Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multifunctional Pharmaceutical Effects of the Antibiotic Daptomycin

Daptomycin (DAP), a cyclic lipopeptide produced by Streptomyces roseosporus, is a novel antibiotic to clinically treat various Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria-induced infections. Although DAP has a strong broad-spectrum bactericidal effect, recently rare bacterial antibiotic resistance against DAP gradually arises. The review is to summarize the normal indications of DAP, its off-label usage against several clinical pathogen infections, the unique antibacterial mechanisms of DAP, and the combination of antibiotic therapies for highly DAP-resistant pathogens. More noticeably, rising evidences demonstrate that DAP has new potential activity of anticancer and immunomodulatory effects. So far the multifunctional pharmaceutical effects of DAP deserve to be further explored for future clinical applications.
Inhaled endotoxin in healthy human subjects : A dose-related study on systemic effects and peripheral CD 4 + and CD 8 + T cells

ee front matter & 2005 med.2005. 06.003 ng author. Tel. : +606 76 ess: loh@imu.edu. my (L Summary Background: Inhaled endotoxin or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary diseases. We investigated the inhalation effects of two different doses of LPS in healthy human subjects. Methods: Eighteen healthy non-atopic human subjects inhaled either 15 mg ðn 1⁄4 10Þ or 50 mg ðn 1⁄4 8Þ Escherichia coli LPS in an open study. As control, each subject had isotonic saline inhalation 1 week before (baseline) and after LPS inhalation. Data collected included those of clinical parameter, induced sputum and peripheral blood CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Results: Acute flu-like symptoms and pyrexia were significantly greater in the 50 mg than 15 mg LPS group. Similarly, the increase in sputum and blood total cell and neutrophil counts at 6 h following inhaled LPS were greater in the 50 mg group. Myeloperoxidase, human neutrophil elastase and interleukin-8 in sputum sol, but not blood, showed a trend towards greater increase following 50 mg LPS. All these changes were resolved at one week. In the 50 mg dose group alone, there was a reduction in the proportion of peripheral blood interferon (IFN)-g-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells at 6 h followed by an increase at 1 week after inhaled LPS. Conclusions: The airway and systemic effects of inhaled LPS are dose-related and predominantly neutrophilic. The changes in the proportions of circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells suggests preferential recruitment of IFN-g-producing T cells into tissue from inhaled 50mg LPS, followed by reappearance of these cells in blood 1 week later. & 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A model of pricing behavior : An econometric case study

Empirical pricing studies are scarce in the modern literature in spite of their obvious importance for understanding competition. The present study employs a structural model to identify deviations of individual pricing routines from the commonly assumed single-period profit maximization. It is applied to individual wholesale firms, because wholesale pricing has a decisive influence on the price formation in the entire economic system and because hardly any research exists in this area. The results show that wholesale firms operate in imperfectly competitive world markets providing a highly differentiated service package. Traders apply pricing rules consistent with cost mark-up pricing. The mark-up varies among traders with the extent to which a firm's pricing strategy deviates from full profit maximization. This divergent behavior is associated with firm size, the type of buyers served and other aspects of the wholesale service package. # 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved JEL classi®cation: C52; D43; L21; L81
Drinking norms: predictors of misperceptions among college students.

OBJECTIVES To explore misperceptions and predictors of misperceptions of celebration and general drinking norms. Participants were traditional college students (N=214). METHODS An online questionnaire was developed to assess personal drinking behavior and perceived drinking norms. RESULTS Significant misperceptions exist among students regarding their perception of the drinking patterns and behaviors displayed by peers in general and during celebration events. Overestimation is more prevalent for celebration drinking than for drinking in general. The odds of being an overestimator are greater for out-of-state residents, frequent drinkers, and students with lower GPAs. CONCLUSIONS Effective strategies should be implemented to correct misperceptions.
A clinical decision process model for evaluating vancomycin use with modified HICPAC guidelines. Hospital Infection Control Practice Advisory Committee.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate a clinical decision process model for the appropriateness of vancomycin use, using modified Hospital Infection Control Practice Advisory Committee (HICPAC) guidelines. DESIGN All nondialysis vancomycin use was reviewed using the retrospective chart review method. The HICPAC guidelines were modified to distinguish between documented and suspected infections and appropriateness of vancomycin use initially and after 3 days of therapy. Data were collected on both vancomycin-use orders and vancomycin-use days. SETTING 446-bed health maintenance organization teaching hospital. RESULTS 758 uses of vancomycin from 1993 through 1995 were evaluated using the modified HICPAC guidelines. Initial use was appropriate in 71% of the cases, with 26% used for documented infections and 74% for suspected infections. Of the 536 orders of initial appropriate use, 176 courses of treatment with vancomycin were discontinued appropriately within 3 days. Ongoing use evaluation after 3 days revealed appropriate use in 45%, inappropriate ongoing use in 25%, and empirical ongoing use in 30% of the cases. There were adequate clinical or laboratory data available in 70% of cases after 3 days to discontinue vancomycin or to reclassify from suspected to documented infections or indications. Vancomycin-use evaluation solely after 3 days would not have disclosed 537 initial inappropriate vancomycin-use days, which were 44% of the total inappropriate use days. CONCLUSIONS Comprehensive evaluation of vancomycin use with HICPAC guidelines should include a modification to encompass initial and 3-day reevaluation, because most initial use is for suspected, and not documented, infections. HICPAC guidelines do not address the issues of differentiating suspected from documented infection indications or ongoing empirical use. The clinical decision process model is a framework for documentation and data collection for use evaluation and addresses issues not covered in HICPAC vancomycin guidelines. This model could be used by other medical centers for evaluation of vancomycin or other antibiotics.
Hamstring injuries: radiographic, conventional tomographic, CT, and MR imaging characteristics.

PURPOSE To review experience with the imaging features of hamstring injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS Imaging findings in 18 male and four female patients with clinically proved hamstring injuries were reviewed. The patients' ages ranged from 13 to 61 years (mean, 26 years). Radiography, conventional tomography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging were performed. RESULTS Plain radiographs obtained less than 1 week after injury were normal or showed avulsion of an ischial apophysis. Plain radiographs and conventional tomograms obtained more than 1 week but less than 3 months after injury were confusing, because callus and osteolysis were present. CT helped identify a healing avulsion of an ischial apophysis. MR imaging was helpful no matter how long after the injury it was performed. It provided a means to evaluate muscle, tendon, and bone. CONCLUSION Familiarity with the variable appearance of hamstring injuries over time and with different modalities facilitates accurate characterization.
Host-specificity and functional diversity among arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are mutualistic symbiotic associations between 150 species of fungi and the roots of approximately 300 000 species of plants. As a result of this low fungus:host species ratio, it has been assumed that the fungi are not host-specific and that there is a high functional redundancy among fungal species. In this study, fungi and plants were isolated from an old field meadow and used in a series of experiments to test for host-specificity and functional redundancy. AM fungi were not host specific 96% of combinations yielded successful colonization. However, there was strong evidence for functional variability among fungal species. Differential responses in P uptake, protection against non-mycorrhizal fungal infection, and productivity was detected for almost every plant-fungus combination tested. The nature of the responses was highly fungusand plantspecies specific. These results suggest that changes in the species composition of AM fungal communities can strongly alter plant community structure.
Culture ? Tactical Self-Enhancement in China : Is Modesty at the Service of Self-Enhancement in East Asian

Is self-enhancement culturally universal or relativistic? This article highlights a nuanced dynamic in East Asian culture. Modesty is a prevailing norm in China. The authors hypothesized that because of socialization practices and prohibitive cultural pressures, modesty would be associated with and lead to low explicit self-enhancement but high implicit self-enhancement, that Chinese participants would deemphasize explicitly the positivity of the self when high on modesty or situationally prompted to behave modestly but would capitalize on their modest disposition or situationally induced behavior to emphasize implicitly the positivity of the self. In support of the hypotheses, dispositionally or situationally modest Chinese participants manifested low explicit self-esteem while manifesting high implicit self-esteem. Modesty among American participants constrained explicit self-esteem but yielded no associations with implicit self-esteem. The results showcase the tactical nature of self-enhancement in Chinese culture and call for research on when and how self-enhancement is pursued tactically in different cultures.
Induction of Macrophage Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Expression by the Th2 Cytokines IL-4 and IL-131

Macrophage-derived insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) has long been implicated in the pathogenesis of the interstitial lung disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, in part, by its ability to 1) stimulate the proliferation and survival of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts and 2) promote collagen matrix synthesis by these cells. However, little is known about the mechanisms that stimulate the expression of IGF-I by macrophages. Previous studies have shown that the development of pulmonary fibrosis is accompanied by enhanced expression of Th2-profile cytokines, especially IL-4, and diminished expression of Th1 cytokines, including IFN-γ. In addition, in vitro studies have shown that IFN-γ down-regulates the expression of IGF-I. Thus, the paucity of IFN-γ in the fibrotic lung may favor increased growth factor production by allowing Th2 cytokines to predominate. In view of these findings, we investigated the hypothesis that Th2 cytokines stimulate the expression of IGF-I by macrophages. Incubation with IL-4 or IL-13 led to concentration- and time-dependent increases in the expression of IGF-I mRNA and the secretion of IGF-I protein by mouse macrophages as a consequence of increased transcription of IGF-I pre-mRNA. Exposure of macrophages to IL-4 in the presence of IFN-γ inhibited the increase in the expression of IGF-I. Studies using STAT6-deficient macrophages indicated that the increase in IGF-I expression was dependent on STAT6. In addition, the down-regulation of IGF-I expression by IFN-γ was absent in STAT1-deficient macrophages. Collectively, these findings define a homeostatic mechanism in which Th2 cytokines promote, and Th1 cytokines inhibit, the expression of IGF-I by macrophages.
Methylotrophic yeasts as factories for the production of foreign proteins

In this contribution we discuss the potential of methylotrophic yeasts as hosts for the high level production of valuable foreign proteins. Recent relevant achievements on the intracellular production or secretion of proteins are summarized. Special attention is paid to a specific advantage of the use of methylotrophic yeasts, namely the possibility of accumulating the foreign gene products inside peroxisomes. This approach may be of major advantage when the protein product is toxic for the host cell and, also, to protect these proteins these proteins from undesired side‐effects such as proteolysis or aggregation.
SILVER THICK FILM CONTACT FORMATION ON LOWLY DOPED PHOSPHOROUS EMITTERS

In this contribution we study the potential of silver thick film metallization to contact weakly doped emitters with high sheet resistance values and low phosphorous surface concentrations. The influence of the phosphorous surface concentration on both, the electrical properties of the silver thick film contact and the contact formation processes is investigated. In order to study the contact formation processes we focused on the growth of silver crystals onto the silicon surface. It is shown that the crystal growth depends mainly on the excess phosphorous in the surface near emitter region. The sheet resistance is not the key parameter. The dependency on the electrical phosphorous surface concentration is less pronounced. Increased peak firing temperatures result in enhanced size and number of crystals grown on all investigated emitters. The silver growth on <111> oriented silicon surfaces starts at lower temperatures than on <100> oriented Si. It is shown that direct contacting of the crystals with conductive silver leads to specific contact resistances of ρC < 10 mΩcm on emitters with a surface concentration of ND,surface ≈ 410 cm.
GENETIC VARIABILITY AND ASSOCIATION STUDIES FOR GREEN POD YIELD AND COMPONENT HORTICULTURAL TRAITS IN GARDEN PEA UNDER HIGH HILL DRY TEMPERATE CONDITIONS OF TABO VALLEY OF SPITI DISTRICT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

Genetic variability and association studies involving 15 diverse Pea genotypes were carried out in the year 2010-11 at RHRSS, Tabo, Lahaul & Spiti, a dry temperate zone of Himachal Pradesh. The results concluded that highest pod yield per plant was recorded in Punjab-89 which can replace the existing Azad P-1 variety. Phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were moderate in magnitude for most of the traits. High heritability coupled with high genetic gain were observed for plant height, pod length, number of grains per pod, shelling percentage and number of pods per plant which indicated the presence of additive gene action and thus offers more scope for reliable and effective selection. A significant positive association of pod yield was observed with number of pods per plant, pod length, pod width and number of grains per pod. Therefore, these traits may be considered as the most reliable selection indices for effective improvement in green pod yield in garden pea.
How the result of a measurement of a component of the spin of a spin-1/2 particle can turn out to be 100.

We have found that the usual measuring procedure for preselected and postselected ensembles of quantum systems gives unusual results. Under some natural conditions of weakness of the measurement, its result consistently defines a new kind of value for a quantum variable, which we call the weak value. A description of the measurement of the weak value of a component of a spin for an ensemble of preselected and postselected spin-(1/2 particles is presented.
Pilot survey of oncologists regarding treatment-related infertility and fertility preservation in female cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE To conduct a quantitative survey that focuses on oncologists' practice patterns and attitudes surrounding treatment-related infertility and fertility preservation, specifically among women of reproductive age. STUDY DESIGN A 19-item survey was emailed to medical, pediatric, radiation and surgical oncologists at Duke University. Descriptive statistics were used. RESULTS Most oncologists (61%) who responded always or usually discuss the impact treatment will have on fertility. Nearly half (45%) never refer women to reproductive specialists. Respondents who attended an educational session on fertility preservation were more likely to consider a patient's desire for fertility when planning her treatment than those who did not attend (45% vs. 33%). More than half (55%) of attendees were willing to consider a less aggressive regimen to preserve fertility, compared with 29% of those who did not attend. CONCLUSION While most oncologists recognize the importance of discussing infertility risks, many do not discuss fertility preservation routinely. Reasons for this discrepancy included poor prognosis and emergent need to start therapy. Increasing awareness through educational events may influence current practice patterns and increase collaboration between reproductive endocrinologists and oncologists.
Screening for oral health literacy in an urban dental clinic.

OBJECTIVE Studies show that the average person fails to understand and use health care related materials to their full potential. The goal of this study was to evaluate a health literacy instrument based on the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) that incorporates dental and medical terms into one 84-item Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine and Dentistry (REALM-D) measure and determine its association with patient characteristics of a culturally diverse dental clinic population. METHODS An 84-item dental/medical health literacy word list and a 48-item health beliefs and attitudes survey was provided to a sample of 200 adult patients seeking treatment for the first time at an oral diagnosis clinic located in a large urban medical center in Los Angeles, California. RESULTS Of the total sample, 154 participants read all of list 1 correctly, 141 read list 2 correctly, and only 38 read list 3 correctly. Nonwhite participants had significantly lower REALM-D scores at each level of difficulty as well as the total scale score compared to white participants. Participants who reported English as not their main language had significantly lower REALM-D scores. REALM-D scores also varied significantly by level of education among participants where as level of education increased, oral health literacy increased. At a bivariate level, race, education, and English as a main language remain predictive of health literacy in a regression model. An interaction between education and English as a main language was significant. CONCLUSIONS The REALM-D is an effective instrument for use by medical and dental clinicians in detecting differences among people of different backgrounds and for whom English was not their primary language.
Solving The Travelling Thief Problem with an Evolutionary Algorithm

Optimization problems in real world scenarios often consist of different, interconnected NPhard optimization problems. In this thesis the Travelling Thief Problem (TTP) is considered. It combines the well known knapsack problem (KP) and the travelling salesman problem (TSP). In the TTP a person called “thief“ tries to collect as many items, on different nodes he is visiting during his tour, respecting the capacity of his knapsack, as possible. These items have associated a weight and a profit. Collecting an item increases the profit but also decreases the thief’s travel speed on his remaining tour. As he has to pay a rent for his knapsack per time unit he tries to minimize his travel time for his tour and to maximize his profit by collecting items. A possible application for the TTP could be a delivery company which has to pick up packages at different locations which are combined in a route. Picking up packages leads to a profit gain but decreases travel speed and the delivery has a maximum cargo capacity. This thesis will provide a new state of the art hybrid genetic algorithm to solve the TTP heuristically. This algorithm consists of a genetic algorithm and additional local search operators. Most of these operators will focus on either the embedded TSP or the KP subproblem. For each partial candidate solution the other part is derived from this partial solution. Additionally, an approach where each subproblem will be solved on its own and combined in a solution for the TTP will be provided to examine the importance of the interconnection between the two subproblems. All algorithmic variants are compared to each other and to so far existing solution approaches from the literature. Computational results show that our hybrid genetic algorithm is competitive to these approaches and even outperforms them especially on smaller instances.
Beyond just politics: A systematic literature review of online participation

This paper presents a systematic literature review of the current state–of–research on online participation. The review draws on four databases and is guided by the application of six topical search terms. The analysis strives to differentiate distinct forms of online participation and to identify salient discourses within each research field. We find that research on online participation is highly segregated into specific sub–discourses that reflect disciplinary boundaries. Research on online political participation and civic engagement is identified as the most prominent and extensive research field. Yet research on other forms of participation, such as cultural, business, education and health participation, provides distinct perspectives and valuable insights. We outline both field–specific and common findings and derive propositions for future research.
EFL Teachers ’ Attitudes towards Post-method Pedagogy and Their Students ’ Achievement

Recently, a growing interest in research on L2 teaching, EFL teachers, and post-method condition is seen in the Iranian mainstream education that has led researchers to focus on the use of communicative language teaching (CLT) based methodology and materials in the teaching and learning environment. This study was conducted to explore any probable relationship between teachers' positive or negative attitudes towards post-method and their students' achievement. To this end, a questionnaire was designed to elicit EFL teachers' beliefs across dominant teaching methods (i.e. pre-CLT to post-CLT). The subjects were 594 Iranian EFL teachers selected from different cities all over Iran. After the administration of the questionnaires, the data were analyzed through statistical procedures. The results will provide a basis to discuss the impact of teachers' attitudes on their students' achievement & some useful guidelines for teacher trainers & teacher training courses for better results in the classroom, namely learner achievement.
A brief history of the origin of minimum alveolar concentration (MAC).

Minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration: A standard of anesthetic potency. By Eger EI II, Saidman LJ, Brandstater B. Anesthesiology 1965; 26:756–63.The minimum alveolar concentration of anesthetic (MAC) necessary to prevent movement in response to a painful stimulus was relatively constant in dogs