Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Populus: A premier pioneer system for plant genomics

The genus Populus has emerged as one of the premier systems for studying multiple aspects of tree biology, combining diverse ecological characteristics, a suite of hybridization complexes in natural systems, an extensive toolbox of genetic and genomic tools, and biological characteristics that facilitate experimental manipulation. Here we review some of the salient biological characteristics that have made this genus such a popular object of study. We begin with the taxonomic status of Populus, which is now a subject of ongoing debate, though it is becoming increasingly clear that molecular phylogenies are accumulating. We also cover some of the life history traits that characterize the genus, including the pioneer habit, long-distance pollen and seed dispersal, and extensive vegetative propagation. In keeping with the focus of this book, we highlight the genetic diversity of the genus, including patterns of differentiation among populations, inbreeding, nucleotide diversity, and linkage disequilibrium for species from the major commerciallyimportant sections of the genus. We conclude with an overview of the extent and rapid spread of global Populus culture, which is a testimony to the growing economic importance of this fascinating genus.
We've Got the Power - the Relevance of IT Leadership and Organizational IT Capabilities in the Fully Digitized Business Era

Modern information technologies allow for an ever increasing digitization of business processes in various industries around the globe. This requires an organization-wide digital mind-set and IT capabilities to react agile in turbulent business environments. Which enabling role CIOs have to develop IT capabilities as necessary predecessor to develop organization-wide strategic IT alignment is still unclear. How strategic IT alignment as means to react to rapid market changes can be achieved as consequence of organization-wide capabilities has not been answered yet. In this research, we capture individual and organizational factors characterizing the CIO position and combine them with two preliminary stages of IT competencies, IT infrastructure and IT capabilities, in a single nomological net to identify their influence on strategic IT alignment. Evaluating the results by means of a broad sample collected within a survey among 141 IT-decision makers in the U.S., our partial least squares analysis supports most of our hypotheses, notably verifying the influence of CIOs on organizational structures and strategic IT alignment, therefore fully mediated by IT capabilities. Building on Mintzberg, we propose strengthening the CIO leadership position furthermore throughout the entire organization to cope with the challenges arising from the ongoing digitization of business processes.
Resin adhesion to caries-affected dentine after different removal methods.

BACKGROUND Caries-affected dentine is the common bonding substrate when treating a patient. At present, there are many methods used for caries removal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the microtensile bond strength of two adhesives (Clearfil Protect Bond and OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch) to caries-affected dentine after three different caries removal methods. METHODS Extracted carious human third molars were used and caries-affected dentine surfaces were obtained from one of the three removal methods: (i) round steel bur in a slow-speed handpiece; (ii) Er:YAG laser; or (iii) 600-grit silicon carbide abrasive paper. Each of the adhesives was used to bond resin composite to the caries-affected dentine according to the manufacturers' instructions. Hourglass-shaped specimens were prepared and stressed in tension at 1mm/min. Data were analysed using two-way analysis of variance and least significant difference test. RESULTS Clearfil Protect Bond showed significantly lower bond strength than OptiBond Solo Plus Total-Etch after caries removal with round steel bur, but the opposite was found for specimens treated with silicon carbide abrasive paper. For laser-treated dentine, no significant differences between the adhesives were revealed. CONCLUSIONS Besides the differences in adhesives, different caries removal methods seem to influence resin adhesion to caries-affected dentine.
An Adaptive Learning Approach for Better Retention of Learners in MOOCs

Nowadays, the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) revolution is gaining growing popularity due to the large number of open online courses. However, the retention rate of learners, which is generally around 10%, raises the question of the effectiveness of this mode of education. Our main objective in this paper is to design a new model to improve the courses completion rate and fight against the dropping out through an adaptive e-learning system for each learner, so that the proposed course correspond to the adequate way the learners could accomplish their learning process. The model will be realized by exploiting the traces left during the users' interactions with their learning environment. By using these traces, we get all pertinent information related to the learner profile. Furthermore, we will generate via ant colony algorithms, recommendations tailored to each learner.
Activation of smooth muscle and myenteric plexus cells of jejunum via toll‐like receptor 4

The cell types of the gut expressing Toll‐like receptor 4, which recognizes specifically bacterial lipopolysaccharides, as well as the functionality of this receptor, have remained controversial. We aimed to clarify these issues. Mouse and human intestinal specimens were stained immunohistochemically to detect Toll‐like receptor 4 expression. Smooth muscle and myenteric plexus cells but not enterocytes revealed receptor expression. Murine intestinal smooth muscle and myenteric plexus cells but not enterocytes showed nuclear translocation of nuclear factor‐kappaB after in vivo stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. Moreover, lipopolysaccharide added to human jejunum biopsies free of epithelial cells induced release of interleukin‐8 (IL‐8). We can conclude that Toll‐like receptor 4 is not expressed in epithelial layer, but rather on smooth muscle and myenteric plexus cells and that expression is functional. The expression of Toll‐like receptor 4 on smooth muscle and myenteric plexus cells is consistent with the possibility that these cells are involved in intestinal immune defense; the low or absent expression of Toll‐like receptor 4 on enterocytes might explain the intestinal epithelium hyporesponsiveness to the abundance of LPS in the intestinal lumen. J. Cell. Physiol. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Integrated Driver–Vehicle–Infrastructure Road Departure Warning Unit

In this paper, a road-departure warning unit taking into account driver-vehicle-infrastructure (DVI) interactions is proposed. The longitudinal and lateral vehicle dynamics limits are analyzed to detect the road departure on loss of control. Vehicle positioning and time to lane crossing (TLC) are used to detect the road departure on a defect of guidance. Prevention of excessive longitudinal speed is handled through the computation of a critical longitudinal speed when approaching a curve and speed profile generation in the straight road section preceding the curve. For the lateral mode, the vehicle oversteering or understeering, the yaw motion, and the lateral acceleration are analyzed. The vehicle lateral displacement and the TLC values are also examined when the vehicle dynamics are not excessive. Necessary data for detection algorithms, which are not available from measurements, are estimated using an extended Kalman filter. The system consists of several subsystems, which work in parallel and provide warning through a dedicated human-machine interface (HMI). This road-departure warning system is experimentally tested on a test track using a prototype vehicle. It is found to be efficient and robust.
A safety evaluation of pirfenidone for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

ABSTRACT Introduction: Pirfenidone is a novel oral anti-fibrotic agent approved for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Since IPF is a chronic and progressive disease most commonly encountered in an older population, therapeutic options should be not only effective, but also free from drug interactions and as safe and tolerable as possible. Areas covered: Comprehensive data from randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, safety studies, and post-marketing data are available to assess the efficacy and safety of pirfenidone in the treatment of IPF. Information on efficacy, adverse events, drug tolerability and discontinuation rates both in clinical trials and real-world clinical experiences are reported. Expert opinion: Pirfenidone has an abundance of data supporting its use in mild-to-moderate IPF. Observational evidence suggests a similar efficacy in severe IPF. In clinical trials, observational studies and real-world use, adverse events are frequent, though generally mild and well tolerated, especially with adequate patient education. Preventative strategies, along with timely and appropriate management of adverse events are critical in improving patient compliance, thereby ensuring the benefits of long-term treatment with pirfenidone.
Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in children attending Mulago Hospital, Kampala

Abstract Background: Non-adherence reduces the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in children attending the paediatric HIV/AIDS clinic at Mulago Hospital, Kampala. Aim: To determine the levels of adherence to HAART and identify factors associated with non-adherence. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 170 children aged 2–18 years. Adherence to HAART was defined as taking ≥95% of prescribed medication. It was determined using three measures: a 3-day self-report by the caregivers, clinic-based pill counts at enrolment and home-based unannounced pill counts 2–3 weeks later. Results: The 3-day self-reported ≥95% adherence was 89.4% (n=170). Using clinic-based pill counts, 94.1% (n=170) had ≥95% adherence to treatment compared with only 72% (n=164) by unannounced pill counts. When the primary caregiver was the only one who knew the child's serostatus, he/she was three times more likely to be non-adherent (p=0.02, OR 3.34, 95% CI 1.14–9.82). Those who had been hospitalised twice or more before starting HAART were more likely to have ≥95% adherence (p=0.02, OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.20–0.92). Conclusion: The majority of children had good adherence levels when estimated by unannounced pill counts. Disclosing the child's HIV serostatus only to the primary caregiver and having been hospitalised only once or not at all were associated with poor adherence.
Stimulation of Proteoglycan and DNA Syntheses in Chondrocytes by Centrifugation

So that the effects of biomechanical forces on the proliferation of chondrocytes and their proteoglycan synthesis could be studied, growth-plate and articular chondrocytes were maintained separately as packed masses in centrifuge tubes in the presence of 10% serum. In these conditions, the cells became re-organized into cartilaginous tissue in seven days. After ten days, they were centrifuged at gravities (g) of 1.3-27 for 24 h in a CO2 incubator. Control cells were maintained in the CO2 incubator without centrifugation. Centrifugation of growth-plate chondrocytes at 3 g resulted in a two-fold increase in incorporation of [35S]sulfate into proteoglycans, but had little effect on their [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. On the other hand, centrifugation of articular chondrocytes at 3 g for 24 h caused 1.5-fold increases in both [35S]sulfate incorporation into proteoglycans and [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. These results suggest that biomechanical forces have different effects on the growth and differentiation of articular and growth-plate chondrocytes.
Non‐linkage of familial rhabdoid tumors to SMARCB1 implies a second locus for the rhabdoid tumor predisposition syndrome

Rhabdoid tumors represent an independent entity among embryonal neoplasms. These tumors affect the kidney (RTK, rhabdoid tumor of kidney) and central nervous system (AT/RT, atypical teratoid, rhabdoid tumor), but may also be found in peripheral soft tissue. Unifying features include immunohistochemical characteristics and inactivation of the putative tumor suppressor gene SMARCB1 (hSNF5/INI1) in chromosome 22q11.2. Several familial cases have been published and summarized under the term rhabdoid tumor predisposition syndrome. In all of the published familial cases, inactivation of SMARCB1 was detected in tumor tissues.
Hospital-based Psychiatric Service Utilization and Morbidity in Multiple Sclerosis

ABSTRACT: Background: Despite the common association of psychiatric morbidity and multiple sclerosis (MS), population-based prevalence estimates of these disorders are limited. Such estimates are of particular importance to those conducting trials of interventions for the treatment of MS. This study examined the prevalence of bipolar disorder, depression, and attempted suicide among hospital service utilizers in Nova Scotia and compared these measures for the MS and non-MS population. Methods: Data regarding diagnosis and utilization were extracted from two linked databases which included all hospital separation records for Nova Scotia over a 3 year period (1992/93-1994/95). Results: The prevalence of bipolar disorder in hospitalized MS patients was 1.97% and depression was 4.27%. These rates were significantly higher than the 0.92% and 2.04%, respectively, for the non-MS hospital utilizers. These diagnoses also accounted for more than half of the primary diagnostic codes for psychiatric service separations by MS patients. The proportion of total hospital utilization which was accounted for by psychiatric services did not differ between MS and non-MS utilizers. While suicide attempts were rare, the estimated frequency of suicide attempts in the total MS population was more than three times that of the general population. Conclusions: Bipolar disorder and depression were twice as prevalent in hospitalized MS patients as in the general population of hospital utilizers while the estimated frequency of suicide attempts was at least three times greater. These results illustrate that psychiatric morbidity and service utilization are important considerations in the care of MS patients.
Bayesian Regression Analysis of Correlates of Modern ContraceptiveMethod Usage: A Case Study in Hawassa City, Ethiopia

Despite widespread adoption of family planning in the developing world contraceptive use is still very low in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia and in other regions. The general objective of this study was identifying the socioeconomic factors of modern contraceptive methods usage among married women of reproductive ages (15-49 years old) in Hawassa city. From a total 990 sampled married women about 57.9% (573) were modern contraception methods users. Bayesian logistic regression procedure was adopted to make inference about the parameters of a logistic regression model. The purpose of this method is generating the posterior distribution of the unknown parameters given both the data and some prior density for the unknown parameters. Bayesian inference for logistic regression models is derived applying a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm to simulate from the joint posterior distribution of the regression and the link parameters.
Partial dearterialization of the liver allograft

The clinical course of five patients with partial dearterialization of their hepatic allografts is described. One patient died and three others suffered serious morbidity as a direct or indirect result of this complication. Partial dearterialization of the liver allograft is a serious and potentially life-threatening complication for which preservation of the complete hepatic arterial supply is important, even if this requires reconstruction of the aberrant vessels.
Poor Imitative Performance of Unlearned Gestures in Children with Probable Developmental Coordination Disorder

ABSTRACT It has been hypothesized that deficits in imitation, linked to abnormal functioning of the mirror neuron system (MNS), may contribute to the motor impairments associated with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The authors aimed to examine imitation of complex novel postures and sequences of gestures in children with and without probable DCD (pDCD), using the postural praxis and sequencing praxis subtests of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests (Ayres, 1989). Participants were 29 boys with pDCD between 6.08 and 13.33 years old, and 29 group age-matched typically developing boys between 6.08 and 13.83 years old. Responses of children with pDCD on both imitation tasks were less accurate than controls, with group differences more apparent with increasing task complexity. Furthermore, as a group, children with pDCD were slower and had a higher number of non–mirror-imitated responses. There was considerable variability within the pDCD group, with some children displaying imitation scores within the normative range. Given the importance of imitation and visual learning for motor development, the difficulties in imitation displayed by some children with pDCD have the potential to impact on movement acquisition. Interventions to target imitation may be beneficial for these children. The results show that children with pDCD had difficulty imitating complex novel postures, children with pDCD had difficulty imitating gesture sequences, children with pDCD had slower responses than controls, group differences in imitation performance increased with task complexity, and not all children with pDCD displayed imitation deficits.
Three Steps Strategy to Search for Optimum Classification Trees

This article presents a new strategy to construct classification trees. According to the proposed scheme, we focused on keeping the record of sequences of each constructed classification tree; both in terms of splitting predictors and their splitting values in an array. So overall we have as many arrays as we have drawn samples. At this stage, a three steps strategy is introduced, which is used to search for the optimum classification tree. The proposed strategy provides comparable or improved results in terms of generalized error rates than tree and rpart (packages available for classification purposes in the R) using four of the well-known evaluation functions, that is, the Gini, the Entropy, the Twoing, and the Exponent-based function to split nodes for many real-life datasets.
Effect of radiation and chemical mutagens on seeds germination of black cumin (Nigella sativa L)

Nigella sativa L. , Rananculaceae, is an important medicinal plant. Seed germination responses to gamma and laser radiation, colchicine and 2, 4 Dinitroaniline chemical mutagens at various doses and concentrations were investigated. Low dose of gamma radiation at 5 Kr stimulated seed germination in dry seeds in which FGP at 83.9% was obtained compare to non-radiated dry seeds at 70.8%. Higher doses of gamma radiation (˃ 5 Kr) had negative effects of seed germination in terms of FGP, GRI and CGRI. Gamma radiation exhibited more severe effects on soaked seeds than dry seeds. Seeds irradiated with 10 and 45 min He-Ne laser gave the highest FGP at 90.07% and 91.67%, respectively. However, 10 min He-Ne laser significantly decreased GRI and CGRI when compared with control seeds and/or other laser doses. In addition, He-Ne laser irradiation decreased the number of days to GT50 when compared to the control seeds. For chemical mutagens, 20 mg/l 2,4Dinitroaniline improved FGP when compared with other treatments. Also, colchicine and 2,4Dinitroaniline concentrations significantly increase CGRI when compared with control. It is interesting to note that GT50 was decreased with He-Ne laser radiation and increased with gamma radiation while no significant differences were observed with chemical mutagens.
Antioxidant activity of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside-derived metabolites, secoisolariciresinol, Enterodiol, and enterolactone

Secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG), an anti-oxidant isolated from flaxseed, is metabolized to secoisolariciresinol (SECO), enterodiol (ED), and enterolactone (EL) in the body. The effectiveness of SDG in hypercholesterolemic atherosclerosis, diabetes, and endotoxic shock could be due to these metabolites. These metabolites may have antioxidant activity. However, the antioxidant activity of these metabolites is not known. The antioxidant activity of SECO, ED, and EL was investigated using chemiluminescence (CL) of zymosan-activated polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) [PMNL-CL]. Other antioxidants (SDG and vitamin E) were also used for comparison. SDG, SECO, ED, EL, and vitamin E, each in the concentration of 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mg/ml, produced a concentration-dependent reduction in zymosan-activated PMNL-CL. SDG, SECO, ED, EL, and vitamin E, in the concentration of 2.5 mg/ml, produced a reduction of zymosan-activated PMNL-CL by 23.8%, 91.2%, 94.2%, 81.6% and 18.7%, respectively. Activated PMNLs produce reactive oxygen species and luminol-dependent CL reflects the amount of oxygen species generated from activated PMNLs. The reduction of PMNL-CL, therefore, reflects the antioxidant activity of the compounds studied. These results suggest that the metabolites of SDG have antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity was highest with SECO and ED and lowest with vitamin E. The antioxidant potency of SECO, ED, EL, and SDG was 4.86, 5.02, 4.35, and 1.27 respectively, as compared to vitamin E. SECO, ED and EL are respectively 3.82, 3.95, and 3.43 more potent than SDG.
Shuttling SR proteins: more than splicing factors

Serine–arginine (SR) proteins commonly designate a family of eukaryotic RNA binding proteins containing a protein domain composed of several repeats of the arginine–serine dipeptide, termed the arginine–serine (RS) domain. This protein family is involved in essential nuclear processes such as constitutive and alternative splicing of mRNA precursors. Besides participating in crucial activities in the nuclear compartment, several SR proteins are able to shuttle between the nucleus and the cytoplasm and to exert regulatory functions in the latter compartment. This review aims at discussing the properties of shuttling SR proteins with particular emphasis on their nucleo‐cytoplasmic traffic and their cytoplasmic functions. Indeed, recent findings have unravelled the complex regulation of SR protein nucleo‐cytoplasmic distribution and the diversity of cytoplasmic mechanisms in which these proteins are involved.
Evaluating a Support Group for Perinatal Loss

Purpose This study attempted to determine if a support group intervention makes a difference in grief reactions of parents who have experienced a perinatal loss, and describes what parents perceived as being helpful and not helpful in handling the loss. Design A cross-sectional, retrospective, two-group research design was used. The independent variable was having attended or not having attended a perinatal loss support group. Methods A convenience sample of 121 participants (n = 67 in support groups;n = 51 not in support groups) was obtained from a mail survey to families who were on a perinatal loss support newsletter mailing list. The participants completed the Hogan Grief Reactions Checklist and a demographic questionnaire. Results There were no statistically significant differences in parents’ grief reaction scores between the two groups, but there were some differences in grief scores by gender and ethnicity. In both groups, the parents perceived their spouse, their extended families, and their friends as “most helpful. ” Physicians were perceived as “least helpful. ” Clinical Implications Grief is very individual, and not all individuals may benefit from a support group. When suggesting a support group or any intervention, timing and a caring approach are essential.