Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social Collectives: A Partial Form of Organizing that Sustains Social Innovation1

We mobilize the organizational and practice-based literature to determine the mechanisms enabling a social collective to introduce innovation in public rescue. The case highlights how this collective acquired characteristics of a partial organization by: (1) emergent characteristics reacting to critical incidents, (2) an overarching agenda supporting actors participation, (3) complementarity of exclusion and inclusion membership practices to enforce collective identity and reach a critical mass, (4) recognition of collective actorhood through reification practices, (5) the role of a secretariat through theorizing and developing close but discrete relationships with an external actor with critical expertise and resources.
A multitude of genes expressed solely in meiotic or postmeiotic spermatogenic cells offers a myriad of contraceptive targets

Understanding mammalian spermatozoan development and the events surrounding fertilization has grown slowly, in part because of uncertainty about the number and identity of the cellular components involved. Determination of those transcripts expressed specifically by germ cells should provide an inclusive list of probable critical proteins. Here, total mouse testis transcript profiles were trimmed of transcripts found in cultures enriched in Sertoli or interstitial cells to yield a germ cell-enriched transcript profile. Monitoring of changes of this profile in the developing testis identified 1,652 genes whose transcript abundance increased markedly coincident with the onset of meiosis. Remarkably, 351 of these genes (≈20%) appear to be expressed only in the male germline. Germ cell-specific transcripts are much less common earlier in testis development. Further analysis of the UniGene EST database coupled with quantitative PCR indicates that ≈4% of the mouse genome is dedicated to expression in postmeiotic male germ cells. Most or many of the protein products of these transcripts are probably retained in mature spermatozoa. Targeted disruption of 19 of these genes has indicated that a majority have roles critical for normal fertility. Thus, we find an astonishing number of genes expressed specifically by male germ cells late in development. This extensive group provides a plethora of potential targets for germ cell-directed contraception and a staggering number of candidate proteins that could be critical for fertilization.
Wind Power Forecasting Algorithm Based on Similarity of Multivariate Time Series

An accurate prediction of wind power plants has great significance to the power leveling and stability of a power grid. While the electricity market gradually introducing competition mechanism, it could maximize the growth of economic benefits for electricity companies. From a complex system’s point of view, this paper introduces the forecasting of wind power by considering the power generation of wind plants as a black box system, using weighted average and analysis of the historical time series similarity between the meteorological forecast data and the relevant factors affecting wind power generation. The experiment has proof this algorithm simpler, more accurate and maneuverable compared than other wind power algorithms.
Genetic interaction of RAD53 protein kinase with histones is important for DNA replication

Studies in budding yeast suggest the protein kinase Rad53 plays novel roles in controlling initiation of DNA replication and in maintaining cellular histone levels, and these roles are independent of Rad53-mediated regulation of the checkpoint and of nucleotide levels. In order to elucidate the role of Rad53 in replication initiation, we isolated a novel allele of RAD53, rad53-rep,that separates the checkpoint function of RAD53 from the DNA replication function. rad53-rep mutants display a chromosome loss phenotype that is suppressed by increased origin dosage, providing further evidence that Rad53 plays a role in the initiation of DNA replication. Deletion of the major histone H3-H4 pair suppresses rad53-rep-cdc7-1 synthetic lethality, suggesting Rad53's functions in degradation of excess cellular histone and in replication initiation are related. Rad53-rep is active as a protein kinase yet fails to interact with origins of replication and like the rad53D mutant, the rad53-rep mutant accumulates excess soluble histones, and it is sensitive to histone dosage. In contrast, a checkpoint defective allele of RAD53 with mutations in both FHA domains, binds origins, and growth of a rad53-FHA mutant is unaffected by histone dosage. Based on these observations, we hypothesize that the origin binding and the histone degradation activities of Rad53 are central to its function in DNA replication and are independent of its checkpoint functions. We propose a model in which Rad53 acts as a "nucleosome buffer," interacting with origins of replication to prevent the binding of excess histones to origin DNA and to maintain proper chromatin configuration.
Diagnosis of Mycosis Fungoides: A Comparative Immunohistochemical Study of T-Cell Markers Using a Novel Anti-CD7 Antibody

Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common form of primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. In its early stage it may mimic benign dermatoses both on a clinical and histologic basis. MF usually expresses CD3 and CD4 (T-cell) markers. CD7 is expressed on about 90% of CD4+ T cells and is often deficient on malignant T cells. Thus, CD7 may be useful in evaluating the nature of dermal lymphoid infiltrates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of immunohistochemical detection of T-cell markers on paraffin-embedded sections, CD3 and CD7 (clone CBC.37), in the differential diagnosis of MF and benign dermatoses. Forty-two patients with diffuse dermal T-lymphocytic infiltrates were selected. Previous clinicopathologic correlation and follow-up had established the diagnosis of MF in 31 patients and benign dermatoses in 11. The mean value of stained cells in MF was 86.45% for CD3 and 53.09% for CD7 (P<0.001); in benign dermatoses it was 79.09% for CD3 and 73.63% for CD7 (P=0.669). CD7 immunolabeling was significantly lower in the MF group (P=0.048). A semiquantitative evaluation revealed a considerable loss of CD7 immunolabeling in comparison with CD3 in patients with MF. The authors conclude that CD7 study may represent a valuable tool in the distinction between inflammation and neoplasia in T-lymphoproliferative skin disorders.
Is supine rest necessary before blood sampling for plasma metanephrines?

BACKGROUND The impact of blood sampling in sitting vs supine positions on measurements of plasma metanephrines for diagnosis of pheochromocytoma is unknown. METHODS We compared plasma concentrations of free metanephrines in samples from patients with primary hypertension obtained after supine rest with those obtained in the sitting position without preceding rest. We also assessed the effects on diagnostic test performance retrospectively in patients with and without pheochromocytoma, and we calculated cost-effectiveness for pheochromocytoma testing. RESULTS Upper reference limits of plasma free metanephrines were higher in samples obtained from seated patients without preceding rest than from supine patients with preceding rest. Application of these higher upper reference limits to samples from supine patients with pheochromocytoma decreased the diagnostic sensitivity from 99% to 96%. In patients without pheochromocytoma, adjusting the plasma concentration for the effects of sitting while preserving the 99% sensitivity by use of the supine upper reference limits increased the number of false-positive test results from 9% to 25%. CONCLUSIONS To preserve high diagnostic sensitivity we recommend the use of upper reference limits determined from blood samples collected in the supine position. Under these conditions, negative test results for blood samples obtained with patients sitting are as effective for ruling out pheochromocytoma as negative results from samples obtained after supine rest. Repeat testing with samples obtained in the supine position offers a cost-effective approach for dealing with the increased numbers of false-positive results expected after initial sampling in the sitting position.
Evaluation of Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube for Direct and Indirect Drug Susceptibility Testing ofMycobacterium tuberculosis from Respiratory Specimens in a Siberian Prison Hospital

ABSTRACT The manual Mycobacteria Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) method was evaluated for performing direct and indirect drug susceptibility testing (DST) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for isoniazid and rifampin on 101 strongly smear-positive sputum specimens in a Siberian prison hospital. Using the indirect method of proportion (MOP) as the “gold standard,” the accuracies of isoniazid and rifampin susceptibility testing by the direct MGIT system were 97.0 and 94.1%, respectively. The accuracy of the indirect MGIT system was 98.0% for both drugs. The turnaround times from specimen processing to reporting of the DST results ranged between 4 and 23 (mean, 9.2) days by the direct MGIT method, 9 and 30 (mean, 15.3) days by the indirect MGIT method, and 26 and 101 (mean, 59.6) days by the indirect MOP. MGIT appears to be a reliable, rapid, and convenient method for performing direct and indirect DSTs in low-resource settings, but further studies are required to refine the direct DST protocol. Cost is the only factor prohibiting widespread implementation of MGIT.
Inhibition of myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) protein inhibits ozone-induced airway neutrophilia and inflammation

ABSTRACT Evidence suggests inhibition of leukocyte trafficking mitigates, in part, ozone-induced inflammation. In the present study, the authors postulated that inhibition of myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS), an 82-kDa protein with multiple biological roles, could inhibit ozone-induced leukocyte trafficking and cytokine secretions. BALB/c mice (n == 5/cohort) were exposed to ozone (100 ppb) or forced air (FA) for 4 hours. MARCKS-inhibiting peptides, MANS, BIO-11000, BIO-11006, or scrambled control peptide RNS, were intratracheally administered prior to ozone exposure. Ozone selectively enhanced bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) levels of killer cells (KCs; 6 ± 0.9-fold), interleukin-6 (IL-6; 12.7 ± 1.9-fold), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF; 2.1 ± 0.5-fold) as compared to cohorts exposed to FA. Additionally, ozone increased BAL neutrophils by 21%% ± 2%% with no significant (P > .05) changes in other cell types. MANS, BIO-11000, and BIO-11006 significantly reduced ozone-induced KC secretion by 66%% ± 14%%, 47%% ± 15%%, and 71.1%% ± 14%%, and IL-6 secretion by 69%% ± 12%%, 40%% ± 7%%, and 86.1%% ± 11%%, respectively. Ozone-mediated increases in BAL neutrophils were reduced by MANS (86%% ± 7%%) and BIO-11006 (84%% ± 2.5%%), but not BIO-11000. These studies identify for the first time the novel potential of MARCKS protein inhibitors in abrogating ozone-induced increases in neutrophils, cytokines, and chemokines in BAL fluid. BIO-11006 is being developed as a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and is currently being evaluated in a phase 2 clinical study.
A Second-order Model of Lean Manufacturing Implementation to Leverage Production Line Productivity with the Importance-Performance Map Analysis

The objective of this article is to examine the direct path from lean manufacturing (LM) to production line productivity using second-order analysis in a structural equation model (SEM). Data were collected from 236 large manufacturers using a cross-sectional survey. The findings confirmed the positive direct effect of LM practices on production line productivity. The outcome of importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) revealed that the productivity can be leveraged when manufacturing firms are able to produce more than one product model per day with the support of a kanban system to authorize production and material movements. LM supported by a small number of high-performance suppliers leads to improved production line productivity. This study contributes to closing existing gaps of studies investigating the effect of LM on productivity. Practitioners will benefit by understanding the vital constructs of LM practices to improve the overall productivity of a production line.
PEDIATRICIANS’ REPRESENTATIONS ON DAIRY ALTERNATIVES WHEN WEANING IS UNAVOIDABLE

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze pediatricians’ representations on the nutritional alternatives that are adopted when weaning becomes inevitable. Methods: This is a mixed cross-sectional analytical study with probabilistic sampling. Fifty-seven randomly selected pediatricians were interviewed with the use of a semi-structured script for thematic analysis. The technique of free evocations was used, and the terms were processed using software EVOC 2005. The thematic categories were established on software NVivo10, and their co-occurrence matrix was exported and analyzed in terms of their simple similarity hierarchy on software CHIC. Results: In the pediatricians’ representations, whole milk was cited as a foodstuff with high allergenic risk (35.1%) and nutritionally inappropriate, and they did not recommend its use if weaning occurred before 1 year of age. The infant formula, referred by 98.3% of the pediatricians as the best alternative at the moment of weaning, was cited by 38.1% of them owing to its nutritional adequacy. The points quoted as unfavorable to the use of the formula were the price, the possibility of causing allergy and the risk of the inadequate use of such a highly industrialized product. Conclusions: The pediatricians’ representations show that they are sensitive to the importance of breast-feeding and at the same time, to the sociocultural difficulties inherent in the practice. Generally speaking, the interviewed pediatricians recommend the use of milk formulas, and not of whole cow’s milk, if weaning occurs before the end of the first year of life.
Intravenous AICAR During Hyperinsulinemia Induces Systemic Hemodynamic Changes but Has No Local Metabolic Effect

AMPK activation may stimulate glucose uptake in skeletal muscle, but the results in humans have so far been inconclusive. The authors investigated whether infusion of the AMPK activator, 5‐aminoimidazole‐4‐carboxamide‐riboside (AICAR), increased whole‐body glucose infusion rate (GIR) and forearm skeletal muscle glucose uptake (FGU) during hyperinsulinemia in vivo in healthy humans. Ten participants (paired data: n = 8) underwent 2 euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamps (60 mU·m−2·min−1, 120 minutes) with concomitant AICAR (67 mg·kg−1) or placebo (saline) administration over the last 60 minutes. The authors also measured forearm blood flow (FBF; plethysmography), heart rate, blood pressure, and AICAR and AICA‐ribotide (ZMP) concentrations in plasma and erythrocytes. FGU and GIR (T = 95–120 min) did not differ between insulin + AICAR and insulin + placebo. Compared with insulin + placebo, insulin + AICAR raised heart rate more profoundly (T = 60–120 minutes: from 58 ± 3 to 70 ± 3 vs 60 ± 4 to 63 ± 4 bpm for placebo; P < .05 between treatments) and lowered blood pressure significantly. AICAR plasma concentrations increased significantly during AICAR infusion; AICAR was rapidly taken up by erythrocytes and phosphorylated to ZMP. In conclusion, AICAR does not seem to have a direct effect on systemic or local glucose uptake in humans. AICAR increases heart rate and decreases blood pressure, most likely by systemic vasodilation.
Mapping the BCPNN Learning Rule to a Memristor Model

The Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network (BCPNN) has been implemented in a way that allows mapping to neural and synaptic processes in the human cortexandhas been used extensively in detailed spiking models of cortical associative memory function and recently also for machine learning applications. In conventional digital implementations of BCPNN, the von Neumann bottleneck is a major challenge with synaptic storage and access to it as the dominant cost. The memristor is a non-volatile device ideal for artificial synapses that fuses computation and storage and thus fundamentally overcomes the von Neumann bottleneck. While the implementation of other neural networks like Spiking Neural Network (SNN) and even Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) on memristor has been studied, the implementation of BCPNN has not. In this paper, the BCPNN learning rule is mapped to a memristor model and implemented with a memristor-based architecture. The implementation of the BCPNN learning rule is a mixed-signal design with the main computation and storage happening in the analog domain. In particular, the nonlinear dopant drift phenomenon of the memristor is exploited to simulate the exponential decay of the synaptic state variables in the BCPNN learning rule. The consistency between the memristor-based solution and the BCPNN learning rule is simulated and verified in Matlab, with a correlation coefficient as high as 0.99. The analog circuit is designed and implemented in the SPICE simulation environment, demonstrating a good emulation effect for the BCPNN learning rule with a correlation coefficient as high as 0.98. This work focuses on demonstrating the feasibility of mapping the BCPNN learning rule to in-circuit computation in memristor. The feasibility of the memristor-based implementation is evaluated and validated in the paper, to pave the way for a more efficient BCPNN implementation, toward a real-time brain emulation engine.
Power calculations for likelihood ratio tests for offspring genotype risks, maternal effects, and parent‐of‐origin (POO) effects in the presence of missing parental genotypes when unaffected siblings are available

Genotype‐based likelihood‐ratio tests (LRT) of association that examine maternal and parent‐of‐origin effects have been previously developed in the framework of log‐linear and conditional logistic regression models. In the situation where parental genotypes are missing, the expectation‐maximization (EM) algorithm has been incorporated in the log‐linear approach to allow incomplete triads to contribute to the LRT. We present an extension to this model which we call the Combined_LRT that incorporates additional information from the genotypes of unaffected siblings to improve assignment of incompletely typed families to mating type categories, thereby improving inference of missing parental data. Using simulations involving a realistic array of family structures, we demonstrate the validity of the Combined_LRT under the null hypothesis of no association and provide power comparisons under varying levels of missing data and using sibling genotype data. We demonstrate the improved power of the Combined_LRT compared with the family‐based association test (FBAT), another widely used association test. Lastly, we apply the Combined_LRT to a candidate gene analysis in Autism families, some of which have missing parental genotypes. We conclude that the proposed log‐linear model will be an important tool for future candidate gene studies, for many complex diseases where unaffected siblings can often be ascertained and where epigenetic factors such as imprinting may play a role in disease etiology. Genet. Epidemiol. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
‘Liquid running communities’ – an analysis of serious runners’ communities

Abstract This study targets Serious Runners, who are redefining the term ‘running community’. The main focus is to investigate how the Serious Runners engage with each other within the new running communities and what they experience by belonging to them. Inspiration is drawn from Bauman’s ‘liquid modernity and community’ and abductive reasoning is used within the hermeneutical interpretation tradition and with a theory borne interpretation. In-depth interviews are conducted with runners from traditional and new urban running communities about their experiences of belonging. The results show that liquid modernity’s ‘peg’ communities act as bridges between contradictory desires and particularly between the need for individuality and community. The runners experience a ‘momentary’ community when training with others or joining ‘swarms’ of runners during competitions. Serious Runners challenge the dichotomy of running alone vs. organized running in clubs. The study introduces a model that draws on new forms of liquid ‘peg’ communities and identifies new types of communities referred to as ‘individualized running within communities’ and ‘jointly individualized running communities’. Further research is needed to better understand these new community types and to determine how activities could be organized to encourage their formation in the broader sports arena.
Maternal dietary intake of choline in mice regulates development of the cerebral cortex in the offspring

Maternal diets low in choline, an essential nutrient, increase the risk of neural tube defects and lead to low performance on cognitive tests in children. However, the consequences of maternal dietary choline deficiency for the development and structural organization of the cerebral cortex remain unknown. In this study, we fed mouse dams either control (CT) or low‐choline (LC) diets and investigated the effects of choline on cortical development in the offspring. As a result of a low choline supply between embryonic day (E) 11 and E17 of gestation, the number of 2 types of cortical neural progenitor cells (NPCs)—radial glial cells and intermediate progenitor cells—was reduced in fetal brains (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the number of upper layer cortical neurons was decreased in the offspring of dams fed an LC diet at both E17 (P < 0.001) and 4 mo of age (P < 0.001). These effects of LC maternal diet were mediated by a decrease in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling in NPCs related to the disruption of EGFR posttranscriptional regulation. Our findings describe a novel mechanism whereby low maternal dietary intake of choline alters brain development. —Wang, Y. , Surzenko, N. , Friday, W. B. , Zeisel, S. H. Maternal dietary intake of choline in mice regulates development of the cerebral cortex in the offspring. FASEB J. 30, 1566–1578 (2016). www.fasebj. org
Study Sampling in the Canadian Study of Health and Aging

The Canadian Study of Health and Aging drew representative samples of people aged 65 or over from the community and institutions across Canada. The sample was designed to provide regional and national prevalence estimates for dementia by age and sex. Thirty-six sampling areas were used in a stratified cluster design with optimal allocation; sampling weights were developed to provide population estimates. The sample included 9,008 people aged 65 or over from the community, and 1,255 from institutions. This report describes the sampling procedures, the methods used to recruit people to the study and participation rates, the characteristics of the resulting sample, and the way in which sample weights should be used.
Toward the building of a cross-disciplinary doctoral research and writing culture

Within the New Zealand university context, there has been a dramatic shift in the demographics of doctoral programs. Moving from an elitist educational environment to one that includes a variety of students from different cultures and educational and linguistic backgrounds has meant that “traditional” doctoral study, in which a student works largely alone under the supervision of just one or two more senior research scholars has become increasingly inadequate. This paper describes a qualitative research study of a cross-disciplinary, cohort-based doctoral writing initiative. Findings from the study have changed how doctoral support is conceptualised within our context and have led to the adoption of a student-focused “talk to think: think to write” peer learning environment.