Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
First reported case of Campylobacter lanienae enteritis in a human

Introduction: Campylobacters are the most frequently identified bacteria causing diarrhoea in humans worldwide. Campylobacter lanienae was isolated for the first time in 2000 from faecal samples of two asymptomatic abattoir workers in Switzerland during a routine hygiene screen, but has never been associated with human disease. Case presentation: At hospital admission, the patient reported diarrhoea, lower abdominal cramps, nausea, one episode of bilious vomiting and low-grade fever of 38 °C. The patient was having 10 or more diarrheic stools per day as well as during the night, and had noticed blood mixed with the stools on several occasions. Stool cultures were negative for species of Salmonella and Shigella, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Yersinia enterocolitica, but were positive for C. lanienae. Identification was made by classical biochemical testing, as well as 16S rRNA gene and cpn60 sequencing. The patient slowly improved without antibiotic treatment and was discharged nine days after admission with complete resolution of symptoms. Conclusion: On the whole it seems very likely that C. lanienae was the causative agent. Clinical microbiologists should be aware of this micro-organism which can be identified by phenotypic and molecular methods. The real burden of C. lanienae infection in humans might be underestimated and should be further investigated as a potential cause of human diarrhoea disease.
Seasonally resolved growth of freshwater bivalves determined by oxygen and carbon isotope shell chemistry

By means of a monitoring experiment in two rivers in the Netherlands, we establish a relationship between seasonally resolved growth rates in unionid freshwater bivalves and their environment. We reconstructed these seasonally resolved growth rates by using relationships of stable isotopes in the shells and their ambient river water. The reconstructed growth rates reveal that shells grow fastest in spring‐early summer, when highest food availability occurs in the rivers. In addition, the reconstructed growth rates show that onset and cessation of growth are mainly influenced by water temperature.
Oxidative and Excitatory Mechanisms of Developmental Neurotoxicity: Transcriptional Profiles for Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon, Dieldrin, and Divalent Nickel in PC12 Cells

Background Oxidative stress and excitotoxicity underlie the developmental neurotoxicity of numerous chemicals. Objectives We compared the effects of organophosphates (chlorpyrifos and diazinon), an organo-chlorine (dieldrin), and a metal [divalent nickel (Ni2+)] to determine how these mechanisms contribute to similar or dissimilar neurotoxic outcomes. Methods We used PC12 cells as a model of developing neurons and evaluated transcriptional profiles for genes for oxidative stress responses and glutamate receptors. Results Chlorpyrifos had a greater effect on oxidative-stress–related genes in differentiating cells compared with the undifferentiated state. Chlorpyrifos and diazinon showed significant concordance in their effects on glutathione-related genes, but they were negatively correlated for effects on catalase and superoxide dismutase isoforms and had no concordance for effects on ionotropic glutamate receptors. Surprisingly, the correlations were stronger between diazinon and dieldrin than between the two organophosphates. The effects of Ni2+ were the least similar for genes related to oxidative stress but had significant concordance with dieldrin for effects on glutamate receptors. Conclusions Our results point to underlying mechanisms by which different organophosphates produce disparate neurotoxic outcomes despite their shared property as cholinesterase inhibitors. Further, apparently unrelated neurotoxicants may produce similar outcomes because of convergence on oxidative stress and excitotoxicity. The combined use of cell cultures and microarrays points to specific end points that can distinguish similarities and disparities in the effects of diverse developmental neurotoxicants.
New players on the metabolic stage

Members of the acyl-CoA thioesterase (Acot) gene family catalyze the hydrolysis of fatty acyl-CoA thioesters. Thioesterase superfamily member (Them) 1 (synonym: Acot11) is enriched in brown adipose tissue and is markedly upregulated when mice are exposed to cold ambient temperatures. In a recent study, we demonstrated that Them1−/− mice exhibit increased energy expenditure and are resistant to diet-induced obesity and its metabolic consequences. This mini-review places these findings in the context of an emerging understanding of Them/Acot genes.
Investigating the Boundaries of Feature Conjunction Representations in the Perirhinal Cortex

Convergent evidence suggests that the perirhinal cortex (PRC) is involved in perception, in addition to long-term memory, by representing higher-order object feature conjunctions. Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) investigations have shown greater PRC activity during the processing of objects with a higher versus lower degree of features in common, but notably, these studies have been limited to examining only two levels of feature overlap. To address this, we scanned neurologically healthy participants with fMRI during a 1-back working memory task for objects that possessed a very low, low, medium or high degree of feature overlap. Somewhat consistent with previous findings, trends towards greater PRC activity for high versus medium feature overlap objects, and for semantically identical compared to semantically different objects were observed. However, other aspects of our data, including diminished PRC activity during medium versus low feature overlap objects, are difficult to interpret and require further investigation.
Technological innovation inputs, outputs and family management: evidence from Spanish manufacturing firms

Abstract The analysis of innovation in a family business context has become an emerging topic in literature, but recent studies have resulted in mixed findings. To disentangle these inconclusive results, we propose to analyse the influence of family management on the relationship between different innovation inputs and innovation outputs. In particular, this manuscript empirically investigates whether family management exerts a moderating role on the relationship between R&D intensity, R&D personnel and social capital and the occurrence of technological innovation. To test our hypotheses, we used a conditional logistic regression based on a longitudinal sample of 1027 Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2006–2010. The results show that family management reduces efficiency in the conversion of R&D expenses into technological innovation outcomes.
Copper as a signal for alginate synthesis in Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae

Plant-associated pseudomonads are commonly exposed to copper bactericides, which are applied to reduce the disease incidence caused by these bacteria. Consequently, many of these bacteria have acquired resistance or tolerance to copper salts. We recently conducted a survey of 37 copper-resistant (Cur) Pseudomonas spp. , including P. cepacia, P. fluorescens, P. syringae, and P. viridiflava, and found that a subset of the P. syringae strains showed a dramatic increase in exopolysaccharide (EPS) production on mannitol-glutamate medium containing CuSO4 at 250 micrograms/ml. A modified carbazole assay indicated that the EPS produced on copper-amended media contained high levels of uronic acids, suggesting that the EPS was primarily alginic acid. Uronic acids extracted from selected strains were further confirmed to be alginate by demonstrating their sensitivity to alginate lyase and by descending paper chromatography following acid hydrolysis. Subinhibitory levels of arsenate, cobalt, lithium, rubidium, molybdenum, and mercury did not induce EPS production, indicating that alginate biosynthesis is not induced in P. syringae cells exposed to these heavy metals. A 200-kb plasmid designated pPSR12 conferred a stably mucoid phenotype to several P. syringae recipients and also increased their resistance to cobalt and arsenate. A cosmid clone constructed from pPSR12 which conferred a stably mucoid phenotype to several P. syringae strains but not to Pseudomonas aeruginosa was obtained. Results obtained in this study indicate that some of the signals and regulatory genes for alginate production in P. syringae differ from those described for alginate production in P. aeruginosa.
The ghost in the news room: the legacy of Kenya’s 2007 post-election violence and the constraints on journalists covering Kenya’s 2013 General Election

ABSTRACT Domestic journalists covering Kenya’s 2013 General Election worked in an exceptionally challenging media environment; one which was significantly shaped by the 2007 election and post-election violence (PEV). Rooted in literature on peace journalism (PJ), we examine how the PEV of Kenya’s 2007 presidential elections informed and shaped journalists’ practice around the 2013 Kenyan General Election. The article is based on qualitative interviews with 16 Kenyan print journalists and editors at the Daily Nation and Standard newspapers as well as interviews with 6 Kenyan media specialists. Our analysis finds the 2007 PEV significantly constrained journalistic practice in three ways: first, journalists witnessed violence in 2007 which anchored their 2013 coverage; second, interviewees felt a ‘collective guilt’ at journalism’s failure to provide responsible coverage in 2007 creating a ‘culture of restraint’ and third, journalists felt compelled to ‘sanitize’ potentially inflammatory language creating a tension between journalists’ duty to inform and strong desire to avoid contributing to conflict. This article concludes by siding with a growing critical chorus of PJ scholars critiquing its often “individualist” approach and calling for greater attention towards structural factors such as perceived social constraints when conceptualizing and theorizing the agency of journalists working in post conflict environments.
On using machine learning for logic BIST

This paper presents a new approach for designing test sequences to be generated on-chip. The proposed technique is based on machine learning, and provides a way to generate efficient patterns to be used during BIST test pattern generation. The main idea is that test patterns detecting random pattern resistant faults are not embedded in a pseudo-random sequence as in existing techniques, but rather are used to produce relevant features allowing to generate directed random test patterns that detect random pattern resistant faults as well as easy-to-test faults. A BIST implementation that uses a classical LFSR plus a small amount of mapping logic is also proposed. Results are shown for benchmark circuits which indicate that our technique can reduce the weighted or pseudo-random test length required for a particular fault coverage. Other results are given to show the possible trade off between hardware overhead and test sequence length. An encouraging point is that results presented in this paper although they are comparable with those of existing mixed-mode techniques, have been obtained with a machine learning tool not specifically developed for BIST generation and therefore may significantly be improved.
Students’ Attitudes and Preferences toward Language of Learning and Teaching at the University of South Africa

ABSTRACT The strategic Survey on Language Attitudes and Preferences of Unisa Students toward Language of Learning and Teaching (SLA) research project is a longitudinal study conducted in the wake of the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) revised language policy to promote multilingualism and the development of the African languages as language of learning and teaching (LoLT). Data for the preliminary qualitative part of the study was gathered by means of interviews and focus groups. The results confirm the complex nature of language attitudes in a sociohistorical context. The aim with this qualitative study was to determine the different opinions and beliefs that influence and constitute the attitudes of students towards the proposed use of African languages as LoLT at Unisa. The students’ opinions and beliefs (belief statements) are linked theoretically to relevant research and are reflected in the questionnaire compiled for the follow-up quantitative study. Proceeding from the qualitative investigation, this article offers suggestions for the development of African languages as LoLT and emphasises student involvement in language planning and implementation.
Parental perspectives: Risk and protective factors associated with parenting quality for parents of adolescents in secure residential care

Although parental problems and poor parenting are commonly associated with adolescents' admission to secure residential care, few studies examined these parental characteristics. This study aims to identify parental problems and strengths and their association with parenting styles for 64 of these parents. We assessed perspectives of both adolescents and their parent figures shortly after admission. Parents often report high levels of psychopathology for both mothers and fathers, respectively, including depression (54.7% and 39.1%), anxiety (29.7% and 12.5%), substance dependence (14.1% and 26.6%), antisocial behaviour (1.6% and 21.1%), and psychosis (11.0% and 9.4%). Parents also report high parenting stress specifically related to the behaviour of their child. In contrast to our expectations, most parents experience a high quality of life. Living in a 1-parent family, being unemployed and having debts are most frequently mentioned risk factor combinations. We found limited support for the hypothesis that parents with more risk and less protective factors show poorer parenting. Parents with more psychopathology and parenting stress do show poorer parenting than parents without these problems. Based on our findings, we describe several implications for engaging and supporting parents of adolescents in secure residential care.
Telepresence Robot Helps Children in Communicating with Teachers who Speak a Different Language

This study reports the advantages of using a child-operated telepresence robot system for the purpose of remote education. Video conferencing is already common in educational settings, where a foreign language is taught by a native teacher from a remote location; however, there is a serious issue in that children tend to have difficulties or freeze when facing teachers who speak a different language over a monitor. We hypothesize that a child-operated telepresence robot that offers physical participation and operability will help to address this issue. To investigate this hypothesis, we conduct a field experiment with 52 participants (4–8 years old) in classroom environments, and the use of a telepresence robot system is compared with a baseline Skype condition. The results show the advantages of the telepresence robot system for both children and teachers. Categories and Subject DescriptorsI.2. 9 [Artificial Intelligence]: Robotics; H.4. 3 [Information Systems Applications]: Communications Applications— Computer conferencing, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing General Terms Design, Human Factors, Verification
Improving tag transfer for image annotation using visual and semantic information

This paper addresses the problem of image annotation using a combination of visual and semantic information. Our model involves two stages: a Nearest Neighbor computation and a tag transfer stage that collects the final annotations. For the latter stage, several algorithms have been implemented in the past using labels' information or including implicitly some visual features. In this paper we propose a novel algorithm for tag transfer that takes advantage explicitly of semantic and visual information. We also present a structured training procedure based on a concept we have called Image Networking: all the images in a training database are “connected” visually and semantically, so it is possible to exploit these connections to learn the tag transfer parameters at annotation time. This learning is local for the test image and it exploits the information obtained in the Nearest Neighbor computation stage. We demonstrate that our approach achieves state-of-the-art performance on the ImageCLEF2011 dataset.
Lessons from Conditionality Provisions for South-North Cooperation on Climate Change

This article examines what may be taken into account, when designing a mechanism of international public finance to support south-north cooperation on domestic climate policies in developing countries. We draw lessons from existing mechanisms of conditional transfers. Experience with conditionality provisions that the World Bank, the IMF, and bilateral donors apply to development assistance is varied. Conditionality provisions applied during the EU enlargement process are generally evaluated more positively, as the shared objective is increased credibility and participation. Clearly defining global emissions reductions as a shared objective could offer similar opportunities for cooperation. We discuss lessons that might be of relevance to the design of cooperative climate policy.
Psychometric Assessment of the Japanese Version of the Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (ZCQ): Reliability and Validity

Purpose The Zurich Claudication Questionnaire (ZCQ) is a self-administered measure to evaluate symptom severity, physical function, and surgery satisfaction in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). The purpose of this study is to assess the psychometric properties of the Japanese ZCQ in LSS patients. Methods LSS patients who are scheduled to undergo surgery were recruited from 12 facilities. Responses to several questionnaires, including the Japanese ZCQ; the visual analogue scale (VAS) to evaluate the degree of pain in the buttocks/legs, numbness in the buttocks/legs, and low back pain; the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI); and the SF-36v2, were collected before surgery and again 3 months after surgery (the post-surgery ZCQ was administered twice for test-retest reliability). For reliability, test-retest reliability was evaluated using the intra-class coefficient (ICC) and internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Concurrent validity was assessed using Spearman’s correlation coefficients between the Japanese ZCQ and other questionnaires. Effect size (ES) and standard response mean were calculated for responsiveness. All analyses were performed individually for the Japanese ZCQ symptom, function, and satisfaction domains. Results Data from 180 LSS patients were used in this analysis. The ICCs were 0.81, 0.89, and 0.88 and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.78, 0.84, and 0.92 for the Japanese ZCQ symptom, function, and satisfaction domains, respectively. Regarding the concurrent validity, strong correlations (±0.5) were demonstrated between the Japanese ZCQ domains and the VAS leg pain, ODI, and SF-36v2 physical functioning or bodily pain, whereas correlations were approximately 0.3 in scales measuring other symptoms that are less related to symptom, function, or satisfaction domains. ESs showed high values for the ZCQ symptom and function domains (-1.73 for both). Conclusions These psychometric assessments demonstrate that the Japanese ZCQ is a psychometrically reliable and valid measure in LSS. The Japanese ZCQ can evaluate both multi-dimensional aspects and the level of surgery satisfaction.
Dynamic changes to the endocannabinoid system in models of chronic pain

The analgesic effects of cannabinoid ligands, mediated by CB1 receptors are well established. However, the side-effect profile of CB1 receptor ligands has necessitated the search for alternative cannabinoid-based approaches to analgesia. Herein, we review the current literature describing the impact of chronic pain states on the key components of the endocannabinoid receptor system, in terms of regionally restricted changes in receptor expression and levels of key metabolic enzymes that influence the local levels of the endocannabinoids. The evidence that spinal CB2 receptors have a novel role in the modulation of nociceptive processing in models of neuropathic pain, as well as in models of cancer pain and arthritis is discussed. Recent advances in our understanding of the spinal location of the key enzymes that regulate the levels of the endocannabinoid 2-AG are discussed alongside the outcomes of recent studies of the effects of inhibiting the catabolism of 2-AG in models of pain. The complexities of the enzymes capable of metabolizing both anandamide (AEA) and 2-AG have become increasingly apparent. More recently, it has come to light that some of the metabolites of AEA and 2-AG generated by cyclooxygenase-2, lipoxygenases and cytochrome P450 are biologically active and can either exacerbate or inhibit nociceptive signalling.
Inhomogeneous condensates in planar QED.

We study the formation of vacuum condensates in (2+1)-dimensional QED in the presence of inhomogeneous background magnetic fields. For a large class of magnetic fields, the condensate is shown to be proportional to the inhomogeneous magnetic field, in the large flux limit. This may be viewed as a {ital local} form of the {ital integrated} degeneracy-flux relation of Aharonov and Casher. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society. }
Second-order analysis in polynomially perturbed reversible quadratic Hamiltonian systems

We study degree $n$ polynomial perturbations of quadratic reversible Hamiltonian vector fields with one center and one saddle point. It was recently proved that if the first Poincaré–Pontryagin integral is not identically zero, then the exact upper bound for the number of limit cycles on the finite plane is $n-1$. In the present paper we prove that if the first Poincaré–Pontryagin function is identically zero, but the second is not, then the exact upper bound for the number of limit cycles on the finite plane is $2(n-1)$. In the case when the perturbation is quadratic ($n=2$) we obtain a complete result—there is a neighborhood of the initial Hamiltonian vector field in the space of all quadratic vector fields, in which any vector field has at most two limit cycles.
The Origins of Mental Toughness – Prosocial Behavior and Low Internalizing and Externalizing Problems at Age 5 Predict Higher Mental Toughness Scores at Age 14

Background: The concept of mental toughness (MT) has gained increasing importance among groups other than elite athletes by virtue of its psychological importance and explanatory power for a broad range of health-related behaviors. However, no study has focused so far on the psychological origins of MT. Therefore, the aims of the present study were: to explore, to what extent the psychological profiles of preschoolers aged five were associated with both (1) MT scores and (2) sleep disturbances at age 14, and 3) to explore possible gender differences. Method: Nine years after their first assessment at age five (preschoolers), a total of 77 adolescents (mean age: 14.35 years; SD = 1.22; 42% females) took part in this follow-up study. At baseline, both parents and teachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), covering internalizing and externalizing problems, hyperactivity, negative peer relationships, and prosocial behavior. At follow-up, participants completed a booklet of questionnaires covering socio-demographic data, MT, and sleep disturbances. Results: Higher prosocial behavior, lower negative peer relationships, and lower internalizing and externalizing problems at age five, as rated by parents and teachers, were associated with self-reported higher MT and lower sleep disturbances at age 14. At age 14, and relative to males, females had lower MT scores and reported more sleep disturbances. Conclusion: The pattern of results suggests that MT traits during adolescence may have their origins in the pre-school years.