Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In vitro evaluation of dehydration tolerance in AtDREB1A transgenic potatoes

Abiotic stresses have negative effects on potato growth and production. To enhance the abiotic stress tolerance of the commercial potato cultivar, Desiree, rd29A::AtDREB1A transgenic lines have been developed. The salinity and freeze tolerance of these transgenic lines has previously been demonstrated; however, their dehydration tolerance remains to be elucidated. First of all, we have tackled the reproducible tolerance evaluation methodology, which have been the hurdle for selecting the stable dehydration tolerant phenotypes in potato. A novel in vitro method was developed using the rotary liquid culture combined with PEG. This method enhanced oxygen diffusion into the medium and diminished root damage/injury during plant transfer, thereby reducing the side effects caused by hypoxia and penetration of osmotica. In the present study, we evaluated the dehydration tolerance of twelve transgenic potato lines, and seven of the transgenic lines showed enhanced dehydration tolerance in comparison with the non-transgenic line. However, we observed growth retardation in some dehydration tolerant lines. Therefore, balance between the dehydration tolerance and growth retardation of the transgenic plants should be considered. Four of seven of the transgenic lines displayed enhanced dehydration tolerance without growth retardation, and may represent good candidates for practical application.
Too old or too young? The impact of perceived age discrimination

This article examines the impact on employee attitudes of perceived age discrimination, drawing on a study of a local authority. Survey respondents report that discrimination on the grounds of being ‘too young’ is at least as common as discrimination on the grounds of being ‘too old’. Findings suggest that perceived age discrimination, whether for being too old or too young, has negative consequences for affective commitment to the organisation. Those who feel that they have been discriminated against because they are considered too old have higher levels of continuance commitment. There is partial support for the hypothesis that older workers who feel that they have been discriminated against have a stronger intention to retire early.
A ocorrência de ceceio em crianças de oito a 11 anos em escolas municipais

PURPOSE: To verify the occurrence of lisp in eight- to 11-year-old children from public schools in Itaqui/RS (Brazil), according to gender and age group, and to associate the lisp with possible risk factors, such as sucking habits (pacifier, finger and bottle) up to six years of age, malocclusion, oral breathing and tongue praxis. METHODS: An observational, exploratory, contemporary, prospective, group study was conducted using a questionnaire applied to caregivers and a speech-language evaluation that included examination of oral structures, tongue praxis, signs suggestive of oral breathing, and speech sounds articulation. Non-parametric statistics (Chi-square) was used in order to verify the association between variables. RESULTS: Two hundred children with ages ranging from eight to 11 years took part in the study (50% male and 50% female). The occurrence rate of lisp was 19%, higher for female subjects. It was observed that anterior lisp decreases with age, but the same did not occur for lateral lisp. Suggestive signs of oral breathing (p=0.037), prolonged use of bottle (p=0.027), tongue praxis alterations (p=0.002), and malocclusion (p=0.0001) were the risk factors that showed statistical association. CONCLUSION: The occurrence of lisp was high, and affected more female subjects. Most of the risk factors were significantly associated.
Evaluating and combining and biomedical named entity recognition systems

This paper is concerned with the evaluation of biomedical named entity recognition systems. We compare two such systems, one based on a Hidden Markov Model and one based on Conditional Random Fields and syntactic parsing. In our experiments we used automatically generated data as well as manually annotated material, including a new dataset which consists of biomedical full papers. Through our evaluation, we assess the strengths and weaknesses of the systems tested, as well as the datasets themselves in terms of the challenges they present to the systems.
Minimal Training, Large Lexicon, Unconstrained Sign Language Recognition

This paper presents a flexible monocular system capable of recognising sign lexicons far greater in number than previous approaches. The power of the system is due to four key elements: (i) Head and hand detection based upon boosting which removes the need for temperamental colour segmentation; (ii) A body centred description of activity which overcomes issues with camera placement, calibration and user; (iii) A two stage classification in which stage I generates a high level linguistic description of activity which naturally generalises and hence reduces training; (iv) A stage II classifier bank which does not require HMMs, further reducing training requirements. The outcome of which is a system capable of running in real-time, and generating extremely high recognition rates for large lexicons with as little as a single training instance per sign. We demonstrate classification rates as high as 92% for a lexicon of 164 words with extremely low training requirements outperforming previous approaches where thousands of training examples are required.
Farnesoid X receptor antagonizes nuclear factor κB in hepatic inflammatory response

The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor that plays key roles in hepatoprotection by maintaining the homeostasis of liver metabolism. FXR null mice display strong hepatic inflammation and develop spontaneous liver tumors. In this report, we demonstrate that FXR is a negative modulator of nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB)–mediated hepatic inflammation. Activation of FXR by its agonist ligands inhibited the expression of inflammatory mediators in response to NF‐κB activation in both HepG2 cells and primary hepatocytes cultured in vitro. In vivo, compared with wild‐type controls, FXR−/− mice displayed elevated messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2), interferon‐inducible protein 10, and interferon‐γ in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Examination of FXR−/− livers showed massive necroses and inflammation after treatment with LPS at a dose that does not induce significant liver damage or inflammation in wild‐type mice. Moreover, transfection of a constitutively active FXR expression construct repressed the iNOS, COX‐2, interferon‐inducible protein 10 and interferon‐γ mRNA levels induced by LPS administration. FXR activation had no negative effects on NF‐κB‐activated antiapoptotic genes, suggesting that FXR selectively inhibits the NF‐κB‐mediated hepatic inflammatory response but maintains or even enhances the cell survival response. On the other hand, NF‐κB activation suppressed FXR‐mediated gene expression both in vitro and in vivo, indicating a negative crosstalk between the FXR and NF‐κB signaling pathways. Our findings reveal that FXR is a negative mediator of hepatic inflammation, which may contribute to the critical roles of FXR in hepatoprotection and suppression of hepatocarcinogenesis. (HEPATOLOGY 2008;48:1632–1643.)
Problems With Personnel Preparation in Autism Spectrum Disorders

This article examines problems With the preparation of school personnel Who serve children With autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Several areas of concern are discussed, including the current teacher shortage and attrition among special education teachers, noncategorical versus categorical teacher training and the impact of each on teacher preparedness, lack of scope and depth of most autism training models, clashes in theoretical orientation that may negatively affect teacher training, and issues that may arise When undertrained teachers interact With parents. Recommendations are made for the improvement of personnel preparation for teachers of children With ASD, including specialized skills training, multiple approaches training, training personnel from various disciplines, training paraprofessionals and in-home trainers, training parents, providing technical assistance and support to teachers, and providing leadership and funding to promote and enhance personnel preparation in ASD.
Leading Organizational Change Is Like Climbing a Mountain

Abstract Leading organizational change is like climbing a mountain. Transformational leaders must prepare to lead change, understand the process and nature of change, and provide the essential gear so that those involved can be successful. The author draws on the literature and personal experiences as a hiker and change leader to provide a guide for leading organizational change.
Linguistic Models in Narratology: From Structuralism to Generative Semantics

ion? Do the deep structures posited by generative semanticists actually reach the level where the meaning of utterances is entirely and unambiguously specified or are they merely another intermediate level of representation? The simplification I propose is thus a way of using the in sights provided by generative semantics, while staying out of its controversies. 10 Adopting Prince's definition (1973:23), I will consider an event to follow another in time when the beginning of the second event follows the beginning of the first. Thus the connector indicating chronological sequence may (as in 1) or may not (as in 2) imply that the first event is over when the second begins. (1) John drank a beer. Then (= after he drank a beer) he drank a whisky. (2) John was drunk. Then (=after the beginning of his being drunk) he decided to stop drinking. 11 Generally the first argument of proposition m is animate (and consequently an argument of n is also animate). But this is not a necessary condition. Consider the story: 'The stables were dirty. Then Hercules ran a river through the stables. Then as a result the stables were clean. " 12 When the option of introducing propositions before m is used, m must be linked to m-1 by a predicate indicating chronological sequence, simultaneity or causation (see rule 13). Thus on Figure 2 m should be more properly represented as shown below, and rule 3 should read: "The highest predicate of the part of proposition m that contains event m must have either a [4stative] or a [4mental operation] feature. "
The Effect of Accuracy of Performance Evaluation on Learning From Experience: The Moderating Role of After‐Event Reviews

Two studies (one field, one experimental) found that the more accurately individuals evaluated their performance, the better they performed on a subsequent task. The first study also found that the more individuals overestimated their previous performance, the lower was their performance on the next task. In contrast, the evaluation accuracy of the underestimators was unrelated to their subsequent performance. The second study found that when participants received feedback from an external authority, the effect of the inaccuracy of self-performance evaluation on subsequent performance was reduced. The results of the 2 studies are explained in motivational and cognitive terms. Numerous studies have documented how individuals as well as organizations learn from repetition of the same task and how this experience contributes to organizational effectiveness (Argote, Reagans, & Brooks, 2005; Dutton & Thomas, 1984; Yelle, 1979). In general, researchers have found that as organizations gain experience in production, the unit cost of production typically decreases at a decreasing rate (Alchian, 1963; Rapping, 1965; Wright, 1936), a pattern that has been found to characterize a wide range of production activities in both the manufacturing and service sectors (Argote & Epple, 1990). Although variation in the rate at which productivity grows with experience has been shown to be high across organizations (Dutton & Thomas, 1984; Hayes & Clark, 1986), and even higher among individuals (Globerson, 1980), the variables that mediate or moderate the effect of cumulative experience on performance have not been fully identified. The present paper attempts to shed light on factors enabling individuals to learn from experience, with the aim of demonstrating the relative advantage of the ability to accurately evaluate the success or failure of one’s 1
Dynamic structure factor for the Fibonacci-chain quasicrystal.

We have performed an exact real-space renormalization-group calculation of the complete wave-vector- and frequency-dependent-response function, S(q,\ensuremath{\omega}), for the one-dimensional Fibonacci-chain quasicrystal with ``Goldstone'' dynamics as in the case of phonons or magnons. We present surface plots, which are highly structured, of the full response S(q,\ensuremath{\omega}), for different values of the coupling ratio. In addition, we have obtained a hierarchy of dispersion curves of \ensuremath{\omega} versus q which contain features related to the gap structure of the excitation spectrum. The limiting case of equal couplings, while still nontrivial because of geometric effects, is analytically tractable and gives a useful test of the renormalization-group treatment, of which it is a special case, and when extended using degenerate perturbation theory it provides an interpretation of the general situation.
How can we ameliorate irinotecan‐associated diarrhea in children with poor compliance for oral cephalosporin?

study, without cephalosporin prophylaxis, severe diarrhea, grade 3‐4 was observed as high as 34%. Therefore, we decided to carry out cephalosporin prophylaxis beforehand. We gave him cefpodoxime prophylaxis from 5 days prior to, and until 3 days after, the treatment. He experienced less than grade 2 diarrhea after irinotecan therapy, suggesting the preventive effects of cefpodoxime. High dose irinotecan was thus repeated uneventfully for three courses. During the fourth course, however, he refused to take oral cefpodoxime because of nausea on the third day of the treatment. Maximum dose of granisetron/ondansetron did not clear his symptoms. We gave him intravenous ceftriaxone at 100 mg/kg/ day for 3 days after the treatment. He experienced only mild grade 1 diarrhea, showing that adding intravenous ceftriaxone successfully reduced IAD. Ceftriaxone has been shown to be effective in killing the aerobic intestinal bacteria [3], whereas the effects on anaerobic bacteria are minimal compared with cefoperazone, which is a mainly bileexcreting type of antibiotics. As almost half of ceftriaxone is excreted to the intestine, it can eradicate the intestinal bacteria that produces glucuronidase which converts SN-38G to toxic SN-38 [2]. It is not uncommon for children to refuse to take medication orally. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider a strategy for a nonoral route of cephalosporin prophylaxis. Although further studies with bile excreting-types of antibiotics are needed, intravenous ceftriaxone may be an option to reduce IAD for patients who cannot tolerate oral antibiotics.
Epigenetic targets in cancer and aging: dietary and therapeutic interventions

ABSTRACT Introduction: Epigenetic regulation plays a critical role in normal growth and embryonic development by controlling the transcriptional activities of several genes. A growing number of epigenetic changes have been reported in the regulation of key genes involved in cancer and aging. Drugs with epigenetic modulatory activities, mainly histone deacetylase and DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, have received wider attention in aging and cancer research. Areas covered: In this review, we summarize the major epigenetic alterations in cancer and aging, with special emphasis on possible therapeutic targets and interventions by dietary as well as bioactive phytochemicals. Expert opinion: Some epigenetic-targeting drugs have received FDA approval and many others are undergoing different phases of clinical trials for cancer therapy. In addition to the synthetic compounds, several bioactive phytochemicals and dietary interventions, such as caloric restriction, have been shown to possess epigenetic modulatory activities in multiple cancers. These epigenetic modulators have been shown to delay aging and minimize the risk of cancer both in preclinical as well as clinical models. Therefore, knowledge of bioactive phytochemicals along with dietary interventions can be utilized for cancer prevention and therapy both alone and with existing drugs to achieve optimum efficacy.
Coping with Syntactic Ambiguity or How to Put the Block in the Box on the Table

Sentences are far more ambiguous than one might have thought. There may be hundreds, perhaps thousands, of syntactic parse trees for certain very natural sentences of English. This fact has been a major problem confronting natural language processing, especially when a large percentage of the syntactic parse trees are enumerated during semantic/pragmatic processing. In this paper we propose some methods for dealing with syntactic ambiguity in ways that exploit certain regularities among alternative parse trees. These regularities will be expressed as linear combinations of ATN networks, and also as sums and products of formal power series. We believe that such encoding of ambiguity will enhance processing, whether syntactic and semantic constraints are processed separately in sequence or interleaved together.
Diagnostic Performance of Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness for Detection of Glaucoma in an Elderly Population: The ALIENOR Study.

Purpose To assess diagnostic accuracy of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) to discriminate glaucoma and control subjects in an elderly population. Methods The antioxidants, essential lipids, nutrition and ocular maladies study (ALIENOR: "Antioxydants, Lipides Essentiels, Nutrition et Maladies Oculaires") is a population-based study. From 2009 to 2010, a total of 624 subjects, aged 74 years or older underwent a complete eye examination, including optic disc color photography and SD-OCT examination of the macula and the optic nerve head. Glaucoma diagnosis was made using retinophotography of the optic nerve head and International Society for Epidemiologic and Geographical Ophthalmology criteria. Average and sectorial peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thicknesses (RNFLT) were compared between glaucoma and control subjects using area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC), positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+/LR-), and diagnostic odds ratios (DOR). Results A total of 532 subjects had complete data, 492 were classified as controls and 40 were classified as glaucoma. Mean age was 82.1 ± 4.2 years and average RNFLT was significantly different between both groups (controls: 88.7 ± 12.2 μm, glaucoma: 65.4 ± 14.4 μm, P < 0.001). Highest AUC values were observed for average (0.895), temporal-inferior (0.874), and temporal-superior (0.868) RNFLT. Temporal-superior RNFLT had the highest DOR (25.31; LR+, 4.65; LR-, 0.18), followed by average RNFLT (DOR: 24.80; LR+, 6.36; LR-, 0.26). When using the normative database provided by the machine, DOR increased to 31.03 (LR+, 1.75; LR-, 0.06) if at least one parameter was considered abnormal (at P < 0.05). Conclusions Parameters of SD-OCT RNFL may provide valuable information in a screening strategy to improve glaucoma detection in a general population of elderly people.
The prevalence of bulimia in a black college population

This study compared the prevalence of bulimia and the attitudes toward food and weight in a Black college population with the results obtained from a similar study of Caucasian college students (Gray & Ford, 1985). A 34-item questionnaire containing an operationalized version of the DSM-III criteria for bulimia (American Psychiatric Association, 1980) and demographic information was completed by 507 (341 women, 166 men) Black college students. Results showed there were significantly fewer Black women than Caucasian women who met the DSM-III and bulimia nervosa critria for bulimia. In addition, Black college women were found to be less likely to experience a sense of fear and discouragement concerning food and weight control than Caucasian women. The prevalence of bulimia was very low to nonexistent in both the Black and Caucasian male samples. These findings were discussed in regard to differential attitudes toward weight and beauty among the two ethnic groups.
Theoretical models of the nature of prayer and health: A review

There is increasing interest in the empirical effects of prayer on health. However, little attention has been paid to the theoretical causal mechanisms by which health may be affected by prayer. A critical examination of extant literature on the psychology of prayer was conducted to identify potential ways in which prayer may act to promote health. The review suggested that an array of prayer types exist ranging from prayers of attunement to petitionary prayers. Additionally, prayer may affect health by a variety of means including: (a) prayer may improve health because of the placebo effect; (b) individuals who pray may also engage in health-related behaviour; (c) prayer may help by diverting attention from health problems; (d) prayer may promote health through supernatural intervention by God; (e) prayer may activate latent energies, such as chi, which have not been empirically verified, but which nevertheless may be beneficial to health; and (f) prayer may result in a unity of consciousness which facilitates the transmission of healing between individuals. An agreement among researchers about the classification and measurement of prayer might result in an easier comparison of results across studies. Researchers should be aware of the many prayer types documented in the literature and should select a measure of prayer appropriate to their field of investigation. Additionally, researchers should give consideration to the possible causal mechanisms underlying the hypotheses they are investigating. Furthermore, if researchers offer some theoretically based argument, regarding prayer, for the hypotheses that they are testing, then results from studies involving prayer may be more meaningful. Having established the theoretical models of the ways in which prayer may promote better health, the challenge for psychology is to provide empirical evidence to confirm or disconfirm the alternate hypotheses.
Real-time optimizing control of a class of crude oil blending operations

Abstract A real-time optimizing (RTO) controller for the blending of crude oil is presented. The RTO controller uses a non-linear “bias-update” technique and measurements of crude component properties to provide optimal blend flows. Two typical operating scenarios are considered for the blending of two inputs. The objective of the first scenario is to keep a constant flow of blended crude with a minimum production cost. The second case considers maximizing the amount of the heavier crude input while maintaining constant the flow rate of the lighter crude input. Simulation results are compared with historic data of a real blending process, showing the convergence properties and efficiency of the RTO controller.