Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The three‐component system EsrISR regulates a cell envelope stress response in Corynebacterium glutamicum

When the cell envelope integrity is compromised, bacteria trigger signaling cascades resulting in the production of proteins that counteract these extracytoplasmic stresses. Here, we show that the two‐component system EsrSR regulates a cell envelope stress response in the Actinobacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum. The sensor kinase EsrS possesses an amino‐terminal phage shock protein C (PspC) domain, a property that sets EsrSR apart from all other two‐component systems characterized so far. An integral membrane protein, EsrI, whose gene is divergently transcribed to the esrSR gene locus and which interestingly also possesses a PspC domain, acts as an inhibitor of EsrSR under non‐stress conditions. The resulting EsrISR three‐component system is activated among others by antibiotics inhibiting the lipid II cycle, such as bacitracin and vancomycin, and it orchestrates a broad regulon including the esrI‐esrSR gene locus itself, genes encoding heat shock proteins, ABC transporters, and several putative membrane‐associated or secreted proteins of unknown function. Among those, the ABC transporter encoded by cg3322‐3320 was shown to be directly involved in bacitracin resistance of C. glutamicum. Since similar esrI‐esrSR loci are present in a large number of actinobacterial genomes, EsrISR represents a novel type of stress‐responsive system whose components are highly conserved in the phylum Actinobacteria.
Treatment of a Mouse Model of Spinal Cord Injury by Transplantation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell‐Derived Long‐Term Self‐Renewing Neuroepithelial‐Like Stem Cells

Because of their ability to self‐renew, to differentiate into multiple lineages, and to migrate toward a damaged site, neural stem cells (NSCs), which can be derived from various sources such as fetal tissues and embryonic stem cells, are currently considered to be promising components of cell replacement strategies aimed at treating injuries of the central nervous system, including the spinal cord. Despite their efficiency in promoting functional recovery, these NSCs are not homogeneous and possess variable characteristics depending on their derivation protocols. The advent of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells has provided new prospects for regenerative medicine. We used a recently developed robust and stable protocol for the generation of long‐term, self‐renewing, neuroepithelial‐like stem cells from human iPS cells (hiPS‐lt‐NES cells), which can provide a homogeneous and well‐defined population of NSCs for standardized analysis. Here, we show that transplanted hiPS‐lt‐NES cells differentiate into neural lineages in the mouse model of spinal cord injury (SCI) and promote functional recovery of hind limb motor function. Furthermore, using two different neuronal tracers and ablation of the transplanted cells, we revealed that transplanted hiPS‐lt‐NES cell‐derived neurons, together with the surviving endogenous neurons, contributed to restored motor function. Both types of neurons reconstructed the corticospinal tract by forming synaptic connections and integrating neuronal circuits. Our findings indicate that hiPS‐lt‐NES transplantation represents a promising avenue for effective cell‐based treatment of SCI. STEM CELLS2012;30:1163–1173
Forecasting Transformer Reliability

In this paper the concept of an integral transformer lifetime model is presented. The model provides the best possible prediction of future behaviour given the data available. It treats remaining life in terms of future failure probability, thereby giving better support to the decision taking process than a mere remaining life estimate. The core of the model is a generic description of ageing processes, coupled to a probabilistic approach. The approach presented utilizes various techniques to reduce the uncertainty that is inherent to modelling processes with incomplete knowledge of the operational history. One technique couples the process model to externally measurable quantities; another technique involves a sensitivity analysis, which shows what additional input data gives the most efficient way to improve accuracy. We will illustrate the approach by applying it to a well-known degradation process: thermal degradation of the transformer winding insulation.
International University Freshmen’s Perceptions on Culturally Diverse Community and Internal Stakeholders’ Tactics

The paper explores first-year students’ feelings about international university campus. Increasing globalisation of education raises a number of issues related not only to internationally accepted standards of qualifications and degrees, curriculum development, faculty competences, but also to domestic and international students’ tolerance, community building, etc. The research focuses on the first-year domestic and international students’ attitudes to their own and other cultures, students’ readiness to share their personal psychological environment with еру representatives of other cultures. The study started with literature review and further used surveys for experimental analysis of students’ perceptions on culturally diverse community. Most surveys engage current undergraduate and final year students, with no particular attention to those who have just enrolled. The present paper argues that the novice students’ surveys could contribute to mapping potentially sensitive zones regarding novice students’ engagement into the university multifaceted landscape. Respondents were asked about the reasons to choose the international university for studies, attitude to other cultures, readiness to accommodation with foreigners. The above survey helped to draft preliminary recommendations regarding ways and instruments for the university internal stakeholders to efficiently interact with domestic and international students to foster their social maturity within international university landscape and its multicultural environment. OPEN ACCESS
Measuring Sponsorship Transparency in the Age of Native Advertising

As advertisers continue to develop new formats of online content that blurs the line between advertising and news or entertainment, the need to understand how consumers process covert advertising grows. While regulators and industry practitioners agree that transparency is paramount to preventing consumer deception, there exists no established way of determining the extent to which a given message transparently conveys to consumers that is a paid advertisement. The current study makes the case for, develops, and validates a scale to measure sponsorship transparency. Following traditional scale development methods, the study generates a pool of items based on consumer and expert input, reduces the number of items based on empirical research, and evaluates scale validity and reliability using a diverse national sample.
Organizational Improvisation and Leadership - A Field Study in Two Computer-Mediated Settings

Drawing on empirical evidence collected in two case studies, we present a tentative model of leadership in a context of organizational improvisation. This article discusses the role of leadership in the process of improvisation, suggesting that opposite leadership behaviors are simultaneously integrated when an important task has to be performed in a turbulent environment with flexible resources. This type of leadership creates "minimal" social and task structures that, together with a perception of the task at hand as individually important to group members, invites the team to improvise. This model builds the argument for a dialectical perspective on organizations, highlights the role of important events as action generators, and underscores the presence of curvilinear relationships in organizational phenomena where linear ones are conventionally assumed.
Suicide Prevention in First Episode Psychosis: The Development of a Randomised Controlled Trial of Cognitive Therapy for Acutely Suicidal Patients With Early Psychosis

Background: Young people with early psychosis are at particularly high risk of suicide. However, there is evidence that early intervention can reduce this risk. Despite these advances, first episode psychosis patients attending these new services still remain at risk. To address this concern, a program called LifeSPAN was established within the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC). The program developed and evaluated a number of suicide prevention strategies within EPPIC and included a cognitively oriented therapy (LifeSPAN therapy) for acutely suicidal patients with psychosis. We describe the development of these interventions in this paper. Method: Clinical audit and surveys provided an indication of the prevalence of suicidality among first episode psychosis patients attending EPPIC. Second, staff focus groups and surveys identified gaps in service provision for suicidal young people attending the service. Third, a suicide risk monitoring system was introduced to identify those at highest risk. Finally, patients so identified were referred to and offered LifeSPAN therapy whose effectiveness was evaluated in a randomised controlled trial. Results: Fifty-six suicidal patients with first episode psychosis were randomly assigned to standard clinical care or standard care plus LifeSPAN therapy. Forty-two patients completed the intervention. Clinical ratings and measures of suicidality and risk were assessed before, immediately after the intervention, and 6 months later. Benefits were noted in the treatment group on indirect measures of suicidality, e.g., hopelessness. The treatment group showed a greater average improvement (though not significant) on a measure of suicide ideation. Conclusions: Early intervention in psychosis for young people reduces the risk of suicide. Augmenting early intervention with a suicide preventative therapy may further reduce this risk.
Influence of circadian-stage-dependent dosing schedule on nephrotoxicity and pharmacokinetics of isepamicin in rats

Nephrotoxicity was more marked in rats receiving isepamicin at midlight than at middark. And, the once-daily administration at middark induced a lesser degree of nephrotoxicity than the twice-daily injection, which indicates that the once-daily treatment therapy may have potential value in the clinical use of aminoglycosides.
Reduced order modeling for contaminant transport and mixing in building systems: A case study using dynamical systems techniques

In this paper we propose a Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS) based approach to modeling and estimation of contaminant transport and mixing in large indoor spaces in buildings. Specifically, we show how the knowledge of LCS can be exploited to enhance proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) based model reduction, sensor placement and comparing effect of different control schemes. We illustrate this approach in a three-dimensional room equipped with a mechanical ventilation system.
Specific-factors influencing late movers' entry timing decision into international market

International market entry strategy is used to make the firm's entering new foreign market possible to expand their businesses in terms of services, products, technology, human and other resources. Entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm relative to international market expansion. The firm has to decide which market to enter (entry location), how to enter (mode of entry), and when to enter (timing of entry). Focusing on the entry timing is one of the important dimensions in the process of internationalization of firms. It involves the needs to balance the early entry risk and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry. In securing the position abroad, consideration of factors that may influence the entry timing decision to enter the selected market is crucial. The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors that are of critical importance influencing the entry timing decision of Malaysian construction firms to penetrate the international market as late movers. Questionnaires were sent to one hundred nine (109) Malaysian construction firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB)(2010) with twenty one per cent (21%) response rate. The data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis and factor analysis to establish the findings. The factor analysis was used to group the thirty (30) factors into four (4) specific-factors namely project, country, firm and industry. The logistic regression analysis shows that 78.3 per cent of the respondents preferred to be late movers. Whilst, factor analysis reveals the specific factors that loaded highest in order of significance that influenced the firms' decisions as late movers were the firm size with strong resources and competencies, size of projects, trade relationship between two countries, level of international experience, management risk attitude, ability of firms to assess market signals and opportunities, and profit targets. This study illustrates the determination of entry timing and consideration of factors influencing the late movers' decision into international construction business to enhance the firms' competitive advantage. Hence, the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with the intention to internationalize as late movers.
Caries-Inhibiting Effect of Professional Fluoride Gel Application in Low-Caries Children Initially Aged 4.5–6.5 Years

It was the purpose of the study to investigate the caries-reducing effect of semi-annual professional fluoride gel application in a low-caries child population initially aged 4.5–6.5 years during a 4-year follow-up period. In a double-blind randomised controlled trial (n = 773) the effect of sodium fluoride gel on D<sub>3</sub>MFS and d<sub>3</sub>mfs was compared with a placebo gel. The mean caries reduction of professionally applied fluoride gel after 4 years in subjects with baseline caries experience D<sub>3</sub>MFS = 0 as well as d<sub>3</sub>mfs = 0 was 0.08 D<sub>3</sub>MFS (SE = 0.06) and 0.36 d<sub>3</sub>mfs (SE = 0.22). The prevented fraction for D<sub>3</sub>MFS and d<sub>3</sub>mfs was 26% (SE = 16%) and 20% (SE = 11%), respectively. It was concluded that in the investigated low-caries 4.5- to 6.5-year-olds, fluoride gel treatment showed a statistically significant (tested one-sided) caries-inhibiting effect on D<sub>3</sub>MFS, which was considered not clinically relevant, and no significant effect on d<sub>3</sub>mfs.
Self-reported and clinical measurement of three chronic disease risks among low-income women in West Virginia.

BACKGROUND This study assessed the validity of several self-reported cardiovascular risk factors among low-income women aged 40-64 years in West Virginia. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 733 women participating in the Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) project in West Virginia to examine agreement between self-report and clinical screenings in the prevalence of risk factors related to coronary heart disease (CHD). Women participating in the study were interviewed face-to-face before administration of clinical screenings that assessed height, weight, Quetelet's index, high blood pressure (systolic > or =140 mm Hg or diastolic > or =90 mm Hg), and elevated total cholesterol concentrations (> or =200 mg/dL and > or =240 mg/dL). RESULTS The overall results showed high sensitivity and specificity for each of the risk factors examined; for overweight/obesity, the sensitivity was 96% and specificity was 93%; for cholesterol > or =240 mg/dL, sensitivity was 85% and specificity was 67%; for hypertension, sensitivity was 77% and specificity was 86%. Using a threshold value of > or =240 mg/dL for hypercholesterolemia led to higher sensitivity but a lower specificity than for a value of > or =200 mg/dL. CONCLUSIONS This study found that among low-income women at higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), self-reported values for high body mass index (BMI), hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension were well correlated with clinical measures, as indicated by high sensitivity values. Thus, self-reported values can be used for surveillance, targeted screenings, and health promotion activities, including lifestyle changes.
A placebo‐controlled trial of ketotifen (HC 20‐511, Sandoz) in allergen induced asthma and comparison with disodium cromoglycate

Ketotifen failed to protect against cat fur allergen induced asthma in a double blind placebo‐controlled trial in ten asthmatic children. Disodium cromoglycate gave effective protection against the immediate and the late asthmatic reactions but there were no significant differences between the effects of ketotifen and a placebo.
Surgical treatment of peri-implantitis using a bone substitute with or without a resorbable membrane: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this prospective cohort study was to compare two regenerative surgical treatment modalities for peri-implantitis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Thirty-six patients having a minimum of one osseointegrated implant, with a progressive loss of bone amounting to > or =3 threads (1.8 mm) following the first year of healing, combined with bleeding and/or pus on probing, were involved in this study. The patients were assigned to two different treatment strategies. After surgical exposure of the defect, granulomatous tissue was removed and the infected implant surface was treated using 3% hydrogen peroxide. The bone defects were filled with a bone substitute (Algipore). In 17 patients (Group 1), a resorbable membrane (Osseoquest) was placed over the grafted defect before suturing. In 19 patients (Group 2), the graft was used alone. RESULTS One-year follow-up demonstrated clinical and radiographic improvements. Probing depths were reduced by 2.9 mm in Group 1 and by 3.4 mm in Group 2. Defect fill amounted to 1.5 and 1.4 mm, respectively. There was no significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION It is possible to treat peri-implant defects with a bone substitute, with or without a resorbable membrane.
A role for zeta protein kinase C in nerve growth factor-induced differentiation of PC12 cells.

Studies were undertaken to compare the signal-induced redistribution of conventional protein kinase C (cPKC) to nonclassical protein kinase C (nPKC) family members in response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) or nerve growth factor (NGF) treatment of PC12 cells. cPKC-alpha and -beta and nPKC-delta and -epsilon were predominantly cytoplasmic, whereas PKC-zeta displayed approximately equal distribution between the cytoplasm and membrane fraction. Treatment of PC12 cells with PMA induced rapid translocation of both c- and nPKC isoforms to the membrane fraction, although the kinetics varied between isoforms with epsilon being most sensitive, followed by delta > zeta > alpha. Both PKC-epsilon and delta translocated in the presence of minute concentrations of PMA, whereas cPKC was less sensitive, and PKC-zeta was least sensitive. NGF treatment, on the other hand, induced translocation of cPKCs and delta and epsilon nPKC, albeit with differential magnitude, whereas PKC-zeta was found predominantly in the cytoplasm. Chronic treatment of PC12 cells with PMA (1 microM) caused a rapid disappearance of alpha, beta, delta, and epsilon PKC isoforms, whereas the expression of PKC-zeta was unaltered over 4 days. NGF induced an increase in cytoplasmic PKC-zeta in control, or PMA down-regulated PC12 cells. Moreover, the increase in cytoplasmic PKC-zeta was blocked by pretreatment with sphingosine (2.5 microM). Furthermore, PKC-zeta was activated by NGF in PMA down-regulated PC12 cells, as determined by the extent of epsilon-peptide phosphorylation using a permeabilized cell assay. In addition, the zeta-pseudosubstrate peptide inhibited NGF-induced activation of PKC-zeta. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Does racial prejudice affect black entrepreneurship?: evidence exploiting spatial differences in prejudicial attitudes

ABSTRACT This article explores the relationship between racial prejudice towards blacks and the black-white self-employment rate gap and provides the first direct empirical evidence that racial prejudice negatively impacts black self-employment, particularly in high start-up cost industries. To perform this analysis, I construct a measure of prejudicial attitudes using responses from the General Social Survey and estimate the relationship between self-employment and this index using the American Community Survey. I find that an amount of prejudice equal to the difference in least and most prejudiced census divisions increases the black-white self-employment rate gap in high start-up cost industries by 10.4–16.8%, depending upon whether parental self-employment is controlled for, and represents the entire impact of racial prejudice on the black-white self-employment rate gap. Additionally, racial prejudice widens the black-white self-employment income gap by between 6.4% and 8.2% in my full specification, dependent upon how income is measured. Evidence indicates that racial prejudice is causing blacks difficulty in financing their businesses. The results presented are robust to various modelling and data assumptions.
Ornidazole for prophylaxis of postoperative Crohn's disease recurrence: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Crohn's disease almost inevitably recurs after ileocolonic resection, and effective prophylactic therapy has not been identified. We investigated the efficacy and safety of ornidazole, a nitroimidazole antibiotic, for the prevention of clinical recurrence of Crohn's disease after curative ileocolonic resection in a placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trial. METHODS Eighty patients were randomized to ornidazole 1 g/day or placebo started within 1 week of resection and continued for 1 year. The primary end point was the proportion of patients with clinical recurrence at 1 year. Secondary end points were endoscopic recurrence at 3 months and 12 months after resection. RESULTS Two patients in the ornidazole group withdrew consent and were not dosed. Ornidazole significantly reduced the clinical recurrence rate at 1 year from 15 of 40 (37.5%) patients in the placebo group to 3 of 38 (7.9%) patients in the ornidazole group (Fisher exact test, 8.03; P = .0046; odds ratio, 0.14; 95% confidence interval, 0.037-0.546). Ornidazole reduced endoscopic recurrence at 12 months from 26 of 33 (79%) in the placebo group to 15 of 28 (53.6%) in the ornidazole group (chi2 , 4.37; P = .037; odds ratio, 0.31; 95% confidence interval, 0.10-0.94). Endoscopic recurrence at 3 and 12 months predicted clinical recurrence. Significantly more patients in the ornidazole group dropped out from the study because of side effects (P = .041). CONCLUSIONS Ornidazole 1 g/day is effective for the prevention of recurrence of Crohn's disease after ileocolonic resection.