Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PCDD/Fs Inhibition by Sludge Decomposition Gases: Effects of Sludge Dosage, Treatment Temperature and Oxygen Content

Sludge decomposition gases (SDG) have been identified as potential PCDD/F-inhibitors, since they contain high concentrations of NH_3 and SO_2 as well as various unidentified N- and S-compounds. The effects of sludge dosage, its treatment temperature and oxygen content on PCDD/Fs suppression were observed during test runs using a model fly ash (MFA) system, generating high chlorinated PCDD/Fs. The experiments were carried out in two parts: a first set with SDG of undefined composition, and a second with injection of NH3 and SO_2 combined in three different concentration ratios. It was observed that the SDG evolving from dried sludge (DS) could suppress the formation of 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/Fs even with very high efficiency (＞ 99%), both in weight units and in I-TEQ units. Such suppression was somewhat stronger for PCDD than PCDF. It was also found that 300°C might be a suitable sludge decomposition temperature when using SDG as suppressant in PCDD/Fs inhibition. Moreover, the oxygen content only slightly influenced upon the suppression capabilities. The results revealed that SO_2 was more effective than NH_3 in suppressing PCDD/Fs formation, with suppression efficiencies of 61.9% and 38.6%, respectively. Remarkably, the formation of OCDD/Fs was inhibited least and even further formation could occur when both NH_3 and SO_2 were injected together as simulated flue gas. The results exposed that NH_3 and SO_2 might be the primary PCDD/Fs suppressants resulting from mild thermal decomposition of sludge. However, further parameters should be evaluated and adjusted before SDG could be used in large-scale applications.
Structural Changes in Food Retailing: Six Country Case Studies

The authors thank Kate Hook for her editorial assistance. Any mistakes are those of the authors. Comments are encouraged. All views, interpretations, recommendations, and conclusions expressed in this document are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the supporting or cooperating organizations. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for noncommercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. 1. INTRODUCTION Poland is the only transition country in Central and Eastern Europe covered in this book. With the transition from a socialist to a market economy, structural change in the retailing sector has been especially rapid and the new open markets in Poland have attracted foreign investors—throughout the economy in general and in the food-retailing sector in particular. This chapter describes and analyzes the major trends in Polish food retailing. The structure of food retailing is described and explained in Section 2, first at the store level, then at the firm level. This section also covers how the powerful concentration process in food retailing has affected the marketing chain. Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in Polish food retailing is detailed in Section 3. Given the special importance of FDI in the Polish economy during the transition process, the determinants of FDI in retailing within a crosscountry dataset are analyzed in Section 4. Results are summarized in Section 5.
Adjectival vs. nominal categorization processes: The Rule vs. Similarity hypothesis

Classification of entities into categories can be determined based on a rule � a single criterion or relatively few criteria combined with logical operations like �and� or �or�. Alternatively, classification can be based on similarity to prototypical examples, i.e. an overall degree of match to prototypical values on multiple dimensions. Two cognitive systems are reported in the literature to underlie processing by rules vs. similarity. This paper presents a novel thesis according to which adjectives and nouns trigger processing by the rule vs. similarity systems, respectively. The paper defends the thesis that nouns are conceptually gradable and multidimensional, but, unlike adjectives, their dimensions are integrated through similarity operations, like weighted sums, to yield an overall degree of match to ideal values on multiple dimensions. By contrast, adjectives are associated with single dimensions, or several dimensions bound by logical operations, such as �and� and �or�. In accordance, nouns are predicted to differ from adjectives semantically, developmentally, and processing-wise. Similarity-based dimension integration is implicit � processing is automatic, fast, and beyond speaker awareness � whereas logical, rule-based dimension integration is explicit, and is acquired late. The paper highlights a number of links between findings reported in the literature about rule- vs. similarity-based categorization and corresponding structural, distributional, neural and developmental findings about adjectives and nouns. These links suggest that the rule vs. similarity (RS) hypothesis for the adjective-noun distinction should be studied more directly in the future.
Risk factors for predicting mortality in a paediatric intensive care unit.

Rapid advances in critical care technology and rising cost of medical care have spurred the development of outcome analysis including mortality risk prediction. The main objective of this study was to assess the risk factors contributing to mortality in our paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This is a cohort study, consisting of consecutive admissions to the PICU from 1 January to 31 December 1997. The factors studied included multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), Pediatric Risk of Mortality III (PRISM III) scores in the first 24 hours (PRISM III-24), mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, age, and diagnosis-related groups. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods were used. Univariate analysis showed that need for mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, presence of MODS involving 3 or more organs and PRISM III-24 scores were significantly associated with outcome (P < 0.0005). Relative risk of mortality in the presence of MODS and PRISM III-24 scores > or = 8 were 11.3 (95% CI: 3.3 to 38.3) and 15.8 (95% CI: 2.0 to 127.8), respectively. Using Cox Proportional Hazards model, the relative risk of mortality for any new admission could be calculated by the equation RR = e0.1032 x P, where P = PRISM III-24 scores.
Environmental Origin of the Genus Bordetella

Members of the genus Bordetella include human and animal pathogens that cause a variety of respiratory infections, including whooping cough in humans. Despite the long known ability to switch between a within-animal and an extra-host lifestyle under laboratory growth conditions, no extra-host niches of pathogenic Bordetella species have been defined. To better understand the distribution of Bordetella species in the environment, we probed the NCBI nucleotide database with the 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequences from pathogenic Bordetella species. Bacteria of the genus Bordetella were frequently found in soil, water, sediment, and plants. Phylogenetic analyses of their 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that Bordetella recovered from environmental samples are evolutionarily ancestral to animal-associated species. Sequences from environmental samples had a significantly higher genetic diversity, were located closer to the root of the phylogenetic tree and were present in all 10 identified sequence clades, while only four sequence clades possessed animal-associated species. The pathogenic bordetellae appear to have evolved from ancestors in soil and/or water. We show that, despite being animal-adapted pathogens, Bordetella bronchiseptica, and Bordetella hinzii have preserved the ability to grow and proliferate in soil. Our data implicate soil as a probable environmental origin of Bordetella species, including the animal-pathogenic lineages. Soil may further constitute an environmental niche, allowing for persistence and dissemination of the bacterial pathogens. Spread of pathogenic bordetellae from an environmental reservoir such as soil may potentially explain their wide distribution as well as frequent disease outbreaks that start without an obvious infectious source.
The case for language awareness in the Irish primary school curriculum

Some 21% of primary schoolchildren in the Irish Republic are currently learning a foreign language on a fee‐paying, extracurricular basis. This substantial phenomenon is developing largely in an unstructured manner — there is little if any coordination between primary and post‐primary programmes and other language learning. This paper raises some of the related theoretical issues and proposes a framework within which an integrated approach with other language learning can be incorporated.
Preoperative Thresholds for Pulmonary Valve Replacement in Patients With Corrected Tetralogy of Fallot Using Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance

Background— To facilitate the optimal timing of pulmonary valve replacement, we analyzed preoperative thresholds of right ventricular (RV) volumes above which no decrease or normalization of RV size takes place after surgery. Methods and Results— Between 1993 and 2006, 71 adult patients with corrected tetralogy of Fallot underwent pulmonary valve replacement in a nationwide, prospective follow-up study. Patients were evaluated with cardiovascular magnetic resonance both preoperatively and postoperatively. Changes in RV volumes were expressed as relative change from baseline. RV volumes decreased with a mean of 28%. RV ejection fraction did not change significantly after surgery (from 42±10% to 43±10%; P=0.34). Concomitant RV outflow tract reduction resulted in a 25% larger decrease of RV volumes. After correction for surgical RV outflow tract reduction, higher preoperative RV volumes (mL/m2) were independently associated with a larger decrease of RV volumes (RV end-diastolic volume: &bgr;=0.41; P<0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed a cutoff value of 160 mL/m2 for normalization of RV end-diastolic volume or 82 mL/m2 for RV end-systolic volume. Conclusions— Overall, we could not find a threshold above which RV volumes did not decrease after surgery. Preoperative RV volumes were independently associated with RV remodeling and also when corrected for a surgical reduction of the RV outflow tract. However, normalization could be achieved when preoperative RV end-diastolic volume was <160 mL/m2 or RV end-systolic volume was <82 mL/m2.
Self-Esteem, Daily Internet Use and Social Media Addiction as Predictors of Depression among Turkish Adolescents

In this study, direct and indirect effects of self-esteem, daily internet use and social media addiction to depression levels of adolescents have been investigated by testing a model. This descriptive study was conducted with 1130 students aged between 12 and 18 who are enrolled at different schools in southern region of Aegean. In order to collect data, “Children's Depression Inventory”, “Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale” and “Social Media Addiction Scale” have been used. In order to test the hypotheses Pearson's correlation and structural equation modeling were performed. The findings revealed that self-esteem and social media addiction predict %20 of the daily internet use. Furthermore, while depression was associated with self-esteem and daily internet use directly, social media addiction was affecting depression indirectly. Tested model was able to predict %28 of the depression among adolescents. Keywords: depression, self-esteem, daily internet use, social media addiction, structural equation modeling
Teaching perspectives of pre-service physical education teachers: the Shanghai experience

Background: In the physical education (PE) domain, teachers are given the freedom to make important educational decisions. Because of the common assumption that the decisions teachers make are based on a set of educational perspectives, a considerable number of studies have addressed the importance of studying the thinking and beliefs of PE teachers on teaching. However, it is revealed that only a limited amount of works on the perspective or teaching beliefs of pre-service PE teachers has been conducted. Chinese context: In 2002, comprehensive PE curriculum reform was conducted in China. The reform focused on the evolution of PE from sport skill-related objectives to fitness, health, cognitive, and affective outcomes. Many local Chinese studies suggest that the teaching perspectives of PE teachers should be aligned with these new objectives to implement the new PE curriculum effectively. However, evidence-based studies on the teaching perspectives of Chinese PE teachers are lacking. Purpose: This study focuses on PE teacher education (PETE) students in Shanghai, China and has the following aims: (i) to examine the teaching perspectives of PETE students, (ii) to explore the differences in teaching perspectives based on demographic differences (i.e. gender, year in school, participation in a teaching practicum), and (iii) to examine the correlations among five teaching perspectives of PETE students. Method: A survey-based study design was employed. The participants were 349 PETE students (185 males, 164 females) from two universities in Shanghai China. The Teaching Perspective Inventory was adopted to assess five teaching perspectives of PETE students. Surveys were distributed by PE faculty in each of their classes in the two universities. Descriptive statistics were used to describe five teaching perspectives and teaching beliefs of PETE students (what they believe about instructing or teaching), intentions (what they try to accomplish), and their action (what they do within their classrooms). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to examine the main effects of PETE student demographics on their teaching perspectives. A bivariate correlational procedure was used to test the relationships among five teaching perspectives. Findings: PETE students clearly exhibited a common pattern of a single dominant teaching perspective. They highlighted the importance of the subject matter, but focused less on changes in society and learner's thinking. These findings are incongruent with recent trends and innovation in the Chinese PE curriculum. Furthermore, the findings indicate significant differences in some perspectives by gender and years in school. However, no significant effects on field-based practicum experience were observed. Finally, significant positive correlations were observed among most of the five teaching perspectives, which indicate that a comprehensive consideration of the five perspectives in the teacher education program is necessary.
Cyclophilin Inhibitors Block Arterivirus Replication by Interfering with Viral RNA Synthesis

ABSTRACT Virus replication strongly depends on cellular factors, in particular, on host proteins. Here we report that the replication of the arteriviruses equine arteritis virus (EAV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is strongly affected by low-micromolar concentrations of cyclosporine A (CsA), an inhibitor of members of the cyclophilin (Cyp) family. In infected cells, the expression of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene inserted into the PRRSV genome was inhibited with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 5.2 μM, whereas the GFP expression of an EAV-GFP reporter virus was inhibited with an IC50 of 0.95 μM. Debio-064, a CsA analog that lacks its undesirable immunosuppressive properties, inhibited EAV replication with an IC50 that was 3-fold lower than that of CsA, whereas PRRSV-GFP replication was inhibited with an IC50 similar to that of CsA. The addition of 4 μM CsA after infection prevented viral RNA and protein synthesis in EAV-infected cells, and CsA treatment resulted in a 2.5- to 4-log-unit reduction of PRRSV or EAV infectious progeny. A complete block of EAV RNA synthesis was also observed in an in vitro assay using isolated viral replication structures. The small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of Cyp family members revealed that EAV replication strongly depends on the expression of CypA but not CypB. Furthermore, upon fractionation of intracellular membranes in density gradients, CypA was found to cosediment with membranous EAV replication structures, which could be prevented by CsA treatment. This suggests that CypA is an essential component of the viral RNA-synthesizing machinery.
An Unsupervised and Fully-Automated Image Analysis Method for cDNA Microarrays

Microarray gene expression image analysis is a labor-intensive task and requires human intervention since microarray images are contaminated with noise and artifacts while spots are often poorly contrasted and ill-defined. The analysis is divided into two main stages: gridding and spot-segmentation. In this paper, an original, unsupervised and fully-automated approach to gridding and spot-segmenting microarray images, which is based on two genetic algorithms, is presented. The first genetic algorithm determines the optimal grid while the second one determines, in parallel, the boundaries of multiple spots. Experiments on 16-bit microarray images show that the proposed method is effective and achieves more accurate gridding and spot-segmentation results in comparison with existing methods.
Health Information Seeking and Social Media Use on the Internet among People with Diabetes

Patients who are active and involved in their self-management and care are more likely to manage chronic conditions effectively (6, 26). With a 5-fold increase in the incidence of chronic illness over the past 20 years, access to information can provide patients the tools and support to self-manage their chronic illness. New media technologies can serve as tools to engage and involve patients in their health care. Due to the increasing ubiquity of the Internet and the availability of health information, patients are more easily able to seek and find information about their health. Thus, the Internet can serve as a mechanism of empowerment (4, 5). This is especially important for people with diabetes mellitus where intensive self-management is critical.
Differential regulation of dopamine D1 and D2 signaling by nicotine in neostriatal neurons

Nicotine, acting on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) expressed at pre‐synaptic dopaminergic terminals, has been shown to stimulate the release of dopamine in the neostriatum. However, the molecular consequences of pre‐synaptic nAChR activation in post‐synaptic neostriatal neurons are not clearly understood. Here, we investigated the effect of nAChR activation on dopaminergic signaling in medium spiny neurons by measuring phosphorylated DARPP‐32 (dopamine‐ and cAMP‐regulated phosphoprotein of Mr 32 kDa) at Thr34 (the PKA‐site) in mouse neostriatal slices. Nicotine produced dose‐dependent responses, with a low concentration (1 µm) causing a sustained decrease in DARPP‐32 Thr34 phosphorylation and a high concentration (100 µm) causing a transient increase in DARPP‐32 Thr34 phosphorylation. Depending on the concentration of nicotine, either dopamine D2 or D1 receptor signaling was predominantly activated. Nicotine at a low concentration (1 µm) activated dopamine D2 receptor signaling in striatopallidal/indirect pathway neurons, likely by activating α4β2* nAChRs at dopaminergic terminals. Nicotine at a high concentration (100 µm) activated dopamine D1 receptor signaling in striatonigral/direct pathway neurons, likely by activating (i) α4β2* nAChRs at dopaminergic terminals and (ii) α7 nAChRs at glutamatergic terminals, which, by stimulating the release of glutamate, activated NMDA/AMPA receptors at dopaminergic terminals. The differential effects of low and high nicotine concentrations on D2‐ and D1‐dependent signaling pathways in striatal neurons may contribute to dose‐dependent actions of this drug of abuse.
Physical activity breaks and facilities in US secondary schools.

BACKGROUND Research on physical activity breaks and facilities (indoor and outdoor) in secondary schools is relatively limited. METHODS School administrators and students in nationally representative samples of 8th (middle school) and 10th/12th grade (high school) students were surveyed annually from 2008-2009 to 2011-2012. School administrators reported information about physical activity breaks and facilities. Students self-reported height, weight, and physical activity. RESULTS The prevalence of physical activity breaks and indoor and outdoor facilities (dichotomized by median split) differed significantly by region of the country, school size, student race/ethnicity, and school socioeconomic status (SES). Breaks were associated with lower odds of overweight (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.83-1.00) and obesity (AOR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.75-0.99) among middle school students. Among low-SES middle school students and schools, higher indoor facilities were associated with lower rates of overweight and obesity. Among high school students, higher indoor and outdoor facilities were associated with 19-42% higher odds of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. CONCLUSIONS Physical activity breaks and school facilities may help to address high rates of overweight/obesity and low physical activity levels among secondary students, especially lower-SES students. Students in all schools should have equal access to these resources.
Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B and Insulin Resistance: Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress/Reactive Oxygen Species/Nuclear Factor Kappa B Axis

Obesity-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been proposed as an important pathway in the development of insulin resistance. Protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) is a negative regulator of insulin signaling and is tethered to the ER-membrane. The aim of the study was to determine the mechanisms involved in the crosstalk between ER-stress and PTP1B. PTP1B whole body knockout and C57BL/6J mice were subjected to a high-fat or normal chow-diet for 20 weeks. High-fat diet feeding induced body weight gain, increased adiposity, systemic glucose intolerance, and hepatic steatosis were attenuated by PTP1B deletion. High-fat diet- fed PTP1B knockout mice also exhibited improved glucose uptake measured using [3H]-2-deoxy-glucose incorporation assay and Akt phosphorylation in the skeletal muscle tissue, compared to their wild-type control mice which received similar diet. High-fat diet-induced upregulation of glucose-regulated protein-78, phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2α and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase-2 were significantly attenuated in the PTP1B knockout mice. Mice lacking PTP1B showed decreased expression of the autophagy related protein p62 and the unfolded protein response adaptor protein NCK1 (non-catalytic region of tyrosine kinase). Treatment of C2C12 myotubes with the ER-stressor tunicamycin resulted in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to the activation of protein expression of PTP1B. Furthermore, tunicamycin-induced ROS production activated nuclear translocation of NFκB p65 and was required for ER stress-mediated expression of PTP1B. Our data suggest that PTP1B is induced by ER stress via the activation of the ROS-NFκB axis which is causes unfolded protein response and mediates insulin resistance in the skeletal muscle under obese condition.