Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Signalling and regulation of collagen I synthesis by ET‐1 and TGF‐β1

Endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) plays an important role in tissue remodelling and fibrogenesis by inducing synthesis of collagen I via protein kinase C (PKC). ET‐1 signals are transduced by two receptor subtypes, the ETA‐ and ETB‐receptors which activate different Gα proteins. Here, we investigated the expression of both ET‐receptor subtypes in human primary dermal fibroblasts and demonstrated that the ETA‐receptor is the major ET‐receptor subtype expressed. To determine further signalling intermediates, we inhibited Gαi and three phospholipases. Pharmacologic inhibition of Gαi, phosphatidylcholine‐phospholipase C (PC‐PLC) and phospholipase D (PLD), but not of phospholipase Cβ, abolished the increase in collagen I by ET‐1. Inhibition of all phospholipases revealed similar effects on TGF‐β1 induced collagen I synthesis, demonstrating involvement of PC‐PLC and PLD in the signalling pathways elicited by ET‐1 and TGF‐β1. ET‐1 and TGF‐β1 each stimulated collagen I production and in an additive manner. ET‐1 further induced connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), as did TGF‐β1, however, to lower levels. While rapid and sustained CTGF induction was seen following TGF‐β1 treatment, ET‐1 increased CTGF in a biphasic manner with lower induction at 3 h and a delayed and higher induction after 5 days of permanent ET‐1 treatment. Coincidentally at 5 days of permanent ET‐1 stimulation, a switch in ET‐receptor subtype expression to the ETB‐receptor was observed. We conclude that the signalling pathways induced by ET‐1 and TGF‐β1 leading to augmented collagen I production by fibroblasts converge on a similar signalling pathway. Thereby, long‐time stimulation by ET‐1 resulted in a changed ET‐receptor subtype ratio and in a biphasic CTGF induction.
Matrix Macromolecules in Hard Tissues Control the Nucleation and Hierarchical Assembly of Hydroxyapatite*

Biogenic minerals found in teeth and bones are synthesized by precise cell-mediated mechanisms. They have superior mechanical properties due to their complex architecture. Control over biomineral properties can be accomplished by regulation of particle size, shape, crystal orientation, and polymorphic structure. In many organisms, biogenic minerals are assembled using a transient amorphous mineral phase. Here we report that organic constituents of bones and teeth, namely type I collagen and dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1), are effective crystal modulators. They control nucleation of calcium phosphate polymorphs and the assembly of hierarchically ordered crystalline composite material. Both full-length recombinant DMP1 and post-translationally modified native DMP1 were able to nucleate hydroxyapatite (HAP) in the presence of type I collagen. However, the N-terminal domain of DMP1 (amino acid residues 1–334) inhibited HAP formation and stabilized the amorphous phase that was formed. During the nucleation and growth process, the initially formed metastable amorphous calcium phosphate phase transformed into thermodynamically stable crystalline hydroxyapatite in a precisely controlled manner. The organic matrix-mediated controlled transformation of amorphous calcium phosphate into crystalline HAP was confirmed by x-ray diffraction, selected area electron diffraction pattern, Raman spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The mechanical properties of the protein-mediated HAP crystals were also determined as they reflect the material structure. Such understanding of biomolecule controls on biomineralization promises new insights into the controlled synthesis of crystalline structures.
Linking perceived service quality and service loyalty: a multi‐dimensional perspective

In recent research on service quality it has been argued that the relationship between perceived service quality and service loyalty is an issue which requires conceptual and empirical elaboration through replication and extension of current knowledge. Focuses on the refinement of a scale for measuring service loyalty dimensions and the relationships between dimensions of service quality and these service loyalty dimensions. The results of an empirical study of a large sample of customers from four different service industries suggest that four dimensions of service loyalty can be identified: purchase intentions, word‐of‐mouth communication; price sensitivity; and complaining behaviour. Further analysis yields an intricate pattern of service quality‐service loyalty relationships at the level of the individual dimensions with notable differences across industries.
Strategic Planning for e-Development in Developing Countries

A system for displaying alphanumeric messages has a display device with a row of character stations at each of which a character may be created for display in response to a set of signals applied to the character station. A memory device stores a plurality of message fragments and a real time means provides a plurality of real time message fragments respectively representing a corresponding plurality of real time conditions. A control circuit in response to certain input conditions selects one stored message fragment and one real time message fragment and converts them to sets of signals applied in one to one relationship to the character stations to cause the display of a meaningful complete message by the display device. The memory may also store some complete messages which are convertible by the control circuit, without any input from the real time means, into sets of signals which are applied in one to one relationship to the character stations of the display device to cause the display of a meaningful complete message.
The Process Dissociation of Moral Judgments: Clarifying the Psychology of Deontology and Utilitarianism

A growing body of work has examined responses to moral dilemmas where causing some degree of harm leads to a greater positive outcome; such dilemmas are said to pit deontological philosophical considerations (causing harm is never acceptable) against utilitarian philosophical considerations (causing harm is acceptable if it leads to the best possible outcome). According to dual-process theories of moral judgment, independent processes drive each judgment: affective reactions to harm drive deontological judgments, whereas cognitive evaluations of outcomes drive utilitarian judgments. Yet, theoretically both processes contribute to each judgment; therefore, it is an error to equate judgments with processes. To overcome this error, we adapted Jacoby’s (1991) process dissociation (PD) procedure to independently quantify the strength of deontological and utilitarian inclinations within individuals. Five studies presented in two articles support the conclusion that process dissociation taps the processes theorized to underlie moral judgments more effectively than overt dilemma judgments, and allows for increased insight into the nature of moral processing. In Conway and Gawronski (2013) Study 1, the PD parameters predicted theoretically relevant individual-difference variables (e.g., the utilitarian parameter uniquely predicted cognitive load, whereas the deontology parameter uniquely predicted empathic concern and perspective-taking). Moreover, both parameters predicted moral identity—a relation that was obscured using overt moral judgments. In Study 2, a cognitive load manipulation selectively reduced utilitarian inclinations, whereas in Study 3, a manipulation that increased the vividness of harm selectively increased the deontology parameter. Together, these findings suggest that the deontology parameter is tapping affective reactions to harm, and the utilitarian parameter is tapping cognitive evaluations of outcomes (consistent with theory). In Study 1 of Conway, Bartels, and Pizarro (under review), participants scoring higher in Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and meaninglessness made more overt utilitarian judgments (replicating past findings), but process dissociation revealed that this relation was due to decreased deontology rather than increased utilitarianism among people high in antisocial personality traits. Study 2 demonstrated that the deontology and utilitarian parameters each correlated with different kinds of prosociality. These findings clarify theoretical confusion regarding the nature of utilitarianism and deontology.
Pharmacological management of osteoporosis – when to treat and when to stop

ABSTRACT Introduction: Bisphosphonates are antiresorptive drugs of proven efficacy which are widely used for osteoporosis. After stopping bisphosphonate therapy, residual therapeutic effects persist for an undefined period; thus, some osteoporotic patients could benefit from a temporary discontinuation, the so called ‘drug holiday’. Areas covered: We reviewed the effects of discontinuing various anti-fracture treatments in order to clarify both clinical features of patients for whom a drug holiday from an initial bisphosphonate treatment period could be offered and a possible approach to the management of the drug holiday. A PubMed search was undertaken using the following main search terms: ‘bisphosphonates’, ‘drug holiday’, ‘treatment discontinuation’, ‘anti-fracture drugs’. Expert commentary: After an initial bisphosphonate treatment period of 3–5 years, fracture risk should be reassessed in order to decide if a drug holiday could be offered to patients. Those at high fracture risk should continue treatment; those at moderate-mild fracture risk could temporarily discontinue treatment.
Computational Approaches Toward Integrating Quantified Self Sensing and Social Media

The growing amount of data collected by quantified self tools and social media hold great potential for applications in personalized medicine. Whereas the first includes health-related physiological signals, the latter provides insights into a user's behavior. However, the two sources of data have largely been studied in isolation. We analyze public data from users who have chosen to connect their MyFitnessPal and Twitter accounts. We show that a user's diet compliance success, measured via their self-logged food diaries, can be predicted using features derived from social media: linguistic, activity, and social capital. We find that users with more positive affect and a larger social network are more successful in succeeding in their dietary goals. Using a Granger causality methodology, we also show that social media can help predict daily changes in diet compliance success or failure with an accuracy of 77%, that improves over baseline techniques by 17%. We discuss the implications of our work in the design of improved health interventions for behavior change.
Simultaneous Detection of Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus in Low-fatted Milk by Multiplex PCR

A rapid and specific PCR assay for the simultaneous detection of Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp. , and Staphylococcus aureus in foods was developed to reduce the detection time and to increase sensitivity. Multiplex PCR developed in this study produced only actA, fliC, hbl, invA, ileS amplicons, but did not produce any non-specific amplicon. The primer sets successfully amplified the target genes in the multiplex PCR without any non-specific or additional bands on the other strains. The multiplex PCR assays also amplified some target genes from five pathogens, and multiplex amplification was obtained from as little as 1 pg of DNA. According to the results from the sensitivity evaluation, the multiplex PCR developed in this study detected 10 cells/mL of the pathogens inoculated in milk samples, respectively. The results suggested that multiplex PCR was an effective assay demonstrating high specificity for the simultaneous detection of five target pathogens in food system.
Trajectory tracking control for a tele-operation setup with disturbance estimation and compensation

In this paper, we tackle the position tracking problem in a robotic tele-operation setup in the presence of perturbations. In order to cope with the disturbance we developed a new disturbance observer. The estimation algorithm uses only position and velocity information and we study the estimation error dynamics in the face of constant and nonconstant exogenous perturbation signals. The disturbance estimator is used in a trajectory tracking controller to improve the performance of the position tracking between the master and the slave robot. The algorithm is tested in simulation on a tele-operation system with two two-link robots.
Is this a good title?

Missing web pages, URIs that return the 404 "Page Not Found" error or the HTTP response code 200 but dereference unexpected content, are ubiquitous in today's browsing experience. We use Internet search engines to relocate such missing pages and provide means that help automate the rediscovery process. We propose querying web pages' titles against search engines. We investigate the retrieval performance of titles and compare them to lexical signatures which are derived from the pages' content. Since titles naturally represent the content of a document they intuitively change over time. We measure the edit distance between current titles and titles of copies of the same pages obtained from the Internet Archive and display their evolution. We further investigate the correlation between title changes and content modifications of a web page over time. Lastly we provide a predictive model for the quality of any given web page title in terms of its discovery performance. Our results show that titles return more than 60% URIs top ranked and further relevant content returned in the top 10 results. We show that titles decay slowly but are far more stable than the pages' content. We further distill stop titles than can help identify insufficiently performing search engine queries.
The role of matrix metalloproteinases in cystic fibrosis lung disease

Significant airway remodelling is a major component of the increased morbidity and mortality observed in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. These airways feature ongoing leukocytic inflammation and unrelenting bacterial infection. In contrast to acute bacterial pneumonia, CF infection is not cleared efficiently and the ensuing inflammatory response causes tissue damage. This structural damage is mainly a result of free proteolytic activity released by infiltrated neutrophils and macrophages. Major proteases in this disease are serine and matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). While the role of serine proteases, such as elastase, has been characterised in detail, there is emerging evidence that MMPs could play a key role in the pathogenesis of CF lung disease. This review summarises studies linking MMPs with CF lung disease and discusses the potential value of MMPs as future therapeutic targets in CF and other chronic lung diseases.
A review of techniques for spatial modeling in geographical, conservation and landscape genetics

Most evolutionary processes occur in a spatial context and several spatial analysis techniques have been employed in an exploratory context. However, the existence of autocorrelation can also perturb significance tests when data is analyzed using standard correlation and regression techniques on modeling genetic data as a function of explanatory variables. In this case, more complex models incorporating the effects of autocorrelation must be used. Here we review those models and compared their relative performances in a simple simulation, in which spatial patterns in allele frequencies were generated by a balance between random variation within populations and spatially-structured gene flow. Notwithstanding the somewhat idiosyncratic behavior of the techniques evaluated, it is clear that spatial autocorrelation affects Type I errors and that standard linear regression does not provide minimum variance estimators. Due to its flexibility, we stress that principal coordinate of neighbor matrices (PCNM) and related eigenvector mapping techniques seem to be the best approaches to spatial regression. In general, we hope that our review of commonly used spatial regression techniques in biology and ecology may aid population geneticists towards providing better explanations for population structures dealing with more complex regression problems throughout geographic space.
Associations between Ambulatory Blood Pressure Parameters and Cerebral White Matter Lesions

Silent cerebral white matter lesions (WMLs) are a common finding on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in the elderly. However, in patients with hypertension, WMLs tend to occur earlier in life and appear to be more severe. There is a body of evidence that supports the idea that WMLs in asymptomatic hypertensive patients should be considered a silent early marker of brain damage. It is known that ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) correlates more closely with hypertension-related organ damage than office blood pressure. This paper focuses on the associations between blood pressure parameters obtained by 24-hour ABMP and cerebral WMLs.
Emotional Context Influences Micro-Expression Recognition

Micro-expressions are often embedded in a flow of expressions including both neutral and other facial expressions. However, it remains unclear whether the types of facial expressions appearing before and after the micro-expression, i.e., the emotional context, influence micro-expression recognition. To address this question, the present study used a modified METT (Micro-Expression Training Tool) paradigm that required participants to recognize the target micro-expressions presented briefly between two identical emotional faces. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 showed that negative context impaired the recognition of micro-expressions regardless of the duration of the target micro-expression. Stimulus-difference between the context and target micro-expression was accounted for in Experiment 3. Results showed that a context effect on micro-expression recognition persists even when the stimulus similarity between the context and target micro-expressions was controlled. Therefore, our results not only provided evidence for the context effect on micro-expression recognition but also suggested that the context effect might result from both the stimulus and valence differences.
An integrated framework for practising early childhood intervention and family support : research article

The theoretical, conceptual, operational, and performance foundations of an integrated framework for practicing early childhood intervention and family support are described. The framework is derived from theory, research, and practice in diverse fields of inquiry that collectively provide an organising scheme for engaging in practice that explicitly aims to support and strengthen child, parent and family functioning. A unique feature of the integrated framework is its ability to accommodate variations in personal and cultural beliefs, attitudes, preferences, and practices as part of using the model for implementing interventions with young children and their families.
Assessing the innovative potential of small and medium sized enterprises: a working model of innovation in manufacturing

This paper reports on a programme of research considering the innovative potential of small and medium sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) in Industrial South Wales (UK). We consider and assess innovative potential as the configuration of management practices, capabilities, internal and external links facilitating the generation and appropriation of ideas. In the project we are interested in whether current trends in large firm manufacturing including an emphasis on innovations in product and process technologies and the role of employees and external institutions in problem solving and knowledge creation (Cooke and Morgan, 1998) is consistent with the experiences of managers in manufacturing SMEs. To date, studies considering the notion of ‘learning factories’ (Leonard-Barton, 1992; Fruin, 1992; Womack et al 1990; Kenney and Florida, 1993; Delbridge et al, 1998) and Japanese manufacturing principles (Oliver and Wilkinson, 1992; Elger and Smith, 1994) have primarily focused on multinational enterprises in the automotive and consumer electronics sectors. Some have advocated ‘lean’ in all circumstances (for example, Womack et al, 1990) while others offer a more reflective perspective arguing that adoption is mediated by factors such as local institutional context and strategic choice (Abo, 1994).
The Effects of a Prophylactic Knee Brace and Two Neoprene Knee Sleeves on the Performance of Healthy Athletes: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial

Knee injury is one of the major problems in sports medicine, and the use of prophylactic knee braces is an attempt to reduce the occurrence and/or severity of injuries to the knee joint ligament(s) without inhibiting knee mobility. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of one recently designed prophylactic knee brace and two neoprene knee sleeves upon performance of healthy athletes. Thirty-one healthy male athletes (age = 21.2±1.5) volunteered as participants to examine the effect of prophylactic knee brace/sleeves on performance using isokinetic and functional tests. All subjects were tested in four conditions in a random order: 1. nonbraced (control) 2. using a neoprene knee sleeve 3. using a knee sleeve with four bilateral metal supports and 4. using a prophylactic knee brace. The study design was a crossover, randomized, controlled trial. Subjects completed single leg vertical jump, cross-over hop, and the isokinetic knee flexion and extension (at 60, 180, 300°/sec). Data were collected from the above tests and analyzed for jump height, cross-over hop distance, peak torque to body weight ratio and average power, respectively. Comparisons of these variables in the four testing conditions revealed no statistically significant difference (p>0.05). The selected prophylactic brace/sleeves did not significantly inhibit athletic performance which might verify that their structure and design have caused no complication in the normal function of the knee joint. Moreover, it could be speculated that, if the brace or the sleeves had any limiting effect, our young healthy athletic subjects were well able to generate a mean peak torque large enough to overcome this possible restriction. Further studies are suggested to investigate the long term effect of these prophylactic knee brace and sleeves as well as their possible effect on the adjacent joints to the knee.
The Androgen Receptor Interacts with Multiple Regions of the Large Subunit of General Transcription Factor TFIIF*

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates genes important for male development and reproductive function. The main determinants for the transactivation function lie within the structurally distinct amino-terminal domain. Previously we identified an interaction between the AR-transactivation domain (amino acids 142–485) and the general transcription factor TFIIF (McEwan, I. J., and Gustafsson, J.-Å. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 94, 8485–8490). We have now mapped the binding sites for the AR-transactivation domain within the RAP74 subunit of TFIIF. Both the amino-terminal 136 amino acids and the carboxyl-terminal 155 amino acids of RAP74 interacted with the AR-transactivation domain and were able to rescue basal transcription after squelching by the AR polypeptide. Competition experiments demonstrated that the AR could interact with the holo-TFIIF protein and that the carboxyl terminus of RAP74 represented the principal receptor-binding site. Point mutations within AR-transactivation domain distinguished the binding sites for RAP74 and the p160 coactivator SRC-1a and identified a single copy of a six amino acid repeat motif as being important for RAP74 binding. These data indicate that the AR-transactivation domain can potentially make multiple protein-protein interactions with coactivators and components of the general transcriptional machinery in order to regulate target gene expression.