Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Organizational Saga in Higher Education.

An organizational saga is a collective understanding of a unique accomplishment based on historical exploits of a formal organization, offering strong normative bonds within and outside the organization. Believers give loyalty to the organization and take pride and identity from it. A saga begins as strong purpose, introduced by a man (or small group) with a mission, and is fulfilled as it is embodied in organizational practices and the values of dominant organizational cadres, usually taking decades to develop. Examples of the initiation and fulfillment of sagas in academic organizations are presented from research on Antioch, Reed, and Swarthmore.1
Antimicrobial activity of some Pacific Northwest woods against anaerobic bacteria and yeast

Extracts of woods commonly used for animal bedding were tested for antimicrobial activity. Essential oils from Alaska cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) and old growth Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) as well as methanol extracts of wood from these trees plus western red cedar (Thuja plicata) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) were tested for antimicrobial activity against anaerobic bacteria and yeast. The test microbes included Fusobacterium necrophorum, Clostridium perfringens, Actinomyces bovis and Candida albicans which are common to foot diseases and other infections in animals. The essential oils and methanol extracts were tested using a standardized broth assay. Only extracts of Alaska cedar and western juniper showed significant antimicrobial activity against each of the microbes tested. The essential oil of Douglas fir did show antimicrobial activity against A. bovis at the concentrations tested. The methanol extracts of the heartwood of Douglas fir and the sapwood of ponderosa pine showed no antimicrobial activity. The major chemical components of western juniper (cedrol and α‐ and β‐cedrene) and Alaska cedar (nootkatin) were also tested. In western juniper, α‐ and β‐cedrene were found to be active components. Nootkatin showed activity only against C. albicans. The inhibitory activity in Alaska cedar oil was high enough to justify further efforts to define the other chemical components responsible for the antimicrobial activity. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Backward walking in Parkinson's disease

We walk backward on a daily basis, such as when backing away from the kitchen sink or stepping back from a curb as a swiftly moving bus passes. This task may be particularly difficult for individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) who often fall as a result of moving or being perturbed in the backward direction. The aim of this study was to assess backward walking (BW) in individuals with PD. Both forward walking (FW) and BW were assessed in 78 people with idiopathic PD (H&Y range: 0.5–3) in the ON state, and 74 age‐ and sex‐matched controls. In FW, those with PD had significantly shorter strides, lower swing percents, higher stance percents, and lower functional ambulation profiles than controls. Both groups walked significantly slower and with a wider base of support during BW than FW. Additionally, in BW those with PD walked significantly slower with shorter strides, lower swing percents, and higher double support and stance percents, and lower functional ambulation profiles compared with controls. Those with mild to moderate PD have impaired FW and BW, but differences between those with and without PD are more pronounced in BW. © 2008 Movement Disorder Society
Riding the Practice Waves: Social Resourcing Practices during New Venture Development

This paper investigates how early venture entrepreneurs engage in socially embedded practices to resource their firm. We contribute to an emerging literature that calls for a shift in perspective from “resource” as an object to “resourcing” as a practice. This shift entails a focus away from whom entrepreneurs know toward how they engage with their venture's social contexts. Through the analysis of an in–depth longitudinal case study of a life–science venture, we show that social resourcing practices are more reminiscent of a creative coping with ambiguous and ever–changing environments over time than of “heroic” strategizing. We explore how entrepreneurs mobilize and creatively combine their social resources at hand, seek resources through engaging with other practice nets, negotiate differences between practice nets, and reflectively adapt their resourcing practices toward emerging resource contexts in ways that we describe as “riding the practice waves” of social resourcing.
Local Acts, Global Consequences: A Dynamic Systems Perspective on Torture

The consequences of extreme forms of interrogation are considered from the perspective of dynamical systems. Because of the self-organizing tendency of systems, a change in a single element of mind or society (e.g., a new belief, course of action, or government policy) holds potential for transforming the larger mental or social system in which the element is embedded. The emergence of new mental and social states is especially likely when factors such as external threat and the necessity for unequivocal action strengthen the positive feedback loops among elements, making them highly responsive to each other. Because torture occurs under such “high-temperature” conditions, it can trigger a series of changes in other elements (thoughts, actions), thereby promoting fundamental changes in individual minds, societal values, and government policies. To halt or reverse this scenario, negative feedback loops among the elements must be introduced so that a change in 1 element is compensated rather than reinforced.
Substantive Representation of Women: The Representation of Women's Interests and the Impact of Descriptive Representation in the Belgian Parliament (1900–1979)

ABSTRACT Based on empirical data, speeches from the budget debates of the Belgian Lower House (1900–1979), this article explores the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation of women. The article concludes that women members of Parliament (MPs) were women's most fervent representatives and contributed in a unique way to how women were represented; they stretched the borders of the political definition of women's interests and made them fit better with the way women themselves defined their interests. The research contributes to the development of the concepts “substantive representation” and “women's interests” and of the methodology of empirical research in this field.
The Development of Infants' Sensitivity to Arbitrary Intermodal Relations

The development of infants' ability to detect the arbitrary relation between the color/shape of an object and the pitch of its impact sound was investigated using an infant-control habituation procedure. Ninety-six infants of 3, 5, or 7 months were habituated to films of two objects differing in color and shape, striking a surface in an erratic pattern. One object produced an impact sound of a high pitch, and the other object produced a low pitch. During test trials, infants in the experimental conditions received a change in the pairing of pitch with color/shape, whereas controls received no change. Results indicate that visual recovery to the change in pitch-color/shape relations was significantly greater than that of age-matched controls at 7 months, but not at 3 or 5 months. A prior study demonstrated that by 3 months, infants were able to discriminate the color/shape and pitch changes of these events. However, it is not until 7 months that they show evidence of detecting the arbitrary relation betwee.
Improving the efficiency of multidimensional scaling in the analysis of high-dimensional data using singular value decomposition

MOTIVATION Multidimensional scaling (MDS) is a well-known multivariate statistical analysis method used for dimensionality reduction and visualization of similarities and dissimilarities in multidimensional data. The advantage of MDS with respect to singular value decomposition (SVD) based methods such as principal component analysis is its superior fidelity in representing the distance between different instances specially for high-dimensional geometric objects. Here, we investigate the importance of the choice of initial conditions for MDS, and show that SVD is the best choice to initiate MDS. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the use of the first principal components of SVD to initiate the MDS algorithm is more efficient than an iteration through all the principal components. Adding stochasticity to the molecular dynamics simulations typically used for MDS of large datasets, contrary to previous suggestions, likewise does not increase accuracy. Finally, we introduce a k nearest neighbor method to analyze the local structure of the geometric objects and use it to control the quality of the dimensionality reduction. RESULTS We demonstrate here the, to our knowledge, most efficient and accurate initialization strategy for MDS algorithms, reducing considerably computational load. SVD-based initialization renders MDS methodology much more useful in the analysis of high-dimensional data such as functional genomics datasets.
Ischemia, Immunosuppression and Infection—Tackling the Predicaments of Post-Stroke Complications

The incidence of stroke has risen over the past decade and will continue to be one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. While a large portion of immediate death following stroke is due to cerebral infarction and neurological complications, the most common medical complication in stroke patients is infection. In fact, infections, such as pneumonia and urinary tract infections, greatly worsen the clinical outcome of stroke patients. Recent evidence suggests that the disrupted interplay between the central nervous system and immune system contributes to the development of infection after stroke. The suppression of systemic immunity by the nervous system is thought to protect the brain from further inflammatory insult, yet this comes at the cost of increased susceptibility to infection after stroke. To improve patient outcome, there have been attempts to lessen the stroke-associated bacterial burden through the prophylactic use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. However, preventative antibiotic treatments have been unsuccessful, and therefore have been discouraged. Additionally, with the ever-rising obstacle of antibiotic-resistance, future therapeutic options to reverse immune impairment after stroke by augmentation of host immunity may be a viable alternative option. However, cautionary steps are required to ensure that collateral ischemic damage caused by cerebral inflammation remains minimal.
Rekindling the Movement. Labor's Quest for Relevance in the Twenty-First Century

that it includes multiple, rather loosely linked elements. Thus, ‘behavioural research’ includes, among other points, elements of sociology, organisational psychology, management approaches and a good dose of common sense. All this, however, should not devalue the major contribution of this book, which provides us with a splendid account of the multiple facets of unions’ activities and opportunities for union restructuring.
The Effects of Chemotherapy with Bleomycin, Etoposide, and Cis-Platinum (BEP) on Rat Sperm Chromatin Remodeling, Fecundity and Testicular Gene Expression in the Progeny1

ABSTRACT During spermiogenesis, histones are replaced first by transition proteins and then by protamines, resulting in a very condensed sperm DNA structure that is absolutely critical for normal sperm function. We have demonstrated previously that, despite a 9-wk recovery period, mature sperm from rats treated for 9 wk with bleomycin, etoposide, and cis-platinum (BEP), the drugs used to treat testicular cancer, have reduced levels of protamine 1 and a concomitant upregulation of specific histones, highlighting a problem in histone eviction. Here, we demonstrate that regulators of histone removal are increased in elongating spermatids following recovery; however, Ac-H4 and gammaH2AX histones remain elevated in elongating spermatids or caudal epididymal spermatozoa 9 wk post-BEP treatment. This indicates that chromatin remodelers and effector proteins that respond to histone removal cues may be a target of BEP treatment. A decrease in the expression of SMARCE1 in elongating spermatids may explain the persistent retention of histones in cauda epididymal sperm 9 wk after the cessation of BEP treatment. Remarkably, proteins implicated in the translational control and posttranslational processing of protamine 1 are also significantly elevated 9 wk post-BEP treatment, suggesting that histone eviction may dictate the DNA availability for protamine binding. Males mated to control females 9 wk after BEP treatment have reduced litter sizes; moreover, the profile of gene expression in the developing testes of their pups is altered. Altering the proportion of histones to protamine in mature spermatozoa has an adverse impact on male fecundity, with modifications to epigenetic marks potentially threatening normal progeny development.
Ambient humidity and the skin: the impact of air humidity in healthy and diseased states

Humidity, along with other climatic factors such as temperature and ultraviolet radiation, can have an important impact on the skin. Limited data suggest that external humidity influences the water content of the stratum corneum. An online literature search was conducted through Pub‐Med using combinations of the following keywords: skin, skin disease, humidity, dermatoses, dermatitis, eczema, and mist. Publications included in this review were limited to (i) studies in humans or animals, (ii) publications showing relevance to the field of dermatology, (iii) studies published in English and (iv) publications discussing humidity as an independent influence on skin function. Studies examining environmental factors as composite influences on skin health are only included where the impact of humidity on the skin is also explored in isolation of other environmental factors. A formal systematic review was not feasible for this topic due to the heterogeneity of the available research. Epidemiological studies indicated an increase in eczema with low internal (indoors) humidity and an increase in eczema with external high humidity. Other studies suggest that symptoms of dry skin appear with low humidity internal air‐conditioned environments. Murine studies determined that low humidity caused a number of changes in the skin, including the impairment of the desquamation process. Studies in humans demonstrated a reduction in transepidermal water loss (TEWL) (a measure of the integrity of the skin's barrier function) with low humidity, alterations in the water content in the stratum corneum, decreased skin elasticity and increased roughness. Intervention with a humidifying mist increased the water content of the stratum corneum. Conversely, there is some evidence that low humidity conditions can actually improve the barrier function of the skin. Ambient relative humidity has an impact on a range of parameters involved in skin health but the literature is inconclusive. Further studies are needed to better delineate the interactions that can occur in normal and diseased states. Therapeutic measures might be forthcoming especially for skin diseases such as eczema, which are regarded as being characterized by ‘skin dryness’. Further research examining the interaction between different environmental exposures thought to impact the skin, and indeed the interplay between genetic, environmental and immunological influences, are required.
Inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase in tumors from BRCA mutation carriers.

BACKGROUND The inhibition of poly(adenosine diphosphate [ADP]-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a potential synthetic lethal therapeutic strategy for the treatment of cancers with specific DNA-repair defects, including those arising in carriers of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. We conducted a clinical evaluation in humans of olaparib (AZD2281), a novel, potent, orally active PARP inhibitor. METHODS This was a phase 1 trial that included the analysis of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of olaparib. Selection was aimed at having a study population enriched in carriers of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. RESULTS We enrolled and treated 60 patients; 22 were carriers of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation and 1 had a strong family history of BRCA-associated cancer but declined to undergo mutational testing. The olaparib dose and schedule were increased from 10 mg daily for 2 of every 3 weeks to 600 mg twice daily continuously. Reversible dose-limiting toxicity was seen in one of eight patients receiving 400 mg twice daily (grade 3 mood alteration and fatigue) and two of five patients receiving 600 mg twice daily (grade 4 thrombocytopenia and grade 3 somnolence). This led us to enroll another cohort, consisting only of carriers of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, to receive olaparib at a dose of 200 mg twice daily. Other adverse effects included mild gastrointestinal symptoms. There was no obvious increase in adverse effects seen in the mutation carriers. Pharmacokinetic data indicated rapid absorption and elimination; pharmacodynamic studies confirmed PARP inhibition in surrogate samples (of peripheral-blood mononuclear cells and plucked eyebrow-hair follicles) and tumor tissue. Objective antitumor activity was reported only in mutation carriers, all of whom had ovarian, breast, or prostate cancer and had received multiple treatment regimens. CONCLUSIONS Olaparib has few of the adverse effects of conventional chemotherapy, inhibits PARP, and has antitumor activity in cancer associated with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00516373.)
Epidemiology of falls.

Falls in older people are a major public health concern in terms of morbidity, mortality and the cost to health and social services [1]. This epidemiological review of falls concentrates on four main components. Firstly, different ways of defining and classifying falls and fallers are outlined. The second section deals with the occurrence, including the prevalence, time and place of falls. We then examine the causes (risk factors) for falling, and finally we discuss the impact (consequences) of falls in the older population.
Development and Social Competence after Two Years for Students Enrolled in Inclusive and Self-Contained Educational Programs

Inclusive programs increasingly have become available for students with severe disabilities, enabling them to receive special education services and supports in general education classes alongside their non-disabled peers. Forty students in two groups were assessed across two years of inclusive versus self-contained educational programming, comparing outcomes on measures of child development and social competence with the Scales of Independent Behavior (SIB) and the Assessment of Social Competence (ASC). Participants were assessed on the SIB and ASC, matched into pairs on chronological age and SIB total scores at first testing, and reassessed after two additional years of either inclusive or self-contained schooling. The inclusive student group made statistically significant gains on the developmental measure and realized higher social competence scores in comparison to the self-contained group at follow-up. Examination of gains on these measures irrespective of group affiliation indicated that participants made small, but significant, gains in two of four skill clusters assessed by the SIB and three of eleven dimensions of the ASC. These results challenge a common assumption that selfcontained settings in comparison to inclusive settings will result in superior gains on students' IEP-related skill domains. They also support previous research showing social competence gains as a function of inclusion. Results are discussed in terms of expected change over time for students with severe disabilities, the implications of variations from the group results that occurred for individual students, and future research needed on the outcomes of quality inclusive schooling for students with severe disabilities.
FAS: A Flow Aware Scaling Mechanism for Stream Processing Platform Service based on LMS

Stream Processing Platform Service (SPPS is a service built on container cloud and implemented for purpose to develop a stream processing application with simple configuration. The service needs to provide scaling ability in order to adjust system capacity for dynamic incoming data volume. Data flow is a significant indicator for system load thus it becomes a fundamental factor for analyzing. Data flow prediction thus becomes important in order to improve Quality of Service (QoS) as well as optimize resource usage. In this paper, an approach applying Least Mean Squares (LMS) on data flow prediction with a scaling mechanism for system scaling is proposed. The algorithm takes period time and data flow into consideration to predicate the required resource for processing. After the data flow prediction is calculated, decision for new coming data is made, the service scales the processing cluster in advance for predicted volume. The experiment shows the method is effective for periodically changed data flow.
Elevated Pretherapy Serum IL17 in Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Correlate to Increased Risk of Early Recurrence after Curative Hepatectomy

Background and Aims Primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is usually presented in inflamed fibrotic/cirrhotic liver with extensive lymphocyte infiltration. We examined the associations between the HCC early recurrence and alterations in serum levels of inflammatory cytokines. Methods A cohort of 105 HCC patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection were included. Pre-therapy, we quantified their serum concentrations of Th1-, Th2-, Th17-, Treg-related, and other cytokines that have been reported to be associated with poor prognosis in human cancers. IL17-producing T-cells were generated in vitro from HCC patients and co-cultured with HCC cell lines separated by a 0.4 µM transwell. Results All the 105 cases of HCC patients had liver cirrhosis. The patients who suffered from HCC early recurrence had higher pre-therapy serum levels of IL17 and lower levels of IL10 than those who did not suffer from recurrence after curative hepatectomy. After adjustment for general tumor clinicopathological factors, elevated serum levels of IL17 (≥0.9 pg/ml) was found to be an independent risk factor for HCC early recurrence with a hazard ratio of 2.46 (95%CI 1.34–4.51). Patients with bigger tumors (>5 cm in diameter) and elevated serum levels of IL17 had the highest risk of early recurrence as compared to those with only one of these factors (P = 0.009) or without any (P<0.001). These factors showed similar effects on the HCC patient overall survival. Intrahepatic infiltrated T-cells in HCC patients were identified as the major IL17-producing cells. Proliferation of HCC cells, QGY-7703, was augmented QGY-7703, was augmented in the presence of IL17-producing T-cells. This effect diminished after neutralizing antibody against human IL17A or TNFα was included. Conclusion Both tumors and IL17 from liver infiltrated T-cells contributed to HCC early recurrence and progression after curative resection. Pre-therapy serum IL17 levels may serve as an additional indicator for predicting high-risk patients.