Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What do You Think, Darling? Revisiting Knowledge on Purchase Decisions of Couples within Households

Elena Dinkevych is Research Associate at the Chair of International Marketing, ESCP Europe Berlin, Heubnerweg 8–10, 14059 Berlin, Germany, Phone: +49-30-32007-177, Fax: +49-30-32007-118, E-Mail: edinkevych@ escpeurope.eu. Robert Wilken is Professor of International Marketing at ESCP Europe Berlin, Heubnerweg 8–10, 14059 Berlin, Germany, Phone: +49-30-32007-167, Fax: +49-30-32007-118, E-Mail: rwilken@escpeurope.eu. * Corresponding Author. What do You Think, Darling? Revisiting Knowledge on Purchase Decisions of Couples within Households
Novel Two-Component Regulatory System Involved in Biofilm Formation and Acid Resistance in Streptococcus mutans

ABSTRACT The abilities of Streptococcus mutans to form biofilms and to survive acidic pH are regarded as two important virulence determinants in the pathogenesis of dental caries. Environmental stimuli are thought to regulate the expression of several genes associated with virulence factors through the activity of two-component signal transduction systems. Yet, little is known of the involvement of these systems in the physiology and pathogenicity of S. mutans. In this study, we describe a two-component regulatory system and its involvement in biofilm formation and acid resistance in S. mutans. By searching the S. mutans genome database with tblastn with the HK03 and RR03 protein sequences from S. pneumoniae as queries, we identified two genes, designated hk11 and rr11, that encode a putative histidine kinase and its cognate response regulator. To gain insight into their function, a PCR-mediated allelic-exchange mutagenesis strategy was used to create the hk11 (Emr) and rr11 (Emr) deletion mutants from S. mutans wild-type NG8 named SMHK11 and SMRR11, respectively. The mutants were examined for their growth rates, genetic competence, ability to form biofilms, and resistance to low-pH challenge. The results showed that deletion of hk11 or rr11 resulted in defects in biofilm formation and resistance to acidic pH. Both mutants formed biofilms with reduced biomass (50 to 70% of the density of the parent strain). Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the biofilms formed by the mutants had sponge-like architecture with what appeared to be large gaps that resembled water channel-like structures. The mutant biofilms were composed of longer chains of cells than those of the parent biofilm. Deletion of hk11 also resulted in greatly diminished resistance to low pH, although we did not observe the same effect when rr11 was deleted. Genetic competence was not affected in either mutant. The results suggested that the gene product of hk11 in S. mutans might act as a pH sensor that could cross talk with one or more response regulators. We conclude that the two-component signal transduction system encoded by hk11 and rr11 represents a new regulatory system involved in biofilm formation and acid resistance in S. mutans.
Information technology and employment: The impact of job tasks and worker skills

This study examines worker displacement from the job task framework in which tasks performed by workers interact with information technology in different ways and therefore can potentially lead to worker displacement. It also investigates what kinds of skills are more helpful for reemployment in today's increasingly computerized workplaces. It utilizes seven US displaced worker supplement surveys from 1998 to 2010 to investigate these issues at individual worker level. The results show that employees performing routine tasks at workplaces are more likely to be displaced, while those performing abstract and service tasks are less likely to be displaced. It also finds that information technology can be both upskilling and deskilling, depending on the kinds of jobs performed by workers.
Microtubule‐dependent transport of vimentin filament precursors is regulated by actin and by the concerted action of Rho‐ and p21‐activated kinases

Intermediate filaments (IFs) form a dense and dynamic network that is functionally associated with microtubules and actin filaments. We used the GFP‐tagged vimentin mutant Y117L to study vimentin‐cytoskeletal interactions and transport of vimentin filament precursors. This mutant preserves vimentin interaction with other components of the cytoskeleton, but its assembly is blocked at the unit‐length filament (ULF) stage. ULFs are easy to track, and they allow a reliable and quantifiable analysis of movement. Our results show that in cultured human vimentin‐negative SW13 cells, 2% of vimentin‐ULFs move along microtubules bidirectionally, while the majority are stationary and tightly associated with actin filaments. Rapid motor‐dependent transport of ULFs along microtubules is enhanced ≥5‐fold by depolymerization of actin cytoskeleton with latrunculin B. The microtubule‐dependent transport of vimentin ULFs is further regulated by Rho‐kinase (ROCK) and p21‐activated kinase (PAK): ROCK inhibits ULF transport, while PAK stimulates it. Both kinases act on microtubule transport independently of their effects on actin cytoskeleton. Our study demonstrates the importance of the actin cytoskeleton to restrict IF transport and reveals a new role for PAK and ROCK in the regulation of IF precursor transport. —Robert, A. , Herrmann, H. , Davidson, M. W. , and Gelfand, V. I. Microtubule‐dependent transport of vimentin filament precursors is regulated by actin and by the concerted action of Rho‐ and p21‐activated kinases. FASEB J. 28, 2879–2890 (2014). www.fasebj. org
The internal and external validity of the Major Depression Inventory in measuring severity of depressive states

Background. We have developed the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), consisting of 10 items, covering the DSM-IV as well as the ICD-10 symptoms of depressive illness. We aimed to evaluate this as a scale measuring severity of depressive states with reference to both internal and external validity. Method. Patients representing the score range from no depression to marked depression on the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAM-D) completed the MDI. Both classical and modern psychometric methods were applied for the evaluation of validity, including the Rasch analysis. Results. In total, 91 patients were included. The results showed that the MDI had an adequate internal validity in being a unidimensional scale (the total score an appropriate or sufficient statistic). The external validity of the MDI was also confirmed as the total score of the MDI correlated significantly with the HAM-D (Pearson's coefficient 0·86, P[les ]0·01, Spearman 0·80, P[les ]0·01). Conclusion. When used in a sample of patients with different states of depression the MDI has an adequate internal and external validity.
The Impact of Youth Work in Europe : A Study of Five European Countries

This book is the culmination of an Erasmus + funded project which aimed to independently identify the impact of youth work in the UK (England), Finland, Estonia, Italy and France. It applied a participatory evaluation methodology entitled ‘transformative evaluation’ which collated young people’s own accounts of the impact of youth work on their lives – collecting their stories. Over 700 stories were collected in total over a year long process. The stories were then analysed independently through a process of coding and only then was youth work in each of the five countries compared and contrasted. The findings reveal both the diversity as well as the similarity of youth work in Europe. Differences include the variety in age ranges across the five countries, where youth begins at 7 in Estonia, but extends to 35 in Italy. Other differences revealed include the differing levels of resources available to youth workers and therefore the variety in opportunities that this creates for young people in the different contexts. Other differences include the extent to which youth work focuses on recreation or education, the variations in youth empowerment, as well as the varying levels of professionalization in youth work across the five countries. Despite these differences there were also some remarkable similarities across the diverse contexts. For example both ‘friendship’ and ‘self-confidence’ were identified as final codes in three of the five countries. Another important similarity was the extent to which youth work enabled young people to make positive changes in their lives. Analysis of the stories however reveals that many of these changes are premised upon the creation of a safe space for young people to meet and ‘be themselves’.
The Z Technique: An Easy Approach to the Display of the Midcoronal Plane of the Uterus in Volume Sonography

Objective. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the ease of learning and clinical applicability of a technique (Z technique) for display of the midcoronal plane of the uterus in volume sonography. Methods. Eight physicians were randomly assigned to 2 groups, A and B, after being instructed on the basic principles of post processing of sonographic volumes. Physicians in group A were asked to individually display the midcoronal plane of the uterus in each of five 3‐dimensional volumes of uteri. Physicians in group B were instructed on the Z technique and were then asked to individually display the midcoronal plane of the uterus in the same volumes as group A. The time needed for display of the midcoronal plane of the uterus and the quality of the midcoronal plane image retrieved were recorded for each volume. Results. The mean time required to display the midcoronal plane of the uterus for all volumes was 47.7 seconds in group B compared with 110.7 seconds in group A (P = .002). Furthermore, a significant improvement in time performance was seen for physicians in group A after learning the Z technique (23.2 seconds after compared with 110.7 seconds before; P = .0001). The quality of the image produced was notably better for all physicians after learning the Z technique. Conclusions. The Z technique is an easy technique to learn. Physicians who learn this technique are able to retrieve the midcoronal plane of the uterus faster and improve its image quality in volume sonography.
Differential Pattern of Inflammatory Molecule Regulation in Intestinal Epithelial Cells Stimulated with IL-11

To better predict the consequences of blocking signal transduction pathways as a means of controlling intestinal inflammation, we are characterizing the pathways up-regulated by IL-1 in intestinal epithelial cells (IEC). IL-1β induced increased mRNA levels of MIP-2, MCP-1, RANTES, inducible NO synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the IEC-18 cell line. IL-1β activated NF-κB but not ERK or p38. Infecting cells with adenovirus expressing a mutated gene for IκBα (IκBAA) blocked IL-1-induced mRNA increases in MIP-2, MCP-1, and iNOS but not COX-2 or RANTES. Expression of IκBAA attenuated the IL-1-induced increase in COX-2 protein. Unexpectedly, RANTES mRNA increased, and protein was secreted by cells expressing IκBAA in the absence of IL-1. Adenovirus-expressing IκBAA, blocking protein synthesis, and IL-1β all resulted in activation of JNK. The JNK inhibitor SP600125 prevented the RANTES increases by all three stimuli. A human enterocyte line was similarly examined, and both NF-κB and JNK regulate IL-1-induced RANTES secretion. We conclude that in IEC-18, IL-1β-induced increases in mRNA for MIP-2, MCP-1, and iNOS are NF-κB-dependent, whereas regulation of RANTES mRNA is independent of NF-κB but is positively regulated by JNK. IL-1β-induced mRNA increases in COX-2 mRNA are both NF-κB- and MAPK-independent but the translation of COX-2 protein is NF-κB-dependent. This pattern of signaling due to a single stimulus exposed the complexities of regulating inflammatory genes in IEC.
Morphometric evaluation of Arbor Acre parent stock broilers reared in south-south Nigeria

Economic importance of morphometric parameters such as live weight and body measurements per weeks are quantitative as well as complex with continuous variability in chicken hence this present studies. A total of 140 unsexed day old parent stock broiler chicks (Arbor Acre strain) were used for this present study. They were completely randomized and divided into four treatment groups of 35 birds per group. Each group had five replicates of 7 birds per replicates. The parameters measured were body weight (BW), BODY length (BL), Wing span (WS), Wing length (WL), Breast girth (BG) and Shank length (SL). Correlation matrix between body weight and the linear body measurements were positive and highly significant (r = 0.510 – 0.765, P < 0.01). The linear regression model with a coefficient of determination (R2) value of 60.30 included forecast indices such as BL, WS, WL, TL, BG and SL. The regression could be used to predict the body weight of the birds and also for selection purposes.Keywords: Morphometrics, Evaluation, Arbor Acre, Parent stock Broilers
First findings from phase one of the Child Welfare Decision-Making Variability Project: Research briefing paper.

Decision variability, that is, different decision outcomes when levels of harm are similar is a problem common to many child protection systems. The causes are many and varied: the expectation of the child protection system to respond to diverse family problems; the differing beliefs, values and worldviews of practitioners; differences in institutional cultures, sites, processes and resources; demographic inequalities; and conflicting discourses in the policy environment (Baumann et al., 2011; Keddell, 2014). This small (n = 67) exploratory mixed methods study examines if decision variability exists in Aotearoa New Zealand, and why this occurs.
Medical and Psychosocial Associates of Nonadherence in Adolescents With Cancer

The current study examined adherence to medication regimens among adolescents with cancer by applying the Pediatric Self-Management Model. Adolescents and their parents reported on adherence to medication, reasons for nonadherence, and patient-, family-, and community-level psychosocial variables. Adolescent- and parent-reported adherence were significantly correlated, with about half of the sample reporting perfect adherence. The majority reported “just forgot” as the most common reason for missed medication. Patient-, family-, and community-level variables were examined as predictors of adherence. With regard to individual factors, adolescents who endorsed perfect adherence reported a greater proportion of future-orientated goals and spent fewer days in outpatient clinic visits. For family factors, adolescents who endorsed perfect adherence reported greater social support from their family and were more likely to have a second caregiver who they perceived as overprotective. The community-level variable (social support from friends) tested did not emerge as a predictor of adherence. The results of this study provide direction for intervention efforts to target adolescent goals and family support in order to increase adolescent adherence to cancer treatment regimens.
Subjective performance evaluation of employees with biased beliefs

This paper analyses how worker optimism (and pessimism) affects subjective performance evaluation (SPE) contracts. We let an optimistic (pessimistic) worker overestimate (underestimate) the probability of observing an acceptable performance. The firm is better informed about performance than the worker and knows the worker's bias. We show that optimism (and pessimism): i) changes the optimal incentive scheme under SPE, ii) lowers the deadweight loss associated with SPE contracts, iii) can lead to a Pareto improvement by simultaneously lowering the firm's expected wage cost and raising the worker's expected compensation. In addition, we show that worker pessimism can lead to SPE contracts without a deadweight loss, in contrast to the standard case in the literature.
Mobile Phone Innovation and Technology-Driven Exports in Sub-Saharan Africa

The study investigates how education, scientific output and the internet complement mobile phone penetration to affect technology commodity exports in Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000-2012. The empirical evidence is based on Generalised Method of Moments. The following main findings are established. First, the internet complements the mobile phone to boost technology goods exports. Second, the internet also complements the mobile phone to boost technology service exports. Third, positive marginal effects are apparent in the roles of educational quality and scientific output on technology goods exports and technology service exports respectively while negative marginal impacts are apparent in the roles of scientific output and educational quality on technology goods exports and technology service exports respectively. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
THE EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE, INFLATION, CAPITAL AND LABOR FORCE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN INDONESIA

Abstract The study aimed to analyze the influence of exchange rate, Inflation, capital and labor force on economic growth in Indonesia. The data in this study are secondary data sourced from the Central Bureau of Statistics and Bank Indonesia which include data on the rupiah exchange rate against the dollar, inflation, gross domestic fixed capital formation, and labor rate. Analysis of this research based on the Cobb-Douglas Production Function by using the ordinary least square method (OLS) recursively. The results showed that the capital positively affects economic growth. By recursive method, inflation and exchange rate have a significant effect on economic growth. Inflation in particular has a significant negative impact on economic growth through interest rates and capital. However, the amount of labor has no significant effect on economic growth. This means that the government needs to reduce the inflation rate to be able to reduce the interest rate to increase the amount of capital and ultimately increase economic growth in Indonesia.
Neuronal Orphan G-Protein Coupled Receptor Proteins Mediate Plasmalogens-Induced Activation of ERK and Akt Signaling

The special glycerophospholipids plasmalogens (Pls) are enriched in the brain and reported to prevent neuronal cell death by enhancing phosphorylation of Akt and ERK signaling in neuronal cells. Though the activation of Akt and ERK was found to be necessary for the neuronal cells survival, it was not known how Pls enhanced cellular signaling. To answer this question, we searched for neuronal specific orphan GPCR (G-protein coupled receptor) proteins, since these proteins were believed to play a role in cellular signal transduction through the lipid rafts, where both Pls and some GPCRs were found to be enriched. In the present study, pan GPCR inhibitor significantly reduced Pls-induced ERK signaling in neuronal cells, suggesting that Pls could activate GPCRs to induce signaling. We then checked mRNA expression of 19 orphan GPCRs and 10 of them were found to be highly expressed in neuronal cells. The knockdown of these 10 neuronal specific GPCRs by short hairpin (sh)-RNA lentiviral particles revealed that the Pls-mediated phosphorylation of ERK was inhibited in GPR1, GPR19, GPR21, GPR27 and GPR61 knockdown cells. We further found that the overexpression of these GPCRs enhanced Pls-mediated phosphorylation of ERK and Akt in cells. Most interestingly, the GPCRs-mediated cellular signaling was reduced significantly when the endogenous Pls were reduced. Our cumulative data, for the first time, suggest a possible mechanism for Pls-induced cellular signaling in the nervous system.
Hyperglycemia and mechanical stress: Targeting the renal podocyte

Hyperglycemia and deriving from glomerular hypertension mechanical stress are the key factors underlying pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Multiple direct and secondary effects of both these factors are mediated by complex signaling pathways with extensive interactions. The common signaling pathways stimulated by high glucose and mechanical insult may act in an additive manner, thereby accelerating the cell damage. Podocytes, the cells covering the outer aspect of glomerular basement membrane (GBM), are subjected not only to the load of filtered glucose but also to diverse mechanical forces. Bulging into the Bowman's space, they have no support from the apical side, which makes them particularly susceptible to the effects of mechanical strain. Both high glucose and mechanical stress may impair the protein systems anchoring the podocyte foot processes in GBM, therefore blunting resistance of these cells to mechanical forces. Modulation by these factors of expression and activity of numerous structural and functional proteins results in the (auto)inflammatory responses, dysfunction, apoptosis or necrosis of the podocytes. Loss of the podocytes is irreversible due to their inability to proliferate and to replenish damaged cells. Podocytes are injured early in the course of DN, which, most likely, underlies further glomerular and renal damage in diabetes. This review summarizes the effects of elevated glucose and mechanical stress that seem to be involved in podocyte impairment in diabetes, with particular focus on the possible interactions between these factors. J. Cell. Physiol. 221: 288–295, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Brainstem afferents to the magnocellular basal forebrain studied by axonal transport, immunohistochemistry, and electrophysiology in the rat

Brainstem afferents to the magnocellular basal forebrain were studied by using tract tracing, immunohistochemistry and extracellular recordings in the rat. WGA‐HRP injections into the horizontal limb of the diagonal band (HDB) and the magnocellular preoptic area (MgPA) retrogradely labelled many neurons in the pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental nuclei, dorsal raphe nucleus, and ventral tegmental area. Areas with moderate numbers of retrogradely labelled neurons included the median raphe nucleus, and area lateral to the medial longitudinal fasciculus in the pons, the locus ceruleus, and the medial parabrachial nucleus. A few labelled neurons were seen in the substantia nigra pars compacta, mesencephalic and pontine reticular formation, a midline area in the pontine central gray, lateral parabrachial nucleus, raphe magnus, prepositus hypoglossal nucleus, nucleus of the solitary tract, and ventrolateral medulla. A similar but not identical distribution of labelled neurons was seen following WGA‐HRP injections into the nucleus basalis magnocellularis.
Collagenous colitis and collagenous gastritis in a 9 year old girl: a case report and review of the literature.

Collagenous gastritis is a rare disease in the general population and collagenous colitis has seldom been reported in children. We report a girl with both diseases and review the literature on this association afetr a systematic search of Pubmed, Medline and Embase databases. The girl, diagnosed of collagenous colitis at the age of 2 years, started with abdominal pain and anaemia at the age of 9 years and was diagnosed of collagenous gastritis in the gastric biopsies. After review of the literature, we found 66 reported cases (33 children, 33 adults, 68% females), 56 patients with collagenous gastritis and 16 children with collagenous colitis. Both disorders coexisted in 20 patients. The main presenting symptoms are abdominal pain and anaemia in patients with collagenous gastritis and diarrhoea and weight loss in patients with both disorders. Hypoalbuminemia was found in 9 patients with both diseases and protein losing enteropathy was demonstrated in 3 cases. Deposits of collagen in the duodenum were observed in 13 of 19 patients with both diseases. Seventeen of 66 patients had associated autoimmune disorders, particularly in patients with both diseases (35%). These conditions have a chronic course but gastric or colonic malignancies have not been communicated to date. In conclusion, collagenous gastritis and collagenous colitis mainly affects women and can occur at any age. Their association is exceptional. These disorders, although rare, should be considered in patients with anaemia and epigastric pain, watery diarrhoea or protein losing enteropathy.