Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measurement of spinal mobility in ankylosing spondylitis: comparison of occiput-to-wall and tragus-to-wall distance.

OBJECTIVE To investigate if the tragus-to-wall distance (TWD) is more reliable compared to the occiput-to-wall distance (OWD) as a measurement for thoracic spine extension in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). METHODS Data from the OASIS cohort, an international longitudinal observational study on outcome in AS, were used. Measurements of OWD and TWD were performed at baseline and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Paired data of Tx and Tx+6 months were used to perform test-retest measurements (intraclass correlations, limits of agreement, and interperiod correlation matrix). Bland and Altman plots were constructed to investigate the agreement between both observations, assuming that there was no true change between 0 and 6 months. To investigate whether a change in disease activity would have influenced the results, limits of agreement were calculated in a subgroup of patients with a stable Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI; defined as a maximum BASDAI change of +/- 1) between T0 and T6 and compared with the results of the whole group. Limits of agreement were also calculated for kyphosed patients only. RESULTS The test-retest intraclass correlations were between 0.94 and 0.96 for OWD and between 0.93 and 0.95 for TWD. The direct measurement-remeasurement correlation calculated by extrapolation of the interperiod correlation regression line was 0.92 for OWD and 0.90 for TWD. OWD and TWD showed comparable reliability on the entire value of scores. The lower 95% limit of agreement was between -3.4 cm and -2.5 cm for OWD and between -3.4 cm and -3.1 cm for TWD. The upper limit of agreement was between 3.1 cm and 4.2 cm for OWD and between 2.9 cm and 3.9 cm for TWD. In all patients as well as in kyphosed patients only, limits of agreement were comparable between OWD and TWD. The patterns of the scatterplots according to Bland and Altman were similar for OWD and TWD. Measurement error was more pronounced in kyphosed patients compared to patients with a normal thoracic extension. However, over the entire range of kyphosis, measurement error was similar. CONCLUSION OWD and TWD are equally reliable in assessing thoracic spine extension. Although the TWD is in general easier to perform in AS patients compared to OWD, we recommend the OWD measurement over TWD: in OWD measurement a value of zero easily distinguishes patients with normal thoracic spine extension from kyphosed patients.
The tardigrade fauna of Australian marine caves: with descriptions of nine new species of Arthrotardigrada.

Marine caves are known to support a rich macrofauna; however, few studies have focused on meiofauna. Marine cave meiofaunal tardigrades have been reported from Japan and the Mediterranean Sea and a preliminary list of species including a redescription of Actinarctus neretinus Grimaldi de Zio, D'Addabbo Gallo, Morone De Lucia, Vaccarella and Grimaldi, 1982 was reported from Fish Rock Cave and Jim's Cave on the coast of Australia. This study is the fourth in a series describing the unique meiofauna in two Australian submarine caves located off the coast of New South Wales, describing nine new species. Only 67 tardigrades were collected from the two caves, yet these contained a high diversity of at least 16 different species which are quite different in the two caves. The fauna includes nine arthrotardigrade genera: Actinarctus, Batillipes, Dipodarctus, Halechiniscus, Raiarctus, Styraconyx, Tanarctus, Tholoarctus, and Wingstrandarctus. This fauna is different from that reported for the high energy beaches along the East Coast of Australia. We describe nine new species comprising a single batillipedid and eight halechiniscids: Batillipes solitarius nov. sp. , Dipodarctus australiensis nov. sp. , Dipodarctus susannae nov. sp. , Raiarctus jesperi nov. sp. , Raiarctus katrinae nov. sp. , Tanarctus hirsutospinosus nov. sp. , Tholoarctus oleseni nov. sp. , Wingstrandarctus stinae nov. sp. and Wingstrandarctus unsculptus nov. sp.
Proposal of a comprehensive clinical typology of alcohol withdrawal--a cluster analysis approach.

AIMS To characterize the various courses of alcohol withdrawal. METHODS The Alcohol Withdrawal Scale (AWS) was applied to 217 alcohol-dependent patients every 4 h till the symptoms of withdrawal had passed (until each of four consecutive scores were <3). Patients were medicated by a standardized treatment scheme according to AWS-scores. Hierarchical cluster analysis and discriminant analysis were applied. RESULTS We found five clusters representing increasing severity of alcohol withdrawal. Each cluster is characterized by a combination of the two maximum subscores (vegetative and psychopathological subscore) and three additional psychopathological symptoms (anxiety, disorientation, and hallucination). In 18.4% of the patients, relevant symptoms were not observed (cluster 1), 18.9% developed mild or moderate vegetative symptoms only (cluster 2), and 40.6% additional anxiety (cluster 3). In cluster 4 (11.1%) the most frequent psychopathological symptoms were disorientation and anxiety but no hallucinations, which could be observed only in cluster 5 (11.1%). Discriminant analysis using the maximum subscores at the first day of treatment as independent variables correctly predicted 89.9% of the five clusters. CONCLUSIONS Our findings support a model of alcohol withdrawal clustering along the two dimensions of vegetative and psychopathological severity. Furthermore, the AWS may be useful to predict the course of alcohol withdrawal already at the first day of treatment.
The Influence of Individual Factors on the Entrepreneurial Intention

Today, no one is safe from forces and pressures, which are exerted on it, because of a significant number of the requirements in particular as regards competitiveness, the need for change, or the crises and the deregulations. In front of the economic and social turbulences which we know, the creation of new company appears as a cause of general interest. This research papers focuses on the problematic of the entrepreneurship, and more particularly on the stake which this domain represents in our society, by treating the determinants of the entrepreneurial intention. To face this news gives, students must reconsider their behaviors and their practices to renew themselves, to open out and reinforce their position in the market. Some of these practices form what one calls the entrepreneurial orientation. For this reason, we will devote this paper for better encircling and apprehending the concept of individual factors, and we tried to know how the individual factors (motivations, need for accomplishment, need for autonomy, passion to develop its own idea, individual characteristics, work experience, teaching) can influence the intention of the entrepreneur to create his own project. We focused on review literature through a survey of a sample of students from the Higher Institute of Business Administration of Sfax (Tunisia).
An on-chip IDDT current sensor based on current-to-voltage conversion

In this paper, the dynamic supply current test (IDDT) for logic circuits is presented, where the targeted defects are weak opens in regular structures (SRAM arrays). Considerations about the current based tests are made, and a method of IDDT sensor realization is presented. The method is based on conversion of the current waveform to a voltage waveform. Also the most effective parameters of both the dynamic supply current waveform and voltage waveform are analyzed and evaluated.
Signal transduction pathways of IL-1 b -mediated iNOS in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells

Signal transduction pathways of IL-1 b -me-diated iNOS in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 281: L816–L823, 2001. — Interleukin (IL)-1 b is an important early mediator of inﬂammation in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. We previ-ously reported that a geranylgeranyltransferase inhibitor elevated basal levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and enhanced IL-1 b -mediated induction, suggesting that Rac or Rho small G proteins are candidates for antago-nism of such induction. In this study, overexpression of constitutively active Rac1 or its dominant negative mutant did not affect IL-1 b induction of iNOS. Alternatively, treatment with Clostridium botulinum C3 exoenzyme, which ADP-ribosylates Rho, was associated with superinduction of iNOS, suggesting an inhibitory role for Rho. IL-1 b activated the three mitogen-activated protein kinase (extracellular sig-nal-regulated kinases 1 and 2, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase/ stress-activated protein kinase, and p38) and the Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription pathways. The former two pathways were not associated with IL-1 b -mediated iNOS induction, whereas the latter two appeared to have inhibitory roles in iNOS expression. These data suggest that a broad intracellular signaling response to IL-1 b in rat pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells results in elevated levels of iNOS that is opposed by the geranylgeranylated small G protein Rho as well as the p38 and JAK2 pathways.
ARVCF depletion cooperates with Tbx1 deficiency in the development of 22q11.2DS‐like phenotypes in Xenopus

The 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is a common dominant genetic disorder characterized by a heterozygous deletion of a cluster of genes on chromosome 22q11.2. TBX1, a transcription factor belonging to the T‐box gene family, is a key player in the syndrome. However, heterozygosity of Tbx1 in mouse models does not fully recapitulate the phenotypes characteristic of the disease, which may point to the involvement of other genes in the deleted chromosomal region. Hence, we investigated the contribution of the catenin ARVCF, another gene that is deleted in 22q11.2DS. During Xenopus development, ARVCF mRNA is expressed in the pharyngeal arches and depleting either ARVCF or Tbx1 results in delayed migration of the cranial neural crest cells and in defects in the craniofacial skeleton and aortic arches. Moreover, double depletion of ARVCF and Tbx1 revealed that they act cooperatively, indicating that decreased ARVCF levels may also contribute to 22q11.2DS‐associated phenotypes. Developmental Dynamics 240:2680–2687, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of Compensation on Motivation , Organizational Commitment and Employee Performance ( Studies at Local Revenue Management in Kendari City )

This study purposes are to test and demonstrate empirically effect of compensation on motivation, organizational commitment on employee performance, motivation on organizational commitment and employee performance, organizational commitment on employee performance. Study population is employees who work at Local Apparatus Work Unit (LAWU) at Local Revenue Management in Kendari as many as 1,394 employees. Study samples are 126 employees that selected by random sampling method with proportional area. Data analysis used is SEM (Structural Equation Model). This study results indicate that compensation has significant effect on motivation and organizational commitment, but does not have significant effect on employee performance. Organizational commitment and motivation have significant effect on employee's performance, as well as a significant effect of organizational commitment on employee performance. In addition, this study found that compensation can not directly improve employee performance, but able to increase motivation and strengthen organizational commitment. Motivation gives a strong effect on relationship between compensation and employee performance than between motivation and organizational commitment or through organizational commitment only.
Semaphorin 3C preserves survival and induces neuritogenesis of cerebellar granule neurons in culture

Semaphorins (sema) constitute a family of molecules sharing a common extracellular domain (semaphorin domain). This family includes several types of secreted and membrane‐associated molecules that are grouped into eight subclasses (subclasses 1–7 and viral semaphorins). Subclass 3 semaphorins are secreted molecules involved in axonal guidance, mainly through repulsive gradients and induction of growth cone collapse. More recently sema 3 molecules have been identified as positive factors in dependence of the type of neurons. Besides their axonal guidance function, some semaphorins have been implicated in apoptosis and survival. We investigated the effect of sema3C on survival and neurite outgrowth of rat cerebellar granule neurons (CGNs) in culture. 3T3 cells were stably transfected with sema3C. Several clonal lines were established and tested for their neuritogenic activity and one, S3C‐8, was selected for the bulk of experiments. S3C‐8 was co‐cultured with CGNs. Sema3C enhanced CGN viability as assessed in co‐cultures of CGNs with monolayers of S3C‐8 in comparison with co‐cultures of CGNs with control mock‐transfected 3T3 cells. Moreover sema3C induced neuritogenesis of cultured CGNs, which express neuropilin‐1 and ‐2. S3C‐8 cells, overexpressing sema3C, were significantly more neuritogenic for CGN than poly l‐lysine (PLL), a positive substrate for CGNs, as assessed by the measurement of the length of neurites and confirmed by Tau expression along the time of culture. CGNs co‐cultured with S3C‐8, showed up‐regulation of the expression of axonal microtubule‐associated proteins (MAPs) such as Tau, phosphorylated MAP2C and mode I‐phosphorylated MAP1B compared with neurons cultured on control 3T3 cells. We also found increased expression of a specific marker of neuronal cell bodies and dendrites, high molecular weight MAP2 (HMW‐MAP2). Interestingly, there was no accompanying up‐regulation of a marker enriched within the neuronal somatodendritic domain, mode II‐phosphorylated MAP1B. These data support the idea that secreted sema3C favors survival and neuritogenesis of cultured CGNs.
PI-3-kinase-dependent membrane recruitment of centaurin-α2 is essential for its effect on ARF6-mediated actin cytoskeleton reorganisation

GTPase activating proteins (GAPs) of the centaurin family regulate the actin cytoskeleton and vesicle trafficking through inactivation of the ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) family of small GTP-binding proteins. We report the functional characterisation of centaurin-α2, which is structurally related to the centaurin-α1 ARF6 GAP. centaurin-α2 contains an N-terminal GAP domain followed by two pleckstrin homology (PH) domains (N-PH and C-PH). In vitro, GFP-centaurin-α2 specifically binds the phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase lipid products, PI 3,4-P2 and PI 3,4,5-P3 (PIP3), through its C-terminal PH domain. In agreement with this observation, GFP-centaurin-α2 was recruited to the plasma membrane from the cytosol in EGF-stimulated cells in a PI-3-kinase-dependent manner. Moreover, the C-PH domain is sufficient and necessary for membrane recruitment of centaurin-α2. centaurin-α2 shows sustained kinetics of PI-3-kinase-mediated membrane recruitment in EGF-stimulated cells, owing to its binding to PI 3,4-P2. centaurin-α2 prevents ARF6 translocation to, and cortical actin formation at, the plasma membrane, which are phenotypic indications for ARF6 activation in EGF-stimulated cells. Moreover, the constitutively active mutant of ARF6 reverses the effect of centaurin-α2 on cortical actin formation. The membrane targeted centaurin-α2 is constitutively active. Together, these studies indicate that centaurin-α2 is recruited in a sustained manner to the plasma membrane through binding to PI 3,4-P2 and thereby regulates actin reorganisation via ARF6.
Deep Learning with Python

Summary Deep Learning with Python introduces the field of deep learning using the Python language and the powerful Keras library. Written by Keras creator and Google AI researcher Franois Chollet, this book builds your understanding through intuitive explanations and practical examples. Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Technology Machine learning has made remarkable progress in recent years. We went from near-unusable speech and image recognition, to near-human accuracy. We went from machines that couldn't beat a serious Go player, to defeating a world champion. Behind this progress is deep learninga combination of engineering advances, best practices, and theory that enables a wealth of previously impossible smart applications. About the Book Deep Learning with Python introduces the field of deep learning using the Python language and the powerful Keras library. Written by Keras creator and Google AI researcher Franois Chollet, this book builds your understanding through intuitive explanations and practical examples. You'll explore challenging concepts and practice with applications in computer vision, natural-language processing, and generative models. By the time you finish, you'll have the knowledge and hands-on skills to apply deep learning in your own projects. What's Inside Deep learning from first principles Setting up your own deep-learning environment Image-classification models Deep learning for text and sequences Neural style transfer, text generation, and image generation About the Reader Readers need intermediate Python skills. No previous experience with Keras, TensorFlow, or machine learning is required. About the Author Franois Chollet works on deep learning at Google in Mountain View, CA. He is the creator of the Keras deep-learning library, as well as a contributor to the TensorFlow machine-learning framework. He also does deep-learning research, with a focus on computer vision and the application of machine learning to formal reasoning. His papers have been published at major conferences in the field, including the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR), the Conference and Workshop on Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR), and others.
Having Friends and Feeling Lonely

Loneliness is a well-known indicator of relationship deficits, with potentially severe consequences on health and well-being (Perlman & Peplau, 1981). Research has used cross-sectional methods to examine behavioral consequences of loneliness (e.g., Cacioppo et al., 2002). However, within-person associations between daily fluctuations in loneliness and subsequent behavioral outcomes have yet to be explored. Using a sample of community-dwelling adults, the authors examined associations between daily loneliness on daily time with others, and subsequent context-specific alcohol consumption (i.e., social and solitary consumption), and individual differences in these patterns of behavior. Daytime loneliness significantly and uniquely predicted patterns of social behavior and context-specific consumption; time with others mediated loneliness–social consumption associations, but not loneliness–solitary consumption relationships. These findings contribute to existing literature by demonstrating the unique properties of solitary versus social consumption as behavioral responses to loneliness, thus addressing inconsistent findings regarding the effects of loneliness on alcohol consumption.
Multiple drug resistance in bacterial isolates from liquid wastes generated in central hospitals of Nepal.

BACKGROUND Healthcare liquid wastes are the reservoirs of harmful infectious agents such as the pathogens and multiple drug resistant microorganisms. Potential infectious risks include the spread of infectious diseases and microbial resistance from health-care establishments into the environment and thereby posing risks of getting infections and antibiotic resistance in the communities. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were to assess the bacterial load of healthcare liquid waste generated in central hospitals and to explore the antimicrobial resistance pattern of these bacterial isolates. MATERIALS AND METHODS A descriptive study was carried out in 10 conveniently selected central hospitals of Nepal during the period of May to December 2008. Effluent specimens from each hospital were subjected to total viable count studies by spread plate method in nutrient agar plate and incubated for 24 hours at 37 °C using standard laboratory protocol. Similarly, all the specimens were cultured in Mac Conkey Agar media supplemented with 30 μg/ml of Chloramphenicol and 20 μg/ml of Gentamycin for the enumeration of multiple drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, which were further subjected to in-vitro antibiotic susceptibility test by modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique for resistance patterns. RESULTS Total viable counts of hospital effluents significantly exceeded the standard heterotrophic plate count (p=0.000). Similarly, the numbers of multiple drug resistant bacteria were alarmingly high in three (more than 30% in 2 and 50% in 1) hospitals of this study. Drug resistant hospital effluent isolates showed simultaneous resistance for most of the antibiotics including Penicillin, Cephalosporin, Cotrimoxazole, Gentamycin and Quinolones. CONCLUSION Healthcare liquid wastes were laden with MDR bacteria and seemed to pose a huge public health threat in the transfer of such resistance to the bacterial pathogens causing community acquired infections, thereby limiting our antibiotic pool.
The NER protein Rad 33 shows functional homology to human Centrin 2 and is involved in modification of Rad 4

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae the Rad4-Rad23 complex is implicated in the initial damage recognition of the Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) pathway. NER removes a variety of lesions via two subpathways: Transcription Coupled Repair (TCR) and Global Genome Repair (GGR). We previously showed that the new NER protein Rad33 is involved in both NER subpathways TCR and GGR. In the present study we show UV induced modification of Rad4 that is strongly increased in cells deleted for RAD33. Modification of Rad4 in rad33 cells does not require the incision reaction but is dependent on the TCR factor Rad26. The predicted structure of Rad33 shows resemblance to the Centrin homologue Cdc31. In human cells, Centrin2 binds to XPC and is involved in NER. We demonstrate that Rad4 binds Rad33 directly and via the same conserved amino acids required for the interaction of XPC with Centrin2. Disruption of the Rad4-Rad33 interaction is sufficient to enhance the modification of Rad4 and results in a repair defect similar to that of a rad33 mutant. The current study suggests that the role of Rad33 in the Rad4-Rad23 complex might have parallels with the role of Centrin2 in the XPC-HHR23B complex. Rad33 is involved in the modification of Rad4
Glaucogenin E, a new C21 steroid from Cynanchum stauntonii

Glaucogenin E (1), a new C21 steroid sapogenin, along with three known ones (2–4) were isolated from the rhizomes of Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Levl. Their structures were established mainly by the spectroscopic analysis, including 2D NMR. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines HeLa, Bel-7402, SGC-7901 and BGC-823.