Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CORRELATIONS BETWEEN RIBONUCLEIC ACID AND DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID METABOLISM DURING SPORE GERMINATION

Studies carried out on synchronously growing bacterial cultures may greatly enhance our knowledge of the bacterial cell. Fitz-James (1955) has demonstrated that a high degree of synchrony exists in a germinating spore culture under certain conditions. Synchrony can be achieved by adding L-alanine at zero time to a suspension of spores in an appropriate medium; alanine starts germination simultaneously in at least 90 per cent of cells. In addition to being phased a germinating culture possesses other qualities that make it useful in studies of the bacterial cell. The spore differs in many respects from the vegetative cell into which it develops. Examples are differences in ribonucleic acid-deoxyribonucleic acid (RNA-DNA) ratios, synthetic capacities, presence or lack of certain enzymes and other constituents, and state of the RNA (Fitz-James, 1955; Halvorson and Church, 1957; Woese, Langridge, and Morowitz, 1960). In view of these differences, it is likely that relatively profound changes accompany the transition from spore state to vegetative state. The work reported here was prompted by the original observations of Fitz-James (1955) on synchronously germinating cultures of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus mnegateriumn. He found that RNA increase preceded DNA increase, and that the rate of RNIA increase varied at different stages of germination. We have carried out a similar study on germinating cultures of Bacillus subtilis. The net changes in DNA and RNA as a function of time during germination and the kinetics of incorporation of phosphate into the two nucleic acid fractions are reported below. There is no a priori reason to assume that the correlations between DNA and RNA synthesis one observes during spore germination are the same as those existing in the vegetative state of the cell. However, the synchrony existing in a germinating culture can extend beyond the first cell division (Fitz-James, 1955). Therefore, if there are two modes of RNA and DNA metabolism (i.e., germinating and vegetative) it should be possible to ascertain them both using a germinating culture, and the subsequent comparison would prove more informative than the study of either one alone.
The Evolving Practice of Developmental Care in the Neonatal Unit: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT Many neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are experiencing changes in their approaches to preterm infant care as they consider and incorporate the philosophy of individualized developmental care. The aim of this systematic review is to research current literature documenting the short-term effects of developmental care and the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP). The following databases were reviewed: PubMED, CINAHL, and PsychINFO by using the keywords developmental care, individualized care, preterm infant, early intervention, and NIDCAP. Fifty-four articles were found with a total of 15 matching the selection criteria. All 15 articles were assessed using a research design developed by the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM). Twelve of the 15 articles contained strong Levels of Evidence (I or II). Our findings suggest evidence supporting developmental care and NIDCAP, however, further research documenting outcomes for preterm infants receiving developmental care and/or NIDCAP is needed.
Effects of pearl powder extract and its fractions on fibroblast function relevant to wound repair

The water soluble matrix (WSM) of pearl powder [Hyriopsis cumingii Lea (Unionidae)] was extracted, and the insoluble residue was demineralized, size-fractionated, and named as MR14 (> 14 kDa), MR3–14 (3–14 kDa), and MR3 (< 3 kDa). The effects of WSM, MR14, MR3–14, and MR3 on primary mouse oral fibroblast proliferation, collagen accumulation, matrix metalloproteinase-2, -9 (MMP-2, -9) activities, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) production were tested by MTT assay, chloramine T method, gelatin zymography, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The results showed that the WSM and MR14 could significantly (p < 0.05) promote fibroblast proliferation; all of the fractions could significantly promote collagen accumulation; MR14 significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited MMP-2 activity; and all of the fractions could significantly promote TIMP-1 production. This study has proved that the mechanism by which pearl powder promotes wound healing is partly due to its ability to stimulate fibroblast mitosis, collagen deposition, and TIMP-1 production, and the major active fraction may be MR14.
Influence of individual characteristics on outcome of glycemic control in intensive care unit patients with or without diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE To clarify the relationship of patient and critical illness characteristics (including any history of diabetes mellitus) to glycemic control with insulin and hospital mortality. PATIENTS AND METHODS A case-control descriptive study was performed of patients admitted to a tertiary-care center multidisciplinary closed intensive care unit (ICU) at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz, between January 1, 1999, and December 31, 2003, after implementation of a glycemic management protocol. Hospital mortality, the primary outcome, was examined in nondiabetic and diabetic ICU patients receiving insulin and in patients not requiring insulin (control group). RESULTS Of 7285 patients, 2826 (39%) required insulin, 1083 of whom (15% of total) had a history of diabetes mellitus. The control group had a median (10th-90th percentile) glucose level of 118 mg/dL (range, 97-153 mg/dL) and a 5% mortality rate. The median glucose level was 134 mg/dL (range, 110-181 mg/dL) in nondiabetic patients and 170 mg/dL (121-238 mg/dL) in diabetic patients (P<.001), whereas mortality rates were 10% and 6%, respectively (P<.001). Compared with nondiabetic survivors, nondiabetic nonsurvivors had longer periods with glucose levels greater than 144 mg/dL. Diabetic nonsurvivors vs diabetic survivors had longer periods with glucose levels greater than 200 mg/dL. Poor glycemic control in nondiabetic patients was associated with increased insulin requirement and increased mortality. Critical illness characteristics that predicted poor glycemic control were advanced age, history of diabetes, cardiac surgery, postoperative complications, severity of illness, nosocomial infections, prolonged mechanical ventilation, or concurrent medications. CONCLUSIONS Critical illness characteristics determined glycemic control and clinical outcome in ICU patients. Acute insulin resistance was associated with worse outcomes in nondiabetic patients. Although critical illness characteristics influenced glycemic control, future evaluation of the effect of insulin administration and optimal glycemic control in ICU patients is necessary.
Tonsil Surgery in Youths: Good Results With A Less Invasive Method

Objective: Comparison of two types of tonsil surgery for 16‐ to 25‐year‐old patients, with respect to primary morbidity, snoring, and recurrent infections after 1 year. Teenagers and young adults are a significant proportion (26%) of the population that receive tonsil surgery each year and appear to suffer more pain than younger children. Recurrent tonsillitis, in combination with obstructive problems, is the main indication for surgery.
The Epidemiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Canada: A Population-Based Study

BACKGROUND:Previously, we have demonstrated a high incidence and prevalence of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. However, the epidemiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in other regions of Canada has not been defined. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and prevalence of CD and UC in diverse regions of Canada and the overall burden of IBD in Canada.METHODS:We applied a common case identification algorithm, previously validated in Manitoba to the provincial health databases in British Columbia (BC), Alberta (AB), Saskatchewan (SK), Manitoba (MB), and Nova Scotia (NS) to determine the age-adjusted incidence rates per 100,000 person-years for 1998–2000 and prevalence per 100,000 for mid 2000 and to estimate the IBD burden in Canada. Poisson regression was used to assess differences in incidence rates and prevalence by gender, age, and province.RESULTS:The incidence rate for CD ranged from 8.8 (BC) to 20.2 (NS), and for UC ranged from 9.9 (BC) to 19.5 (NS). The prevalence of CD was approximately 15- to 20-fold higher than the incidence rate, ranging from 161 (BC) to 319 (NS). This was similar for the prevalence of UC, which ranged from 162 (BC) to 249 (MB). Adjusting for age and province, the female:male ratio for incidence ratio was 1.31 (p < 0.0001) for CD and 1.02 (n.s.) for UC and was mostly stable across the five provinces.CONCLUSIONS:Approximately 0.5% of the Canadian population has IBD. Canada has the highest incidence and prevalence of CD yet reported.
A whisper from the silent lung zone

Multiple breath inert gas washout (MBW) is now regarded as “an insightful, sound, and useful tool to explore the lung and its response to injury in all of its compartments”. We describe the important finding of pronounced intra‐acinar airways response to indirect challenge testing, detected using MBW but missed by spirometry, in an adolescent with evidence of airway inflammation, and a background of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection as an infant. These tests were performed as part of an 18‐year follow up of a cohort with severe RSV infection (requiring hospitalization) in the first year of life, and has previously reported significantly higher rates of symptoms of allergic asthma and other features of atopic disease at 13 years in comparison to age matched controls. Small airway dysfunction and ventilation inhomogeneity have emerged as important features of early respiratory disease processes, and this case report provides further evidence supporting its important role in reactive airways disease. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2009; 44:829–832. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Persistence of Predators in a Two Predators- One Prey Model with Non-Periodic Solution

A model of two competing predators sharing one prey in homogeneous environment with Holling type-II functional response is introduced. It is cast as a Kolmogorov-type system of difierential equations. The stability of the equilibrium points of the system is studied and discussed. The conditions of coexistence and extinction of the predators in the case of non-periodic solution are obtained in terms of e‐ciency of predator conversion of prey biomass into predator ofispring.
Distinguishing Narcissism and Hostility: Similarities and Differences in Interpersonal Circumplex and Five-Factor Correlates

Narcissism and hostility are both characterized by dysfunctional social interactions, including tendencies to perceive slights, experience anger, and behave aggressively. The aim of this study was to examine the similarities and differences of narcissism and hostility, using 2 conceptual tools-the interpersonal circumplex and the Five-factor model. In a sample of 292 undergraduate men and women, composite measures of hostility (i.e., Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire [Buss & Perry, 1992] and Cook-Medley Hostility [Cook & Medley, 1954] total scores) were inversely correlated with affiliation and unrelated to dominance. In contrast, composite narcissism scores (i.e., Narcissistic Personality Inventory) were positively correlated with dominance and inversely correlated with affiliation. Examination of components of these traits revealed additional similarities and differences, as did associations with other dimensions of the Five-factor model. These findings suggest that the traits of narcissism and hostility are distinguishable by their interpersonal referents, as are their components.
To read or not to read: a neurophysiological study

Pure alexia (PA) has been associated with visual deficits or a failure to activate the visual word form area (VWFA). We report a patient with pure alexia due to posterior cortical atrophy, in whom event-related potentials revealed a delay in the P100 component and an absent N170 compared with controls. Furthermore, there was a tendency for a larger delay in P100 latencies associated with incorrectly read words. This suggests that some cases of PA might result from deficits in visual perception, signaled by the P100 early potential which could lead to an inability to consistently activate the VWFA, marked by the absent N170.
Did your efforts really win customers' satisfaction?

The national customer satisfaction index (NCSI) shows that these indices compare and estimate the competitiveness and financial benefits for countries and industries. However, general enterprise uses the concepts of NCSI deficiently in the practice of CS activities. This paper will express the latent variables in the NCSI models of different countries in order to highlight all the efforts companies have made in promoting CS activities to win customers’ satisfaction and loyalty. Through the successful experience of a Taiwanese company, the relationship between the NCSI and the various concrete issues within the CS program is compared. Also, this article proposes the concept of a “matching rate” to show how the necessary concrete issues of all CS activities must link with the latent variables of NCSI. Finally, the managerial implications of the matching rate are explained, and it is suggested how an enterprise can use the rate to draw up the strategy of the CS program.
Effect of Soil Characteristics on Potato Tuber Minerals Composition of Selected Kenyan Varieties

The current study was set up to evaluate the effect of soil characteristics on selected potato tuber minerals composition. Eight sites located in Nyandarua County in Kenya were selected for this study. The study was carried out between April and September 2013. Soil samples were randomly collected from representative portion of the field in each site. All the samples from each site after packing were taken for laboratory analysis for minerals analysis using standard methods. Well sprouted diffused light stored (DLS) seeds and fresh potato seeds from four varieties (Kenya Mpya, Dutch Robjin, Tigoni and Cangi) were grown in four sites under standard conditions. After harvesting, ten mature tubers of each variety per site and seed potato storage were packed in net bags and taken for minerals evaluation. Data was analyzed using statistical system version 9. Soil minerals differed significantly (p ? 0.05) with sites. Generally, potato tuber minerals significantly (p ? 0.05) differed with sites, potato varieties and seed potato storage (fresh or eight-month DLS seed). There was a positive correlation between potato tuber minerals levels and the soil minerals content. Potato minerals were thus affected by potato variety, seed potato storage and soil characteristics in a production site. DLS seed storage should be adopted so as to produce improved nutritious potatoes for processing. Soil and potato tuber analyses should be extended to other potato growing areas and should be conducted regularly after every two years for potatoes nutritional improvement.
Sparse-based Reconstruction for DOA Estimation using non-Exhaustive Search

A sparse-based direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation recently gains a lot of attention due to its capability to reduce the number of samples significantly. However, this capability has to be paid by a heavy computation at the reconstruction side. Previous researches have addressed this problem, for example, by utilizing the unitary transform to change a complex-valued reconstruction problem to a real-valued one. In this paper, we proposed a simpler but effective approach using a non-exhaustive search to speed up the reconstruction process. This technique reduces scanning direction into a limited range, which reduces reconstruction complexity. Combined with convex optimization for sparse reconstruction, however, non-exhaustive search does not immediately produce a desirable result, because limiting the searching range causes spurious spikes that make actual DOAs difficult to identify. This problem is mitigated by additional side-scan. Three side-scan schemes are proposed : uniform, random, and progressive. Computer simulations show that the proposed schemes has a closed performance to the exhaustive scheme, especially the progressive side-scan. In terms of complexity, the proposed schemes reduce sensing matrix down to five times smaller.
Distribution of Chronotypes among a Sample of Iraqi Kurdish Medical Students.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of chronotypes in a sample of Iraqi Kurdish medical students. METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Hawler Medical University College of Medicine in Erbil City, Iraq, between 1(st) January and 31(st) March 2013. A total of 580 students were given the reduced version of the Horne and Ostberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQr), a close-ended self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS Of the 580 students, 130 (22.4%) were male and 450 (77.6%) were female. The mean age ± standard deviation was 20.3 ± 1.45 years, with a range of 17-24 years. Most of the students (52.6%) were in the intermediate class, followed by morning type (24.1%) and evening type (23.3%). Significant gender differences were detected in the proportion of morning, intermediate and evening types (P <0.001). The mean scores for the female students were 14.8 ± 2.2 and the mean scores for the male students were 14.6 ± 7.3, with no statistically significant differences (P = 0.45). CONCLUSION Students in the College of Medicine were mostly classified as intermediate types. The morning type was more common among this student population, particularly male students, than has been reported in similar age groups in some Western countries. There was a significant gender difference in the proportion of MEQr types.
Sustainability Strategy and Management Control Systems in Family Firms. Evidence from a Case Study

The aim of this paper is to investigate how the integration of new forms of sustainable control systems (SCSs) and traditional management control systems (MCSs), and the use of these control systems affect the integration of sustainability within organizational strategy. A qualitative case study based on a longitudinal investigation of an Italian family firm operating in an environment-sensitive context, the intermodal transport industry, has been used to trace the company’s pathway to sustainability integration based on the Gond et al. framework. The paper enriches the Gond et al. conceptualization providing evidence of the external and internal factors relevant in affecting the organization’s pathway towards sustainability integration. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first analysis that investigates the integration of sustainability into organizational strategy in the context of family firms, from the point of view of performance management systems (PMSs).
Diurnal variations of polar organic tracers in summer forest aerosols : A case study of a Quercus and Picea mixed forest in Hokkaido, Japan

Copyright © 2011 by The Geochemical Society of Japan. etation is the main source of BVOCs in the atmosphere. Their emissions vary geographically depending on vegetation type (Guenther et al., 2006). Measurements of BVOC emissions have been conducted on several hundred individual species (Kesselmeier and Staudt, 1999; Duhl et al., 2008). For example, isoprene emission has been reported from both broad-leaved (e.g., Quercus, Populus, and Eucalyptus) and needle-leaved (e.g., Picea and Abies) trees (see Pacifico et al., 2009 and references therein), which are generally C3 plants. The emission of isoprene is mainly controlled by light intensity and temperature (Yokouchi and Ambe, 1988; Guenther et al., 1995). The light-dependence distinguishes isoprene emission from monoterpene emissions, which continue during nighttime (Pacifico et al., 2009). In the past decade, considerable efforts have been devoted to understand secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from the photooxidation of BVOCs because SOA is an important component in the Earth’s atmosphere (Hallquist et al., 2009 and references therein). SOA can influence the atmospheric radiation budget directly by scattering sunlight and indirectly by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) (Kanakidou et al., 2005). Polar Diurnal variations of polar organic tracers in summer forest aerosols: A case study of a Quercus and Picea mixed forest in Hokkaido, Japan
Relationship between aggressive and avoidance behaviour by dogs and their experience in the first six months of life

The early experiences of dogs showing signs of avoidance behaviour or aggression were compared with those of dogs from the same clinical population that did not show such behaviour. The occurrence of each behavioural sign was tested for its association with the dog's maternal environment, the environment it experienced between three and six months of age, and the age at which it had been acquired. Non-domestic maternal environments, and a lack of experience of urban environments between three and six months of age, were both significantly associated with aggression towards unfamiliar people and avoidance behaviour. Aggression during a veterinary examination was more likely in dogs from non-domestic maternal environments. There was no significant association with either environment for aggression towards familiar people, or towards dogs.
Sp1 and NFκB pathways are regulated in brain in response to acute and chronic ethanol

DNA microarray analysis was used to identify candidate ethanol‐regulated genes, as a first step towards exploring how transcriptional changes might lead to ethanol‐induced changes in behaviour. Mice were treated with a single acute intraperitoneal ethanol dose and DNA microarray analysis performed on midbrain 2 h posttreatment. We predicted that if ethanol‐regulated genes contribute towards behaviour, then constitutive variation in brain expression levels may also contribute to strain‐specific differences in ethanol‐related behaviour of inbred mouse strains. On the basis of this assumption, we interrogated the BXD inbred strain phenotype database and the U74Av2 MAS5 brain expression database using the WebQTL tool (http://www.genenetwork.org/) and correlated ethanol‐related behaviours to expression levels. Constitutive expression levels of 70/90 candidate genes, identified from the DNA microarray analysis, varied significantly between inbred strains and correlated significantly with strain‐specific differences in ethanol‐related behaviours. These genes were then mapped onto biochemical pathways using Stratagene's PathwayAssist software. This analysis identified the transcription factor Sp1 and NFκB pathways in the acute response to ethanol. Ethanol regulation of Sp1 transcription was conserved between humans and mouse. As predicted, downstream targets of Sp1 were also ethanol regulated. NFκBia, an important regulator of NFκB function and Rela, an NFκB‐binding partner, were both regulated by ethanol. Expression of both Sp1 and NFκBiα were also downregulated following chronic ethanol treatment. As Sp1 and NFκB are implicated in plasticity and behaviour, our data suggest a role for these transcription factors in the long‐term behavioural adaptations to ethanol.