Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Periplasmic Murein Peptide-Binding Protein MppA Is a Negative Regulator of Multiple Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli

ABSTRACT MppA is a periplasmic binding protein in Escherichia coli essential for uptake of the cell wall murein tripeptidel-alanyl-γ-d-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelate. We have found serendipitously that E. coli K-12 strains carrying a null mutation in mppA exhibit increased resistance to a wide spectrum of antibiotics and to cyclohexane. Normal sensitivity of the mppA mutant to these agents is restored by mppA expressed from a plasmid. As is observed in the multiple antibiotic resistance phenotype in E. coli cells, the mppA null mutant overproduces the transcriptional activator, MarA, resulting in expression of the membrane-bound AcrAB proteins that function as a drug efflux pump. Reduced production of OmpF similar to that observed in the multiple antibiotic resistance phenotype is also seen in the mppA mutant. These and other data reported herein indicate that MppA functions upstream of MarA in a signal transduction pathway to negatively regulate the expression ofmarA and hence of the MarA-driven multiple antibiotic resistance. Overproduction of cytoplasmic GadA and GadB and of several unidentified cytoplasmic membrane proteins as well as reduction in the amount of the outer membrane protein, OmpP, in the mppAnull mutant indicate that MppA regulates a number of genes in addition to those already known to be controlled by MarA.
Comparison of histological parameters for the diagnosis of eosinophilic oesophagitis versus gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease on oesophageal biopsy material

Aims: Eosinophil infiltration of the oesophageal epithelium is the cardinal pathomorphological finding in eosinophilic oesophagitis (EO), but gastro‐oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is also associated with increased eosinophils. The aim was to compare histological parameters for the diagnosis of EO versus GORD on routinely taken biopsy specimens.
Induction Chemotherapy followed by Concurrent Chemotherapy and High-Dose Radiotherapy for Locally Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Cervical Oesophagus

The efficacy and toxicity of combined radiochemotherapy for locally advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the cervical oesophagus was evaluated retrospectively. Induction chemotherapy consisted of three courses of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, etoposide and cisplatin (FLEP) or two courses weekly six times of 5-FU and leucovorin combined with biweekly cisplatin. This induction regimen was followed by high-dose external beam radiotherapy up to 60–66 Gy and concurrent chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide. Median follow-up of the recruited 17 patients was 37 months (13–73 months). Long-term survival was 24% at 2 and 3 years. The probabilities of locoregional tumour recurrences and distant metastases as sites of first relapse were 67 and 39% at 2 years. Acute and late toxicity of this schedule was moderate. The protocol offers a definitive chance of long-term survival for patients with locally advanced carcinomas of the cervical oesophagus, but local in-field recurrences remain the predominant risk after treatment. Intensification of the regimen seems possible because no dose-limiting late toxicities were observed.
Taking It to Another Level: Do Personality-Based Human Capital Resources Matter to Firm Performance?

Drawing on the attraction-selection-attrition perspective, strategic human resource management (SHRM) scholarship, and recent human capital research, this study explores organization-level emergence of personality (i.e., personality-based human capital resources) and its direct, interactive, and (conditional) indirect effects on organization-level outcomes based on data from 6,709 managers across 71 firms. Results indicate that organization-level mean emotional stability, extraversion, and conscientiousness are positively related to organization-level managerial job satisfaction and labor productivity but not to financial performance. Furthermore, organization-level mean and variance in emotional stability interact to predict all three organization-level outcomes, and organization-level mean and variance in extraversion interact to predict firm financial performance. Specifically, the positive effects of organization-level mean emotional stability and extraversion are stronger when organization-level variance in these traits is lower. Finally, organization-level mean emotional stability, extraversion, and conscientiousness are all positively related to firm financial performance indirectly via labor productivity, and the indirect effects are more positive when organization-level variance in those personality traits is lower. Overall, the findings suggest that personality-based human capital resources demonstrate tangible effects on organization-level outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed along with study limitations and future research directions.
Pharmacokinetics of Single‐Dose Oral and Intramuscular Ketorolac Tromethamine in the Young and Elderly

The elderly are likely candidates to receive analgesics for pain from a variety of etiologies. Ketorolac tromethamine is a nonsteroidal, analgesic, anti‐inflammatory, antipyretic investigational drug with anti‐prostaglandin synthetase activity. Sixteen healthy, young men (mean age 30 years and mean weight 75 kg) and 13 healthy, elderly subjects (11 men and two women; mean age 72 years and mean weight 75 kg) participated in an open‐label, parallel single‐dose study. On each day of ketorolac tromethamine administration the subjects fasted overnight and for 2 hours post‐dose. A single intramuscular (IM) dose of 30 mg of ketorolac tromethamine was administered followed by an oral dose (PO) of 10 mg after a 1 week washout period for the elderly subjects. Plasma samples were taken from 0 through 48 hours post‐dose and analyzed for ketorolac by HPLC. The elimination of ketorolac was decreased slightly in the elderly following both doses, as evidenced by a prolongation in half‐life (4.7 to 6.1 hours for PO and 4.5 to 7.0 hours for IM) and a reduced total plasma clearance compared to the young adult subjects. These differences were statistically significant (P < .001). Considerable overlap frequently was observed when comparing the range of values obtained for the young and elderly for plasma half‐life, clearance, AUC, Tmax and Cmax. The absorption of ketorolac tromethamine was not altered substantially in the elderly following either dose route. Ketorolac plasma protein binding was not altered substantially in the elderly. The present results show that the elderly may need slightly less frequent dosing of ketorolac than young adults to maintain similar plasma levels. In these studies there has been no evidence of drug accumulation in the elderly after long‐term ketorolac tromethamine administration when given in a tid or qid regimen.
Technological and financial factors in models of wage determination

The present dissertation develops some theoretical models which analyze the impact on wages of the financial and technological choices operated by firms. Chapter I considers the effects of technological change on efficiency-wages. We adopt Kremer's (1993) "O-Ring" production function, where technical progress can be represented through a change in the number of tasks to be performed in production. More complex production processes imply higher wage levels and higher general equilibrium unemployment. The model is extended to analyze within-group wage dispersion. In Chapter II, we adopt an alternating-calls strategic bargaining model where the incentive to reach an early agreement does not rely on time-preferences, but on intrinsic decay in the cake's size. When outside options remain positive and constant over time and the interval between calls shrinks to zero, the solution to this game converges to the Nash-solution, where the outside options take the status quo positions. This result contrasts with Rubinstein (1982), where outside options can matter only as corner- solutions. The model is extended to consider the role of market factors on wage determination. Chapter III considers the strategic role of debt in wage negotiations. Since debt provides a "credible threat" in bargaining, the entrepreneur can increase her profits by borrowing. Debt, thus, constitutes a (partial) remedy to Grout's (1984) under-investment problem. Chapter IV extends the model developed in Chapter III to analyze the implications that strategic borrowing can have on technological sophistication. We show that debt may have positive effects not only on the quantity of investment, but also on the degree of sophistication of the chosen projects. Chapter V (with G. Marini) analyses the role of foreign debt in promoting investment in Less Developed Countries that are subject to political risks. We show that, when default can trigger trade sanctions, foreign debt reduces the negative effects of political uncertainty on capital accumulation. Chapter VI (with F.Bagliano) contrasts the explanation for mark-up countercyclicality offered by the "price-war" model of Rotemberg and Saloner (1986) with the alternative explanation, based on "liquidity constraints", proposed by Chevalier and Scharfstein (1996).
Multilocus Sequence Analysis of Xanthomonads Causing Bacterial Spot of Tomato and Pepper Plants Reveals Strains Generated by Recombination among Species and Recent Global Spread of Xanthomonas gardneri

ABSTRACT Four Xanthomonas species are known to cause bacterial spot of tomato and pepper, but the global distribution and genetic diversity of these species are not well understood. A collection of bacterial spot-causing strains from the Americas, Africa, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand were characterized for genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships using multilocus sequence analysis of six housekeeping genes. By examining strains from different continents, we found unexpected phylogeographic patterns, including the global distribution of a single multilocus haplotype of X. gardneri, possible regional differentiation in X. vesicatoria, and high species diversity on tomato in Africa. In addition, we found evidence of multiple recombination events between X. euvesicatoria and X. perforans. Our results indicate that there have been shifts in the species composition of bacterial spot pathogen populations due to the global spread of dominant genotypes and that recombination between species has generated genetic diversity in these populations.
Targeted mutation of the talpid3 gene in zebrafish reveals its conserved requirement for ciliogenesis and Hedgehog signalling across the vertebrates

Using zinc-finger nuclease-mediated mutagenesis, we have generated mutant alleles of the zebrafish orthologue of the chicken talpid3 (ta3) gene, which encodes a centrosomal protein that is essential for ciliogenesis. Animals homozygous for these mutant alleles complete embryogenesis normally, but manifest a cystic kidney phenotype during the early larval stages and die within a month of hatching. Elimination of maternally derived Ta3 activity by germline replacement resulted in embryonic lethality of ta3 homozygotes. The phenotype of such maternal and zygotic (MZta3) mutant zebrafish showed strong similarities to that of chick ta3 mutants: absence of primary and motile cilia as well as aberrant Hedgehog (Hh) signalling, the latter manifest by the expanded domains of engrailed and ptc1 expression in the somites, reduction of nkx2.2 expression in the neural tube, symmetric pectoral fins, cyclopic eyes and an ectopic lens. GFP-tagged Gli2a localised to the basal bodies in the absence of the primary cilia and western blot analysis showed that Gli2a protein is aberrantly processed in MZta3 embryos. Zygotic expression of ta3 largely rescued the effects of maternal depletion, but the motile cilia of Kupffer’s vesicle remained aberrant, resulting in laterality defects. Our findings underline the importance of the primary cilium for Hh signaling in zebrafish and reveal the conservation of Ta3 function during vertebrate evolution.
Undercount of migration in the UK 1991 Census and its impact on counterurbanisation and population projections

Estimates of migration from a national census are essential ingredients of population analysis for subnational areas. The impact of incomplete data became an issue in Britain, because evidence after its 1991 Census suggested that the 2% undercount was concentrated in particular demographic and social groups. A review of the social dimensions of non-response in past censuses, together with the official estimates of non-response for demographic categories, have been used to estimate a range for the number missing from each census flow of migrants between local authority districts in Britain. In total around 23% is added to the published count of migrants. The impact of the missing migrants is shown to have overestimated the scale of counterurbanisation, but not to account for the entire phenomenon. Non-response, when included in estimates of migration, does eliminate entirely the excess of females among young adult migrants observed in the 1991 census. In official population projections, the main effect of including an allowance for non-respondents is to reduce considerably the net flows out of city districts. Measures to include estimates of non-response within the published census counts are necessary. Plans for a ‘One number census’ in 2001 may much reduce the biases within the UK census counts of migrants. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Patients with addiction and personality disorder: treatment outcomes and clinical implications

Purpose of review The present review examines the outcomes of treatments focusing on substance abuse, on personality disorders, and on both the foci simultaneously. Clinical guidelines for the treatment of dually diagnosed patients are described. Recent findings Recent studies continued the tradition of examining the importance of factors such as the chronicity of substance abuse and the impact of sex with regard to the prognosis of the treatment of substance abuse and the development of effective treatment programs. Overall, the multifaceted and risky nature of dual problems is stressed, and as a logical consequence, an early detection of dual problems is promoted. Several studies show the risk of suicidal and harmful behavior associated with this population, even when the treatment for substance abuse has been successful. For the first time, the issue of dropout is studied from the client's perspective. Summary Knowledge about the effectiveness of dually focused treatments is emerging. Results show that the treatment of dually diagnosed patients with severe problems needs to include both the foci because it leads to enormous gains for the patients when personality disorders are also addressed. Yet, integrated treatment programs are lacking and research is still too limited.
Effect of School-based Interventions to Control Childhood Obesity: A Review of Reviews

Effectiveness of school-based interventions to prevent or control overweight and obesity among school children was reviewed for a 11-year period (January 2001 to December 2011). All English systematic reviews, meta-analyses, reviews of reviews, policy briefs and reports targeting children and adolescents which included interventional studies with a control group and aimed to prevent or control overweight and/or obesity in a school setting were searched. Four systematic reviews and four meta-analyses met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Results of the review indicated that implementation of multi-component interventions did not necessarily improve the anthropometric outcomes. Although intervention duration is a crucial determinant of effectiveness, studies to assess the length of time required are lacking. Due to existing differences between girls and boys in responding to the elements of the programs in tailoring of school-based interventions, the differences should be taken into consideration. While nontargeted interventions may have an impact on a large population, intervention specifically aiming at children will be more effective for at-risk ones. Intervention programs for children were required to report any unwanted psychological or physical adverse effects originating from the intervention. Body mass index was the most popular indicator used for evaluating the childhood obesity prevention or treatment trials; nonetheless, relying on it as the only indicator for adiposity outcomes could be misleading. Few studies mentioned the psychological theories of behavior change they applied. Recommendations for further studies on school-based interventions to prevent or control overweight/obesity are made at the end of this review.
The future of standardised quality management in tourism: evidence from the Spanish tourist sector

As quality management has become more important in the tourist sector, the implementation of standardised quality management systems has become more common in this industry. A forerunner in this development has been the Spanish tourist sector, in which 17 specific quality management standards have been developed over several years in various tourist sub-sectors, including hotels, rural accommodation, restaurants, spas, and travel agencies. The present study, which is exploratory in nature, analyses the diffusion of these standards using a model that has been well attested in the specialised literature, together with a qualitative analysis of three practical cases. The study concludes that the standardisation of quality management in tourism will increase in coming years. The worldwide diffusion of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 in many service sectors and the findings of the present study with respect to the increasing implementation of the Spanish standards provide an indication of what is likely to happen in the service sector as a whole in most countries.
DNA content by in situ fluorescence imaging and S-phase detection, with chromatin structure preserved.

OBJECTIVE To test the feasibility of in situ DNA quantitation of adherent cells' nuclei by fluorescence imaging, preserving chromatin structure and to follow-up S phase, in relation to DNA content, in order to assess the precision of DNA measurements. STUDY DESIGN Double labeling experiments involved total DNA staining with Hoechst 33342 and BrdU immunostaining (after either Br photolysis and DNA strand break labeling by terminal transferase or acid denaturation) to detect replicating DNA. An epifluorescence microscope was used, images captured with a CCD camera and quantitative total DNA measurements done in 12 bits with IPLab software. BrdU results were related to DNA content on an individual cell basis. Cell cycle analyses were run with Imastat software (developed in the laboratory) on Hoechst-stained cells and on double labeled cells. RESULTS In cells progressing through the cycle, as assessed by BrdU, a corresponding increase in DNA content was measured. Early S differed from G1 (P < .05). Imastat analyses gave a CV for GI peak of 6-7%. CONCLUSION Quantitative fluorescence imaging allows a sensitive determination of DNA content for adherent-cell nuclei in situ. Topologic analyses of nuclear components will be possible in relation to DNA content.
Association between angiotensin II type 1 receptor polymorphisms and the occurrence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver injury in many countries. Genetic factors are important for the development of NAFLD, as well as environmental factors. Recently an angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AGTR1) has been recognized as important in the aetiology of fibrosis in the liver.
Overconfidence and stock returns: a behavioural perspective

This study attempts to group investors (individuals and professionals) into different segments based on their level of overconfidence (as a psychological bias) and, then, to examine whether, and to what extent, specific personality trait drive investors' trading behaviour. This study performing a cluster analysis, and using a representative survey of 345 investors in Greece, identified two main segments of investors: Overconfident investors and Underconfident investors. A comparative analysis between these two segments identified some differences in the trading behaviour of investors, depending on the segment they belong to. Moreover, a statistical association between investors' clusters and various demographic, socioeconomic characteristics and trading behaviour is also found.
Technology Choice and the Cost Reduction Potential of Photovoltaics

We use a combination of system component analyses and individual experience curves for crystalline silicon (x-Si) modules, thin-film (TF) modules, and the balance of system (BOS) components, to compare future growth scenarios for photovoltaics (PV). The growth rates of TF and x-Si technologies are varied, while overall PV growth is held constant at 30%. For each of these scenarios, we estimate the total investment required for PV to reach a break-even point with fossil fuel based generation; and we investigate the intrinsic/lowest achievable costs from an analysis of potential materials, processing, and efficiency improvements. Our results show that a high growth rate (50 to 70% per year) of new technologies with low intrinsic costs could decrease the total investment required to reach break-even by up to 70 billion USD, as compared to a scenario where x-Si continues to dominate the market. Furthermore, the system component analysis indicates that existing TF modules can reach the low cost levels assumed in the experience curve model. These results suggest that the future growth of photovoltaics (PV) is dependent on which PV technologies grow most rapidly. New, low intrinsic cost technologies that are successfully able to enter the market could dramatically increase the potential for PV to become a globally significant energy conversion technology within the next two decades
Identification and Evolution of Structurally Dominant Nodes in Protein-Protein Interaction Networks

It is well known that protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks are typical evolving complex networks. Identification of important nodes has been an emerging popular topic in complex networks. Many indexes have been proposed to measure the importance of nodes in complex networks, such as degree, closeness, betweenness, k-shell, clustering coefficient, semi-local centrality, eigenvector centrality. Based on multivariate statistical analysis, through integrating the above indexes and further considering the appearances of nodes in network motifs, this paper aims at developing a new measure to characterize the structurally dominant proteins (SDP) in PPI networks. Moreover, we will further investigate the evolution of the defined dominant nodes in temporal evolving real-world and artificial PPI networks. Our results indicate that the constructed artificial networks have some similar statistical properties as those of the real-world evolving networks. In this case, the artificial PPI networks can be used to further investigate the above evolution characteristics of the real-world evolving networks. Simulation results reveal that SDP in the yeast PPI networks are evolutionary conserved, however, the undominant nodes evolve rapidly. Furthermore, PPI networks are very robust against random mutations, while fragile yet with certain robustness to targeted mutations on SDP. Our investigations shed some light on the future applications of the evolving characteristics of bio-molecular networks, such as reengineering of particular networks for technological, synthetic or pharmacological purposes.