Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Managerial Mindfulness: A Way for Middle Managers to Handle the Uncertain Situations

Middle managers are often involved in complex, ambiguous and changing situations. Previous research found that middle managers who adapt to the uncertain environment successfully show high managerial mindfulness. To establish the generality of such finding, we develop a managerial mindfulness scale and examine the relationships between managerial mindfulness and two situational adaptation variables (i.e., reputational effectiveness and work-unit performance) and the moderating effects of two situational uncertainty variables (i.e., role conflict and role ambiguity). In Study 1, we obtain a three-factor scale of managerial mindfulness with good convergent validity and discriminant validity. In Study 2, we use this managerial mindfulness scale to test its relationship to situational adaptation. Results indicate that managerial mindfulness has positive effects on reputational effectiveness and work-unit performance when the situations are characterized by high role ambiguity, but the positive relationship disappears when role ambiguity is low. Findings enrich the existing research on mindfulness and adaptation.
Structure of the competence pilus major pilin ComGC in Streptococcus pneumoniae

Type IV pili are important virulence factors on the surface of many pathogenic bacteria and have been implicated in a wide range of diverse functions, including attachment, twitching motility, biofilm formation, and horizontal gene transfer. The respiratory pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae deploys type IV pili to take up DNA during transformation. These “competence pili” are composed of the major pilin protein ComGC and exclusively assembled during bacterial competence, but their biogenesis remains unclear. Here, we report the high resolution NMR structure of N-terminal truncated ComGC revealing a highly flexible and structurally divergent type IV pilin. It consists of only three α-helical segments forming a well-defined electronegative cavity and confined electronegative and hydrophobic patches. The structure is particularly flexible between the first and second α-helix with the first helical part exhibiting slightly slower dynamics than the rest of the pilin, suggesting that the first helix is involved in forming the pilus structure core and that parts of helices two and three are primarily surface-exposed. Taken together, our results provide the first structure of a type IV pilin protein involved in the formation of competence-induced pili in Gram-positive bacteria and corroborate the remarkable structural diversity among type IV pilin proteins.
Iron Chelation Suppresses Ferritin Upregulation and Attenuates Vascular Dysfunction in the Aorta of Angiotensin II–Infused Rats

Objective—We have investigated whether long-term administration of angiotensin (Ang) II causes ferritin induction and iron accumulation in the rat aorta, and their possible relation to regulatory effects on gene expression and vascular function in Ang II-infused animals. Methods and Results—Sprague-Dawley rats were given Ang II for 7 days via subcutaneously implanted osmotic minipumps. Ang II infusion caused a >20-fold increase in ferritin protein expression over control values. Immunohistochemistry showed that Ang II infusion markedly increased the ferritin expression in the aortic endothelial and adventitial cells, with some of the latter being identified as monocytes/macrophages. Prussian blue staining showed that stainable iron was observed in the adventitial layer of aorta from Ang II-infused animals, but not in the endothelial layer. Chelation of iron suppressed aortic induction of ferritin and also the oxidative stress markers, heme oxygenase-1 and 4-hydroxynonenal-modified protein adducts. In addition, iron chelation attenuated Ang II-induced impairment of aortic relaxations in response to acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside and suppressed upregulation of mRNA levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Iron chelation also partially attenuated the medial thickening and perivascular fibrosis induced by Ang II infusion for 4 weeks. Conclusion—Ang II infusion caused ferritin induction and iron deposition in the aortas. These phenomena might have a role in the regulation of gene expression, impairment of vascular function, and arterial remodeling induced by Ang II, which are presumably mediated in part by enhancement of oxidative stress.
Relevance of sequence statistics for the properties of extremophilic proteins.

The amino acid composition of proteins from mesophilic and extremophilic organisms is commonly assumed to reflect the mechanisms of molecular adaptation to extremes of physical conditions. In this context, halophilic behaviour has been attributed to significantly increased numbers of aspartic and glutamic acid residues. However, extending the analysis to a statistically relevant set of related proteins, dihydrofolate reductase from Halobacterium volcanii, as an example, shows that the increase in negative charge is found to be less significant than other exchanges of amino acids (e.g., Ala, Asn, Arg, Lys, Phe, Ser). Thus, the high water binding capacity of negatively charged residues cannot be unambiguously correlated with the anomalous stability of halophilic proteins. A similar caveat holds for generalizations regarding the thermal stability of proteins. In this case, D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima was compared with a number of mesophilic and moderately thermophilic homologs. Again, 'traffic rules of stabilization', in terms of amino acid changes in going from mesophilic to thermophilic proteins, cannot be given.
Variations in the management of children with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in the UK and Ireland

thrombosis in the UK and Ireland Anthony R Hart, Vijeya Ganesan, Karen S Pysden 1 Department of Paediatric Neurology, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, West Yorkshire. 2 Department of Paediatric Neurology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Great Ormond Street, London. 3 Neurosciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, 4 ⁄ 5 Long Yard, London, UK. Correspondence to: t.hart@doctors.org. uk
CD8 memory T cells have a bioenergetic advantage that underlies their rapid recall ability

A characteristic of memory T (TM) cells is their ability to mount faster and stronger responses to reinfection than naïve T (TN) cells do in response to an initial infection. However, the mechanisms that allow this rapid recall are not completely understood. We found that CD8 TM cells have more mitochondrial mass than CD8 TN cells and, that upon activation, the resulting secondary effector T (TE) cells proliferate more quickly, produce more cytokines, and maintain greater ATP levels than primary effector T cells. We also found that after activation, TM cells increase oxidative phosphorylation and aerobic glycolysis and sustain this increase to a greater extent than TN cells, suggesting that greater mitochondrial mass in TM cells not only promotes oxidative capacity, but also glycolytic capacity. We show that mitochondrial ATP is essential for the rapid induction of glycolysis in response to activation and the initiation of proliferation of both TN and TM cells. We also found that fatty acid oxidation is needed for TM cells to rapidly respond upon restimulation. Finally, we show that dissociation of the glycolysis enzyme hexokinase from mitochondria impairs proliferation and blocks the rapid induction of glycolysis upon T-cell receptor stimulation in TM cells. Our results demonstrate that greater mitochondrial mass endows TM cells with a bioenergetic advantage that underlies their ability to rapidly recall in response to reinfection.
A complexity measure of handwritten curves: modeling of dynamic signature forgery

It is generally accepted that highly unstable and easily imitated signatures are among the main causes of deterioration in handwritten signature verification system performance. The authors attempt to estimate, quantitatively and a priori from the coordinates sampled during its execution, the difficulty that could be experienced by a typical imitator in reproducing both visually and dynamically a signature. A functional model of what a typical imitator must do to copy dynamically any signature is derived. A specific difficulty coefficient is then numerically estimated for a given signature. Experimentation geared specifically to signature imitation demonstrates the effectiveness of the model. The ranking of the tested signatures given by the difficulty coefficient is compared to three different sources: the opinions of the imitators themselves, the ones of an expert document examiner, and the ranking given by a specific pattern recognition algorithm. An example of application is also given. >
Author ' s personal copy The relationship between lens transmission and opsin gene expression in cichlids from Lake Malawi

The lens plays an important role in regulating the wavelengths of light that reach the retina. However, the evolutionary relationship between lens transmission and retinal sensitivity remains cloudy at best. We examined the relationship between lens transmission and opsin gene expression in a group of rapidly radiating cichlids from East Africa. Lens transmission was bimodal, either cutting off around 360 or 400 nm, and appeared to be quite labile evolutionarily. We found a strong correlation between lens transmission and SWS1 (UV) opsin gene expression, suggesting that UV transmitting lenses are adaptive in cichlids. Species which expressed high levels of SWS2B (violet) opsin varied in their lens transmission while most species that expressed high levels of SWS2A (blue) opsin had UV blocking lenses. In no instance did lens transmission appear to limit retinal sensitivity. Finally, the strong correlation that we observe between SWS1 expression and lens transmission suggests that these two traits might be coupled genetically. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Cancer stem cells: an old idea--a paradigm shift.

Although the concept that cancers arise from "stem cells" or "germ cells" was first proposed about 150 years ago, it is only recently that advances in stem cell biology have given new impetus to the "cancer stem cell hypothesis. " Two important related concepts of this hypothesis are that (a) tumors originate in either tissue stem cells or their immediate progeny through dysregulation of the normally tightly regulated process of self-renewal. As a result of this, (b) tumors contain a cellular subcomponent that retains key stem cell properties. These properties include self-renewal, which drives tumorigenesis, and differentiation albeit aberrant that contributes to cellular heterogeneity. Recent experimental evidence in a variety of tumors has lent strong support to the cancer stem cell hypothesis that represents a paradigm shift in our understanding of carcinogenesis and tumor cell biology. This hypothesis has fundamental implications for cancer risk assessment, early detection, prognostication, and prevention. Furthermore, the current development of cancer therapeutics based on tumor regression may have produced agents that kill differentiated tumor cells while sparing the rare cancer stem cell population. The development of more effective cancer therapies may thus require targeting this important cell population.
EphA4 Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Is a Modulator of Onset and Disease Severity of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE)

The EphA4 receptor tyrosine kinase is a major regulator of axonal growth and astrocyte reactivity and is a possible inflammatory mediator. Given that multiple sclerosis (MS) is primarily an inflammatory demyelinating disease and in mouse models of MS, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), axonal degeneration and reactive gliosis are prominent clinical features, we hypothesised that endogenous EphA4 could play a role in modulating EAE. EAE was induced in EphA4 knockout and wildtype mice using MOG peptide immunisation and clinical severity and histological features of the disease were then compared in lumbar spinal cord sections. EphA4 knockout mice exhibited a markedly less severe clinical course than wildtype mice, with a lower maximum disease grade and a slightly later onset of clinical symptoms. Numbers of infiltrating T cells and macrophages, the number and size of the lesions, and the extent of astrocytic gliosis were similar in both genotypes; however, EphA4 knockout mice appeared to have decreased axonal pathology. Blocking of EphA4 in wildtype mice by administration of soluble EphA4 (EphA4-Fc) as a decoy receptor following induction of EAE produced a delay in onset of clinical symptoms; however, most mice had clinical symptoms of similar severity by 22 days, indicating that EphA4 blocking treatment slowed early EAE disease evolution. Again there were no apparent differences in histopathology. To determine whether the role of EphA4 in modulating EAE was CNS mediated or due to an altered immune response, MOG primed T cells from wildtype and EphA4 knockout mice were passively transferred into naive recipient mice and both were shown to induce disease of equivalent severity. These results are consistent with a non-inflammatory, CNS specific, deleterious effect of EphA4 during neuroinflammation that results in axonal pathology.
Survey of Harmonics Measurements in Electrical Distribution System of a Technical Institution

Growing use of non-linear loads give rise to power pollution in the three-phase four-wire distribution system. This has already become an alarming situation in an engineering institute where quality power is an essential requirement.To ensures quality power it is necessary that a harmonic study is carried out to identify the details of pollution that is polluting sources, the parameters or quantities they pollute in each instance. The paper includes a harmonic survey in the Electrical machine lab of National Institute of Technology, Agartala where various non-linear devices are used everyday. The level and type of the harmonics present in the system are identified. According to the measurement and analysis, the effect of most prominent harmonics are found out that could cause problem in the power quality. The harmonic survey is performed to improve the power quality.
Hybrid consensus protocols: An impulsive dynamical system approach

In this paper, we develop a novel hybrid control framework for addressing consensus problems for multiagent dynamical systems. Specifically, we present hybrid distributed controller architectures for multiagent coordination. The proposed controller architectures are predicated on system thermodynamic notions resulting in thermodynamically consistent hybrid controller architectures involving the exchange of information between agents that guarantee that the closed-loop dynamical network is consistent with basic thermodynamic principles. A unique feature of the proposed framework is that the proposed controller architectures are hybrid and can achieve finite-time coordination. The overall closed-loop dynamics under any of these controller algorithms achieving consensus possesses discontinuous flows since the controller algorithms combine logical switchings with continuous dynamics, leading to impulsive differential equations.
Enhancing pose estimation through efficient patch synthesis

Estimating the pose of a camera from a scene model is a challenging problem when the camera is in a position not covered by the views used to build the model, because feature matching is difficult. Several viewpoint simulation techniques have been recently proposed in this context. They generally come with a high computational cost, are limited to specific scenes such as urban environments or object-centred scenes, or need an initial pose guess. This paper presents a viewpoint simulation method well suited to most scenes and query views. Two major problems are addressed: the positioning of the virtual viewpoints with respect to the scene, and the synthesis of geometrically consistent patches. Experiments show that patch synthesis dramatically improves the accuracy of the pose in case of difficult registration, with a limited computational cost.
Inhibition of N-Type Calcium Channels by Activation of GPR35, an Orphan Receptor, Heterologously Expressed in Rat Sympathetic Neurons

GPR35 is a G protein-coupled receptor recently “de-orphanized” using high-throughput intracellular calcium measurements in clonal cell lines expressing a chimeric G-protein α-subunit. From these screens, kynurenic acid, an endogenous metabolite of tryptophan, and zaprinast, a synthetic inhibitor of cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase, emerged as potential agonists for GPR35. To investigate the coupling of GPR35 to natively expressed neuronal signaling pathways and effectors, we heterologously expressed GPR35 in rat sympathetic neurons and examined the modulation of N-type (CaV2.2) calcium channels. In neurons expressing GPR35, calcium channels were inhibited in the absence of overt agonists, indicating a tonic receptor activity. Application of kynurenic acid or zaprinast resulted in robust voltage-dependent calcium current inhibition characteristic of Gβγ-mediated modulation. Both agonist-independent and -dependent effects of GPR35 were blocked by Bordetella pertussis toxin pretreatment indicating the involvement of Gi/o proteins. In neurons expressing GPR35a, a short splice variant of GPR35, zaprinast was more potent (EC50 = 1 μM) than kynurenic acid (58 μM) but had a similar efficacy (approximately 60% maximal calcium current inhibition). Expression of GPR35b, which has an additional 31 residues at the N terminus, produced similar results but with much greater variability. Both GPR35a and GPR35b appeared to have similar expression patterns when fused to fluorescent proteins. These results suggest a potential role for GPR35 in regulating neuronal excitability and synaptic release.
Database Searching with DNA and Protein Sequences: An Introduction

This review of sequence database searching aims to set out current practice in the area, in order to give practical guidelines to the experimental biologist. It describes the basic principles behind the programs and enumerates the range of databases available in the public domain. Of these, the most important are the equivalent DNA databases European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), GenBank and DNA Databank of Japan (DDBJ), and the protein databases Swiss-Prot and TrEMBL. The commonly used BLAST and FASTA algorithms are described in detail and alternative approaches mentioned briefly. Scoring matrices used to compare amino acid types during protein database searches are compared, with an emphasis on the PAM and BLOSUM series of observed substitution matrices.
Clinical identifiers of complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

BACKGROUND Complications of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) are often difficult to identify. The ability to accurately predict the likelihood of these complications would impact patient management. This investigation sought to define readily available clinical characteristics that could help identify patients at risk for complicated SAB. METHODS A prospective, observational cohort study was conducted from September 1994 through December 1999. Patients were followed up for 12 weeks after the initial positive blood culture result. The primary end point was complicated SAB (attributable mortality, complicated infection, embolic stroke, or recurrent S aureus infection during the 12-week follow-up period). The predictive model was validated using bootstrap resampling. RESULTS Complicated SAB was present in 43% of 724 consecutive adult hospitalized patients identified during the study period. The full predictive model had a high discriminative ability (bootstrap-corrected c index, 0.78). The strongest predictor of complicated SAB was a positive follow-up blood culture result at 48 to 96 hours. A scoring system based on the presence or absence of 4 risk factors (community acquisition, skin examination findings suggesting acute systemic infection, persistent fever at 72 hours, and positive follow-up blood culture results at 48-96 hours) accurately identified complicated SAB (bootstrap-corrected c index, 0.76). CONCLUSION Readily available clinical variables can help identify patients at risk for complicated SAB.
Multistructure brain registration using multimodal neuroimaging for the detection of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is an irreversible neuro degenerative brain disorder. The progression of AD can be traced from Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images. The cortical features can be well extracted from MR images while PET images clearly resolve the subcortical structures of brain. The registration approach used in this paper is a multistructure registration approach. The multistructure registration approach eliminates the problem of partial voluming and information loss. The segmentation of white matter and gray matter tissues traces the amount of tissue loss associated with AD. The multistructure registration of PET and MR images allows loading information in to a central space. By adopting multimodal neuroimaging the correlation between the modalities is exploited for the study. The registration procedure is based on the fluid kinematic model of the brain volume. This preserves the underlying topology and anatomy while constraining the transformation to be smooth. In this paper a novel framework for the early detection of AD using multimodal neuroimaging is proposed. The differentiation of AD from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) was also studied.
Arquitecturas cognitivas y cerebro: hacia una teoría unificada de la cognición

Cognitive architectures are defined as the group of essential components belonging to a system which allows the analysis of its cognitions and behaviors. The aim of this study is to review one of the most plausible cognitive architectures from the neuroanatomic perspective: The Adaptive Control of Thought-Rational (ACT-R) is a theory about how human mind works. Following an initial approach to its basic concepts its two computational levels are described, these are: a symbolic level , which includes declarative information; and a sub-symbolic level which is represented as a parallel set of processes. At the same time, architecture’s modules are related to brain’s functional neuroanatomy describing how cortico-striatal-thalamic circuit works
Capacity gain through power enhancement in multi-radio multi-channel wireless networks

The main focus of this paper is to show theoretically that power is a crucial factor in multi-radio multi-channel (MR-MC) wireless networks and hence by judiciously leveraging the power, one can realize a considerable gain on the capacity for MR-MC wireless networks. Such a capacity gain through power enhancement is revealed by our new insights of a co-channel enlarging effect. In particular, when the number of available channels (c) in a network is larger than that necessary for enabling the maximum set of simultaneous transmissions (c̃), allocating transmissions to those additional c-c̃ channels could enlarge the distance between the co-channel transmissions; the larger co-channel distance then allows a higher transmission power for higher link capacity. The finding of this paper specifically indicate that by exploiting the co-channel enlarging effect with power, one can realize the following gain on the capacity for MR-MC wireless networks: (i) In the channel-constraint region (c̃ <; c <; nφ/2), if each node augments its power from the minimum P<sub>min</sub> to P<sub>min</sub> c/c̃<sup>α/2</sup>, then a gain of Θ(log(c/c̃)<sup>α/2</sup>) is achieved; (ii) In the power-constraint region (c ≥ nφ/2), if each node sends at the maximum power level, P<sub>max</sub> = P<sub>min</sub>. n<sup>K</sup> or P<sub>min</sub>. 2nφ/2, depending on the power availability at a node, then a gain of Θ(log n) or Θ(n) is achieved, respectively.