Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gene Analysis, Expression, and Characterization of an Intracellular α-Amylase from the Extremely Halophilic Archaeon Haloarcula japonica

Haloarcula japonica is an extremely halophilic archaeon that requires high concentrations of NaCl to grow. Recently the draft genome sequence of Ha. japonica was determined, and a gene encoding an α-amylase, malA, was identified. The deduced amino acid sequence of MalA, consisting of 663 amino acids, showed homology to α-amylase family enzymes. The sequence did not contain a secretion signal sequence, indicating that the protein is a cytoplasmic enzyme. Transcription of the malA gene was confirmed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR, and the transcription start site was determined by a 5'-RACE experiment. The malA gene was cloned and expressed in Ha. japonica. The recombinant MalA was purified and characterized. MalA required a high concentration of NaCl for starch-hydrolyzing activity. It showed higher activity on soluble starch, amylose, and amylopectin, and lower activity on glycogen.
Facebook marketing campaign benchmarking for a franchised hotel

This study aims to develop a performance evaluation model for Facebook (FB) marketing campaigns (FBMCs) for a franchised hotel, distinguish four quadrants based on efficiency and customer attention and suggest improvements for inefficient FBMCs based on the slack value analysis. ,The paper applied the elaboration likelihood model to select three inputs (text, picture and color) and three outputs (number of people reached; reactions, comments and shares; and clicks on post) based on the literature and expert opinions to assess 60 FBMCs for hotels through data envelopment analysis and a robustness test. The four-quadrant analysis (benchmark, improvements in efficiency and customer attention and fade-out) provides suggestions for underperforming FBMCs. ,The results indicate that the efficiency of the greeting FBMCs is better than that of the event and promotion FBMCs. The projection of input value analysis showed that an average of 50 words, one picture and six colors is the benchmark of FBMCs. ,Sixty FBMCs for the same franchised hotel were examined. Further research could extend this model to different hotels for generalization. ,The findings suggest that developing shorter text lengths, concise photos and colors of greeting messages on FB could be efficient for FBMCs. ,This paper contributes in assessing the performance of FBMCs to identify the benchmark FBMCs with the higher efficiency and more customer attention for a franchised hotel.
Chromatographic retention time prediction for posttranslationally modified peptides

Retention time prediction of peptides in liquid chromatography has proven to be a valuable tool for mass spectrometry‐based proteomics, especially in designing more efficient procedures for state‐of‐the‐art targeted workflows. Additionally, accurate retention time predictions can also be used to increase confidence in identifications in shotgun experiments. Despite these obvious benefits, the use of such methods has so far not been extended to (posttranslationally) modified peptides due to the absence of efficient predictors for such peptides. We here therefore describe a new retention time predictor for modified peptides, built on the foundations of our existing Elude algorithm. We evaluated our software by applying it on five types of commonly encountered modifications. Our results show that Elude now yields equally good prediction performances for modified and unmodified peptides, with correlation coefficients between predicted and observed retention times ranging from 0.93 to 0.98 for all the investigated datasets. Furthermore, we show that our predictor handles peptides carrying multiple modifications as well. This latest version of Elude is fully portable to new chromatographic conditions and can readily be applied to other types of posttranslational modifications. Elude is available under the permissive Apache2 open source License at http://per-colator.com or can be run via a web‐interface at http://elude.sbc. su.se.
Associations of Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) 4.4 and Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) 4.4 Blood Levels with Plasma IL-4

Abstract DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) reportedly induces cancer in animals, mimics estrogen activity, induces antiandrogen effects, and impairs Natural Killer (NK) cells and T lymphocyte responses. In this study, the authors attempted to determine associations of DDT, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (DDD) blood levels with several immune parameters in patients occupationally exposed to insecticides. The study subjects were 49 patients who worked as farmers or farmhands in the former German Democratic Republic and who had been occupationally exposed to insecticides for at least 6 mo; 80% of them had been exposed for more than 20 yr. Blood levels of DDT, DDE, DDD, 2,3,4,5,6-pentachlorophenol (PCP), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and γ-hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were determined, and blood lymphocyte subpopulations, in vitro responses to mitogens or pooled allogeneic stimulator cells, plasma neopterin, and cytokine and soluble cytokine receptor levels were studied. The majority of patients were contaminated with more than 1 chemical-most commonly DDE, PCBs, and HCB. Linear-regression analysis showed that interleukin-4 (IL-4) plasma levels were associated with plasma levels of DDT 4.4 (p = .0001) and DDE 4.4 (p = .001). The data in this study suggest that PCBs, PCP, HCB, HCHs, DDE, and DDD suppress TH1 cytokines, such as IL-2 and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and induce TH2 cytokines, such as IL-4. The authors hypothesized that clinical symptoms, such as the frequent infections reported by many patients, could be a consequence of these immunological abnormalities.
Experimental Studies on the Dynamic Responses of Coated Superconductor Stack Levitated Above a Permanent Magnet Guideway

In this work, we experimentally investigated the dynamic responses of stacked coated conductor tapes that were levitated over an Nd-Fe-B magnet guideway. The experiments were carried out on a recently designed test rig that can simultaneously measure the acceleration and levitation force during a vibration process. We applied three typical excitations, viz., unloading, free fall, and pulsed excitation. The attenuation coefficient and damping ratio of such stack-based maglev system were analyzed by means of free vibration attenuation method. Last, the dynamic response of mechanical components of the stack-based maglev on pulsed excitation was visualized clearly. Results obtained by this study tell us that the damping ratio is relative to the intensity of external disturbance, which means a weak excitation will cause a small damping ratio and a longer convergence time; however, a larger damping ratio and a faster convergence of vibration will be presented when a stronger stimulation is imposed on. This phenomenon could be contributed by the metal components of the stack, and is promising in practical application, particularly, in construction of HTS maglev where a large damping ratio is required.
Digital Transformation of Business Models — Best Practice, Enablers, and Roadmap

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the definition of digital transformation (DT) and to introduce a structured approach with phases, activities and results. Our research is based on a literature review which provides insight into the basic understanding of DT. Examples complete the research and show the practical application of DT. The main findings are that although DT is a widely known concept, an approach for the structured DT of business models is missing. The paper offers a clear definition of the DT of business models and phases for the DT of business models. Moreover, the paper offers examples of enablers and DT.
Functional interaction between Foxd3 and Pax3 in cardiac neural crest development

The transcription factors Foxd3 and Pax3 are important early regulators of neural crest (NC) progenitor cell properties. Homozygous mutations of Pax3 or a homozygous NC‐specific deletion of Foxd3 cause marked defects in most NC derivatives, but neither loss of both Foxd3 alleles nor loss of one Pax3 allele alone greatly affects overall development of cardiac NC derivatives. In contrast, compound mutant embryos homozygous for a NC‐specific Foxd3 mutation and heterozygous for Pax3 have fully penetrant persistent truncus arteriosus, severe thymus hypoplasia, and midgestation lethality. Foxd3; Pax3 compound mutant embryos have increased cell death in the neural folds and a drastic early reduction of NC cells, with an almost complete absence of NC caudal to the first pharyngeal arch. The genetic interaction between these genes implicates gene dosage‐sensitive roles for Foxd3 and Pax3 in cardiac NC progenitors. Foxd3 and Pax3 act together to affect survival and maintenance of cardiac NC progenitors, and loss of these progenitors catastrophically affects key aspects of later cardiovascular development. genesis, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Comparison of Physical Activity Preferences Among Breast, Prostate, and Colorectal Cancer Survivors in Nova Scotia, Canada.

BACKGROUND Physical activity (PA) preferences may vary by cancer survivor group, but few studies have made direct comparisons. The purpose of this study was to compare the PA preferences of breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada. METHODS Two thousand sixty-two breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors diagnosed between 2003 to 2011 were identified by the Nova Scotia Cancer Registry and mailed a questionnaire assessing PA preferences and standard demographic and medical variables. RESULTS Based on 741 respondents, numerous differences emerged among the cancer sites. Some of the larger differences (>20% difference) among breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors, respectively, were identified for engaging in PA with other cancer survivors (42% vs. 22% vs. 30%; P < .001) and with their friends (65% vs. 40% vs. 64%; P < .001); engaging in PA at a community fitness center (59% vs. 39% vs. 45%; P < .001); and preferring supervised (60% vs. 34% vs. 45%; P < .001) and group (53% vs. 24% vs. 41%; P < .001) sessions. Differences were also found within each survivor group based on demographic and medical variables including PA behavior, age, and perceived general health. CONCLUSIONS Breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer survivors have some differences in PA preferences that may inform targeted PA program interventions.
Dynamic Ultrasonic Hybrid Localization System for Indoor Mobile Robots

An accurate dynamic ultrasonic hybrid localization system is presented for autonomous navigation of indoor mobile robots using multiple ultrasonic distance measurements and an extended Kalman filter (EKF). The ultrasonic sensor subsystem is composed of several ultrasonic transmitters (Txs) attached to the ceiling at known positions and several ultrasonic receivers equilaterally located on the top of the mobile robot, which has a moving speed that is not negligible. An EKF-based algorithm with a state/observation vector composed of the robot pose (or the position and the orientation) is presented using odometric and ultrasonic distance measurements. A dynamic distance estimation method is proposed to track the estimates of ultrasonic distance information from available Txs of interest using both odometric information from the robot and actual ultrasonic distance measurements. This continuous dynamic distance estimation allows persistent use of the hybrid self-localization algorithm to accurately determine the pose of the robot. The experimental results with various trajectories clearly show that the proposed method is much more accurate than only the hybrid self-localization algorithm (without the dynamic distance estimation method).
Addressing Food Insecurity in Family Medicine and Medical Education.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Food insecurity is associated with poor health outcomes, yet is not routinely addressed in health care. This study was conducted to determine if education regarding food insecurity as a health issue could modify knowledge, attitudes, and clinical behavior. METHODS Educational sessions on food insecurity and its impact on health were conducted in 2015 at three different family medicine residency programs and one medical school. A pre/post survey was given immediately before and after this session. Attendees were encouraged to identify and implement individual and system-based changes to integrate food insecurity screening and referrals into their clinical practices. Participants completed follow-up surveys approximately 1 year later, and the authors obtained systems-level data from electronic health records and databases. Pre/post means (SD) were compared using t-tests. The numbers of patients screened and referred were calculated. RESULTS Eighty-five participants completed the pre/post survey during the educational sessions (51 medical students, 29 residents, 5 faculty). Self-reported knowledge of food insecurity, resources, and willingness to discuss with patients increased (P<0.0001 for all). Each program identified a feasible systems-based change. Follow-up surveys demonstrated increased discussion of food insecurity during clinical visits and referrals to food resources. Over 1,600 patients were screened for food insecurity as a result of systems-based changes. CONCLUSIONS Educational interventions focused on the role of food insecurity in health can produce improvements in knowledge and attitudes toward addressing food insecurity, increase discussions with patients about food insecurity, and result in measurable patient and systems-level changes.
Rectal thiopental sodium for sedation of pediatric patients undergoing MR and other imaging studies.

PURPOSE To determine the efficacy and safety of rectal thiopental sodium as a sedation agent for pediatric imaging. METHODS Four hundred sixty-two infants and children were sedated with rectal thiopental sodium for MR, CT, or nuclear imaging in 1992 and 1993. Patients received screening histories and physical examinations before sedation, and parents gave informed consent. Sedated patients were monitored by pulse oximetry and direct observation. Twenty-four-hour telephone follow-up to assess delayed side effects was performed successfully in 325 patients. RESULTS Examinations were successfully completed in 96% of patients. The average time from drug administration to sedation was 12.2 minutes. The average time from sedation to discharge from radiology was 71.1 minutes. Eleven percent of patients had desaturation below the pulse oximetric baseline easily treated with oxygen and head positioning. Twenty-four-hour telephone follow-up in 325 patients revealed a 34% incidence of minor rectal irritation and diarrhea, sleepiness, nausea and vomiting, or ataxia. CONCLUSIONS Rectal thiopental sodium is a safe and effective drug for pediatric sedation.
Causality between the Construction Sector and GDP Growth in Emerging Countries: The Case of Turkey

This study empirically investigates the relationship between construction investment and GDP growth in emerging countries. Incentives applied to the construction sector are affecting growth very quickly. However, the construction industry’s growth in a sluggish economy is shrinking more than the GDP. Using a Granger causality test for 2000 Q1 to 2016 Q2 period’s quarterly data, we examine whether there is a systematic relationship between construction investment and economic growth. In consideration of these findings, the impact on economic growth, as well as economic growth of construction investments in Turkey, should be noted as effective for construction spending.
Utility of the Mild Brain Injury Atypical Symptoms Scale to detect symptom exaggeration: An analogue simulation study

Brief self-report symptom checklists are often used to screen for postconcussional disorder (PCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are highly susceptible to symptom exaggeration. This study examined the utility of the five-item Mild Brain Injury Atypical Symptoms Scale (mBIAS) designed for use with the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) and the PTSD Checklist–Civilian (PCL–C). Participants were 85 Australian undergraduate students who completed a battery of self-report measures under one of three experimental conditions: control (i.e., honest responding, n = 24), feign PCD (n = 29), and feign PTSD (n = 32). Measures were the mBIAS, NSI, PCL–C, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2, Restructured Form (MMPI–2–RF), and the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS). Participants instructed to feign PTSD and PCD had significantly higher scores on the mBIAS, NSI, PCL–C, and MMPI–2–RF than did controls. Few differences were found between the feign PCD and feign PTSD groups, with the exception of scores on the NSI (feign PCD > feign PTSD) and PCL–C (feign PTSD > feign PCD). Optimal cutoff scores on the mBIAS of ≥8 and ≥6 were found to reflect “probable exaggeration” (sensitivity = .34; specificity = 1.0; positive predictive power, PPP = 1.0; negative predictive power, NPP = .74) and “possible exaggeration” (sensitivity = .72; specificity = .88; PPP = .76; NPP = .85), respectively. Findings provide preliminary support for the use of the mBIAS as a tool to detect symptom exaggeration when administering the NSI and PCL–C.
Identification of TIFY/JAZ family genes in Solanum lycopersicum and their regulation in response to abiotic stresses

Plant phenotypic plasticity determines plant adaptation to changing environments and agricultural productivity. Phytohormones are essential plant signalling molecules regulating this plasticity through complex signalling networks. Jasmonates (JAs) are key phytohormones regulating many aspects of growth, development and defence responses. An important role of JAs in tolerance to abiotic stresses is also emerging. The expression of JAZ (JASMONATE-ZIM-DOMAIN PROTEIN) genes, encoding for the key repressors in the JA-pathway, is regulated by multiple abiotic stresses, suggesting a role for the JAZ proteins in response to these stresses. The JAZ proteins belong to the TIFY family, well described in many plant species. However, only the role of few tomato JAZ proteins in response to microbial infection has been analysed so far. Here, we identify the members of the tomato TIFY family, and characterize them phylogenetically. In addition, we analyse the transcriptional regulation of several SlJAZ in response to abiotic stresses and hormone treatments both in root and leaves to assess their specific expression in response to stresses. Most SlJAZ are JA-induced and responsive to one or more abiotic stresses, providing clues for functional analysis of JAZ genes in abiotic responses in tomato.
Measuring balance and model selection in propensity score methods

Propensity score (PS) methods focus on balancing confounders between groups to estimate an unbiased treatment or exposure effect. However, there is lack of attention in actually measuring, reporting and using the information on balance, for instance for model selection. We propose to use a measure for balance in PS methods and describe several of such measures: the overlapping coefficient, the Kolmogorov‐Smirnov distance, and the Lévy distance.
Is Infant Immunization a Risk Factor for Childhood Asthma or Allergy?

The Christchurch Health and Development Study comprises 1,265 children born in 1977. The 23 children who received no diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus (DPT) and polio immunizations had no recorded asthma episodes or consultations for asthma or other allergic illness before age 10 years; in the immunized children, 23.1% had asthma episodes, 22.5% asthma consultations, and 30.0% consultations for other allergic illness. Similar differences were observed at ages 5 and 16 years. These findings do not appear to be due to differential use of health services (although this possibility cannot be excluded) or confounding by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, parental atopy, or parental smoking.
Exploring Culturally Relevant Leadership Practices: A Qualitative Case Study of One Eastern Virginia High School

EXPLORING CULTURALLY RELEVANT LEADERSHIP PRACTICES: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY OF ONE EASTERN VIRGINIA HIGH SCHOOL Donna H. Weingand Old Dominion University, 2017 Director: Dr. Jay Paredes Scribner There is a need for equity in our schools—especially with respect to the impact of equity on student achievement—and it is important for educational leaders to not only identify issues of teachers’ cultural and ethnic biases in the classroom, but for educational leaders to feel comfortable tackling these issues in an effort to move toward a more socially just educational climate and culture. The purpose of this study was to not only identify how and to what extent culturally relevant instruction and leadership manifest in one Southeastern Virginia School, but also the ways that school leaders foster a culturally relevant learning environment. A single case study was chosen for this qualitative research study. There were five major findings as a result of this study. First, the data revealed that educators are shaped by their own personal background experiences, as well as have the ability to understand their students on a deep, personal basis. Further, teachers offer not only a strong instructional program built on collaboration and research-based practices; they also prioritize a “secondary” curriculum grounded in real-world application and personal development. Finally, students have access to a wide web of support offered by the faculty, staff, administration, and community. The results from this study suggest that culturally relevant teachers and administrators are empathetic and understanding of their students’ culture and needs, as well as prioritize educating the whole child by Running head: CULTURALLY RELEVANT LEADERSHIP PRACTICES iii offering not only a strong instructional program, but also real-world instruction and a deep level of support. Running head: CULTURALLY RELEVANT LEADERSHIP PRACTICES iv
ON-LINE ESTIMATION AND DETECTION OF ABNORMAL SUBSTRATE CONCENTRATIONS IN WWTPS USING A SOFTWARE SENSOR: A BENCHMARK STUDY

In this paper, a new approach for on-line monitoring and detection of abnormal readily biodegradable substrate (S S) and slowly biodegradable substrate (X S) concentrations, for example due to input of toxic loads from the sewer, or due to influent substrate shock load, is proposed. Considering that measurements of S S and X S concentrations are not available in real wastewater treatment plants, the S S | X S software sensor can activate an alarm with a response time of about 60 and 90 minutes, respectively, based on the dissolved oxygen measurement. The software sensor implementation is based on an extended Kalman filter observer and disturbances are modelled using fast Fourier transform and spectrum analyses. Three case studies are described. The first one illustrates the fast and accurate convergence of the extended Kalman filter algorithm, which is achieved in less than 2 hours. Furthermore, the difficulties of estimating X S when off-line analysis is not available are depicted, and the S S | X S software sensor performances when no measurements of S S and X S are available are illustrated. Estimation problems related to the death-regeneration concept of the activated sludge model no.1 and possible application of the software sensor in wastewater monitoring are discussed.