Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oligomerization, Membrane Anchoring, and Cellulose-binding Characteristics of AbpS, a Receptor-like Streptomyces Protein*

Streptomyces reticuli produces a 34.6-kDa surface-anchored protein (AbpS) whose surface-exposed N terminus binds strongly to Avicel, a dominantly crystalline type of cellulose. The generation of a large set of mutated abpS-genes and the subsequent analysis of the corresponding proteins in vitro as well as in vivo in a Streptomyces host allow the assignment of the following characteristics for AbpS. (i) Amino acid residues participating directly in the cellulose-interaction are located at the N terminus. (ii) As ascertained by cross-linking experiments, AbpS forms homotetramers in its soluble as well as cellulose-bound form. (iii) The intermolecular assembly of four AbpS molecules is governed by two domains (including amino acids 60–110 and 161–212). Both domains possess large portions of α-helical regions in which hydrophobic amino acids are located on one side as known from coiled-coil proteins. (iv) The C-terminal part of AbpS comprising 35 amino acids contains a transmembrane domain. Due to the surface-exposed N terminus of AbpS and the presence of transmembrane helix the C terminus has to be situated in the cytoplasm of the S. reticuli hyphae. Thus AbpS connects the interior of the mycelia with the extracellular space and binds cellulose using a unique cellulose-binding module.
Earnings Management and Earnings Quality: Theory and Evidence

We study a model of earnings management and provide predictions about the time-series properties of earnings quality and reporting bias. We estimate the model to empirically separate two components of investor uncertainty: fundamental economic uncertainty, and information asymmetry between the manager and investors due to reporting noise. We find that (1) the null hypothesis of zero reporting bias is rejected; (2) the ratio of the variance of the noise introduced by the reporting process to the variance of earnings shocks is, on average, 45 percent; (3) the reporting noise plays a significantly less prominent role in valuation, due to the persistence of shocks to economic earnings; (4) the magnitude of investors' uncertainty created by reporting noise about firms' assets in place and about future earnings is similar; and (5) ignoring the possibility of reporting distortions would bias the estimates of variance and persistence of economic earnings.
Attitudes of Preservice Teachers towards Family- Centered Practices in Early Intervention: An Implication for Teacher Education

Family-centered practices are the key to successful early intervention (EI) service delivery. University faculty members should help preservice teachers develop awareness and initial understanding of familycentered practices through course content and practicum. The current study focuses on preservice teachers’ attitudes towards family-centered practices in EI service delivery. Eighty-seven preservice teachers participated in the study and wrote preand post-essays about their beliefs of family-centered service delivery before and after they took the Introduction to Early Intervention course. Preand post study was compared using the inductive content analysis and grounded theory and the effectiveness of the course content and instruction in influencing preservice teachers’ understanding and belief about familycentered practices were discussed. Results show that after taking the course the participating preservice teachers have a deeper understanding of the importance of family-centered practices in EI, the roles families played in service delivery as well as the collaboration families set up with professionals in the transition process. In addition, they also have a better understanding of the special challenges families and professionals may encounter in delivering family-centered practices.
HPV DNA testing as an adjunct in the management of patients with low grade cytological lesions in Finland

Background. Patients with recurrent low grade cytological abnormalities are at increased risk for high grade lesions. We wanted to see whether these patients could be identified by HPV DNA and pap tests. Methods. A prospective study of 663 patients referred for a colposcopy on the basis of ASC‐US or LSIL cytology. High‐risk HPV DNA positivity and cytology were compared with histology. Results. In total 65.6% samples were positive for HC2, and the overall proportion of CIN2+ lesions was 14.6%. No CIN2+ lesions were found in patients testing HC2−, pap−. There were 5/97 (5.2%) high grade lesions, which were HC2‐negative but pap‐positive, including 1 cervical adenocarcinoma in situ. The corresponding histological sections were all positive for p16INK in immunostaining. In further analysis by PCR, 3 samples were positive for HPV DNA. High‐risk HPV type 67, which is not included in the HC2 probe cocktail, was found in 1 case, and 2 cases were HPV positive but could not be typed. One CIN3 and one AIS remained HPV negative. In these 5 cases, the concomitant pap smear showed ASC‐US×1, LSIL×1, HSIL×2 and AGC×1. During 6‐month follow‐up, a relatively high number of CIN2+ (28/557, 5.0%) emerged from the non‐CIN–CIN1 group. Conclusions. The HC2 test or pap test alone were not sensitive enough to detect all CIN2+ lesions. A relatively high number of CIN2+ cases emerged from the non‐CIN–CIN1 group after 6 months. Adequate follow‐up of patients with mild cytological abnormalities, including a repeat pap smear taken during colposcopy and control at 6 months is underscored. Combination of hrHPV DNA and pap test should be considered, since it had high negative predictive value.
Pictures, images, and recollective experience.

Five experiments investigated the influence of picture processing on recollective experience in recognition memory. Subjects studied items that differed in visual or imaginal detail, such as pictures versus words and high-imageability versus low-imageability words, and performed orienting tasks that directed processing either toward a stimulus as a word or toward a stimulus as a picture or image. Standard effects of imageability (e.g., the picture superiority effect and memory advantages following imagery) were obtained only in recognition judgments that featured recollective experience and were eliminated or reversed when recognition was not accompanied by recollective experience. It is proposed that conscious recollective experience in recognition memory is cued by attributes of retrieved memories such as sensory-perceptual attributes and records of cognitive operations performed at encoding.
Age estimation using lower permanent first molars on a panoramic radiograph: A digital image analysis

Objective: A study was carried out to analyze the efficacy and practical application for age estimation using digital panoramic radiograph to exploit image analysis to obtain metric measurement of morphological parameters of permanent mandibular first molar on Sulaimani population. Materials and Methods: In the present study a population of known age and sex was studied and subjected to digital panoramic radiographic examination. The correlation between the reduction of coronal pulp cavity and chronological age was examined in a sample of 96 individuals distributed into four age groups: 20-29 years (29 cases), 30-39 years (29 cases), 40-49 years (26 cases) and 50-59 years (12 cases). The height (mm) of the crown (CH = coronal height) and the height (mm) of coronal pulp cavity (CPCH = coronal pulp cavity height) of 96 of first molars from all subjects was measured. The tooth–coronal index (TCI) after Ikeda et al. was computed for each tooth and regressed on real age. Results: ANOVA was used to show the strength of relation between the age and TCI (P = 0.0000). The correlation coefficient (r2) was 0.49, which mean there is strong negative linear regression between age and TCI with the r2, regarding predicting age using TCI value, after the following equation calculated, Predicted age = 3.78 – (0.064 TCI) showed that there is no significant difference between real age and estimated age. Conclusion: There is a strong negative liner relationship between TCIs of mandibular first molars with chronological age of Sulaimani population, and age of individuals can therefore be estimated with a good degree of accuracy using regression equations.
Selective incorporation of influenza virus RNA segments into virions

The genome of influenza A virus is comprised of eight viral RNA (vRNA) segments. Although the products of all eight vRNA segments must be present for viral replication, little is known about the mechanism(s) responsible for incorporation of these segments into virions. Two models have been proposed for the generation of infectious virions containing eight vRNA segments. The random-incorporation model assumes a common structural feature in all the vRNAs, enabling any combination of vRNAs to be incorporated randomly into virions. The selective-incorporation model predicts the presence of specific structures in each vRNA segment, leading to the incorporation of a set of eight vRNA segments into virions. Here we demonstrate that eight different vRNA segments must be present for efficient virion formation and that sequences within the coding region of (and thus unique to) the neuraminidase vRNA possess a signal that drives incorporation of this segment into virions. These findings indicate a unique contribution from individual vRNA segments and thus suggest a selective (rather than random) mechanism of vRNA recruitment into virions. The neuraminidase vRNA incorporation signal and others yet to be identified should provide attractive targets for the attenuation of influenza viruses in vaccine production and the design of new antiviral drugs.
The EspF Effector, a Bacterial Pathogen's Swiss Army Knife

ABSTRACT Central to the pathogenesis of many bacterial pathogens is the ability to deliver effector proteins directly into the cells of their eukaryotic host. EspF is one of many effector proteins exclusive to the attaching and effacing pathogen family that includes enteropathogenic (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic (EHEC) Escherichia coli. Work in recent years has revealed EspF to be one of the most multifunctional effector proteins known, with defined roles in several host cellular processes, including disruption of the epithelial barrier, antiphagocytosis, microvillus effacement, host membrane remodelling, modulation of the cytoskeleton, targeting and disruption of the nucleolus, intermediate filament disruption, cell invasion, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis, and inhibition of several important epithelial transporters. Surprisingly, despite this high number of functions, EspF is a relatively small effector protein, and recent work has begun to decipher the molecular events that underlie its multifunctionality. This review focuses on the activities of EspF within the host cell and discusses recent findings and molecular insights relating to the virulence functions of this fascinating bacterial effector.
Corporate volunteering in the construction industry: motivations, costs and benefits

Abstract Corporate volunteering is a growing global phenomenon. Despite the size and significance of the construction industry, there has been no research into corporate volunteering in this sector which presents special challenges around its highly transitionary, temporary, regulated and project-based culture. To address this gap in knowledge and to answer the need for more scholarship and sector-specific insights in this field, the motives, benefits and costs of corporate volunteering for construction businesses and the volunteers that work for them are explored. Through an in-depth single case study of one of the UK’s largest construction industry corporate volunteering programmes, it is shown that at an individual level, it is not always altruism that motives people to volunteer. Volunteers in construction are also motivated by other factors such as loyalty to their organization, profession and industry, relational/networking opportunities and the reinforcement of technical skills and personal satisfaction derived from helping others which is not normally afforded in work. At a business level the main benefits of volunteering are reputational advantage, recruitment and new skills and access to new knowledge and capabilities. Conceptually, the results indicate that systems theory, empowerment theory, life span theory and social exchange theory would be useful theoretical lenses to take research in this new area of corporate social responsibility forward. It is concluded that further research is needed into different types of volunteering programmes and whether individual benefits experienced by volunteers translate into commercial benefits for the organizations involved.
Poverty, Business Strategy, and Sustainable Development

The past 15 years have witnessed an exponential growth in business activities aimed at serving the needs and increasing the well-being of disenfranchised individuals in low-income communities. Thousands of new business initiatives, development institution programs, and innovative investment funds focused on poverty alleviation have emerged during this time. Similarly, since the late 1990s when Prahalad and Hart first coined the term Bottom of Pyramid (BoP), and suggested a new, enterprise-based approach to poverty alleviation, there has also been a steady rise in research on business and poverty. A whole new lexicon emerged to describe this phenomenon, including phrases like “inclusive business,” “subsistence market places,” “frugal innovation,” and “impact investing. ” Unfortunately, management theory and research have not advanced at the same pace with the BoP business revolution, and consequently knowledge about parameters for successfully integrating business, poverty alleviation and sustainable development still remains ambiguous.
Psychosocial factors associated with outcomes of sports injury rehabilitation in competitive athletes: a mixed studies systematic review

Background The prime focus of research on sports injury has been on physical factors. This is despite our understanding that when an athlete sustains an injury it has psychosocial as well as physical impacts. Psychosocial factors have been suggested as prognostic influences on the outcomes of rehabilitation. The aim of this work was to address the question: are psychosocial factors associated with sports injury rehabilitation outcomes in competitive athletes? Study design Mixed studies systematic review (PROSPERO reg.CRD42014008667). Method Electronic database and bibliographic searching was undertaken from the earliest entry until 1 June 2015. Studies that included injured competitive athletes, psychosocial factors and a sports injury rehabilitation outcome were reviewed by the authors. A quality appraisal of the studies was undertaken to establish the risk of reporting bias. Results 25 studies were evaluated that included 942 injured competitive athletes were appraised and synthesised. Twenty studies had not been included in previous reviews. The mean methodological quality of the studies was 59% (moderate risk of reporting bias). Convergent thematic analysis uncovered three core themes across the studies: (1) emotion associated with rehabilitation outcomes; (2) cognitions associated with rehabilitation outcomes; and (3) behaviours associated with rehabilitation outcomes. Injury and performance-related fears, anxiety and confidence were associated with rehabilitation outcomes. There is gender-related, age-related and injury-related bias in the reviewed literature. Conclusions Psychosocial factors were associated with a range of sports injury rehabilitation outcomes. Practitioners need to recognise that an injured athlete's thoughts, feelings and actions may influence the outcome of rehabilitation.
Comparison of competing risks failure time methods and time-independent methods for assessing strain variations in vaccine protection.

In a preventive vaccine efficacy trial of a vaccine for a genotypically and phenotypically diverse pathogen, it is important to assess if and how vaccine protection against infection or disease varies with characteristics of the exposing pathogen. Gilbert, Self and Ashby developed statistical methods for this problem when the outcome data are counts of the number of vaccinated and unvaccinated trial participants infected by each pathogen strain. However, in many vaccine trials time-to-case information is available, and the extent to which this information improves investigation of differential vaccine protection is unclear. We describe how cause-specific proportional hazards models and other popular competing risks failure time techniques can be applied to this problem. This includes new results on the assumptions required for these methods to give valid inferences about strain-specific vaccine efficacy, and a comparison of theoretical and finite-sample properties between these methods and the time-independent methods. Theoretical considerations, a cholera vaccine trial example, and an extensive simulation study of a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vaccine trial show that information about failure times does not appreciably improve estimation or testing unless the pathogen has a high attack rate and the relative prevalence of pathogen strains shifts substantially during the trial follow-up period. An important implication is that practically optimal evaluation of strain-specific vaccine efficacy in HIV-1 vaccine trials will not require knowledge of infection times.
Carnosine attenuates mast cell degranulation and histamine release induced by oxygen–glucose deprivation

Carnosine (β‐alanyl‐histidine) is a naturally occurring dipeptide that has been characterized as a putative hydrophilic antioxidant. The protective function of carnosine has been demonstrated in neuronal cells under ischemic injury. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of carnosine on oxygen–glucose deprivation (OGD)‐induced degranulation and histamine release from mast cells. Cultured mast cells were exposed to OGD for 4 h, and then the degranulation was observed immediately by microscopy. Histamine release was analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). OGD caused degranulation of mast cells, and increased histamine and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. Carnosine (at a concentration of 5 mM) alone did not produce any appreciable effect on degranulation, histamine, and LDH release from mast cells under normal condition, but significantly inhibited the degranulation, histamine, and LDH release of mast cells induced by OGD. These results indicate that carnosine can protect mast cells from degranulation and histamine release and it may be an endogenous mast cell stabilizer in the pathological processes induced by ischemia. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Low-latency area-delay-efficient systolic multiplier over GF(2m) for a wider class of trinomials using parallel register sharing

Systolic structures for finite field multiplication involve large number of registers for parallel implementation, while bit-serial implementations require a large computation time, which increases along with the order of the field. In this paper, we present a novel scheme for the decomposition of the multiplication over GF(2m) based on irreducible trinomials into several independent units that facilitates maximal resister sharing and low-latency parallel implementation. It is shown that the proposed design involves significantly less area-delay complexity compared with the best of the corresponding existing systolic designs, and could be used for a wider class of trinomials.
Morphological Analysis of Force/Velocity Relationship in Dynamic Exercise at Varying Loads

Limonta, E and Sacchi, M. Morphological analysis of force/velocity relationship in dynamic exercise at varying loads. J Strength Cond Res 24(8): 2065-2072, 2010-This study examined the force/velocity (F/V) curve morphology among the entire concentric phase of the countermovement squat (CMS). The hypothesis is that F/V curve shape of the lower limb muscles complex is different from F/V isolated muscle curve and that these analyses could be useful in characterizing athletes' muscular capacity and training programs. Squat exercise was performed by 29 subjects (15 men and 14 women, divided into resistance and endurance athletes). The protocol was 6 × 1 CMS at maximal speed with increasing loads: 20, 35, 50, 65, 80, 90% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM). Displacement, speed, and acceleration of the weight bar, joint knee angles, knee angular speed, and total and normalized forces were collected. F/V relation was obtained by force and velocity values of each 10° angular interval of the concentric phase for any load. Results show that the F/V relationship does not follow a linear shape and an equivalent criterion for all loads. We observed a “second peak force” statistically higher (p < 0.05) than the inversion peak at 80 and 90% 1RM. Resistance trained men showed a “second peak” higher and larger than that shown by endurance trained men. This indicated a higher ability to produce and maintain greater force at higher relative speed. These results may be helpful to identify the muscle characteristics of the athletes at various speeds and joint positions. With a phase division of the specific move, it will be possible to determine an individualized program to monitor the specific phases of technical moves and to evaluate the training effect in long run.
Effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on IL-8, IL-1β and COX-2 expression in patients with chronic gastritis and gastric cancer

Objective. Helicobacter pylori infection is related to gastric cancer development, and chronic inflammation is presumed to be the main cause. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of H. pylori cagA, vacA, iceA, and babA genotypes on COX-2, IL-1β, and IL-8 expression. Material and methods. Of the 217 patients included in the study, 26 were uninfected, 127 had chronic gastritis and were H. pylori-positive, and 64 had gastric cancer. Bacterial genotypes were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the expression values were determined by quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Results. An association was found between the infection with cagA, vacA s1m1 strains and gastric cancer development. Regarding the 3′ region of the cagA gene, we also found an association between the infection with cagA EPIYA-ABCCC strains and clinical outcome. Higher levels of IL-8, IL-1β, and COX-2 were detected in gastric mucosa from infected patients with chronic gastritis, and they were also associated with the infection by cagA, vacA s1m1 strains. The IL-8 and IL-1β levels decrease significantly from chronic gastritis to gastric cancer, while the relative expression remained unaltered when COX-2 expression was analyzed among patients with gastritis and cancer. Conclusions. Since inflammatory response to H. pylori infection plays an important role in cellular proliferation and gastric mucosal damage, the up-regulation of IL-1β, IL-8, and COX-2 in patients with chronic gastritis has an important clinical implication in gastric carcinogenesis.