Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Passive West Nile Virus Antibody Transfer from Maternal Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio) to Progeny

Abstract Transovarial antibody transfer in owls has not been demonstrated for West Nile virus (WNV). We sampled chicks from captive adult WNV-antibody-positive Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio) to evaluate the prevalence of transovarial maternal antibody transfer, as well as titers and duration of maternal antibodies. Twenty-four owlets aged 1 to 27 days old circulated detectable antibodies with neutralizing antibody titers ranging from 20 to 1600 (median 1:40). Demonstrating that WNV antibodies are passively transferred transovarially is important for accurate interpretation of serologic data from young birds.
2D multi-gas mapper with cascading module system along with wireless sensor network

Now-a-days, the release of hazardous gases is one of the major threat not only for the environment but also for climate and lives. Both global and local extensive ecological damage is responsible for this case. There are a number of sources for gas emission, like; exhaust gases from industry as well as traffic, fires flue gases, waste disposals, various incidents at the chemicals geo-dynamically active regions, Carbon Capture Storage (CCS) areas, gases over industrial sites, landfill sites, and contaminated areas. In these cases, a quickly localization of gas leaks as well as monitoring the potential areas of gas emission are necessary. In our research work, we proposed an approach to integrate various 2D multi-gas distribution mapping with various cascade-able modules placed in a bus logic design over a wired and wireless based sensor network. Though all the modules are cascade-able and placed in a line with common bus designed into the system, so it is possible to add or remove any number of modules at any time. For every single gas we predefined a particular gas intensity threshold as PPM (Parts Per Millions) into the main controller for every module. With the compare of present sensor values and the predefined values, our system can able to track the significant change over gas adsorption and also the scale level of its derogative. With the presumption of a hazardous situation over gas distribution, we also proposed an adapting process of generating alarms. These alarm generating processes works over two basis; one is live alarm that for the local area and another is distance alarm that generated in a particular connection device for the system administrator. In our work, we focus on the measurement of 2D multi-gas consent ration by using versatile gas sensors, then locate the level of gas emission with alarm generating process at the case of hazardous situations. With the overall approaches, we can say that this system can be helpful for industrial control and also for environmental monitoring and safety and security related fields.
Role of Muller cells in retinal degenerations.

Muller (radial glial) cells span the entire thickness of the retina, and contact and ensheath every type of neuronal cell body and process. This morphological relationship is reflected by a multitude of functional interactions between retinal neurons and Muller cells, including extracellular ion homeostasis and glutamate recycling by Muller cells. Virtually every disease of the retina is associated with a reactive Muller cell gliosis. Muller cell gliosis may either support the survival of retinal neurons or accelerate the progress of neuronal degeneration. Muller cells are key mediators of nerve cell protection, especially via release of basic fibroblast growth factor, via uptake and degradation of the excitotoxin glutamate, and via secretion of the antioxidant glutathione. Neovascularization during hypoxic conditions is mediated by Muller cells via release of vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor beta or via direct contact to endothelial cells. Primary Muller cell insufficiency has been suggested to be the cause of different cases of retinal degeneration including hepatic and methanol-induced retinopathy and glaucoma. It is conceivable that, in the future, new therapeutic strategies may utilize Muller cells for, e.g., somatic gene therapy or transdifferentiation of retinal neurons from dedifferentiated Muller cells.
The third factor of the WISC-III: it's (probably) not freedom from distractibility.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the ecological validity, construct validity, and diagnostic utility of the third factor of the WISC-III, heuristically labeled "Freedom From Distractibility" (FFD). METHOD A sample of 200 children, aged 6 to 11 years, with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) completed the WISC-III, the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised, and the Test of Variables of Attention. Objective parent and teacher report measures of attention and hyperactivity were completed. RESULTS Mean FFD scores were significantly lower than other WISC-III factor scores. The diagnostic utility of FFD is limited, however, as the majority of these children did not show a significant relative weakness on this index. Correlational analyses failed to support the concurrent, ecological, or construct validity of the FFD. FFD scores were not correlated with a measure of sustained visual attention. Findings suggest that among children with ADHD, a low FFD score may be associated with the presence of a learning disability or poor academic performance. This finding was maintained after level of general intelligence was statistically controlled. CONCLUSIONS Clinicians and researchers should not view FFD as a reliable or valid index of attention or as a diagnostic screening measure for identifying children with ADHD.
Using a co-innovation approach to support innovation and learning: Cross-cutting observations from different settings and emergent issues

Co-innovation has gained interest in recent years as an approach to tackle issues in agriculture and natural resource management. Co-innovation requires new roles for researchers supporting these processes and enabling settings in the programs they work in and the organizations they pertain to. The contributions to this special issue explore experiences with co-innovation in different settings from different angles. The special issue presents several studies on co-innovation in a large program in New Zealand, a study based on an EU Horizon 2020 project in the Czech Republic, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom as well as co-innovation experiences from Uruguay and Tanzania. Cross-cutting findings and emergent issues include (i) the need to consider the issue of simultaneously scaling both co-innovation project results and the co-innovation practice, (ii) the issue of flexibility in pace of co-innovation to allow different participants to converge and the flexibility in learning space needed to enable reflection, (iii) the issue of changing the dominant logics of the innovation systems in which co-innovation is embedded and (iv) the need for reflexive monitoring to support processes of co-innovation and their institutional embedding.
The Hypocholesterolemic Agent LY295427 Reverses Suppression of Sterol Regulatory Element-binding Protein Processing Mediated by Oxysterols*

The sterol LY295427 reduces plasma cholesterol levels in animals by increasing the expression of hepatic low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors. Here we trace the hypocholesterolemic activity of LY295427 to an ability to reverse oxysterol-mediated suppression of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) processing. Micromolar concentrations of LY295427 induced the metabolism of LDL in oxysterol-treated cultured cells and inhibited the stimulation of cholesteryl ester synthesis mediated by oxysterols. cDNA microarray and RNA blotting experiments revealed that LY295427 increased levels of the LDL receptor mRNA and those of other SREBP target genes. The compound stimulated the accumulation of SREBPs in the nuclei of cells grown in the presence of oxysterols within 4–6 h of addition to the medium. Induction required components of the normal SREBP-processing pathway, including the SREBP cleavage-activating protein and the Site 1 protease. LY295427 overcame the suppression of SREBP processing mediated by several oxysterols but not by LDL-derived cholesterol. We conclude that LY295427 achieves a therapeutically desirable end point by an unique mechanism of action.
Role Assignment in Wireless Sensor Networks Based on Vertex Coloring

This work proposes a heuristic approach for the role assignment problem in wireless sensor networks based on the classical problem of vertex coloring in graph theory. Functions or roles define activities to be performed by sensor nodes. In the literature, there are several algorithms for the role assignment in sensor networks and in this work we present a different strategy based on the vertex coloring problem. There is a strong relationship between them, allowing us to use the vertex coloring as the start point in the solution of the role assignment problem. Such approach leads to good solutions when we consider various simultaneous events, differently from other proposals that do not consider this scenario. Even in the case of a high number of events, our algorithm remains efficient, maintaining the network connectivity, keeping the rate of non-sensed events and preserving the low energy consumption. The proposed solution tries to save the most important sensors in the network, with respect to their roles, increasing their lifetime.
A Review of Research on Electronic Word-of-Mouth in Hospitality and Tourism Management

ABSTRACT Social networks have presently become a global phenomenon. Social media offers interactive platforms where people can create, share, and exchange information. In hospitality and tourism, word-of-mouth (WOM) plays a prominent role in influencing the purchase intentions of customers because some aspects of products are intangible before consumption. Through the digitization of WOM, customer feedback is circulated at an unprecedented speed in social media. Positive product reviews are free advertising for companies and increase business potential; however, undesirable comments can severely destroy the image and reputation of a company. This article conducts a review on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) in the field of hospitality and tourism. The findings indicate that research conducted from 2008–2013 mainly explored the characteristics of eWOM and examined its antecedents and influence from the customers’ perspective. Opportunities for future research are discussed.
Rapamycin sensitizes glucocorticoid resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia CEM-C1 cells to dexamethasone induced apoptosis through both mTOR suppression and up-regulation and activation of glucocorticoid receptor.

OBJECTIVE To explore the role of glucocorticoid (GC) receptor (GR) in rapamycin's reversion of GC resistance in human GC-resistant T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) CEM-C1 cells. METHODS CEM-C1 cells were cultured in vitro and treated with rapamycin at different concentrations with or without 1 μmol/L dexamethasone (Dex). 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test was performed to assess cell proliferation. The cell cycle and cell apoptosis were analyzed by flow cytometry. The expression of GRα mRNA was determined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. The expression of GR, p-70S6K, Mcl-1, and Bim proteins was detected by Western blot. RESULTS When incubated with rapamycin at different concentrations, CEM-C1 cells showed significant growth inhibition in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. The growth inhibition was synergistically increased when CEM-C1 cells were treated with rapamycin plus 1 μmol/L Dex. CEM-C1 cells treated with rapamycin alone showed no apparent apoptosis, and were arrested at G0/G1 phase. After the treatment with Dex plus rapamycin, CEM-C1 cells demonstrated apparent apoptosis and increased the cell cycle arrested at G0/G1 phase. Rapamycin combined with Dex up-regulated GRα, phosphorylated GR(p-GR), and pro-apoptotic protein Bim-EL in CEM-C1 cells, but inhibited the expression of p-p70S6K, a downstream target protein of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin). CONCLUSION After the treatment with rapamycin plus Dex, Dex resistant CEM-C1 cells induce growth inhibition and apoptosis. The underlying mechanism may involve inhibition of the mTOR signaling pathway and also be associated with up-regulation of GR expression and activation of GC-GR signaling pathway.
Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus Nonstructural Protein NS2 Antagonizes the Activation of Beta Interferon Transcription by Interacting with RIG-I

ABSTRACT A wide variety of RNA viruses have been shown to produce proteins that inhibit interferon (IFN) production and signaling. For human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the nonstructural NS1 and NS2 proteins have been shown to block IFN signaling by causing the proteasomal degradation of STAT2. In addition, recombinant RSVs lacking either NS1 or NS2 induce more IFN production than wild-type (wt) RSV in infected cells. However, the mechanisms by which the NS proteins perform this function are unknown. In this study, we focused on defining the mechanism by which NS2 inhibits the induction of IFN transcription. We find that NS2 is required for the early inhibition of IFN transcription since the infection of cells with NS2-deletion RSV resulted in a higher level of IRF3 activation at early time points postinfection compared with that of wt or NS1-deletion RSV infection. In addition, NS2 expression inhibits IFN transcription induced by both the RIG-I and TLR3 pathways. Furthermore, we show that NS2 inhibits RIG-I-mediated IFN promoter activation by binding to the N-terminal CARD of RIG-I and inhibiting its interaction with the downstream component MAVS (IPS-1, VISA, Cardif). Thus, the RSV NS2 protein is a multifunctional IFN antagonist that targets specific components of both the IFN induction and IFN signaling pathways.
Enabling Green Wireless Networking With Device-to-Device Links: A Joint Optimization Approach

Device-to-device (D2D) communication has emerged as a promising technique for improving capacity and reducing power consumption in wireless networks. Most existing works on D2D communications either targeted CDMA-based single-channel networks or aimed at maximizing network throughput. In this paper, we, however, aim to enable green D2D communications in OFDMA-based wireless networks. We formally define an optimization problem based on a practical link data rate model, whose objective is to minimize total power consumption while meeting user data rate requirements. We propose solving it using a joint optimization approach by presenting two effective and efficient algorithms, which both jointly determines mode selection, channel allocation and power assignment. It has been shown by extensive simulation results that the proposed algorithms can achieve over 68% power savings, compared to several baseline methods.
Impact of chronic viral diseases on semen parameters

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C (HCV) and B (HBV) virus infection on semen parameters. Semen samples were obtained from 27 HCV, 34 HIV, 30 HBV and 41 HCV‐HIV‐seropositive patients and compared with those of a control population of healthy seronegative subjects. Tests for detection of HIV, HCV and HBV were performed on seminal samples. The sperm concentration was significantly decreased in HCV‐ and HBV‐seropositive males compared to that of controls (P < 0.001). The mean sperm motility (a + b) was significantly decreased in HCV‐ and HBV‐seropositive (P < 0.001) and in HCV‐HIV‐seropositive subjects (P < 0.05) compared to that of controls. The sperm viability was significantly lower in HCV‐ and HBV‐seropositive men than in controls (P < 0.001). The normal morphology was significantly reduced in HCV‐seropositive and HBV‐seropositive men (P < 0.05) with respect to that of controls (P < 0.05). The sperm concentration after sperm wash was significantly higher in controls than in HCV‐, HIV‐, HBV‐ and HIV‐HCV‐seropositive men (P < 0.001). We can conclude that HBV‐ and HCV‐infected men have a significantly impaired sperm quality compared with that of controls. The reason for the better sperm quality in our series of HIV‐ and HCV‐HIV‐infected men is still under debate. Further investigations in a larger case series are warranted.
Effect of cellulose particles on impulse breakdown in ester transformer liquids in uniform electric fields

This paper presents experimental studies on the effect of cellulose particles on breakdown voltages and breakdown mechanisms of a synthetic ester and a natural ester under standard lightning impulse voltages. A mineral oil was also tested and used as the benchmark. In total, liquids with four particle contamination levels, i.e. low, normal, marginal and high; two moisture levels, i.e. dry and wet conditions, and three types of electrodes, i.e. plane-plane, rod-rod, and VDE electrodes were investigated. Results showed that the presence of cellulose particles reduces the 50% breakdown voltages of the ester liquids and the mineral oil in uniform fields, which is further enhanced when the particle is combined with the moisture. The particle effect on breakdown voltages also becomes more prominent when the effective stressed area/volume of the electrode configurations is increased. Nevertheless, at the same conditions, 50% lightning impulse breakdown voltages of the ester liquids are always comparable to that of the mineral oil. Linking with previously published results under AC voltages, it is summarised that the particle effect on liquid breakdown is associated with the effective stressed area, the duration of electric stress and the viscosity of the liquid itself. In addition, the streamer imaging tests revealed that the detrimental effect of cellulose particles on breakdowns in liquids is due to the promotion on streamer initiations rather than on streamer propagations.
Engendering technology empowering women

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Dynamic cerebral autoregulation testing as a diagnostic tool in patients with carotid artery stenosis

Abstract Evaluation of dynamic cerebral autoregulation might yield a physiologically more adequate measure of cerebral hemodynamic impairment in carotid artery stenosis than CO2-reactivity. This study re-evaluates and compares the Valsalva maneuver (VM) and phase shift during deep breathing. Nineteen patients with severe carotid artery stenosis and 17 age-matched controls were examined using transcranial Doppler sonography and non-invasive blood pressure recordings (Finapres). Phase shift was determined by crossspectral analysis, responses to VM were graded by the formerly-introduced autoregulation slope index (ASI) and the new Valsalva time index (VTI). Phase shift and autoregulatory indices were significantly reduced on the affected side (p < 0.001). Correlations with CO2-reactivity were significant when pooling values of controls and patients (r from 0.54 to 0.78; p < 0.001). Correlations except for the VTI (r = -0.65; p = 0.002) were not significant considering only the affected side in patients. Correlations of pooled values between phase shift and VM-derived indices were significant (VTI r = -0.62; p < 0.001; ASI r = 0.49; p < 0.001), within patients only when comparing side-to-side differences (VTI r= -0.58; p = 0.009; ASI r = 0.52; p = 0.023). In conclusion, detection of impaired cerebral autoregulation is possible both by deep breathing and VM. The new VTI seems to be more suitable than the conventional ASI. Inter-method agreement concerning the extent of impairment is only acceptable for intra-individual side-to-side differences. Since absolute values of one autoregulation testing method or CO2-reactivity alone might fail, various tests should be combined for comprehensive assessment of cerebral hemodynamic impairment. [Neurol Res 2001; 23: 55-63]
Comparison of the effectiveness of polyethylene glycol 4000 without electrolytes and magnesium hydroxide in the treatment of chronic functional constipation in children.

OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of two drugs, polyethylene glycol 4000 without electrolytes and magnesium hydroxide, in the treatment of chronic functional constipation in children. METHODS Thirty-eight children were randomly assigned to either of two groups, polyethylene glycol 4000 without electrolytes or magnesium hydroxide. The children were followed through periodic appointments until they reached 6 months of treatment. In each medical appointment the following aspects were evaluated: stool consistency, frequency of bowel movements, fecal incontinence, abdominal pain, straining and acceptance of the drugs. RESULTS Seventeen children made use of polyethylene glycol and twenty-one received magnesium hydroxide. All variables analyzed improved for both groups, with no statistically significant differences. All children accepted polyethylene glycol, while 42.9% refused magnesium hydroxide. CONCLUSION The two laxatives showed no difference in effectiveness for the treatment of constipation. However, due to its better acceptance, because it is odorless and tasteless, polyethylene glycol proved to be a better option for treating chronic functional constipation.
Perceived Leadership Practices in Year-One Students Enrolled in Professional Entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy Programs.

BACKGROUND Leadership has been identified as an important attribute for health care professionals. Assessing leadership practices can help identify areas of strength or needed improvement for the development of leaders. OBJECTIVES To describe the perceived leadership practices of year-1 Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students, to determine if the participants' demographic variables were related to their perceived leadership practices, and to explore differences between participants and the general population. METHODS The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI Self) developed by Kouzes and Posner was used to assess leadership practices of year-1 DPT students at six Midwestern universities. RESULTS The leadership practices of 192 DPT students in highest to lowest order were Enable, Encourage, Model, Challenge, and Inspire. Age was found to be significantly correlated with the Challenge leadership practice. The order and means of some leadership practices of the DPT students were different than the general population. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a baseline description of how year-1 DPT students perceived their leadership behaviors and how the LPI Self can be used to facilitate the development of leadership skills.