated in glioma ECs, whereas an increase of phosphorylated caveolin‐1 is observed. Whole‐brain radiation treatment, a classical way in which GB is currently being treated, resulted in increased caveolin‐1 expression in tumor isolated ECs. The level of tumor cells spreading around newly formed blood vessels was also elevated. The regulation of caveolin‐1 expression in tumoral ECs may reflect the tumoral vasculature state and correlates with angiogenesis kinetics. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Aggressive Youth Cultures and Hate Crime

Contemporary bias crime in Germany increased dramatically after unification and remained at a relatively high, though fluctuating, level for the decade. Right-wing skinheads and neo-Nazis played a significant role in the violence, but at least one third of the violent incidents came from informal groups of young males who were not affiliated. This represents a shift in anti-Semitic and antiforeigner violence from the 1980s and earlier, when the perpetrators were likely to be older and affiliated with identifiable ideological groups. Contemporary xenophobia is not only linked to aggressive elements of youth culture but appears to be increasingly connected to local and international ideological networks. Electronic media such as the Internet have given both the political and commercial entities of skinhead and right-wing culture a means of support and growth.