Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contribution of increased glutathione content to mechanisms of oxidative stress resistance in hydrogen peroxide resistant hamster fibroblasts

An H2O2‐resistant variant (OC14) of the HA1 Chinese hamster fibroblast cell line, which demonstrates cross resistance to 95% O2 and a 2‐fold increase in total glutathione content, was utilized to investigate mechanisms responsible for cellular resistance to H2O2‐ and O2‐toxicity. OC14 and HA1 cells were pretreated with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) to deplete total cellular glutathione. Following BSO pretreatment, cells were either placed in 250 μM BSO to maintain the glutathione depleted condition and challenged with 95% O2, or challenged with hydroged peroxide in the absence of BSO. Total glutathione and the activities of CuZn superoxide dismutase, Mn superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione transferase were evaluated immediately following the BSO pretreatment as well as following 39 to 42 hr of exposure to 250 μM BSO. BSO treatment did not cause significant decreases in any cellular antioxidant tested, except total glutathione depletion resulted in significant (P < 0.05) sensitization to O2‐toxicity and H2O2‐toxicity in both cell lines at every time point tested. However, glutathione depletion did not completely abolish the resistance to either O2‐ or H2O2‐toxicity demonstrated by OC14 cells, relative to HA1 cells. Also, glutathione depletion did not effect the ability of OC14 cells to metabolize extracellular H2O2. These data indicate that glutathione dependent processes significantly contribute to cellular resistance to acute H2O2‐ and O2‐toxicity, but are not the only determinants of resistance in cell lines. The contribition of aldehydes formed by lipid peroxidation in mechanisms involved with the sensitization to O2‐toxicity in glutathione depleted cells was tested by measuring the lipid peroxidation byproduct, 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal (4HNE), bound in Schiff‐base linkages or in its free form in cell homogenates at 49 hr of 95% O2‐exposure. No significant increase in 4HNE was detected in glutathione depleted cells relative to glutathione competent cells, indicating that glutathione depletion does not sensitize these cells to O2‐toxicity by altering the intracellular accumulation of free or Schiff‐base bound 4HNE. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss Inc.
Nitrate induction of root hair density is mediated by TGA1/TGA4 and CPC transcription factors in Arabidopsis thaliana

Root hairs are specialized cells that are important for nutrient uptake. It is well established that nutrients such as phosphate have a great influence on root hair development in many plant species. Here we investigated the role of nitrate on root hair development at a physiological and molecular level. We showed that nitrate increases root hair density in Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that two different root hair defective mutants have significantly less nitrate than wild-type plants, suggesting that in A. thaliana root hairs have an important role in the capacity to acquire nitrate. Nitrate reductase-null mutants exhibited nitrate-dependent root hair phenotypes comparable with wild-type plants, indicating that nitrate is the signal that leads to increased formation of root hairs. We examined the role of two key regulators of root hair cell fate, CPC and WER, in response to nitrate treatments. Phenotypic analyses of these mutants showed that CPC is essential for nitrate-induced responses of root hair development. Moreover, we showed that NRT1.1 and TGA1/TGA4 are required for pathways that induce root hair development by suppression of longitudinal elongation of trichoblast cells in response to nitrate treatments. Our results prompted a model where nitrate signaling via TGA1/TGA4 directly regulates the CPC root hair cell fate specification gene to increase formation of root hairs in A. thaliana.
Personality Characteristics, Career Awareness, and Job Expectations of New Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments

In 2000, contributors to the formulation of the National Plan for Training Personnel to Serve Children with Blindness and Low Vision anticipated a severe shortage of direct service personnel as early as 2006 with an increasing negative impact on teacher numbers through the end of the decade. It is necessary to attract approximately 5,000 new teachers to the field to meet the needs of the ever-increasing population of students with visual impairments requiring specialized training. This study investigated the personality and background experiences of individuals who are attracted to work as educators with students with visual impairments. A sample of 132 teachers who had been trained at either the undergraduate or graduate level and were employed within their first five years as teachers with this specialization completed the Holland Self-Directed Search (Form CP) and a Participant Profile form to ascertain the personality types and experiences of those new to the field. The study considered three variables: (1) gender, (2) race/ethnicity, (3) teacher training level and their association with Holland personality type (RIASEC). All three variables were weak predictors of the personality type of teachers of the visually impaired as indicated by Goodman and Kruskal’s tau. Results of the Holland SelfDirected Search was a stronger measure of the personality type associated with becoming a teacher of students with visual impairments. The data related to the sample revealed that 65.2% of those responding identified themselves as Social type. Teachers identified how they became aware of the field prior to making a decision to enter a teacher-training program, what their reasons were for making a decision to
Readiness of boards of trustees in non-profit and voluntary sector organisations to meet the adult care ‘personalisation agenda’: A case study of a single English county

Summary In a multi-method assessment of non-profit and voluntary sector governance in Cornwall, England, 65 chairpersons of organisations completed a Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire (BSAQ) to identify the level at which the board was functioning. They also commented on their awareness of the Westminster Government's personalisation agenda. In addition, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 17 board representatives from seven organisations to explore organisational support needs in respect of meeting the Adult Care ‘personalisation agenda’. Findings Board members who reported good awareness of the personalisation agenda also self-assessed themselves as scoring higher than other respondents on the six BSAQ factors. Multiple regression analysis indicated that 47% of the variation in personalisation agenda preparedness was accounted for by organisations’ BSAQ scores. Qualitative data highlighted a number of important issues that may impact on the successful development of the personalisation agenda. These included the difficulty voluntary boards have in attracting trustees with appropriate experience, blurring of roles where trustees take on multiple roles some with operational commitments and communication difficulties with the local authority that results in board members stating that they are not sure of what is expected. Applications While the study focussed on a single county the demographic of non-profit and voluntary sector organisations are not dissimilar from other areas which provide some basis for generalisability. Findings also resonate with previous studies of the sector. This suggests that local authorities and adult social care departments have considerable challenges to ensure the readiness of organisations in the sector and the robustness of governance delivered via trustees.
A robust algorithm for text region detection in natural scene images

In this paper, a new method for detecting text regions in natural scene images is presented. The proposed algorithm is based on the segmentation of objects in a scene, followed by the identification of text objects by a support vector machine (SVM). First, to segment objects in the scene, the input image is separated into chromatic and achromatic regions according to the distribution of red, green and blue (RGB) elements, and different clustering algorithms are applied. Second, each object is transformed into the wavelet domain for multi-resolution analysis, and moment features of the wavelet coefficients are used in the SVM for the classification of text objects. The proposed approach provides robustness to non-uniform illumination by using different clustering algorithms according to the characteristics of the colour components in the segmentation. Also, moment features, used for classification, are invariant to the size, direction, shape and other properties of texts. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
Perifolliculitis capitis abscedens et suffodiens (Hoffman). Complete healing associated with oral zinc therapy.

• A 24-year-old man with a one-year history of perifolliculitis capitis abscedens et suffodiens (Hoffman) was treated with oral zinc sulfate. Complete healing was seen after three months and the treatment was continued for a total of six months. No relapse has occurred during a five-year follow-up. The mechanisms through which zinc therapy might influence inflammatory conditions are not fully understood. (Arch Dermatol1985;121:1028-1030)
Critical Realism and Historical Sociology. A Review Article

Perhaps the fiercest conflict within the social sciences today is one that is not even articulated as a recognizable “debate. ” Nevertheless, this conflict has generated bitter divisions between academics who only a decade ago might have stood together on the left or the right and has forged equally strange alliances. I am referring, of course, to the split between epistemological and ontological positions which are usually described as radical constructivism and realist positivism. The recent debate provoked by Alan Sokal's article in Social TextSee Alan D. Sokal, “Transgressing the Boundaries—Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity,” Social Text (Spring-Summer 1996), 217–52; and idem, “A Physicist Experiments with Cultural Studies,” Lingua Franca (May-June 1996), 62–64. The key response is Stanley Fish's article, “Professor Sokal's Bad Joke,” in The New York Times (Opinion–Editorial page, May 21, 1996); see also the responses in the July-August 1996 issue of Lingua Franca; Michael Albert, “Science, Post Modernism, and the Left,” in Z Magazine (July-August 1996); Steven Weinberg, “Sokal's Hoax,” New York Review of Books (August 8, 1996), 11–15; and Tom Frank, “Textual Reckoning,” In These Times (May 27, 1996). I am grateful to Michael Rosenfeld for references to the latter two pieces. brought into sharp focus the growing sense of distrust and anger that divides these academic camps. And, yet, the heterogeneity of each supposed grouping suggests that the dichotomous model masks what is actually a much more complex, multi-dimensional field. On the one hand we find a motley assemblage of positions variously characterized as constructivism, culturalism, neo-Kantian idealism, and postmodernism; the other pole throws together a set of even stranger bedfellows, including rational choice theorists, survey researchers, and traditional historians alongside “realist” philosophers of various stripes.
A pregroup toolbox for parsing and building grammars of natural languages

Pregroup grammars are a mathematical formalism in the spirit of categorial grammars. They resemble logical formalisms such as the Lambek calculus but have a polynomial parsing algorithm. This paper presents a pregroup toolbox for parsing and building grammars of natural languages, including a parser that uses a tabular approach based on majority partial composition.
Correlates of Resilience Among American Indians in a Northwestern US State

Correlates of Resilience Among American Indians in a Northwestern US State by Bruce M. Bradway M.A., Troy State University, 1982 M.S., University of Northern Colorado, 1979 B.A., Wabash College, 1971 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Walden University 2011 ABSTRACT Despite low life expectancy, high suicide and homicide rates, and excessive levels of poverty and violence, American Indians continue to survive. However, few researchers have assessed the correlates of resilience among adult American Indians. Current researchers assessing American Indian resilience have focused primarily on adolescents and preadolescents, resulting in a definition of resilience that is more often than notDespite low life expectancy, high suicide and homicide rates, and excessive levels of poverty and violence, American Indians continue to survive. However, few researchers have assessed the correlates of resilience among adult American Indians. Current researchers assessing American Indian resilience have focused primarily on adolescents and preadolescents, resulting in a definition of resilience that is more often than not defined by the lack of negative youth outcomes. In this quantitative survey study, data were collected from 103 American Indians living off-reservation in a northwestern state. Gender, age, education level, degree of enculturation (using the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure), level of stressful life events (using the Life Events Checklist) were tested using linear regression as potential predictors of resilience (measured with the Resilience Scale) . Results suggested that higher enculturation was associated with higher resilience; other predictors were not statistically related to resilience. It was surprising that the data did not support a relationship between trauma and lowered resilience. Implications for positive social change include understanding more clearly the role of enculturation in resilience; such knowledge can be used to foster activities that value local culture and can have a positive impact on mental and physical health. Correlates of Resilience Among American Indians in a Northwestern US State
Unified relevance models for rating prediction in collaborative filtering

Collaborative filtering aims at predicting a user's interest for a given item based on a collection of user profiles. This article views collaborative filtering as a problem highly related to information retrieval, drawing an analogy between the concepts of users and items in recommender systems and queries and documents in text retrieval. We present a probabilistic user-to-item relevance framework that introduces the concept of relevance into the related problem of collaborative filtering. Three different models are derived, namely, a user-based, an item-based, and a unified relevance model, and we estimate their rating predictions from three sources: the user's own ratings for different items, other users' ratings for the same item, and ratings from different but similar users for other but similar items. To reduce the data sparsity encountered when estimating the probability density function of the relevance variable, we apply the nonparametric (data-driven) density estimation technique known as the Parzen-window method (or kernel-based density estimation). Using a Gaussian window function, the similarity between users and/or items would, however, be based on Euclidean distance. Because the collaborative filtering literature has reported improved prediction accuracy when using cosine similarity, we generalize the Parzen-window method by introducing a projection kernel. Existing user-based and item-based approaches correspond to two simplified instantiations of our framework. User-based and item-based collaborative filterings represent only a partial view of the prediction problem, where the unified relevance model brings these partial views together under the same umbrella. Experimental results complement the theoretical insights with improved recommendation accuracy. The unified model is more robust to data sparsity because the different types of ratings are used in concert.
Interaction between neuronal uptake inhibitors and presynaptic serotonin autoreceptors in rat hypothalamic slices: comparison of K+ and electrical depolarization.

In rat hypothalamic slices prelabeled with [3H]-5-hydroxytryptamine ([3H]-5-HT), exposure to the 5-HT receptor agonist lysergic acid diethylamide (0.1-1 microM) or 5-methoxytryptamine (0.1-10 microM) decreased in a concentration-dependent manner the release of 3H-transmitter elicited by high K+ or electrical stimulation. Exposure to the 5-HT autoreceptor antagonist methiothepin (0.1-1 microM) increased in a concentration-dependent manner the K+ stimulation-evoked overflow of [3H]-5-HT and a similar increase was observed under conditions of electrical stimulation. In contrast, exposure to the nontricyclic 5-HT uptake inhibitor citalopram (0.1-1 microM) did not modify by itself the electrically evoked overflow of [3H]-5-HT, but increased in a concentration-dependent manner the release of 3H-transmitter elicited by K+ stimulation. This effect of citalopram on transmitter release was potentiated when the endogenous stores of 5-HT were depleted by pretreatment with para-chlorophenylalanine methyl ester (300 mg/kg i.p.). Citalopram was shown previously to antagonize the inhibition by lysergic acid diethylamide of the electrically evoked release of [3H]-5-HT in rat hypothalamic slices. Yet, this inhibitor of neuronal uptake of 5-HT did not antagonize the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide when the release of [3H]-5-HT was evoked by K+ depolarization. Electrical stimulation represents a more physiological experimental model for transmitter release than exposure to high K+, and therefore the interaction between 5-HT uptake blockade and presynaptic inhibitory 5-HT autoreceptors, observed in the hypothalamus with electrical stimulation but not with K+ depolarization, remains of biological relevance.
Interactive effects of dietary arginine and Eimeria acervulina infection on broiler growth performance and metabolism

&NA; The influence of dietary Arg concentration and Eimeria acervulina infection on broiler growth performance and plasma carotenoid, nitric oxide (NO), amino acid, and urea concentrations was evaluated. Male Ross × Ross 308 broilers (384 total) were fed a common diet for 10 d post‐hatch and provided experimental diets formulated to contain 1.23 (HA) or 0.74% (LA) standardized ileal digestible Arg from 10 to 28 d. At 21 d, one‐half of the broilers were switched to the opposite diet to create 4 dietary regimens where birds were fed the LA diet throughout, the LA diet replaced by the HA diet at 21 d, the HA diet throughout, or the HA diet replaced by the LA diet at 21 d. Broilers were orally inoculated 0 (uninfected) or 3.5 × 105 sporulated E. acervulina oocysts at 15 d, resulting in a factorial arrangement of 4 dietary regimens × 2 infection states (8 replicates/treatment). Overall (10 to 28 d) BW gain and G:F were greatest (P < 0.01) for birds fed the HA diet throughout, regardless of infection status. Eimeria acervulina infection decreased (P < 0.01) BW gain of birds from 15 to 21 d, and G:F was lowest (P < 0.05) for infected birds fed the LA diet during this period. There was no influence (P > 0.05) of E. acervulina on BW gain or G:F of broilers from 21 to 28 d. Plasma Arg, Lys, and Orn levels at 21 d indicated that the LA diet caused an imbalance in the Lys and Arg status of broilers, and E. acervulina infection increased (P < 0.01) the plasma concentration of these 3 amino acids. Diet × infection interactions (P < 0.05) were observed on 21 d for plasma carotenoids and NO, whereby infection decreased plasma carotenoids and increased plasma NO, but dietary Arg concentration only influenced these measures for uninfected birds. Thus, production of NO during E. acervulina infection was not impaired by dietary Arg limitation.
Signal Processing Algorithms in GPS, Galileo, and GLONASS Integrated Receiver

Due to the increasing number of receiver-visible space vehicles (SVs), the thesis aims to develop advanced position, velocity, time (PVT) estimation algorithms that are of lower complexity and equivalent quality in comparison with the existing ones. The factor graph framework is proposed to be the underlying theory as several articles have been published concerning reduced-dimensionality and relatively precise localization in wireless communications. The key idea hidden there is to split vector vertices, of the factor graph modeling relations among vector variables, into scalar vertices and start iterative processing in a cycle factor graph, thus avoiding matrix operations. The algorithms will be directly implemented and tested in universal software GNSS receiver, named the Witch Navigator (WNAV), which development is a parallel line of the PhD study.
DFKI finite-state machine toolkit

Finite-state devices such as finite-state automata and finite-state transducers have been known since the emergence of computer science and are recently extensively used in many areas of language technology. The use of finite-state devices is mainly motivated by their time and space efficiency. In this paper we present the Finite-State Machine Toolkit for building, combining and optimizing the finite-state machines, developed at the Language Technology Lab of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence.
Vitamin E effect in a rat model of toluene diisocyanate-induced asthma

Background and aim The aim of the study was to evaluate vitamin E effect upon oxidative stress associated with toluene −2, 4-diisocyanate (TDI)-induced asthma in rats. Methods The five study groups were: control, vehicle, TDI, vehicle+E, TDI+E. TDI animals were sensitized by nasal administration of TDI 10% (5μl/nostril) between days 1–7 and 15–21. Between days 22–28 groups TDI+E and vehicle+E rats received vitamin E (50 mg/kg, i. v.), and control, vehicle and TDI groups received saline solution. On day 29 the rats were challenged by intranasal application of 5% TDI (5 μl/nostril). On day 30 blood, BALF and lung biopsy were harvested. Oxidative stress tests were malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyls (PC), total thiols (tSH), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and reduced glutathione (GSH). Results TDI sensitization increased oxidative stress systemically, but also locally in the respiratory airways and lung tissue. There was an increase of MDA and PC formation associated with a deficiency of the antioxidant defense reflected by DPPH decreases. There were no differences between systemic and local lung concentrations of oxidized molecules. After vitamin E treatment oxidative stress was reduced mostly due to serum, BALF and lung tissue GSH and DPPH increase. Conclusion The study showed that in rat TDI-induced asthma there was oxidative stress caused by increased ROS production and antioxidants deficiency, and vitamin E reduced ROS production and improved antioxidant defense.
A First-Hop Traffic Analysis Attack Against Tor

We introduce an attack against encrypted web traffic passing over the first hop – between client and Tor gateway – of the Tor network. The attack makes use only of packet timing information on the uplink and so is impervious to packet padding defences. In addition, we show that the attack is robust against the randomised routing used in Tor. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the attack at identifying the web sites being visited by a Tor user, achieving mean success rates of 68%. As well as being of interest in its own right, this timing-only attack serves to highlight deficiencies in existing defences and so to areas where it would be beneficial for Tor and VPN designers to focus further attention.