Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Horizontal and vertical integration of academic disciplines in the medical school curriculum

A rapid expansion of new scientific information and the introduction of new technology in operative and diagnostic medicine has marked the last several decades. Medical educators, because of and parallel to these developments, initiated a search for a more effective system of presenting core material to medical students. The new educational trends, although varying somewhat from one institution to another, concentrated on the following pedagogical shifts: 1) expansion of conceptual presentation of material at the expense of detail‐oriented education; 2) amplification of an integrated approach, as opposed to subject‐oriented instruction; 3) scheduling of elective courses to compliment required courses in the curriculum; and 4) institution of small group instruction (i.e., problem‐based learning) to actively involve students in the educational process and to develop deductive reasoning based on clinical cases. The future pedagogical system in medical schools will most likely be a combination of “classical” presentation of material combined with concept‐oriented, subject‐integrated and small group instruction based on either hypothetical or real clinical cases. It is imperative for the success of the new curriculum, however, that certain criteria are satisfied: 1) reorganize basic science departments to determine course ownership; 2) establish a reward system for teaching faculty; and 3) establish new course objectives. Clin. Anat. Month:233–235, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Developing a Collaborative Inquiry Programme to Promote Intercultural Education in a School in Cyprus

Abstract In the context of Cyprus’ accession to the European Union and a huge wave of immigration towards the country, Cypriot teachers are called upon to teach within constantly more diverse educational settings. In consideration of the increased attention paid to intercultural education within the Cypriot socio-political environment, teachers are called upon to teach in more intercultural ways. However, they are very often criticised for their inability to manage cultural diversity in their classrooms, which would result in the provision of equal learning opportunities for all students despite their origin. This paper reports on the implementation of a research programme of collaborative inquiry, which aims to examine the ways in which collaborative inquiry research could help the development of intercultural classroom practices. The research project was implemented in a primary school in Cyprus. The findings that emerged from the data analysis relate to three aspects of promoting greater inclusion of immigrant, namely: (a) the differentiation of planning; (b) the differentiation of teaching methodologies and practices; and (c) the tripartite collaboration among school, families and the community. Findings imply that collaborative inquiry is efficient in terms of having a positive impact on intercultural practices and in terms of preparing the ground for the success of new innovations in intercultural education.
Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium CpxRA Two-Component System Contributes to Gut Colonization in Salmonella-Induced Colitis

ABSTRACT Salmonella enterica, a common cause of diarrhea, has to colonize the gut lumen to elicit disease. In the gut, the pathogen encounters a vast array of environmental stresses that cause perturbations in the bacterial envelope. The CpxRA two-component system monitors envelope perturbations and responds by altering the bacterial gene expression profile. This allows Salmonella to survive under such harmful conditions. Therefore, CpxRA activation is likely to contribute to Salmonella gut infection. However, the role of the CpxRA-mediated envelope stress response in Salmonella-induced diarrhea is unclear. Here, we show that CpxRA is dispensable for the induction of colitis by S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, whereas it is required for gut colonization. We prove that CpxRA is expressed during gut infection and that the presence of antimicrobial peptides in growth media activates the expression of CpxRA-regulated genes. In addition, we demonstrate that a S. Typhimurium strain lacking the cpxRA gene is able to cause colitis but is unable to continuously colonize the gut. Finally, we show that CpxRA-dependent gut colonization requires the host gut inflammatory response, while DegP, a CpxRA-regulated protease, is dispensable. Our findings reveal that the CpxRA-mediated envelope stress response plays a crucial role in Salmonella gut infection, suggesting that CpxRA might be a promising therapeutic target for infectious diarrhea.
Landing on empty: estimating the benefits from reducing fuel uplift in US Civil Aviation

Airlines and Air Navigation Service Providers are united in their goal to reduce fuel consumption. While changes to flight operations and technology investments are the focus of a number of studies, our study is among the first to investigate an untapped source of aviation fuel consumption: excess contingency fuel loading. Given the downside risk of fuel exhaustion of diverting to an alternate airport, airline dispatchers may load excess fuel onto an aircraft. Such conservatism comes at a cost of consuming excess fuel, as fuel consumed is a function of, among other factors, aircraft weight. The aim of this paper is to quantify, on a per-flight basis, the fuel burned due to carrying fuel beyond what is needed for foreseeable contingencies, and thereby motivate research, federal guidance, and investments that allow airline dispatchers to reduce fuel uplift while maintaining near zero risks of fuel exhaustion. We merge large publicly available aviation and weather databases with a detailed dataset from a major US airline. Upon estimating factors that capture the quantity fuel consumed due to carrying a pound of weight for a range of aircraft types, we calculate the cost and greenhouse gas emissions from carrying unused fuel on arrival and additional contingency fuel above a conservative buffer for foreseeable contingencies. We establish that the major US carrier does indeed load fuel conservatively. We find that 4.48% of the fuel consumed by an average flight is due to carrying unused fuel and 1.04% of the fuel consumed by an average flight is due to carrying additional contingency fuel above a reasonable buffer. We find that simple changes in flight dispatching that maintain a statistically minimal risk of fuel exhaustion could result in yearly savings of 338 million lbs of CO2, the equivalent to the fuel consumed from 4760 flights on midsized commercial aircraft. Moreover, policy changes regarding maximum fuel loads or investments that reduce uncertainty or increase the ability to plan flights under uncertainty could yield far greater benefits.
Ultrastructural Features of Lung Fibroblast Differentiation into Myofibroblasts

Fibroblast differentiation into myofibroblast in transforming growth factor-beta1-exposed human lung fibroblasts and the immunolocalizations of alpha-smooth muscle actin, fibronectin, tenascin-C, and osteopontin in exposed cells were studied by conventional transmission electron microscopy and immunoelectron microscopy. Ultrastructural features of myofibroblasts were detected after exposure, e.g., alpha-smooth muscle actin positive bundles in the cytoplasm of cells and extracellular fibronectin-containing structures on the surface of the cell forming fibronexus structure, osteopontin adjacent to rough endoplastic reticulum and extracellular tenascin-C in the vicinity of the cell. The authors concluded that exposure to transforming growth factor-beta1 can differentiate lung fibroblasts into ultrastructurally typical myofibroblasts.
Novel incretin analogues improve autophagy and protect from mitochondrial stress induced by rotenone in SH‐SY5Y cells

Currently, there is no viable treatment available for Parkinson's disease (PD) that stops or reverses disease progression. Interestingly, studies testing the glucagon‐like‐peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) mimetic Exendin‐4 have shown neuroprotective/neurorestorative properties in pre‐clinical tests and in a pilot clinical study of PD. Incretin analogues were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes and several are currently on the market. In this study, we tested novel incretin analogues on the dopaminergic SH‐SY5Y neuroblastoma cells against a toxic mitochondrial complex I inhibitor, Rotenone. Here, we investigate for the first time the effects of six different incretin receptor agonists – Liraglutide, D‐Ser2‐Oxyntomodulin, a GLP‐1/GIP Dual receptor agonist, dAla(2)‐GIP‐GluPal, Val(8)GLP‐1‐GluPal and exendin‐4. Post‐treatment with doses of 1, 10 or 100 nM of incretin analogues for 12 h increased the survival of SH‐SY5Y cells treated with 1 μM Rotenone for 12 h. Furthermore, we studied the post‐treatment effect of 100 nM incretin analogues against 1 μM Rotenone stress on apoptosis, mitochondrial stress and autophagy markers. We found significant protective effects of the analogues against Rotenone stress on cell survival and on mitochondrial and autophagy‐associated markers. The novel GLP‐1/GIP Dual receptor agonist was superior and effective at a tenfold lower concentration compared to the other analogues. Using the Phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, LY294002, we further show that the neuroprotective effects are partially PI3K‐independent. Our data suggest that the neuroprotective properties exhibited by incretin analogues against Rotenone stress involve enhanced autophagy, increased Akt‐mediated cell survival and amelioration of mitochondrial dysfunction. These mechanisms can explain the neuroprotective effects of incretin analogues reported in clinical trials.
The momentum effect in country-level stock market anomalies

Abstract The paper investigates the momentum effect in country-level anomalies in global equity markets. By using a sample of 78 countries for the period from 1995 to 2015, we test a set of potential 40 cross-sectional inter-market anomalies, some of which had never been examined before. Based on the findings, according to which half of these return patterns serve as reliable and robust sources of returns, we provide convincing evidence that the anomalies with good performance over the past 6–12 months tend to outperform in the future. Furthermore, returns on individual country-level strategies are weakly correlated. Consequently, developing a portfolio consisting of past top-performing strategies may constitute a valuable approach for international investors.
Hierarchical recruitment of ribosomal proteins and assembly factors remodels nucleolar pre-60S ribosomes

Ribosome biogenesis involves numerous preribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) processing events to remove internal and external transcribed spacer sequences, ultimately yielding three mature rRNAs. Removal of the internal transcribed spacer 2 spacer RNA is the final step in large subunit pre-rRNA processing and begins with endonucleolytic cleavage at the C2 site of 27SB pre-rRNA. C2 cleavage requires the hierarchical recruitment of 11 ribosomal proteins and 14 ribosome assembly factors. However, the function of these proteins in C2 cleavage remained unclear. In this study, we have performed a detailed analysis of the effects of depleting proteins required for C2 cleavage and interpreted these results using cryo–electron microscopy structures of assembling 60S subunits. This work revealed that these proteins are required for remodeling of several neighborhoods, including two major functional centers of the 60S subunit, suggesting that these remodeling events form a checkpoint leading to C2 cleavage. Interestingly, when C2 cleavage is directly blocked by depleting or inactivating the C2 endonuclease, assembly progresses through all other subsequent steps.
The effectiveness of social communication partner training for adults with severe chronic TBI and their families using a measure of perceived communication ability.

BACKGROUND Training for communication partners of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is efficacious when using blinded independent ratings of casual conversations measured in the clinic. However, the question remains as to whether participants with TBI and their significant other perceive changes to everyday social communication as a result of training. OBJECTIVE To determine whether treatment focused on improving the conversational skills of everyday communication partners of people with severe TBI using a program called TBI Express resulted in improvements in perceived communicative ability as measured by the La Trobe Communication Questionnaire (LCQ). METHODS Non randomized controlled trial comparing treatment of people with TBI together with communication partners (JOINT) with treatment of people with TBI without partner involvement (TBI SOLO) and a waitlist control group (CTRL) with follow-up at 6 months post-treatment. Forty-four outpatients from brain injury units in Sydney with severe chronic acquired brain injuries were recruited. A further 27 eligible outpatients refused to participate or could not be contacted. A total of 41 people completed treatment and 38 completed 6 month follow up assessment. The measure of perceived communication ability is the report of the participant with TBI and their partner on the LCQ. RESULTS Communication partner training (JOINT) improved conversational performance relative to training the person with TBI alone and a waitlist control group on the LCQ. The TBI SOLO group improved in terms of report on the LCQ relative to the CONTROL group. Results were maintained at six months post-training. CONCLUSION Training communication partners of people with chronic severe TBI using TBI Express led to perceived improvements in everyday communication ability by both the person with TBI and their family member.
Carotid endarterectomy after recent cerebral infarction.

OBJECTIVES whether timing of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) was significant in terms of morbidity and mortality for significant carotid stenosis. DESIGN/MATERIALS: comparison was made of patients requiring CEA performed in less than 6 weeks or more than 6 weeks after their stroke. To enable quantification in terms of clinical presentation, aetiology and handicap, standardised scales were incorporated into the registry protocol. A postoperative event was considered to have occurred if a stroke or death from any cause took place within one month of surgery. RESULTS patients with CEA (n=1005) and stroke numbered 232. Comparison was made of the early (n=86) and late surgery groups (n=121) in terms of demography, risk factors, clinical findings, quantitative neurological deficit, handicap and degree of carotid stenosis with no significant differences found except for race. There was no difference in morbidity and mortality (M+M) between the early and late surgery group. The relative risk (RR) of >6 week group was 1.90 (CI: 0.52-6. 94) with an odds ratio of 1.96 (CI: 0.45-9.63). There is, therefore, a trend of a two-fold risk of MM in the >6 week group. CONCLUSION we propose that the historical 6-week wait period for CEA post stroke is outdated.
Glycan variants of a respiratory syncytial virus antibody with enhanced effector function and in vivo efficacy

Significance Recently developed plant hosts that have been genetically engineered to produce mammalian glycosylation enzymes are capable of producing mAbs with specific glycans that satisfy effector function or homogeneity requirements. When produced in this type of plant system, an antirespiratory syncytial virus mAb containing nearly homogeneous glycans with N-acetylglucosamine termini was found to significantly enhance the effectiveness of the approved antibody drug palivizumab. The improvement was because of augmented effector function via binding to antibody Fc receptors, suggesting that classic viral neutralization plays a secondary role in the in vivo function of this antibody. We conclude that enhanced antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity activity can be a potent contributor to the in vivo efficacy of palivizumab. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) can cause devastating lower respiratory tract infections in preterm infants or when other serious health problems are present. Immunoprophylaxis with palivizumab (Synagis), a humanized IgG1 mAb, is the current standard of care for preventing RSV infection in at-risk neonates. We have explored the contribution of effector function to palivizumab efficacy using a plant-based expression system to produce palivizumab N-glycan structure variants with high homogeneity on different antibody isotypes. We compared these isotype and N-glycoform variants with commercially available palivizumab with respect to both in vitro receptor and C1q binding and in vivo efficacy. Whereas the affinity for antigen and neutralization activity of each variant were indistinguishable from those of palivizumab, their Fcγ receptor binding profiles were very different, which was reflected in either a reduced or enhanced ability to influence the RSV lung titer in challenged cotton rats. Enhanced Fcγ receptor binding was associated with reduced viral lung titers compared with palivizumab, whereas abrogation of receptor binding led to a drastic reduction in efficacy. The results support the hypotheses that classic antibody neutralization is a minor component of efficacy by palivizumab in the cotton rat and that antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity activity can significantly enhance the efficacy of this antiviral mAb.
Effectiveness of Corridors Relative to Enlargement of Habitat Patches

Abstract: The establishment of biological corridors between two otherwise isolated habitat patches is a common yet contentious strategy for conserving populations in fragmented landscapes. We compared the effectiveness of corridors with the effectiveness of an alternate conservation strategy, the enlargement of existing habitat patches. We used a spatially explicit population model that simulated population size in two kinds of patches. One patch had a corridor that connected it to a larger “source” patch and the other patch was unconnected and enlarged at the periphery by an area the same size as the corridor. Patch isolation, corridor width, patch size, and the probability that individuals would cross the border from habitat to matrix were varied independently. In general, population size was greater in enlarged patches than in connected patches when patches were relatively large and isolated. Corridor width and the probability of crossing the border from habitat to matrix did not affect the relative benefit of corridors versus patch enlargement. Although biological corridors may mitigate potential effects of inbreeding depression at long time scales, our results suggest that they are not always the best method of conserving fragmented populations.
Cytokines, infections, stress, and dysphoric moods in breastfeeders and formula feeders.

OBJECTIVE To analyze relationships between stress, moods, and immunity in breastfeeding compared to formula-feeding mothers. DESIGN A cross-sectional study of 181 healthy mothers, exclusively breastfeeding or formula feeding, studied at 4 to 6 weeks after childbirth. SETTING Mothers were recruited in the postpartum unit of the hospital and then visited in their homes once at 4 to 6 weeks after childbirth for data collection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Stress, mood, infection symptoms, and serum levels of interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 were measured. RESULTS Formula-feeding mothers had evidence of decreased interferon-gamma and a decreased serum Th1/Th2 ratio (interferon-gamma/interleukin-10) when perceived stress, dysphoric moods, and negative life events were high, an effect consistent with depression of cellular immunity. However, women who were breastfeeding did not show these relationships. CONCLUSIONS The data suggest that breastfeeding confers some psychoneuroimmunological benefit to mothers, perhaps through prolactin or hypothalamic-hypophyseal-adrenocortical axis stress refractoriness.
Measures of quality of life in children with cochlear implant: systematic review

The use of cochlear implant (CI) in children enables the development of listening and communication skills, allowing the child's progress in school and to be able to obtain, maintain and carry out an occupation. However, the progress after the CI has different results in some children, because many children are able to interact and participate in society, while others develop limited ability to communicate verbally. The need for a better understanding of CI outcomes, besides hearing and language benefits, has spurred the inclusion of quality of life measurements (QOL) to assess the impact of this technology. Objective Identify the key aspects of quality of life assessed in children with cochlear implant. Method Through a systematic literature review, we considered publications from the period of 2000 to 2011. Conclusion We concluded that QOL measurements in children include several concepts and methodologies. When referring to children using CI, results showed the challenges in broadly conceptualizing which quality of life domains are important to the child and how these areas can evolve during development, considering the wide variety of instruments and aspects evaluated.
A N EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO EXPLAIN THE SOUTHERN A NDES ELEVATIONAL TREELINE 1

(cid:129) Premise of the study: The growth limitation hypothesis (GLH) is the most accepted mechanistic explanation for treeline formation, although it is still uncertain whether it applies across taxa. The successful establishment of Pinus contorta ––an exotic conifer species in the southern hemisphere––above the Nothofagus treeline in New Zealand may suggest a different mechanism. We tested the GLH in Nothofagus pumilio and Pinus contorta by comparing seedling performance and carbon (C) balance in response to low temperatures. (cid:129) Methods: At a southern Chilean treeline, we grew seedlings of both species 2 m above ground level, to simulate coupling between temperatures at the meristem and in the air (colder), and at ground level, i.e., decoupling air temperature (relatively milder). We recorded soil and air temperatures as well. After 3 yr, we measured seedling survival and biomass (as a surrogate of growth) and determined nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC). (cid:129) Key results: Nothofagus and Pinus did not differ in survival, which, as a whole, was higher at ground level than at the 2-m height. The root-zone temperature for the growing season was 6.6 ° C. While biomass and NSC decreased signiﬁ cantly for Nothofagus at the 2-m height compared with ground level (C limitation), these trends were not signiﬁ cant for Pinus . (cid:129) Conclusions: The treeline for Nothofagus pumilio is located at an isotherm that fully matches global patterns; however, its physiological responses to low temperatures differed from those of other treeline species. Support for C limitation in N. pumilio but not in P. contorta indicates that the physiological mechanism explaining their survival and growth at treeline may be taxon-dependent. cases (i.e., LMM and GLMM), we also used maximum likelihood and restricted maximum likelihood (REML) solu-tions (for ﬁ xed and random effects, respectively) when estimating parameters and testing hypotheses because the ANOVA method is known to be more sensitive to unbalanced data and outliers. Finally, differences in mean grow- ing season temperatures among the different thermal treatments were assessed using a simple LMM.