Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Replication and integration of a Vibrio cholerae cryptic plasmid linked to the CTX prophage

We identified a 4.7 kb cryptic plasmid in all ctxAB+Vibrio cholerae strains we tested. An isolate of the V. cholerae classical biotype strain O395 that harbours the cryptic plasmid at high copy number was found. Hybridization analysis demonstrated that sequences highly related or identical to this plasmid exist in all toxigenic strains of V. cholerae but were notably absent in all non‐toxigenic environmental isolates that lacked the genes for toxin‐co‐regulated pili and the filamentous CTX prophage. Accordingly, we have named the cryptic plasmid pTLC for toxin‐linked cryptic. The complete nucleotide sequence of pTLC from the high‐copy‐number isolate was determined. The largest open reading frame in the plasmid is predicted to encode a protein similar to the replication initiation protein (pII) of Escherichia coli F‐specific filamentous phages. The nucleotide sequence of pTLC also facilitated the structural characterization of the DNA homologous to pTLC in other strains of V. cholerae. pTLC‐related DNA exists in these strains as both low‐copy‐number, covalently closed circular DNA and tandemly duplicated, chromosomally integrated DNA. Remarkably, the chromosomally integrated form of pTLC is adjacent to the CTX prophage. The strain distribution, chromosomal location and DNA sequence of pTLC suggests that it may be a genetic element that plays some role in the biology of CTXφ, perhaps facilitating either its acquisition or its replication.
Prevalence of psychiatric and substance use disorders among single mothers nearing lifetime welfare eligibility limits.

CONTEXT In the 1990s, US welfare reform legislation imposed a 5-year lifetime limit on financial support for low-income families with young children (younger than 18 years). With increasing numbers of single mothers and their children reaching the end of their welfare eligibility, there is concern about potentially high rates of untreated psychiatric and substance use disorders in this population. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence, correlates, and likelihood of treatment for mental and substance use disorders in a population of urban single mothers receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). DESIGN In-person diagnostic assessments were conducted from November 1, 2003, to October 31, 2004. SETTING Cook County, Illinois. PARTICIPANTS Female TANF recipients and residents of Cook County (N = 333) who were randomly sampled during the final 24 months of their eligibility for TANF. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Prevalence rates of DSM-IV mental and substance use disorders using the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview. RESULTS Lifetime prevalence of Composite International Diagnostic Interview disorders was 61.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 55.7%-66.3%); 12-month prevalence was 46.8% (41.5%-52.2%). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders was 53.2% (95% CI, 47.8%-58.5%); 12-month prevalence was 44.1% (38.8%-49.5%). Lifetime prevalence of substance use disorders was 29.1% (95% CI, 23.9%-33.8%); 12-month prevalence was 9.0% (6.8%-12.0%). Lifetime prevalence of comorbid mental/substance use disorders was 21.3% (95% CI, 16.9%-25.7%); 12-month prevalence was 6.3% (3.7%-8.9%). Only 21.7% (95% CI, 14.8%-28.5%) of participants with 12-month mental disorders received treatment for mental disorders; 41.4% (22.3%-60.4%) of participants with 12-month substance abuse disorders received treatment for substance use disorders. CONCLUSIONS Despite the high prevalence of psychiatric and substance use disorders in this population, many remain untreated. The consequences of terminating welfare assistance are worthy of further investigation, given the potential for adverse effects on both mothers and their young children.
Perceptions of Students, Families, and Community College Administrators about Developmental Education

Perceptions of Students, Families, and Community College Administrators about Developmental Education Justin Necessary Old Dominion University, 2016 Chair: Shana Pribesh Cohen and Brawer (2008) define developmental education as serving “students who initially do not have the skills, experience, or orientation necessary to perform at a level that the institutions recognize as regular for those students” (p.290). Students in developmental education must take additional courses in the beginning of their college career in order to prepare them for credit bearing college courses. Developmental education has reached the forefront of the higher education debate in part due to the overwhelming academic need of incoming college students. Currently the number of students requiring developmental courses ranges from 50 to 75 percent (Conley & Squires, 2012). According the McMillian, Park, & Lanning (1997) the need for developmental education has increased to 55 percent from 39 percent of all entering college students over five years. This study examines the perceptions of community college students, family, and community college administrators related to developmental education. This study utilized a qualitative approach conducting 24 interviews at community colleges across the commonwealth of Virginia. Furthermore, phenomenology was used as the theoretical lens so the results would arise from the experiences of the various constituencies. This study will not only aid in the advancement of developmental education, but will add to the scholarly literature relating to developmental education at the community college.
Maternal medication use and the risk of brain tumors in the offspring: The SEARCH international case‐control study

N‐nitroso compounds (NOC) have been associated with carcinogenesis in a wide range of species, including humans. There is strong experimental data showing that nitrosamides (R1NNO·COR2), a type of NOC, are potent neuro‐carcinogens when administered transplacentally. Some medications are a concentrated source of amides or amines, which in the presence of nitrites under normal acidic conditions of the stomach can form NOC. Therefore, these compounds, when ingested by women during pregnancy, may be important risk factors for tumors of the central nervous system in the offspring. The aim of the present study was to test the association between maternal use of medications that contain nitrosatable amines or amides and risk of primary childhood brain tumors (CBT). A case‐control study was conducted, which included 1,218 cases and 2,223 population controls, recruited from 9 centers across North America, Europe and Australia. Analysis was conducted for all participants combined, by tumor type (astroglial, primitive neuroectodermal tumors and other glioma), and by age at diagnosis (≤5 years; >5 years). There were no significant associations between maternal intake of medication containing nitrosatable amines or amides and CBT, for all participants combined and after stratification by age at diagnosis and histological subtype. This is the largest case‐control study of CBT and maternal medications to date. Our data provide little support for an association between maternal use of medications that may form NOC and subsequent development of CBT in the offspring. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Use of Noninvasive Markers To Detect Leishmania Infection in Asymptomatic Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients

ABSTRACT Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) caused by Leishmania infantum is a common disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected people in the Mediterranean basin. However, most such cases are asymptomatic, and little information about the prevalence of these infections in HIV-infected individuals is available. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of subclinical infection and the relationship between several Leishmania infection markers by noninvasive methods in asymptomatic HIV-infected patients from Southern Spain. Ninety-two HIV-infected patients, who were consecutively attended at the participant hospitals in 2004, were invited to participate in this study. These patients were asymptomatic and without any history of cutaneous or visceral leishmaniasis. Leishmania kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) was amplified from peripheral blood samples from 28 (30.4%) of these HIV-infected subjects. Sera from three (3.5%) patients tested positive for Leishmania by an enzyme-linked immunoassay. Two patients (2.4%) showed a specific 16-kDa band by Western blotting. In contrast, none of the patients showed a positive agglutination of urine. The leishmanin skin test was positive for four (4.3%) patients. None of the patients with a PCR-positive result showed a positive reaction by enzyme-linked immunoassay or by specific bands in Western blotting or had a positive leishmanin skin test. In conclusion, L. infantum kDNA was detected in a large proportion of asymptomatic HIV-infected patients, although a demonstrable cellular or humoral immune response to this parasite was not shown. Conversely, Leishmania antigen in urine was not detected in these patients.
Stroke in Patients With Aortic Stenosis: The Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis Study

Background and Purpose— There are limited data on risk stratification of stroke in aortic stenosis. This study examined predictors of stroke in aortic stenosis, the prognostic implications of stroke, and how aortic valve replacement (AVR) with or without concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting influenced the predicted outcomes. Methods— Patients with mild-to-moderate aortic stenosis enrolled in the Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis (SEAS) study. Diabetes mellitus, known atherosclerotic disease, and oral anticoagulation were exclusion criteria. Ischemic stroke was the primary end point, and poststroke survival a secondary outcome. Cox models treating AVR as a time-varying covariate were adjusted for atrial fibrillation and congestive heart failure, hypertension, age ≥75 years, diabetes mellitus, stroke/transient ischemic attack, vascular disease, age 65–74 years and female sex (CHA2DS2-VASc) scores. Results— One thousand five hundred nine patients were followed for 4.3±0.8 years (6529 patient-years). Rates of stroke were 5.6 versus 21.8 per 1000 patient-years pre- and post-AVR; 429 (28%) underwent AVR and 139 (9%) died. Atrial fibrillation (hazard ratio [HR], 2.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–6.6), CHA2DS2-VASc score (HR 1.4 per unit; 95% CI, 1.1–1.8), diastolic blood pressure (HR, 1.4 per 10 mm Hg; 95% CI, 1.1–1.8), and AVR with concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (HR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.4–7.2, all P⩽0.026) were independently associated with stroke. Incident stroke predicted death (HR, 8.1; 95% CI, 4.7–14.0; P<0.001). Conclusions— In patients with aortic stenosis not prescribed oral anticoagulation, atrial fibrillation, AVR with concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting, and CHA2DS2-VASc score were the major predictors of stroke. Incident stroke was strongly associated with mortality. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00092677.
Living Standards, Nutrition and Inequality in the Spanish Industrialisation. An Anthropometric View

This article presents an overview of the study of living standards in Spain from the perspective of anthropometric history and new data from recent research. The aim is to examine changes in nutrition during the industrial age through anthropometric indicators. The paper provides new evidence on the changes in height among different socioeconomic groups and its relation with health and human well-being in different periods and geographical regions. It also explores inequality before and during the process of industrialisation. In addition to tracking the effects of environmental changes on well-being and inequality between the proto-industrial period in the eighteenth century and the industrial leap in the beginning of the second half of the twentieth century, it explores the costs of industrialisation in biological standards of living in the short- and the long-term. Finally, it suggests future directions of research.
Are Demographics Responsible for the Declining Interest Rates? Evidence From U.S. Metropolitan Areas

Interest rates have declined dramatically over the past 30 years. At the same time the birth rate has declined, and life expectancy has increased. Demographic changes leading to an older population have been proposed as an explanation for the decline in rates. However, this conjecture is difficult to test because demographics change slowly over time, and are correlated with other characteristics. We show that in a cross-section of U.S. MSAs, the relationship between interest rates and demographics is only partially consistent with the above conjecture, and with existing models, which predict a negative association between age and interest rates. This association is, indeed, negative for lending rates, but positive for deposit rates. We rationalize this pattern by solving an OLG model where the banking sector is not perfectly competitive, and there is heterogeneity in the intertemporal elasticity of substitution across households.
Association between lamivudine sensitivity and the number of substitutions in the reverse transcriptase region of the hepatitis B virus polymerase

Summary. This study aimed to identify the viral factors responsible for poor sensitivity to lamivudine (LAM). We analyzed 49 LAM‐treated chronic hepatitis B patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype C. Serum HBV DNA reached a level below the detection limit of the sensitive PCR assay in 31 (63.3%) within the first 24 weeks of LAM therapy (good responder group). Of the patients who did not achieve undetectable levels of HBV DNA within 24 weeks (poor responder group), 15 (83.3%) experienced virological breakthrough, whilst only four patients in the good responder group (12.9%) experienced virological breakthrough. Multivariate analysis revealed that failure to achieve a reduction in viral load to undetectable levels within 24 weeks was independently associated with the occurrence of virological breakthrough. Sequence analysis of the HBV genome revealed that point mutations in the precore region (G1896A) and enhancer I (A1287G/C) were observed more frequently in the good responder group than in the poor responder group (P = 0.002 and 0.019 respectively), and the number of substitutions in the reverse transcriptase domain of the polymerase was significantly higher in the good responders than in the poor responders (P = 0.026). In conclusion, determining the sequence of preexisting HBV, especially for enhancer I, the precore region, and the RT domain of the polymerase region, may be useful in predicting sensitivity to LAM therapy.
Platelet P-selectin is significantly involved in leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction in murine antigen-induced arthritis

There is growing evidence that platelets play an important role in the development and maintenance of rheumatoid arthritis. Activation and adherence of platelets in the synovial microcirculation might be in part responsible for endothelial damage and activation of leukocytes. Recent findings show a direct influence of P-selectin on platelet- and leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction in mice with Antigen-induced Arthritis (AiA). P-selectin is only expressed by platelets and endothelial cells, not by leukocytes. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the differential influence of platelet and endothelial P-selectin on the extent of inflammation in AiA. AiA was induced in wild-type mice and in P-selectin-deficient mice from the same genetic background (four groups: each n = 7). Intravital fluorescence microscopy (IVM) was used to visualize platelets and leukocytes in the synovial microcirculation at day 8 after AiA. Platelets from either strain were fluorescence-labelled ex vivo and transferred into either strain. We were able to demonstrate a significant decrease of platelet- and leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction in P-selectin-deficient mice with AiA in comparison to wild-type mice with AiA. When wild-type platelets were donated into P-selectin-deficient AiA recipients, the leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction was significantly increased compared to the group consisting of P-selectin-deficient recipient and donor mice. These are the first in vivo results showing that the P-selectin stored in platelets is at least partly responsible for the leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction and the resulting tissue damage in AiA. In the future, a suppression of platelet P-selectin could potentially become a treatment option for reducing the effects of rheumatoid arthritis.
Coordination Frictions in Venture Capital Syndicates

An extensive literature on venture capital has studied asymmetric information and agency problems between investors and entrepreneurs, examining how separating entrepreneurs from the investor can create frictions that might inhibit the funding of good projects. It has largely abstracted away from the fact that a start-up typically does not have just one investor, but several venture capital investors that come together in a syndicate to finance a venture. This chapter therefore argues for an expansion of the standard perspective to also include frictions within venture capital syndicates. Put differently, what are the frictions that arise from the fact that there is not just one investor for each venture, but several investors with different incentives, objectives, and cash flow rights who nevertheless need to collaborate to help make the venture a success? The chapter outlines the ways in which these coordination frictions manifest themselves, describes the underlying drivers, and documents several contractual solutions used by venture capital firms to mitigate their effects. The chapter’s broader perspective provides several promising avenues for future research.
State transformation and the evolution of economic nationalism in the East Asian developmental state: the Taiwanese semiconductor industry as case study

This paper empirically highlights the role of nationalism in the development of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan. First, it demonstrates how the pre-1980s Taiwanese developmental state mobilised Chinese economic nationalism against Japanese colonialism and Chinese communism and adopted the strategies of graduated sovereignty, selectively subsidising certain areas and sectors, and promoting national (homogeneously imagined) territorialisation to integrate with the international market. Second, the paper exhibits how in the late 1980s, when the outflow of capital to Mainland China became a compelling phenomenon and Taiwan democratised, popular sovereignty became the norm and Taiwanese nationalism emerged. In response, the democratised state started employing Taiwanese economic nationalism and implementing populist territorial policies to consolidate the support of ‘us’ (the Taiwanese/Taiwan) versus ‘them’ (the Chinese/China). This made China and everything related a security concern that had to be excluded as ‘the other’. This paper responds to the appeals of political geographers to give nationalism a central place in contemporary theories of the nation-state and contributes to the theory of the developmental state by bringing ‘the nation’ back. While most of the existing developmental state literature focuses on how the roles and effects of ‘the state’ influence economic development, taking ‘the nation’ seriously can provide more accurate explanations for how and why the state focuses on development or not. Accordingly, through valuing the nation this paper promotes a theory of the developmental nation-state.
Regulation of Gene Transcription by a Constitutively Active Mutant of Activating Transcription Factor 2 (ATF2)

Abstract Activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2) belongs to the family of basic region leucine zipper (bZIP) proteins that are characterized by the presence of a basic domain that functions as the DNAbinding domain and a leucine zipper domain that is required for dimerization. Together with bZIP proteins of the Fos and Jun families, ATF2 constitutes the AP-1 transcription factor complex. The biological activity of ATF2 is controlled by phosphorylation of two threonine residues within the N-terminal activation domain. Unphosphorylated ATF2 is trancriptionally silent, excluding simple overexpression studies to identify transcriptional targets of ATF2. We therefore decided to construct a constitutively active ATF2 mutant that would allow us to uncouple the investigation of transcriptional targets and biological functions of ATF2 from the variety of signaling pathways that lead to an activation of ATF2. We exchanged the phosphorylationdependent activation domain of ATF2 with the constitutively active transcriptional activation domain of the transcription factor CREB2. In transient transfection experiments, this constitutively active ATF2 mutant stimulated c-jun, tumor necrosis factor α, and Fas ligand promoter activities. The transcriptional activity of the constitutively active ATF2 mutant could be impaired by dominantnegative forms of ATF2 or c-jun, indicating that ATF2 and c-jun utilize a similar dimerization code. In contrast, a dominantnegative CREB2 mutant did not impair ATF2-mediated transcriptional activation, suggesting that CREB2 exhibits a different dimerization specificity than ATF2 or c-jun.
Prosody-driven Sentence Processing: An Event-related Brain Potential Study

Four experiments systematically investigating the brain's response to the perception of sentences containing differing amounts of linguistic information are presented. Spoken language generally provides various levels of information for the interpretation of the incoming speech stream. Here, we focus on the processing of prosodic phrasing, especially on its interplay with phonemic, semantic, and syntactic information. An event-related brain potential (ERP) paradigm was chosen to record the on-line responses to the processing of sentences containing major prosodic boundaries. For the perception of these prosodic boundaries, the so-called closure positive shift (CPS) has been manifested as a reliable and replicable ERP component. It has mainly been shown to correlate to major intonational phrasing in spoken language. However, to define this component as exclusively relying on the prosodic information in the speech stream, it is necessary to systematically reduce the linguistic content of the stimulus material. This was done by creating quasi-natural sentence material with decreasing semantic, syntactic, and phonemic information (i.e., jabberwocky sentences, in which all content words were replaced by meaningless words; pseudoword sentences, in which all function and all content words are replaced by meaningless words; and delexicalized sentences, hummed intonation contour of a sentence removing all segmental content). The finding that a CPS was identified in all sentence types in correlation to the perception of their major intonational boundaries clearly indicates that this effect is driven purely by prosody.