Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) Management Method Impacts Restoration of Understory Plants in the Presence of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginiana)

Abstract Management methods for invasive species vary in their restoration success in the presence or absence of herbivores. We investigated the performance of understory plants after management of the invasive shrub Amur honeysuckle using two herbicide-based methods (cut/paint and basal application) in fenced and unfenced plots. The cut/paint method resulted in the removal of above-ground stems, while the basal application method resulted in the dead stems remaining in place. Light level in the cut/paint treatment was higher than in the basal application treatment, which was higher than in the control (no management) treatment. Across fencing treatments, fruit production, height, and subsequent recruitment of transplanted jewelweed were greater in the cut/paint treatment. Across management treatments, jewelweed plants were taller in the fenced treatment. Native species richness was generally higher in the cut/paint and basal application treatments than in the control treatment. There were more jewelweed recruits, more jewelweed fruits, and greater native species richness in the cut/paint treatment than in the basal application treatment in fenced plots, but these measures were similar in both management treatments in unfenced plots. Thus standing dead stems of Amur honeysuckle offered protection from damage in the presence of herbivores, offsetting the advantage of the cut/paint method seen in the fenced plots. There was a trend for more leaves of transplanted wild ginger in the basal application treatment. There were more invasive garlic mustard and more Amur honeysuckle seedlings in the cut/paint treatment than in the control treatment. Our results illustrate the complexities involved in selecting appropriate restoration management techniques given herbivore pressure, differential species response, and presence of multiple invasive species. In our study, we demonstrated that the basal application honeysuckle management method (and therefore perhaps similar methods that leave the dead stems standing) led to increased understory plant restoration success when compared to the cut/paint method. Nomenclature: triclopyr; garlic mustard, Alliaria petiolata (Bieb.) Cavara & Grande; honeysuckle, Lonicera maackii (Rupr.) Maxim. ; jewelweed, Impatiens capensis Meerb. ; wild ginger, Asarum canadense L. ; white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginiana Zimmermann.
Party representation across multiple issue dimensions

Issue congruence between citizens and policy makers should be one of the central aspects of a democratic process. This study uses the 2009 European Election Study to compare the views of citizens and party elites on a diverse set of domestic policy issues and overall Left-Right identities. We find very high levels of congruence for Left-Right positions and socio-economic issues. Parties are less representative of their supporters on the newer cultural issues of immigration and authority, as well as gender issues. National political contexts have limited influence on congruence levels, although some party characteristics such as political extremism or party family are linked to citizen-voter agreement. On the whole, citizens and like-minded parties do connect through the electoral process to a high degree. However, the results also argue for a multidimensional approach to assessing representation to recognize where parties agree and deviate from their supporters.
Use of hypnotic and tranquillising drugs in general practice

In the Netherlands, as in other countries, the prevalence of long-term use of benzodiazepines is high. There was a high correlation between long-term use of benzodiazepines on the one hand and age and psychic condition on the other. The use was much higher in women than in men. Health problems were mentioned most (patient's view) as causing the use. Objective r - r To know more about the characteristics of long-term users of hypnotic and tranquillising drugs in a primary health care area in The Netherlands. Design r - r A questionnaire was applied to users of benzodiazepines and the computerised medical records were analysed. Setting r - r Nine general practices affiliated to the Registration Network Family Practices (RNH) of the University of Maastricht (UM). Subjects r - r A sample of 506 users, aged U 30 years, was divided into four categories: short-term (<3 months) users (once-only and episodic) and long-term users (episodic and continuous). Results r - r In 1992/93, 81% were long-term users and 42% of these took their drug continuously. All groups investigated had a preponderance of women. Health problems more so than social problems led to use of the drug. Long-term use was associated with older age, depressive behaviour in handling problems, a higher score on the medicine addiction index, problems with children or housing, and satisfaction with the effects of the drug. Conclusion r - r Most people taking benzodiazepines are long-term users. Age, depressive behaviour, addiction, satisfaction and problems with children or housing are risk factors for long-term use. Gender is not risk factor.
Purification, characterization, and seroactivity of a 20-kilodalton Brucella protein antigen

An internal protein was purified from cell extracts of Brucella melitensis B115 by a combination of preparative isoelectric focusing and high-performance size exclusion chromatography. The protein has an apparent molecular mass of 230 kDa as determined by size exclusion chromatography. The protein was resolved to a single band of 20 kDa after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The native protein had an isoelectric point of 4.9. The N-terminal sequence of the 20-kDa protein was determined. The 20-kDa protein has been identified as antigen A-2 with a previously described anti-antigen A-2 serum (B. Stemshorn, K. Nielsen, and B. Samagh, Can. J. Comp. Med. 45:77-81, 1981). Antigen A-2 reacted with sera from infected sheep in immunoblotting and may be useful in developing diagnostic tests for brucellosis.
Impact of Azithromycin on the Quorum Sensing-Controlled Proteome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The macrolide antibiotic, azithromycin (AZM), has been reported to improve the clinical outcome of cystic fibrosis patients, many of whom are chronically-infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, the highest clinically-achievable concentrations of this drug are well-below the minimum inhibitory concentration for P. aeruginosa, raising the question of why AZM exhibits therapeutic activity. One possibility that has been raised by earlier studies is that AZM inhibits quorum sensing (QS) by P. aeruginosa. To explicitly test this hypothesis the changes brought about by AZM treatment need to be compared with those associated with specific QS mutants grown alongside in the same growth medium, but this has not been done. In this work, we used quantitative 2D-difference gel electrophoresis and 1H-NMR spectroscopy footprint analysis to examine whether a range of clinically-relevant AZM concentrations elicited proteomic and metabolomic changes in wild-type cultures that were similar to those seen in cultures of defined QS mutants. Consistent with earlier reports, over half of the AZM-induced spot changes on the 2D gels were found to affect QS-regulated proteins. However, AZM modulated very few protein spots overall (compared with QS) and collectively, these modulated proteins comprised only a small fraction (12–13%) of the global QS regulon. We conclude that AZM perturbs a sub-regulon of the QS system but does not block QS per se. Reinforcing this notion, we further show that AZM is capable of attenuating virulence factor production in another Gram-negative species that secretes copious quantities of exoenzymes (Serratia marcescens), even in the absence of a functional QS system.
Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: are preparatory interventions or conscious sedation effective? A randomized trial.

AIM The fears and concerns are associated with gastroscopy (EGD) decrease patient compliance. Conscious sedation (CS) and non-pharmacological interventions have been proposed to reduce anxiety and allow better execution of EGD. The aim of this study was to assess whether CS, supplementary information with a videotape, or presence of a relative during the examination could improve the tolerance to EGD. METHODS Two hundred and twenty-six outpatients (pts), scheduled for a first-time non-emergency EGD were randomly assigned to 4 groups: Co-group (62 pts): throat anaesthesia only; Mi-group (52 pts): CS with i.v. midazolam; Re-group (58 pts): presence of a relative throughout the procedure; Vi-group (54 pts): additional information with a videotape. Anxiety was measured using the "Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Scales". The patients assessed the overall discomfort during the procedure on an 100-mm visual analogue scale, and their tolerance to EGD answering a questionnaire. The endoscopist evaluated the technical difficulty of the examination and the tolerance of the patients on an 100-mm visual analogue scale and answering a questionnaire. RESULTS Pre-endoscopy anxiety levels were higher in the Mi-group than in the other groups (P<0.001). On the basis of the patients' evaluation, EGD was well tolerated by 80.7% of patients in Mi-group, 43.5% in Co-group, 58.6% in Re-group, and 50% in Vi-group (P<0.01). The discomfort caused by EGD, evaluated by either the endoscopist or the patients, was lower in Mi-group than in the other groups. The discomfort was correlated with "age" (P<0.001) and "groups of patients" (P<0.05) in the patients' evaluation, and with "gender" (females tolerated better than males, P<0.001) and "groups of patients" (P<0.05) in the endoscopist's evaluation. CONCLUSION Conscious sedation can improve the tolerance to EGD. Male gender and young age are predictive factors of bad tolerance to the procedure.
Emerging Therapeutic Strategies in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in midto late-life. It currently affects about 10% of individuals older than 65 years old, counting for more than 25 million people in the world (Chiba et al., 2007; Huang and Mucke, 2012; Mattson, 2004). A century has passed since the famous neurologist Alois Alzheimer first described about a 51-year-old female patient with severe progressive memory deficit, brain atrophy, senile plaques (SPs, or neuritic plaques), and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in 1906 (1987). SPs and NFTs are abnormal protein aggregates consisting of extracellular amyloid β protein (Aβ) and intracellular hyperphos‐ phorylated microtubule associated protein tau (Braak and Braak, 1991; Perrin et al., 2009). The worst affected areas in AD brains are the olfactory bulb, the cerebral neocortex, and the hippocampus. SPs and NFTs are spatially and temporally disjointed: SPs occur in the cerebral neocortex, preceding the occurrence of NFTs, which is predominant in the entorhinal cortex, by about 10 years (Fig. 1). The onset of mild dementia, or currently described as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), is better correlated with significant synaptic and neuronal loss, which is about 10-15 years behind the occurrence of NFTs.
A Correlation Study between Lipid Peroxidation and Dyslipidemia in Postmenopausal Women

In spite of having lower incidence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the reproductive age group, the incidence of CAD among postmenopausal females and age matched males are almost the same. This is due to alteration in the lipids and lipoproteins levels during postmenopausewhich contributes to development of CAD. Recent studies have shown that oxidative stress plays an important role in development of CAD. Increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to increased lipid peroxidation resulting in dyslipidemia. Malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of lipid peroxidation, is thought to play an important role in development of atherosclerosis. In this view, this case control study was undertaken to determine the MDA levels in the membrane of erythrocytes of postmenopausal women and to study the relationship between increased lipid peroxidation and degree of dyslipidemia. Fasting lipid profile, erythrocyte MDA levels were determined in 50 women in late reproductive phase and 50 postmenopausal females. Statistical analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 17.0 version (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). This study showed that the MDA levels were significantly increased in postmenopausal women (p <0.01). This increase showed a significant strong positive correlation with increasing TC/HDL ratio(r = 0.653, p <0.05). Therefore, increase oxidative stress during menopause may contributes to the development of cardiovascular complications. Therefore, measuring the MDA level during the postmenopausal phase would help to early diagnosis and prevention of life threatening complication.
The phosphatase Pgam5 antagonizes Wnt/β-Catenin signaling in embryonic anterior-posterior axis patterning

The scaffold protein Dishevelled is a central intracellular component of Wnt signaling pathways. Various kinases have been described that regulate and modulate Wnt signaling through phosphorylation of Dishevelled. However, besides general protein phosphatases 1 and 2 (PP1 and PP2), no specific protein phosphatases have been identified. Here, we report on the identification and functional characterization of the protein phosphatase Pgam5 in vitro and in vivo in Xenopus. Pgam5 is a novel antagonist of Wnt/β-Catenin signaling in human cells and Xenopus embryogenesis. In early development, Pgam5 is essential for head formation, and for establishing and maintaining the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling gradient that patterns the anterior-posterior body axis. Inhibition of Wnt/β-Catenin signaling and developmental function depend on Pgam5 phosphatase activity. We show that Pgam5 interacts with Dishevelled2 and that Dishevelled2 is a substrate of Pgam5. Pgam5 mediates a marked decrease in Dishevelled2 phosphorylation in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus, as well as decreased interaction between Dishevelled2, Tcf1 and β-Catenin, indicating that Pgam5 regulates Dishevelled function upstream and downstream of β-Catenin stabilization. Summary: Pgam5 interacts with Dishevelled2 and is essential for head formation, and for establishing and maintaining the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling gradient that patterns the anterior-posterior body axis in Xenopus laevis.
Long‐term risk factors for suicide mortality after attempted suicide ‐ Findings of a 14‐year follow‐up study

OBJECTIVE To determine the risk of suicide over a 14-year follow-up period, and to investigate the long-term risk factors for suicide using survival analysis. METHOD Data were collected on all unselected deliberate self-poisoning patients (n=1018) treated during 1983 in the emergency unit of Helsinki University Central Hospital. RESULTS By the end of the 14 -year follow-up period 222 (21.7%) of these patients had died. Sixty-eight (6.7%) had committed suicide; 44 (9.2%) men and 24 (4.5%) women. The long-term risk factors for suicide were male sex, previous psychiatric treatment, previous suicide attempts, somatic disease and a self-reported 'wish to die' motive for the index suicide attempt. CONCLUSION The essential risk factors for suicide were being male and having previous suicide attempts. In addition, history of earlier psychiatric treatment, presence of somatic disease and genuine intent to die in the index suicide attempt suggest that the long-term risk has remained high for over a decade. The findings emphasize the need for long-term planning and treatment of suicide attempters met in the emergency room of general hospitals.
The impact of service quality and switching cost on customer loyalty in information asymmetric services

The objective of this study is to understand the factors that affect customer loyalty when there is information asymmetry between service providers and consumers. Three constructs of service quality are used to examine the direct effect and the interaction effect of the switching cost on customer loyalty under three different types of service industries. From the 280 successfully collected samples, this study finds that the switching cost is most significant for search services. It is also found that the effects of service quality on customer loyalty vary when the information asymmetry between service providers and consumers is taken into consideration.
Exploiting dense substructures for fast sparse matrix vector multiplication

The execution time of many scientific computing applications is dominated by the time spent in performing sparse matrix vector multiplication (SMV; y ← A · x). We consider improving the performance of SMV on multicores by exploiting the dense substructures that are inherently present in many sparse matrices derived from partial differential equation models. First, we identify indistinguishable vertices, i.e., vertices with the same adjacency structure, in a graph representation of the sparse matrix (A) and group them into a supernode. Next, we identify effectively dense blocks within the matrix by grouping rows and columns in each supernode. Finally, by using a suitable data structure for this representation of the matrix, we reduce the number of load operations during SMV while exactly preserving the original sparsity structure of A. In addition, we use ordering techniques to enhance locality in accesses to the vector, x, to yield an SMV kernel that exploits the effectively dense substructures in the matrix. We evaluate our scheme on Intel Nehalem and AMD Shanghai processors. We observe that for larger matrices on the Intel Nehalem processor, our method improves performance on average by 37.35% compared with the traditional compressed sparse row scheme (a blocked compressed form improves performance on average by 30.27%). Benefits of our new format are similar for the AMD processor. More importantly, if we pick for each matrix the best among our method and the blocked compressed scheme, the average performance improvements increase to 40.85%. Additional results indicate that the best performing scheme varies depending on the matrix and the system. We therefore propose an effective density measure that could be used for method selection, thus adding to the variety of options for an auto-tuned optimized SMV kernel that can exploit sparse matrix properties and hardware attributes for high performance.
Human Cytomegalovirus Glycoprotein B Contains Autonomous Determinants for Vectorial Targeting to Apical Membranes of Polarized Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT We previously reported that human cytomegalovirus (CMV) glycoprotein B (gB) is vectorially transported to apical membranes of CMV-infected polarized human retinal pigment epithelial cells propagated on permeable filter supports and that virions egress predominantly from the apical membrane domain. In the present study, we investigated whether gB itself contains autonomous information for apical transport by expressing the molecule in stably transfected Madine-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells grown on permeable filter supports. Laser scanning confocal immunofluorescence microscopy and domain-selective biotinylation of surface membrane domains showed that CMV gB was transported to apical membranes independently of other envelope glycoproteins and that it colocalized with proteins in transport vesicles of the biosynthetic and endocytic pathways. Determinants for trafficking to apical membranes were located by evaluating the targeting of gB derivatives with deletions in the lumen, transmembrane (TM) anchor, and carboxyl terminus. Derivative gB(Δ717-747), with an internal deletion in the luminal juxtamembrane sequence that preserved the N- andO-glycosylation sites, retained vectorial transport to apical membranes. In contrast, derivatives that lacked the TM anchor and cytosolic domain (gBΔ646-906) or the TM anchor alone (gBΔ751-771) underwent considerable basolateral targeting. Likewise, derivatives lacking the entire cytosolic domain (gBΔ772-906) or the last 73 amino acids (gBΔ834-906) showed disrupted apical transport. Site-specific mutations that deleted or altered the cluster of acidic residues with a casein kinase II phosphorylation site at the extreme carboxyl terminus, which can serve as an internalization signal, caused partial missorting of gB to basolateral membranes. Our studies indicate that CMV gB contains autonomous information for apical targeting in luminal, TM anchor, and cytosolic domain sequences, forming distinct structural elements that cooperate in vectorial transport in polarized epithelial cells.
Nurses’ knowledge and performance of the patients’ bill of rights

Background: Observance of the patients’ bill of rights is one of the main features of moral codes in hospitals. In this regard, nurses bear great responsibility because they spend a long time with patients. Therefore, the continuous evaluation of the nurses’ performance and assessing their knowledge about the patients’ bill of rights are a need. Objectives: We aimed to determine the nurses’ awareness of the patients’ rights and measure their performance in this regard. Research design and participants: This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2013. To measure the nurses’ knowledge and performance, 250 nurses and 300 patients were surveyed. The participants were selected randomly from five teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Two questionnaires, one for nurses (17 questions) and the other for patients (11 questions), were applied. The data were analyzed in SPSS software using descriptive and inferential statistics. Ethical consideration: The research protocol was submitted and approved by the research and ethics committees of the participating hospitals. Additionally, the consent of all of the participants was obtained before the study. Findings: The mean score of the nurses’ knowledge regarding the patients’ rights was acceptable (69.85 ± 11.7 of 85). Furthermore, the mean score of nurses’ performance in observing the patients’ rights was relatively acceptable (11.2 ± 4.6 of 22). More experienced and educated nurses had higher knowledge regarding the patients’ rights, and patients with higher education level or experience of being hospitalized were less satisfied with the nurses’ performance. Conclusion: Nurses’ knowledge of the patients’ bill of rights was acceptable; however, observance of the patients’ rights was not. It seems that notification of the patients’ bill of rights has increased the nurses’ awareness of the patients’ rights, although improvement of the nurses’ performance needs more extensive measures.