Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interferon-Gamma and Interleukin-10 Production Among HIV-1–Infected and Uninfected Infants of HIV-1–Infected Mothers

Immunologic consequences of exposure to HIV-1 in utero are still poorly understood. This study investigates relationships between type-1 [interferon-γ (IFN-γ)] and type-2 (IL-10) cytokine production and maternal-infant HIV-1 transmission. Cord blood leukocytes from deliveries of 71 HIV-1–infected and 11 uninfected mothers were tested for in vitro IFN-γ and IL-10 production after phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulation. The infants of these HIV-1–infected mothers were followed prospectively after birth to determine HIV vertical transmission, and IFN-γ and IL-10 production was measured again at 6 mo. Median PHA-stimulated IFN-γ production was 210 pg/mL in cord blood cells from infected and 73 pg/mL from uninfected mothers (p = 0.12), and median PHA-stimulated IL-10 production was 491 pg/mL in cord blood cells from infected and 161 pg/mL from uninfected mothers (p = 0.004). PHA-stimulated IFN-γ and IL-10 production alone were not significantly associated with transmission, but relationships between the two cytokines differed among infected and uninfected infants of HIV-1–infected mothers. PHA-stimulated IFN-γ and IL-10 production was positively correlated among infected (r = 0.7, p = 0.12 in cord blood and r = 0.66, p = 0.03 at 6 mo) but not uninfected infants, and stronger relative production of IFN-γ to IL-10 was observed among exposed uninfected than among infected infants (p = 0.04). Exposure in utero to HIV-1 may augment production of IL-10 detectable in fetal cord blood. Stronger relative production of IFN-γ to IL-10 in cord blood cells from infants of HIV-1–infected mothers may be associated with protection against perinatal HIV infection.
An Improved Zero-Voltage Switching Inverter Using Two Coupled Magnetics in One Resonant Pole

A novel soft-switching inverter using two small coupled magnetics in one resonant pole is proposed to ensure the main switches operating at zero-voltage switching from zero load to full load and the auxiliary switches at zero-current switching with load adaptability and small current stress. Since independent coupled magnetics structure avoids the unwanted magnetizing current freewheeling loop, the size of the coupled magnetics can be minimized with low magnetizing inductance, and the saturable inductor can be eliminated. Detailed circuit operation is described, and voltage-second balance condition of the magnetics is expressed mathematically. A 4-kW hardware prototype has been designed, fabricated, and tested to verify the validity of the novel circuit and the improved performance of the proposed soft-switching inverter. Experimental results show an excellent agreement with analytical results. Since the measured efficiency from 20% to 100% load consistently shows above 97.8% and peaks at 98.2%, the proposed inverter is very attractive for high-efficiency applications where energy saving is a major concern.
Ultra-low dose naltrexone enhances cannabinoid-induced antinociception

Both opioids and cannabinoids have inhibitory effects at micromolar doses, which are mediated by activated receptors coupling to Gi/o-proteins. Surprisingly, the analgesic effects of opioids are enhanced by ultra-low doses (nanomolar to picomolar) of the opioid antagonist, naltrexone. As opioid and cannabinoid systems interact, this study investigated whether ultra-low dose naltrexone also influences cannabinoid-induced antinociception. Separate groups of Long–Evans rats were tested for antinociception following an injection of vehicle, a sub-maximal dose of the cannabinoid agonist WIN 55 212-2, naltrexone (an ultra-low or a high dose) or a combination of WIN 55 212-2 and naltrexone doses. Tail-flick latencies were recorded for 3 h, at 10-min intervals for the first hour, and at 15-min intervals thereafter. Ultra-low dose naltrexone elevated WIN 55 212-2-induced tail flick thresholds without extending its duration of action. This enhancement was replicated in animals receiving intraperitoneal or intravenous injections. A high dose of naltrexone had no effect on WIN 55 212-2-induced tail flick latencies, but a high dose of the cannabinoid 1 receptor antagonist SR 141716 blocked the elevated tail-flick thresholds produced by WIN 55 212-2+ultra-low dose naltrexone. These data suggest a mechanism of cannabinoid–opioid interaction whereby activated opioid receptors that couple to Gs-proteins may attenuate cannabinoid-induced antinociception and/or motor functioning.
Shared Leadership Perceptions in a Turnaround Elementary School

The purpose of this case study was to investigate staff perceptions of a shared leadership framework embedded in a school’s turnaround improvement intervention model and the factors of that model perceived to contribute to growth in student achievement. Thirty-one staff members participated in this mixed method study by responding to the Distributed Leadership Readiness Scale (DLRS) survey instrument and open-ended written response questions. Focus group interviews were then conducted with randomly selected participants to triangulate evidence around factors of a shared leadership framework perceived to have affected student achievement. Of the 31 responders, 22 or 71% were teachers, and 9 or 29% were instructional support staff. Analysis of the data revealed teacher and staff support for the purposeful development of reciprocal professional relationships among staff and administration, and the use of instructional best practices by teachers and teacher leaders contributing to a positive school culture and improved student achievement. Findings from the data revealed developing a school culture that empowers teachers to be a part of a shared decision-making process, in both formal and informal leadership roles, for instructional improvement to support student achievement, was an area of success and an area needing continued improvement at the focus school. The research findings could guide other schools in improvement initiatives when they are navigating the systemic changes needed for equitable student growth and improved achievement in their school systems. Acknowledgment My dissertation path would not have been possible without the understanding and patience of my husband. He was always my biggest supporter and his belief in my ability to finish this task never faltered. I will be forever grateful for his sacrifice so I could complete this journey. I also want to thank my two sons for their continuous support and love. I hope they are as proud of me as I am of them. Finally, I want to recognize my mother who taught me drive, strength, and love. I also want to acknowledge the expertise and unwavering support of my Dissertation Chair. His kindness and grace has been unprecedented. His encouragement and belief continued to propel me forward as well as his content knowledge and organizational skills. There are people you meet in life who inspire you to be a better version of yourself. He continues to motivate me to be and do better. Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not speak of the colleagues who took these steps with me. Each is a dynamic educator, and their contributions in our coursework were heartfelt and passionate. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been on the receiving end of their wisdom, compassion, and knowledge. I will never forget their encouragement and determination to make a lasting difference in those they willingly serve.
Dematerialization and the Circular Economy: Comparing Strategies to Reduce Material Impacts of the Consumer Electronic Product Ecosystem

The rapid technological evolution and adoption of consumer electronics highlights a growing need for adaptive methodologies to evaluate material consumption at the intersection of technological change and increasing consumption. While dematerialization and the circular economy (CE) have both been proposed to mitigate increasing material consumption, recent research has shown that these methods may be ineffective at achieving net material use reduction: When focused on specific products, these methods neglect the effects of complex interactions among and increasing consumption of consumer electronic products. The research presented here develops and applies a material flow analysis aimed at evaluating an entire “product ecosystem,” thereby including the effects of increasing consumption, product trade‐offs, and technological innovations. Results are then used to evaluate the potential efficacy of “natural” dematerialization (occurring as technology advances or smaller products substitute for larger ones) and CE (closing the loop between secondary material supply and primary material demand). Results show that material consumption by the ecosystem of electronics commonly used by U.S. households peaked in 2000. This consumption relies on increasingly diverse materials, including gold, cobalt, and indium, for whom secondary supply is still negligible, particularly given low recovery rates, often less than 1%. Potential circularity metrics of material “dilution,” “dispersion,” and “demand mismatch” are also evaluated, and indicate that CE approaches aimed at closing the loop on consumer electronic material still face several critical barriers particularly related to design and efficient recycling infrastructure.
Impact of an 8-Year-Old Transgenic Poplar Plantation on the Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Community

ABSTRACT The long-term impact of field-deployed genetically modified trees on soil mutualistic organisms is not well known. This study aimed at evaluating the impact of poplars transformed with a binary vector containing the selectable nptII marker and β-glucuronidase reporter genes on ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungi 8 years after field deployment. We generated 2,229 fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) PCR products from 1,150 EM root tips and 1,079 fungal soil clones obtained from the organic and mineral soil horizons within the rhizosphere of three control and three transformed poplars. Fifty EM fungal operational taxonomic units were identified from the 1,706 EM fungal ITS amplicons retrieved. Rarefaction curves from both the root tips and soil clones were close to saturation, indicating that most of the EM species present were recovered. Based on qualitative and/or quantitative α- and β-diversity measurements, statistical analyses did not reveal significant differences between EM fungal communities associated with transformed poplars and the untransformed controls. However, EM communities recovered from the root tips and soil cloning analyses differed significantly from each other. We found no evidence of difference in the EM fungal community structure linked to the long-term presence of the transgenic poplars studied, and we showed that coupling root tip analysis with a soil DNA cloning strategy is a complementary approach to better document EM fungal diversity.
A Positive Regulatory Role for LjERF1 in the Nodulation Process Is Revealed by Systematic Analysis of Nodule-Associated Transcription Factors of Lotus japonicus1[W]

We have used reverse genetics to identify genes involved in legume-rhizobium symbiosis in Lotus japonicus. We obtained the sequences of 20 putative transcription factors from previously reported large-scale transcriptome data. The transcription factors were classified according to their DNA binding domains and patterns of expression during the nodulation process. We identified two homologues of Medicago truncatula MtHAP2-1, which encodes a CCAAT-binding protein and has been shown to play a role in nodulation. The functions of the remaining genes in the nodulation process have not been reported. Seven genes were found to encode proteins with AP2-EREBP domains, six of which were similar to proteins that have been implicated in ethylene and/or jasmonic acid signal transduction and defense gene regulation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). We identified a gene, LjERF1, that is most similar to Arabidopsis ERF1, which is up-regulated by ethylene and jasmonic acid and activates downstream defense genes. LjERF1 showed the same pattern of up-regulation in roots as Arabidopsis ERF1. The nodulation phenotype of roots that overexpressed LjERF1 or inhibited LjERF1 expression using an RNA interference construct indicated that this gene functions as a positive regulator of nodulation. We propose that LjERF1 functions as a key regulator of successful infection of L. japonicus by Mesorhizobium loti.
ESTIMATION OF GENE FLOW AND GENETIC NEIGHBORHOOD SIZE BY INDIRECT METHODS IN A SELFING ANNUAL, TRITICUM DICOCCOIDES

Rates of gene flow and neighborhood area were investigated in the selfing annual, Triticum dicoccoides. The collection of seed material was made using a spatial hierarchical sampling design in which four collection sites were 5–7 m apart, four were 15–17 m apart, and four were 100–120 m apart. Between 25 and 30 plants were scored from each site (mean sample size = 28.7). Two procedures for indirect estimation of gene flow were used on gene‐frequency data from 13 polymorphic loci. The estimates of Nm using Wright's (1943a, 1943b) estimation procedure were 1.265, 0.212, and 0.357, for the closest, intermediate, and most distant distance classes, respectively. The estimates of Nm using Slatkin's (1985) private‐allele procedure were 4.675 (subsample ranges: 1.544–4.675), 0.110 (subsample ranges: 0.069–0.153), and 0.670 (subsample ranges: 0.129–0.256). The results indicate a general agreement between the two procedures. Both indicate a sharp decrease in gene flow beyond the first distance class (5–7 m). The large gene‐flow values and the large variation within the 5–7‐m distance class are taken as evidence that a genetic neighborhood for this species may cover an area defined by a 5‐m radius. The results also indicate that gene flow between populations separated by only 10 or more meters may be quite limited.
Sense of Community on Twitter and Instagram: Exploring the Roles of Motives and Parasocial Relationships

Although research has explored the ways in which people form virtual communities to converse about media figures, television shows, and similar topics, little research has examined the link between virtual communities and the parasocial relationships (PSRs) that are often the focus of these conversations and users' experiences in those virtual communities. We examined sense of community (SOC) on Twitter and Instagram as a function of users' motives for use and users' PSR on the sites. In addition to examining the relative importance of different motives for using Twitter and Instagram, we predicted that PSR would mediate the association between motives for use and SOC. Results of an online survey revealed that Instagram users (n = 276) reported stronger social interaction motives than did Twitter users (n = 223). Social interaction and expressive information sharing motives were directly positively associated with SOC for users of both sites. Instagram users also exhibited indirect effects of expressive information sharing and companionship motives on SOC, through PSR. These findings suggest potentially influential differences between Twitter and Instagram, particularly regarding the role of PSR in fostering a general SOC.
Weak, strong, and coherent regimes of Fröhlich condensation and their applications to terahertz medicine and quantum consciousness

In 1968, Fröhlich showed that a driven set of oscillators can condense with nearly all of the supplied energy activating the vibrational mode of lowest frequency. This is a remarkable property usually compared with Bose–Einstein condensation, superconductivity, lasing, and other unique phenomena involving macroscopic quantum coherence. However, despite intense research, no unambiguous example has been documented. We determine the most likely experimental signatures of Fröhlich condensation and show that they are significant features remote from the extraordinary properties normally envisaged. Fröhlich condensates are classified into 3 types: weak condensates in which profound effects on chemical kinetics are possible, strong condensates in which an extremely large amount of energy is channeled into 1 vibrational mode, and coherent condensates in which this energy is placed in a single quantum state. Coherent condensates are shown to involve extremely large energies, to not be produced by the Wu–Austin dynamical Hamiltonian that provides the simplest depiction of Fröhlich condensates formed using mechanically supplied energy, and to be extremely fragile. They are inaccessible in a biological environment. Hence the Penrose–Hameroff orchestrated objective-reduction model and related theories for cognitive function that embody coherent Fröhlich condensation as an essential element are untenable. Weak condensates, however, may have profound effects on chemical and enzyme kinetics, and may be produced from biochemical energy or from radio frequency, microwave, or terahertz radiation. Pokorný's observed 8.085-MHz microtubulin resonance is identified as a possible candidate, with microwave reactors (green chemistry) and terahertz medicine appearing as other feasible sources.
Multicultural social work practice and South Asian migrants in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This paper explores how multicultural social work responds to the needs and structural issues faced by South Asian migrants in Hong Kong. Three working approaches, namely, the problem-solving approach, the strengths-based approach, and the rights-based approach are identified from our empirical data. The analyses demonstrate the generally insufficient awareness of the practice in critically addressing existing policies and power relations based on race. Moreover, there is a lack of critical reflection on the notion of culture and social workers’ ethnocentric biases. This paper argues that this insufficient awareness could lead to reinforcement of the existing social exclusion of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. Using Hong Kong as an example, this paper reflects on the implications of applying Western-based literature and practice model in a non-Western society.
Evaluation of the Built Environment at a Children’s Convalescent Hospital: Development of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ Parent and Staff Satisfaction Measures for Pediatric Health Care Facilities

In preparation for the design, construction, and postoccupancy evaluation of a new Children’s Convalescent Hospital, focus groups were conducted and measurement instruments were developed to quantify and characterize parent and staff satisfaction with the built environment of the existing pediatric health care facility, a 30-year-old, 59-bed, long-term, skilled nursing facility dedicated to the care of medically fragile children with complex chronic conditions. The measurement instruments were designed in close collaboration with parents, staff, and senior management involved with the existing and planned facility. The objectives of the study were to develop pediatric measurement instruments that measured the following: (1) parent and staff satisfaction with the built environment of the existing pediatric health care facility, (2) parent satisfaction with the health care services provided to their child, and (3) staff satisfaction with their coworker relationships. The newly developed Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ scales demonstrated internal consistency reliability (average α = 0.92 parent report, 0.93 staff report) and initial construct validity. As anticipated, parents and staff were not satisfied with the existing facility, providing detailed qualitative and quantitative data input to the design of the planned facility and a baseline for postoccupancy evaluation of the new facility. Consistent with the a priori hypotheses, higher parent satisfaction with the built environment structure and aesthetics was associated with higher parent satisfaction with health care services (r = .54, p < .01; r = .59, p < .01, respectively). Higher staff satisfaction with the built environment structure and aesthetics was associated with higher coworker relationship satisfaction (r = .53; p < .001; r = .51; p < .01, respectively). The implications of the findings for the architectural design and evaluation of pediatric health care facilities are discussed.
Hormonal characterization of the reproductive cycle and pregnancy in the female Mohor gazelle (Gazella dama mhorr).

The oestrous cycles of seven captive Mohor Gazelles (Gazella dama mhorr) were investigated. Hormone profiles obtained from faecal samples collected each day from cyclic females indicated that the mean duration of the oestrous cycle was 18.62 +/- 0.26 days (range 16-22 days; n = 37 oestrous cycles). No inter-individual differences in the concentration of faecal progestagen metabolites excreted were observed, but mean faecal oestrogen excretion during both the luteal and inter-luteal phases of the oestrous cycle varied among females (P < 0.001 and P = 0.070, respectively). Oestrous cycles were synchronized using controlled internal drug release (CIDR) devices, before natural mating with an intact male. Concentrations of faecal progestagen metabolites remained approximately constant for the first 10 weeks of gestation (mean +/- SEM = 4048 +/- 407 ng g(-1) faeces), before increasing to a mean of 23 556 +/- 1176 ng g(-1) faeces. Two of seven female gazelles conceived immediately after removal of the CIDR device, a similar proportion to that conceived at the postpartum oestrus under natural conditions. Life history data for these individuals indicated that the mean time to conception in female gazelles is positively correlated with peak values in the ratio of excreted oestrogen : progestagen during the inter-luteal period of their oestrous cycles (R(2) = 0.58; P < 0.05). This finding indicates that interactions between steroid production and metabolism may influence the likelihood of conception occurring in this species.
An examination of teacher migration in a large, urban school district

Teaching is professional work that as an occupation is characterized by many of the same rules of employment as other white-collar jobs. It is typically steady work with predictably rising pay, requires limited physical effort, a fixed amount of work time, and occurs in organizations that are rule-bound. Teaching is also uniquely complex, in that it requires a high degree of autonomy, responsibility for others, and extensive management activities. It is also work that has been the focus of significant public criticism for more than twenty-five years as students test scores have declined, the achievement gap among the races has widened, and student discipline problems have increased. Most importantly, it is work that is attracting fewer and fewer new entrants into its ranks at the same time it is losing teachers at a higher rate than other occupations. The purpose of this study was to better describe the complexity of the school staffing problem by examining teacher migration, one form of teacher turnover. The synthesis of research to date indicates that turnover destabilizes schools and that such instability has a direct effect on the success of students. Using quantitative and qualitative research methods, the personal characteristics of teachers who migrated during a four year period within the Duval County, Florida public schools were identified as were the organizational characteristics of the schools from which they migrated. Factors that influenced the decision to migrate were analyzed to determine the ways in which personal characteristics or school characteristics were associated with migration or influenced the decision to migrate. The findings of this study indicate that teachers migrated almost equally for personal reasons and because of the conditions and characteristics of the schools.