Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptions, views and opinions of university students about chemistry learning during practical work at school

The teaching of chemistry through practical experiments has long been an established practice. It forms a key component of teaching of that subject at both school and university level and students have strong views of this method of teaching. This paper reports on the view of undergraduate level 1 chemistry students in relation to their experiences of practical chemistry at school in Scotland. Almost 900 students, across two successive years at the University of Glasgow, were surveyed to determine their perceptions, views and opinions in this area. This paper initially presents the overall views of the students, and then looks in more detail at the effect the different levels to which students took the subject at school affected those views. Specifically, students who took Advanced Higher Grades are compared with those who took Higher Grades. Higher is the standard entry requirement for Scottish Universities, whilst Advanced Higher is a more advanced course. Comparison was also made between the responses of female and male students. The general picture is very encouraging, with students broadly appreciating the practical side of chemistry.
Molecular analysis of high-level ciprofloxacin resistance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi and S. Paratyphi A: need to expand the QRDR region?

SUMMARY Fourteen strains of S. Typhi (n=13) and S. Paratyphi A (n=1) resistant to ciprofloxacin were compared with 30 ciprofloxacin decreased-susceptibility strains on the basis of qnr plasmid analysis, and nucleotide substitutions at gyrA, gyrB, parC and parE. In ciprofloxacin-resistant strains, five S. Typhi and a single S. Paratyphi A showed triple mutations in gyrA (Ser83→Phe, Asp87→Asn, Glu133→Gly) and a novel mutation outside the quinolone resistance determining region (QRDR) (Met52→Leu). Novel mutations were also discovered in an isolate (minimum inhibitory concentration 8 μg/ml) in gyrA gene Asp76→Asn and outside the QRDR Leu44→Ile. Out of 30 isolates with reduced susceptibility, single mutation was found in 12 strains only. Genes encoding qnr plasmid (qnr A, qnr B, AAC1-F) were not detected in ciprofloxacin-resistant or decreased-susceptibility strains. Antimicrobial surveillance coupled with molecular analysis of fluoroquinolone resistance is warranted for reconfirming novel and established molecular patterns of resistance, which is quintessential for reappraisal of enteric fever therapeutics.
Molecules, muscles, and machines: Universal performance characteristics of motors

Animal- and human-made motors vary widely in size and shape, are constructed of vastly different materials, use different mechanisms, and produce an enormous range of mass-specific power. Despite these differences, there is remarkable consistency in the maximum net force produced by broad classes of animal- and human-made motors. Motors that use force production to accomplish steady translational motion of a load (myosin, kinesin, dynein, and RNA polymerase molecules, muscle cells, whole muscles, winches, linear actuators, and rockets) have maximal force outputs that scale as the two-thirds power of mass, i.e., with cross-sectional area. Motors that use cyclical motion to generate force and are more subject to multiaxial stress and vibration have maximal force outputs that scale as a single isometric function of motor mass with mass-specific net force output averaging 57 N⋅kg−1 (SD = 14). Examples of this class of motors includes flying birds, bats, and insects, swimming fish, various taxa of running animals, piston engines, electric motors, and all types of jets. Dependence of force production and stress resistance on cross-sectional area is well known, but the isometric scaling and common upper limit of mass-specific force production by cyclical motion motors has not been recognized previously and is not explained by an existing body of theory. Remarkably, this finding indicates that most of the motors used by humans and animals for transportation have a common upper limit of mass-specific net force output that is independent of materials and mechanisms.
Search for retrovirus in the chronic fatigue syndrome.

AIM: To examine peripheral blood and skeletal muscle from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome for exogenous retrovirus. METHODS: Blood samples from 30 patients and muscle biopsy specimens of 15 patients were examined for retroviral sequences by DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and Southern blotting hybridisation. Sera were examined for human foamy virus by western immunoblotting and indirect immunofluorescence techniques. RESULTS: No differences between the patient and control populations was found for any of the PCR primer sets used (gag, pol, env, and tax regions of HTLV I/II). An endogenous gag band was observed in both the patient and control groups. All sera were negative for antibody to human foamy virus. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that there is no evidence of retroviral involvement in the chronic fatigue syndrome.
Cortical Representation of Inward and Outward Radial Motion in Man

We have used positron emission tomography to investigate the cortical areas of the normal human brain involved in processing inward (Expansion) and outward (Contraction) radial motion simulated with an optic flow stimulus. The optical flow display was made out of dots moving radially away from or toward the center of the display monitor. In the Control condition, the dots' motion was randomized in order to remove any sensation of radial motion. In the Expansion condition, several loci of activation were observed: visual areas V2-V3 and the superior parietal lobule (BA 7), predominantly in the right hemisphere. In the Contraction condition activation sites were found in the same visual areas (V2 and V3) in the right hemisphere but the increase in rCBF in these regions was much lower than in the Expansion condition. BA 7 was activated in both hemispheres. When the motion component of the stimulus was isolated by subtracting the static condition from the incoherent motion condition, we obtained activations of areas V2, V3, and MT (putative V5). These results indicate that the detection of radial motion derived from an optic flow stimulus is mediated by structures forming the dorsal part of the visual cortical system and confirm that area MT is not specifically involved in flow analysis.
Psychometric Properties of the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale Within the Greek Educational Context

Many concerns have been raised about the validity of the existing instruments measuring teachers’ efficacy. Recently, a new instrument to measure teachers’ perceived efficacy has been presented, namely, the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). The purpose of the present study is to examine the psychometric properties of the TSES in the Greek educational context. A total of 405 Greek secondary school teachers voluntarily participated in the study. A within-construct and between-construct approach was used to examine the validity and reliability of the Greek version of the TSES (factorial validity, internal consistency, temporal stability, and correlation with external criteria). Results are encouraging and seem to support the suitability of the TSES to assess teachers’ efficacy within the Greek educational context.
Gallium-67 scintigraphy in lymphoma with bone involvement.

UNLABELLED Both Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) may involve bone. Traditionally, 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy has been used to detect such involvement. In recent years, 67Ga scintigraphy has shown to be useful in monitoring treatment response in lymphoma. Although 99mTc-MDP has not been found particularly useful for monitoring bone response to cancer treatment, we were interested in whether 67Ga scintigraphy and SPECT could be used to monitor bone involvement with lymphoma. METHODS Gallium-67 and 99mTc-MDP uptake were investigated in 20 patients with lymphoma involving the bone before treatment. Gallium-67 scans were done in 16 patients for monitoring response to treatment in the bone lesions. RESULTS Gallium-67 studies diagnosed bone lesions in 19 of the 20 patients. Technetium-99m-MDP detected bone lesions in all patients investigated. In four patients, uptake by Ga-67 was more intense than 99mTc-MDP and in another four patients 99mTc-MDP uptake was more evident. Gallium-67, however, was useful in detecting other regions of involvement in 18 of the 19 patients with soft-tissue lymphoma lesions. Gallium-67 scintigraphy also correctly monitored bone response to treatment in all but one of the 16 patients who had 67Ga scintigraphy after completing therapy. CONCLUSION Gallium-67 uptake by lymphoma involving the bone can be used to monitor osseous response to treatment.
Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Marketing Orientation and Attitude Orientation of Indian Entrepreneurs

The present article assesses the level of entrepreneurial self-efficacy beliefs (ESE beliefs), entrepreneurial marketing orientation (EMO) and entrepreneurial attitude orientation (EAO) of Indian entrepreneurs as well as to examine inter-relationships between these variables. ESE beliefs and EAO were found to be moderately favourable whereas EMO was found to be highly favourable. All the three predictors, namely, ESE Beliefs, EMO and EAO were found to be positively correlated to one another. Almost all the components of the three predictors were also found to have moderate or low degree of positive correlation with one another. Regression analysis revealed that the three predictors had a significant impact on a venture’s performance. The results are quite consistent with the findings of earlier research. Correlation analysis and regression analysis clearly indicated that the hypothesised model that had been proposed for the study has been found fit and hence, can be used to make broader generalisations.
“I Always Worry about What Might Happen Ahead”: Implementing Safer Conception Services in the Current Environment of Reproductive Counseling for HIV-Affected Men and Women in Uganda

Background. We explored healthcare provider perspectives and practices regarding safer conception counseling for HIV-affected clients. Methods. We conducted semistructured interviews with 38 providers (medical and clinical officers, nurses, peer counselors, and village health workers) delivering care to HIV-infected clients across 5 healthcare centres in Mbarara District, Uganda. Interview transcripts were analyzed using content analysis. Results. Of 38 providers, 76% were women with median age 34 years (range 24–57). First, we discuss providers' reproductive counseling practices. Emergent themes include that providers (1) assess reproductive goals of HIV-infected female clients frequently, but infrequently for male clients; (2) offer counseling focused on “family planning” and maternal and child health; (3) empathize with the importance of having children for HIV-affected clients; and (4) describe opportunities to counsel HIV-serodiscordant couples. Second, we discuss provider-level challenges that impede safer conception counseling. Emergent themes included the following: (1) providers struggle to translate reproductive rights language into individualized risk reduction given concerns about maternal health and HIV transmission and (2) providers lack safer conception training and support needed to provide counseling. Discussion. Tailored guidelines and training are required for providers to implement safer conception counseling. Such support must respond to provider experiences with adverse HIV-related maternal and child outcomes and a national emphasis on pregnancy prevention.
Restructuring, Ownership and Efficiency: The Case of Labor in Electricity Generation

This analysis considers improvements in productive efficiency that can result from a movement from a regulated framework to one that allows for market-based incentives for industry participants. Specifically, I look at the case of restructuring in the electricity generation industry. As numerous industries and economies have undergone this sort of transition to varying degrees, it is instructive to assess the performance of market-based incentives relative to what was observed under tighter regulation. Using data from the electricity industry, this analysis considers the total effect of restructuring on one input to the production process - labor - as reflected in employment levels, payroll per employee and aggregate establishment payroll. Using concurrent payroll and employment data from non-utility ("merchant") and utility generators in both restructured and nonrestructured states, I estimate the effect of market liberalization, comprising both new entry and state-level legislation, on employment and payroll in this industry. I find that merchant owners of divested generation assets employ significantly fewer people, but that the payroll per employee is not significantly different from what workers at utility-owned plants are paid. As a result, the new merchant owners of these plants have significantly lower aggregate payroll expenses. Decomposing the effect into a merchant effect and a divestiture effect, I find that merchant ownership is the primary driver of these results.
Quantitative autoradiographic distribution of [3H]AF‐DX 116 muscarinic‐M2 receptor binding sites in rat brain

The distribution of muscarinic‐M2 receptors in rat brain was investigated by in vitro autoradiography using [3H]AF‐DX 116, a putative probe for the muscarinic‐M2 receptor subtype. Incubation of rat brain coronal sections with 10 nM [3H]AF‐DX 116 showed highest binding site densities in discrete areas such as the superior colliculus and certain thalamic and brainstem nuclei, similar to the distribution reported for [2H]acetylcholine/M2 sites. [3H]AF‐DX 116 site densities were markedly lower in forebrain areas such as cortex, striatum, and hippocampus, in contrast to the distribution seen for [3H]pirenzepine‐M1 binding sites, which were concentrated in these forebrain areas; however, differential patterns of labeling were observed for the two muscarinic‐M2 probes, [3H]AF‐DX 116 and [3H]acetylcholine, in the hippocampal formation. Although [3H]AF‐DX 116 binding was broadly distributed in multiple subfields of the hippocampus, [3H]acetylcholine binding was discretely distributed in a manner resembling that of acetylcholinesterase staining. This suggests the existence of muscarinic‐M2 subtypes in the CNS, especially in the hippocampal formation.
GenFlow: Generalizable Recurrent Flow for 6D Pose Refinement of Novel Objects

Despite the progress of learning-based methods for 6D object pose estimation, the trade-off between accuracy and scalability for novel objects still exists. Specifically, previous methods for novel objects do not make good use of the target object's 3D shape information since they focus on generalization by processing the shape indirectly, making them less effective. We present GenFlow, an approach that enables both accuracy and generalization to novel objects with the guidance of the target object's shape. Our method predicts optical flow between the rendered image and the observed image and refines the 6D pose iteratively. It boosts the performance by a constraint of the 3D shape and the generalizable geometric knowledge learned from an end-to-end differentiable system. We further improve our model by designing a cascade network architecture to exploit the multi-scale correlations and coarse-to-fine refinement. GenFlow ranked first on the unseen object pose estimation benchmarks in both the RGB and RGB-D cases. It also achieves performance competitive with existing state-of-the-art methods for the seen object pose estimation without any fine-tuning.
Characterization of the human α-synuclein gene: Genomic structure, transcription start site, promoter region and polymorphisms 1

The human NACP/alpha-synuclein gene has been cloned. This gene consists of 6 exons ranging in size from 42 to 1110 bp. The translation start codon ATG is encoded by exon 2 and the stop codon TAA is encoded by exon 6. The non-Abeta component of Alzheimer's disease amyloid (NAC) is encoded by exon 4. The two previously reported minor isoforms of NACP/alpha-synuclein, NACP112 [29] and NACP126 [6], are alternatively spliced products, in which exon 5 and exon 3 are spliced out, respectively. Exon 1 was found to have different splicing sites, producing different 5'-untranslated sequences in the cDNAs. A previously reported dinucleotide repeat polymorphic marker has been mapped to 8kb upstream of the transcription start site. A highly TC-rich sequence in intron 4 was found to be polymorphic by length and four alleles, A0, A1, A2 and B have been identified in the Caucasian population. Genotyping this polymorphism among pure Alzheimer's, Lewy body variant and Parkinson's subjects and aged normal control subjects did not reveal any significant differences.
Restoring Spinal Noradrenergic Inhibitory Tone Attenuates Pain Hypersensitivity in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease

In the present study, we investigated whether restoring descending noradrenergic inhibitory tone can attenuate pain in a PD rat model, which was established by stereotaxic infusion of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the bilateral striatum (CPu). PD rats developed thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity at the 4th week after surgery. HPLC analysis showed that NE content, but not dopamine or 5-HT, significantly decreased in lumbar spinal cord in PD rats. Additional noradrenergic depletion by injection of N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2-bromobenzylamine (DSP-4) aggravated pain hypersensitivity in PD rats. At the 5th week after injection of 6-OHDA, systemic treatment with pharmacological norepinephrine (NE) precursor droxidopa (L-DOPS) or α2 adrenoceptor agonist clonidine significantly attenuated thermal and mechanical pain hypersensitivity in PD rats. Furthermore, application of norepinephrine (NE) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors duloxetine, but not 5-HT selective reuptake inhibitors sertraline, significantly inhibited thermal and mechanical pain hypersensitivity in PD rats. Systemic administration of Madopar (L-DOPA) or the D2/D3 agonist pramipexole slightly inhibited the thermal, but not mechanical, hypersensitivity in PD rats. Thus, our study revealed that impairment of descending noradrenergic system may play a key role in PD-associated pain and restoring spinal noradrenergic inhibitory tone may serve as a novel strategy to manage PD-associated pain.
Selenium status and risk of prostate cancer in a Danish population

Abstract Low-Se status may be associated with a higher risk of notably advanced prostate cancer. In a Danish population with a relatively low Se intake, we investigated the association between pre-diagnostic Se status and (1) the risk of total, advanced and high-grade prostate cancer and (2) all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality among men with prostate cancer. Within the Danish ‘Diet, Cancer and Health’ cohort, including 27 179 men, we identified 784 cases with incident prostate cancer through 2007. Each case was risk set-matched to one control. Two-thirds (n 525) of the cases had advanced disease at the time of diagnosis, and among these 170 had high-grade disease; 305 cases died (n 212 from prostate cancer) during follow-up through 2012. Plasma Se was not associated with total or advanced prostate cancer risk, but higher Se levels were associated with a lower risk of high-grade disease (HR 0·77; 95 % CI 0·64, 0·94; P=0·009). In survival analyses, a higher level of plasma Se was associated with a lower risk of all-cause (HR 0·92; 95 % CI 0·85, 1·00; P=0·04), but not prostate cancer-specific mortality. Higher levels of selenoprotein P were associated with a lower risk of high-grade disease (HR 0·85; 95 % CI 0·74, 0·97; P=0·01), but not with the risk of or mortality from advanced prostate cancer. In conclusion, levels of plasma Se and selenoprotein P were not associated with the risk of total and advanced prostate cancer, but higher levels of these two biomarkers were associated with a lower risk of high-grade disease.
Cognitive Processing Therapy for Rape Victims: A Treatment Manual

PART ONE: RAPE AND ITS AFTERMATH Introduction Information Processing Theory and Relevant Treatments Diagnosis and Assessment PART TWO: COGNITIVE PROCESSING THERAPY: SESSION BY SESSION Introduction and Education Phase The Meaning of the Event Identification of Thoughts and Feelings Remembering the Rape Identification of Stuck Points Challenging Questions Faulty Thinking Patterns Safety Issues Trust Issues Power and Control Issues Esteem Issues Intimacy Issues and Meaning of the Event PART THREE: SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS Group Versus Individual Treatment Practical Considerations for Running Groups - Linda M Housman and Monica K Schnicke Client Characteristics That May Affect Treatment Therapist Considerations Results of CPT
Fast and Conspicuous? Quantifying Salience With the Theory of Visual Attention

Particular differences between an object and its surrounding cause salience, guide attention, and improve performance in various tasks. While much research has been dedicated to identifying which feature dimensions contribute to salience, much less regard has been paid to the quantitative strength of the salience caused by feature differences. Only a few studies systematically related salience effects to a common salience measure, and they are partly outdated in the light of new findings on the time course of salience effects. We propose Bundesen’s Theory of Visual Attention (TVA) as a theoretical basis for measuring salience and introduce an empirical and modeling approach to link this theory to data retrieved from temporal-order judgments. With this procedure, TVA becomes applicable to a broad range of salience-related stimulus material. Three experiments with orientation pop-out displays demonstrate the feasibility of the method. A 4th experiment substantiates its applicability to the luminance dimension.
Phosphorylated and cleaved TDP‐43 in ALS, FTLD and other neurodegenerative disorders and in cellular models of TDP‐43 proteinopathy

Transactivation response (TAR) DNA‐binding protein of Mr 43 kDa (TDP‐43) is a major component of the tau‐negative and ubiquitin‐positive inclusions that characterize amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration which is now referred to as FTLD‐TDP. Concurrent TDP‐43 pathology has been reported in a variety of other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, forming a group of TDP‐43 proteinopathy. Accumulated TDP‐43 is characterized by phosphorylation and fragmentation. There is a close relationship between the pathological subtypes of FTLD‐TDP and the immunoblot pattern of the C‐terminal fragments of phosphorylated TDP‐43. These results suggest that proteolytic processing of accumulated TDP‐43 may play an important role for the pathological process. In cultured cells, transfected C‐terminal fragments of TDP‐43 are more prone to form aggregates than full‐length TDP‐43. Transfecting the C‐terminal fragment of TDP‐43 harboring pathogenic mutations of TDP‐43 gene identified in familial and sporadic ALS cases into cells enhanced the aggregate formation. Furthermore, we found that methylene blue and dimebon inhibit aggregation of TDP‐43 in these cellular models. Understanding the mechanism of phosphorylation and truncation of TDP‐43 and aggregate formation may be crucial for clarifying the pathogenesis of TDP‐43 proteinopathy and for developing useful therapeutics.