Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Molecular characterization of human respiratory syncytial virus NA1 and GA5 genotypes detected in Assam in northeast India, 2009–2012

A significant number of children die each year from acute respiratory tract infections especially in developing countries. Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common virus identified in such cases. Genetic characterization and the circulation pattern of RSV is important for future selection of appropriate vaccine strains. Limited information is available on the circulation of RSV in developing countries including India. The present study aimed to provide baseline information on the genetic variability of RSV in the Dibrugarh district of Assam, northeast India. Clinical specimens collected from children aged ≤6 years for routine influenza surveillance in the Dibrugarh district of Assam during the period 2009–2012, were screened for RSV by real‐time reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction. Genotyping was based on partial sequencing of the RSV attachment glycoprotein gene. RSV was detected in 7.9% (39/493) of cases. Only RSV group A viruses were detected during the study period with predominance of NA1 genotypes (89%). Two RSV GA5 genotypes were found to be co‐circulating during 2012. The specific amino acid substitutions characteristics of the NA1 genotypes were distinct from RSV strains reported from the rest of India. It is concluded that the circulating genotypes of RSV in Assam, northeast India are NA1 and GA5. To our knowledge this is the first report of circulation of the NA1 genotype in India. J. Med. Virol. 85:1639–1644, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Escherichia coli fmt gene, encoding methionyl-tRNA(fMet) formyltransferase, escapes metabolic control

The genetic organization near the recently cloned fmt gene, encoding Escherichia coli methionyl-tRNA(fMet) formyltransferase (J. M. Guillon, Y. Mechulam, J. M. Schmitter, S. Blanquet, and G. Fayat, J. Bacteriol. 174:4294-4301, 1992), has been studied. The fmt gene, which starts at a GUG codon, is cotranscribed with another gene, fms, and the transcription start site of this operon has been precisely mapped. Moreover, the nucleotide sequence of a 1,379-bp fragment upstream from fmt reveals two additional open reading frames, in the opposite polarity. In the range of 0.3 to 2 doublings per h, the intracellular methionyl-tRNA(fMet) formyltransferase concentration remains constant, providing, to our knowledge, the first example of a gene component of the protein synthesis apparatus escaping metabolic control. When the gene fusion technique was used for probing, no effect on fmt expression of the concentrations of methionyl-tRNA(fMet) formyltransferase or tRNA(fMet) could be found. The possibility that the fmt gene, the product of which is present in excess to ensure full N acylation of methionyl-tRNA(fMet), could be expressed in a constitutive manner is discussed.
Transport of 6-deoxyglucose in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The uptake of 6-deoxyglucose was measured in wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in a double mutant strain lacking activity for hexokinases A and B (hxkl hxk2), in a triple mutant strain lacking activity for both hexokinases and glucokinase (hxkl hxk2 glk), and in the triple mutant with high levels of activity of single kinases restored by introduction of the cloned genes. In the wild-type strain, uptake of the glucose analog showed two components, with Km values of ca. 20 mM ("high affinity") and 250 mM ("low affinity"), respectively. The double mutant also had high- and low-affinity components, but the triple mutant showed only low-affinity uptake. Reintroduction of the single kinases to the triple mutant restored high-affinity uptake. (Other experiments on 6-deoxyglucose uptake are also presented, including the apparent use of the galactose transport system when induced.) These results show that the recent implication of the kinases in transport of glucose (L.F. Bisson and D.G. Fraenkel, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 80:1730-1734, 1983) applies equally to the nonmetabolized analog 6-deoxyglucose and suggests that the role of the kinases in transport is not merely a consequence of metabolism of the transported compound.
Inhibition of CD 83 Cell Surface Expression during Dendritic Cell Maturation by Interference with Nuclear Export of CD 83 mRNA

Dendritic cells (DCs), nature’s adjuvant, must mature to sensitize T cells. However, although the maturation process is essential, it is not yet fully understood at the molecular level. In this study, we investigated the course of expression of the unique hypusine-containing protein eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF-5A), which is part of a particular RNA nuclear export pathway, during in vitro generation of human DCs. We show that eIF-5A expression is significantly upregulated during DC maturation. Furthermore, an inhibitor of the hypusine modification, GC7 ( N 1 -guanyl-1,7-diaminoheptane), prevents CD83 surface expression by apparently interfering with nucleocytoplasmic translocation of the CD83 mRNA and, importantly, significantly inhibits DC-mediated T lymphocyte activation. The data presented suggest that CD83 mRNA is transported from the nucleus to the cytoplasm via a specific nuclear export pathway and that hypusine formation appears to be essential for the maturation of functional DCs. Therefore, pharmacological interference with hypusine formation may provide a new possibility to modulate DC function.
Earnings management to avoid earnings decreases and losses

This study focuses on earnings management by investigating the frequency distribution of the reported earnings (changes) by use of the approach documented by Burgstahler & Dichev (1997). In this study, it is investigated whether Danish firms use earnings management to avoid earnings decreases (and losses) by examining the earnings (changes) frequency distribution. This approach captures neither the magnitude nor how earnings are managed. Consequently, the relation between main "manageable" elements of working capital, current assets (among these the key components inventory and accounts receivable) and current liabilities, and reported earnings (changes) is examined. To address the problem further the modified Jones (1991) model is used to identify and separate discretionary accruals in orderto identify pre-managed earnings (changes). The frequency distribution of these calculated pre-managed earnings and the reported earnings are then compared. The paper contributes to the literature on earnings management in three ways: a) by investigating the frequency distribution of earnings (changes) in a small non-US country, b) by comparing the irregularities in the frequency distribution with two specific "manageable" current asset accounts, and c) by using the well known Jones model to "identify" the pre-managed earnings in order to compare these pre-managed earnings with the reported earnings. It is shown that the combination of the research of earnings management based on studies of irregularities in the earnings frequency distribution and studies of discretionary accruals can be a powerful approach to examining the existence of earnings management. The results in the paper support two aspects with respect to earnings management. First: also Danish firm managers engage in earnings management to avoid earnings decreases (and losses); and second: firm managers control "manageable" accounting accruals in anticipation of managing earnings.
Electronic word of mouth: The effects of incentives on e‐referrals by senders and receivers

Purpose – The purpose of this work is to test several incentive strategies for attaining new customers via electronic referrals, or e‐referrals. The paper aims to examine: the roles of both the magnitude of the incentive offered to the sender and the magnitude of the incentive offered to the receiver; and the effect of equity versus inequity of financial incentives for the two parties.Design/methodology/approach – The study consisted of a large‐scale field experiment conducted with 45,000 members of an online mall. The participants were divided into eight conditions in an incomplete two‐factor 4×4 between‐subjects design, where not every combination of incentive magnitudes was utilized and the magnitude of the incentive offered the receiver and sender varied in size such that sometimes rewards were equal, sometimes receivers of the e‐referral had larger rewards, and sometimes senders of the e‐referral s received more. Dependent measures included the number of e‐referrals sent, the number of those e‐referr.
Privatizing Telecoms and Residual State Influence on Financial Performance

We test competing theoretical perspectives explaining likely shareholder returns from material investment decisions announced by privatizing telecommunications firms ("telecoms") with varying levels of residual state ownership. A "principal-agent" perspective suggests that decrease in residual state ownership in privatizing telecoms leads to more positive shareholder returns. Over time, this effect increases. An alternative "credible" privatization perspective suggests that retention of substantial (though not controlling) residual state ownership leads to more positive shareholder returns, but only in the short run. Over time, this ownership effect fades quickly. We examine empirical support for these competing perspectives with an event study analyzing cumulative abnormal shareholder returns ("CARs") associated with 199 major investments announced from 1986-2001 by 15 privatizing telecoms domiciled in industrialized and emerging-market countries. In line with the principle-agent perspective, we find that residual state ownership is negatively related to CARs for telecoms from industrialized countries. Emerging-market telecoms may, however, exhibit a negative curvilinear trend between CARs and residual state ownership more in line with the credible perspective. Also in line with the credible perspective, we find a negative relationship between CARs and time since initial privatization for telecoms from emerging markets. The influence of residual state factors on privatizing enterprise performance is significant but sometimes contrasting in industrialized versus emerging-market settings. The credible perspective may merit closer attention among researchers and policy-makers interested in the privatizing enterprise management and investment, particularly in emerging markets.
Cellular interactions and biological responses to titanium dioxide nanoparticles in HepG2 and BEAS‐2B cells: Role of cell culture media

We showed previously that exposure of human lung cells (BEAS‐2B) to TiO2 nanoparticles (nano‐TiO2) produced micronuclei (MN) only when the final concentration of protein in the cell‐culture medium was at least 1%. Nanoparticles localize in the liver; thus, we exposed human liver cells (HepG2) to nano‐TiO2 and found the same requirement for MN induction. Nano‐TiO2 also formed small agglomerates in medium containing as little as 1% protein and caused cellular interaction as measured by side scatter by flow cytometry and DNA damage (comet assay) in HepG2 cells. Nano‐TiO2 also increased the activity of the inflammatory factor NFkB but not of AP1 in a reporter‐gene HepG2 cell line. Suspension of nano‐TiO2 in medium containing 0.1% protein was sufficient for induction of MN by the nanoparticles in either BEAS‐2B or HepG2 cells as long the final concentration of protein in the cell‐culture medium was at least 1%. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 55:336–342, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Enhancing Antenna Boresight Gain Using a Small Metasurface Lens: Reduction in half-power beamwidth.

This article presents the design of a small metasurface (MS) lens to enhance the boresight gain of antennas. The MS lens has a circular-shaped substrate with a diameter of only 1λ0, where λ0 is the wavelength at the operating frequency of 4.5 GHz in free space, and identical patterns of unit cells having rectangular-ring shapes printed on both sides. The rectangular-ring unit cells have a constant width along the x-axis direction and varying lengths following the gradient index (GRIN) function along the y-axis direction. This results in the MS lens having a decreasing refractive index in the x-axis direction. The refractive index of the MS lens is analyzed using a computer simulation and compared with that of an ideal lens. The small MS lens is placed at a distance of λ0/2 from a source antenna to form a small MS lens antenna (SMLA) for boresight gain enhancement. Two types of planar antenna, a planar slot and patch antennas, are used for studies as the source antenna using computer simulation and measurement. The simulated and measured results agree well. The results show that the small MS lens can effectively reduce the main beamwidths and, thus, enhance the boresight gain of both source antennas by more than 5 dB.
Meta‐analysis of sentinel lymph node positivity in thin melanoma (≤1 mm)

Despite the lack of an established survival benefit of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, this technique has been increasingly applied in the staging of thin (≤1 mm) melanoma patients, without clear evidence to support this recommendation. The authors performed a meta‐analysis to estimate the risk, potential predictors, and outcome of SLN positivity in this group of patients.
Spanking and the making of a violent society.

Most of the world's societies are violent in the sense that they have high rates of physical assault, homicide, and war. The United States (US) is the most violent of the advanced industrial societies. The current US homicide rate of 8.5 per 100 000 is three times the Canadian rate of 2.3 per 100 000, and about eight times the rate of Western European countries. Nevertheless, many societies are even more violent. The Mexican homicide rate of 19.4 is more than double that of the US, and the rate for the cities of Columbia (110.4 per 100 000) is more than ten times higher. Most of the world's societies also bring up children violently through the use of corporal punishment. Perhaps the correspondence between the preponderance of violence and that of corporal punishment is just a coincidence. Obviously, corporal punishment and assaults and murders differ in severity, and also in the cultural definition that makes one legitimate and the other criminal. However, there is also a correspondence between the behavior involved in corporal punishment and the behavior involved in criminal assaults and homicides that is seldom perceived. Everyone understands that corporal punishment is carried out to correct or control misbehavior. What is not understood is that almost all assaults by adults and about two thirds of homicides are also carried out to correct what the offender perceives as misbehavior. Typical examples include a confrontation between two men over a loan of $50 that is to be paid back in 1 week.
Differential Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor

The pressure microsensor presented in this paper is based on a thin, elastic membrane, with boron implanted piezoresistive elements included, positioned in the maximum mechanical stress areas on the membrane. The pressure range for the developed sensors is in the 0divide400 mbar range, and this is the main novelty of this device. The optimized design and technological steps offer high efficiency, sensitivity and reliability to the developed pressure sensor.
Input and cycling of iron in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

The Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea, is an ideal natural laboratory for studying the impact of atmospheric dry deposition of iron to the ocean surface. We have measured atmospheric iron deposition weekly for 18 months, and dissolved and total dissolvable iron concentrations in the stratified summer (August) and well‐mixed winter (March) water column. Concentrations of dissolved and total dissolvable iron remain roughly constant with depth in March. In August, there is a strong surface enrichment of iron. The accumulation of iron at the surface during the rain‐free summer can be simulated by a one‐dimensional model including atmospheric iron flux and estimates of iron scavenging, biological uptake and dissolution. An overall dissolution of 2% of dry deposited aerosol iron produces the best fit to the observations. A residence time of half a year for dissolved iron in surface waters with respect to scavenging is calculated for this region.
Theranostics Using Antibodies and Antibody-Related Therapeutics

In theranostics, radiolabeled compounds are used to determine a treatment strategy by combining therapeutics and diagnostics in the same agent. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and antibody-related therapeutics represent a rapidly expanding group of cancer medicines. Theranostic approaches using these drugs in oncology are particularly interesting because antibodies are designed against specific targets on the tumor cell membrane and immune cells as well as targets in the tumor microenvironment. In addition, these drugs are relatively easy to radiolabel. Noninvasive molecular imaging techniques, such as SPECT and PET, provide information on the whole-body distribution of radiolabeled mAbs and antibody-related therapeutics. Molecular antibody imaging can potentially elucidate drug target expression, tracer uptake in the tumor, tumor saturation, and heterogeneity for these parameters within the tumor. These data can support drug development and may aid in patient stratification and monitoring of the treatment response. Selecting a radionuclide for theranostic purposes generally starts by matching the serum half-life of the mAb or antibody-related therapeutic and the physical half-life of the radionuclide. Furthermore, PET imaging allows better quantification than the SPECT technique. This information has increased interest in theranostics using PET radionuclides with a relatively long physical half-life, such as 89Zr. In this review, we provide an overview of ongoing research on mAbs and antibody-related theranostics in preclinical and clinical oncologic settings. We identified 24 antibodies or antibody-related therapeutics labeled with PET radionuclides for theranostic purposes in patients. For this approach to become integrated in standard care, further standardization with respect to the procedures involved is required.
Arm prosthesis simulation on a virtual reality L-shaped workbench display system using a brain computer interface

The work being described in this paper is the result of a cooperation project between the Institute of Visual Computing at the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Germany and the Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering at the Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. The aim of the project is the development of a virtual environment based training simulator which enables for better and faster learning the control of upper limb prostheses. The focus of the paper is the description of the technical setup since learning tutorials still need to be developed as well as a comprehensive evaluation still needs to be carried out.
Bir marka kişiliği ölçeği değerlendirmesi

Kisilik ile ilgili arastirmalarda, bes faktore dayanan kisilik olcegi (Big-Five) kapsamli bir yapida olmasi nedeniyle, butunleyici ve olculebilir bir cerceve olarak belirtilmektedir. Aaker (1997)’in ozgun calismasi, marka kisiligi yapisini bes faktore dayanan kisilik olceginde olusturarak, marka kisiligi boyutlarini ictenlik, heyecan, yetkinlik, gelismislik ve saglamlik olarak tanimlamaktadir. Ancak Aaker’in marka kisiligi olcegi, literaturde son donemde bircok yonden elestiri almaktadir. Bu bakimindan, bu calismanin amaci Geuens vd. (2009) tarafindan gelistirilen, Turkiye, ABD ve dokuz Avrupa ulkesinde guvenilirligi ve gecerliligi test edilen yeni bir marka kisiligi olcegini incelemek ve gecerliligini test etmektir. Geuens vd. (2009)’nin marka kisiligi olcegi Turkiye ornekleminde gecerli ve guvenilir sonuclar gostermesine ragmen, bu olcek sadece uluslararasi bilinirlikte bir marka olmasi nedeniyle secilen Coca-Cola kapsaminda test edilmistir. Bu nedenle bu calisma, tuketicilere fonksiyonel, sembolik ve fonksiyonel-sembolik faydalar sunan uc marka uzerine odaklanmaktadir. Dogrulayici faktor analizi kullanilan bu calismanin sonucunda, belirlenen markalar kapsaminda yapilan karsilastirmada soz konusu olcegin guvenilir, gecerli ve uygulama acisindan avantajli oldugu belirlenmistir.
Combined Activity of Sulfamethoxazole, Trimethoprim, and Polymyxin B Against Gram-Negative Bacilli

The activity of the three two-drug combinations of sulfamethoxazole (SMX), trimethoprim (TMP), and polymyxin B (PB) against 52 clinical isolates of gram-negative bacilli was studied by a “checkerboard” agar dilution method. The organisms studied included strains of Enterobacter spp. , Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Providence, Proteus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The majority of these isolates were resistant to at least two of the three agents used in the combined studies and to the most commonly used antimicrobials. The TMP-PB combination demonstrated enhanced activity more frequently than the other two-drug combinations, showing synergism or addition in 85% of the combined studies; indifference or antagonism was also observed least frequently with TMP-PB. The great majority (83%) of Enterobacter-Klebsiella-Serratia isolates were susceptible to enhanced activity of all combinations. Proteus-Providence isolates were frequently susceptible (63%), but combined activity was indifferent or antagonistic against 60% of P. aeruginosa. Twelve isolates were selected for “killing-curve” assays in which an inoculum was incubated with SMX, TMP, and PB individually and in various two- and three-drug combinations. Surviving bacteria were counted at timed intervals over 24 h of incubation. The triple combination (SMX-TMP-PB) was synergistic against 9 of 12 isolates, whereas TMP-PB and SMX-PB showed synergism against 5 and 3 isolates, respectively. These data suggest that, although TMP-PB will often show enhanced activity against the gram-negative bacilli studied here, optimal antibacterial activity will be demonstrated when the three-drug combination is used.