Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sharing Shared Governance: The Benefits of Systemness

Shared governance in higher education refers to the structures and processes through which faculty, professional staff, administration, governing boards and, sometimes, students and staff participate in the development of policies and in decision making that affect the institution. As an organization, the SUNY University Faculty Senate began in 1953, and is included in the Board of Trustees Policies (Article VII. Title A): § 1. Name. There shall be a University Faculty Senate of State University of New York. §2. Purposes. The senate shall be the official agency through which the University Faculty engages in the governance of the University. The Senate shall he concerned with effective educational policies and other professional matters within the University. This poster highlights both the challenges to and benefits of shared governance in the context of systemness. Systemness provides challenges to shared governance; however, members of the SUNY University Faculty Senate (UFS) have learned to capitalize on the benefits of systemness – within campuses, as well as across the system, to advance shared governance throughout the University. By incorporating the voices of campus governance leaders (CGLs) as well as the University Faculty Senators at the UFS plenary meetings, campus faculty and unique campus concerns are represented. Through the involvement of the Chancellor at these plenary meetings, an administrative perspective is incorporated. The end result, in many cases, is the ability to capitalize on the resources available, while being respectful of the different campus needs and characteristics. And yet, it is the uniqueness and the idiosyncrasies of the individual campuses that have created the experiences, perspectives and voices that have contributed to SUNY’s dynamic processes of shared governance. It is the challenges faced by individual campuses as well as the System that foster the use of all the options discussed. In this way, the “System is bigger than the sum of its parts. ”
Neurobehavioral deficits in offspring of schizophrenic parents: liability indicators and predictors of illness.

High-risk research in schizophrenia incorporates several different strategies for studying individuals who are defined by different criteria as being at risk for future development of schizophrenia. Variables from a wide range of domains have been included in these studies. Several reviews of high-risk research have attempted to cover the field broadly, whereas others have been more sharply focused on research subjects defined by specific criteria or on particular classes of variables. Among the review articles and collections of project reports on high-risk research in the past two decades are: Watt et al. [1984: Children at risk for schizophrenia: a longitudinal perspective]; Nuechterlein and Dawson [1984: Schizophr Bull 10:160-203]; Nuechterlein [1986: J Child Psychol Psychiatr 27:133-144]; Erlenmeyer-Kimling and Cornblatt [1987: J Psychiatr Res 26:405-426]; Goldstein and Tuma [1987: Schizophr Bull 13:369-371]; Asarnow [1988: Schizophr Bull 14:613-631]; Moldin and Erlenmeyer-Kimling [1994: Schizophr Bull 20:25-29]; Mirsky [1995: Schizophr Bull 21:179-182]; Gooding and Iacono [1995: Manual of developmental psychopathology] McNeil [1995: Epidemiol Rev 17:107-112] Olin and Mednick [1996: Schizophr Bull 22:223-240]; Cornblatt and Obuchowski [1997: Intl Rev Psychiatry 9:437-447]. This paper presents an overview of findings from recent (the past decade and a half) prospective studies of children of schizophrenic parents, with a focus on neurobehavioral (neurocognitive, neuromotor, and neurophysiological) variables that may reflect aspects of the genetic liability to schizophrenia and related disorders. The few neuroimaging studies on children of schizophrenic parents are also briefly mentioned. Because of space limitations, the overview is not intended as a comprehensive or detailed review of this area of high-risk research.
Waist circumference and menopausal status are independent predictors of endothelial low-grade inflammation.

Abstract Background: The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) seems to be associated with the presence of atherosclerosis. The association between menopause-related changes in endogenous sex hormones and hs-CRP levels remains controversial. Objective: To compare the levels of hs-CRP in pre- and postmenopausal women and to evaluate the association of endogenous sex hormones, waist circumference (WC) and insulin resistance with the levels of hs-CRP. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 145 women (age range: 45–65 years), 56 premenopausal and 89 postmenopausal. Patients were evaluated for hormonal and lipid profile, HOMA-IR, hs-CRP and WC. Each variable was first assessed for correlation with log hs-CRP using a univariate model, and significant variables were then added to the multivariate regression model. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The hs-CRP is higher in postmenopausal patients (3.6 ± 4.9 versus 2.6 ± 3.7, p = 0.004). The log hs-CRP was positively correlated with WC (r = 0.13, p = 0.005), HOMA-IR (r = 0.29, p = 0.001), and triglycerides (r = 0.50, p = 0.01). The menopausal status (p = 0.02) and WC (p = 0.00003) behaved as independent predictors of hs-CRP levels. No correlation was found between hs-CRP and the time since menopause (r = −0.1, p = 0.58). Conclusions: The hs-CRP is higher in postmenopausal patients. The menopausal status and WC were independently associated with hs-CRP levels in this sample of pre and postmenopausal women.
Child Sexual Abuse and Psychological Impairment in Victims: Results of an Online Study Initiated by Victims

Sexual abuse of children has been a topic of scientific investigation for the past few decades. Research in this area, however, is rarely initiated, conceptualized, and conducted by victims themselves. Apart from possibly having painted a one-sided picture of sexual abuse, this presumed dominance of nonvictims might also have marginalized victims in a research area central to their lives. This study was conducted by a victims interest group as an effort to meet the need to add victims' perspectives to our current understanding of this topic. The online survey focused on investigating victims' psychosocial impairment, which was found to be extensive. Results indicated that an intact social support system facilitates better health, especially when offered early on.
Mapping of functional regions on the transferrin-binding protein (TfbA) of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae can use porcine transferrin as the sole source of iron. Two proteins with molecular masses of approximately 60 kDa (TfbA) and 110 kDa have been shown to specifically bind porcine transferrin; from the TfbA protein, three isoforms from A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes 1, 5, and 7 have been identified and characterized by nucleotide sequence analysis. Here we defined the transferrin-binding region(s) of the TfbA protein of A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 7 by TnphoA mutagenesis, random mutagenesis, and peptide spot synthesis. The amino-terminal half of the TfbA molecule, which has only 36% amino acid sequence identity among the three isoforms, was shown to be responsible for transferrin binding by TnphoA mutagenesis. This result was confirmed by analysis of six random mutants with decreased transferrin binding affinity. The subsequent analysis of overlapping 16-mer peptides comprising the amino-terminal half of the TfbA molecule revealed three domains of 13 or 14 amino acids in length with transferrin-binding activity. They overlapped, or were very close to, point mutations decreasing transferrin-binding ability. The first and third domains were unique to the TfbA protein of A. pleuropneumoniae serotype 7. In contrast, the sequence of the second domain was present in almost identical forms (12 of 14 residues) in the TfbA proteins of A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes 1 and 5; in addition, a sequence consisting of functionally homologous amino acids was present in the otherwise completely distinct small transferrin-binding proteins of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (TbpB), N. meningitidis (Tbp2), and Haemophilus influenzae (Tbp2).
Food-specific attribution of selected gastrointestinal illnesses: estimates from a Canadian expert elicitation survey.

The study used a structured expert elicitation survey to derive estimates of food-specific attribution for nine illnesses caused by enteric pathogens in Canada. It was based on a similar survey conducted in the United States and focused on Campylobacter spp. , Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica, Shigella spp. , Vibrio spp. , Yersinia enterocolitica, Cryptosporidium parvum, and Norwalk-like virus. A snowball approach was used to identify food safety experts within Canada. Survey respondents provided background information as well as self-assessments of their expertise for each pathogen and the 12 food categories. Depending on the pathogen, food source attribution estimates were based on responses from between 10 and 35 experts. For each pathogen, experts divided their estimates of total foodborne illness across 12 food categories and they provided a best estimate for each category as well as 5th and 95th percentile limits for foods considered to be vehicles. Their responses were treated as triangular probability distributions, and linear aggregation was used to combine the opinions of each group of experts for each pathogen-food source group. Across the 108 pathogen-food groups, a majority of experts agreed on 30 sources and 48 nonsources for illness. The number of food groups considered to be pathogen sources by a majority of experts varied by pathogen from a low of one food source for Vibrio spp. (seafood) and C. parvum (produce) to a high of seven food sources for Salmonella spp. Beta distributions were fitted to the aggregated opinions and were reasonable representations for most of the pathogen-food group attributions. These results will be used to quantitatively assess the burden of foodborne illness in Canada as well as to analyze the uncertainty in our estimates.
Regulation of a Cytosolic and Nuclear O-GlcNAc Transferase

The O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is a unique nuclear and cytosolic glycosyltransferase that contains multiple tetratricopeptide repeats. We have begun to characterize the mechanisms regulating OGT using a combination of deletion analysis and kinetic studies. Here we show that the p110 subunit of the enzyme forms both homo- and heterotrimers that appear to have different binding affinities for UDP-GlcNAc. The multimerization domain of OGT lies within the tetratricopeptide repeat domain and is not necessary for activity. Kinetic analyses of the full-length trimer and the truncated monomer forms of OGT suggest that both forms function through a random bi-bi kinetic mechanism. Both the monomer and trimer have similar specific activities and similar K m values for peptide substrates. However, they differ in their binding affinities for UDP-GlcNAc, indicating that subunit interactions affect enzyme activity. The findings that recombinant OGT has three distinctK m values for UDP-GlcNAc and that UDP-GlcNAc concentrations modulates the affinity of OGT for peptides suggest that OGT is exquisitely regulated by the levels of UDP-GlcNAc within the nucleus and cytoplasm.
Investor Trading Behavior and Sentiment in Futures Markets

ABSTRACT This study investigates the effects of investor trading behavior and investor sentiment on futures market return. We find that the spot investor trading behavior, futures investor trading behavior, spot market sentiment, and futures market sentiment all have positive effects on daily futures returns in Chinese financial market. More importantly, we show that the effect of (spot) futures investor trading behavior has better explanatory power than (spot) futures market sentiment on futures returns. Further supporting our results, high investor trading behavior and high investor sentiment strengthen the positive relation between sentiment-returns and behavior-returns.
Party Reputations and Policy Priorities: How Issue Ownership Shapes Executive and Legislative Agendas

Election-oriented elites are expected to emphasize issues on which their party possesses ‘issue ownership’ during campaigns. This article extends those theories to the content of executive and legislative agendas. Arguing that executives have incentives to pursue their party’s owned issues in the legislature, it theorizes three conditions under which these incentives are constrained: when governments are responsive to issues prioritized by the public, when a party has a stronger electoral mandate and under divided government. The theory is tested using time-series analyses of policy agendas of US congressional statutes and State of the Union addresses (1947–2012) and UK acts of Parliament and the Queen’s Speech (1950–2010). The results offer support for the theory, and are particularly strong for the US State of the Union address, providing insights into institutional differences. The implications provide reassurance concerning the conditions under which governments focus attention only on their partisan issue priorities.
Bilinguisme Et Developpement Cognitif A L’ecole Primaire. Une Etude Experimentale A Partir Du Terrain Ivoirien De La Region De Bondoukou

Bilingualism is a subject of growing research in Ivory Coast since in many regions, there has been either a simultaneous bilingualism alternating bilingualism among school-age children. This sociological reality noted that children speak at least two local languages before school for learning French. Obviously, the young student who comes into the first primary level CM1), is facing a situation of multilingualism. From an experimental study, quantitative approach serves as a method of analysis to evaluate the effect of bilingualism among students of CM1 class of the Bondoukou region on academic performance. The study whose objective is indeed to make an analysis of the impact of bilingualism on cognitive development of learners, comes in operative assumptions. The results indicate a strong correlation between variables bilingualism, cognitive development and learning. The practice of two local languages in children proves to be an asset for cognitive development in general and learning in schools in particular. The performances by these schoolchildren in several disciplinary trials of their level, are justified in part by a good command of their native languages.
The effect  of  1  month  of  therapy with midodrine, octreotide‐LAR and albumin in refractory ascites: a pilot study

Background: The pathogenesis of refractory ascites (RA) is linked to splanchnic vasodilation. We hypothesized that a combination of midodrine, octreotide long‐acting release (LAR) and albumin would result in increased natriuresis, better control of ascites and an improvement in renal function in patients with RA±Type 2 hepatorenal syndrome.
[Error analysis of estimating terrestrial soil organic carbon storage in China].

The paper summarizes different estimating methods of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage including methods of soil taxonomy, vegetation types, Holdridge zones, correlative relationship and modeling. The error analysis of SOC calculation was introduced. Based on second national soil survey 2473 soil profiles, adopting soil taxonomy method and two kinds of SOC density, the terrestrial SOC storage in China was estimated. The range of SOC storage in China is between 615.19 and 1211.37 x 10(14) g and the average SOC density is between 10.49-10.53 kg.m-2(for average soil depth of 100 cm) or 11.52-12.04 kg.m-3(for average soil depth of 88 cm). Through estimation and error analysis, the average SOC storage is about 913.28 +/- 298.09 x 10(14) g and the uncertainty is among 20%-50%. Results showed that the differences of SOC estimation and sampling methods are important factors of SOC estimating uncertainties.
Blood Vessel Contributions to Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness Profiles Measured With Optical Coherence Tomography

PurposeTo understand better the influence of retinal blood vessels (BVs) on the interindividual variation in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measured with optical coherence tomography (OCT). Subjects and MethodsRNFL thickness profiles were measured by OCT in 16 control individuals and 16 patients. The patients had advanced glaucoma defined by abnormal disc appearance, abnormal visual fields, and a mean visual field deviation worse than −10 dB. ResultsIn general, the OCT RNFL thickness profiles showed 4 local maxima, with the peak amplitudes in the superior and inferior regions occurring in the temporal (peripapillary) disc region. There was considerable variability among individuals in the location of these maxima. However, the 4 maxima typically fell on, or near, a major BV with the temporal and inferior peaks nearly always associated with the main temporal branches of the superior and inferior veins and arteries. In the patients' hemifields with severe loss (mean visual field deviation worse than −20 dB), the signals associated with the major BVs were in the order of 100 to 150 μm. ConclusionsThe variation in the local peaks of the RNFL profiles of controls correlates well with the location of the main temporal branches of the superior and inferior veins and arteries. This correspondence is, in part, due to a direct BV contribution to the shape of the OCT RNFL and, in part, due to the fact that BVs develop along the densest regions of axons. Although the overall BV contribution was estimated to be relatively modest, roughly 13% of the total peripapillary RNFL thickness in controls, their contribution represents a substantial portion locally and increases in importance with disease progression.
A Critical Role of Cavin (Polymerase I and Transcript Release Factor) in Caveolae Formation and Organization*

Cavin (PTRF) has been shown to be a highly abundant protein component of caveolae, but its functional role there is unknown. Here, we confirm that cavin co-localizes with caveolin-1 in adipocytes by confocal microscopy and co-distributes with caveolin-1 in lipid raft fractions by sucrose gradient flotation. However, cavin does not directly associate with caveolin-1 as solubilization of caveolae disrupts their interaction. Cholesterol depletion with β-cyclodextrin causes a significant down-regulation of cavin from plasma membrane lipid raft fractions. Overexpression of cavin in HEK293-Cav-1 cells and knockdown of cavin in 3T3-L1 adipocytes enhances and diminishes caveolin-1 levels, respectively, indicating an important role for cavin in maintaining the level of caveolin-1. A truncated form of cavin, eGFP-cavin-1-322, which lacks 74 amino acids from the C-terminal, reveals a microtubular network localization by confocal microscopy. Disruption of cytoskeletal elements with latrunculin B or nocodazole diminishes cavin expression without affecting the caveolin-1 amount. We propose that the presence of cavin on the inside surface of caveolae stabilizes these structures, probably through interaction with the cytoskeleton, and cavin therefore plays an important role in caveolae formation and organization.
Expression of the sodium ion pump methylmalonyl-coenzyme A-decarboxylase from Veillonella parvula and of mutated enzyme specimens in Escherichia coli

The structural genes of the sodium ion pump methylmalonyl-coenzyme A (CoA)-decarboxylase from Veillonella parvula have recently been cloned on three overlapping plasmids (pJH1, pJH20, and pJH40) and sequenced. To synthesize the complete decarboxylase in Escherichia coli, the genes were fused in the correct order (mmdADECB) on a single plasmid (pJH70). A DNA region upstream of mmdA apparently served as promoter in E. coli because expression of the mmd genes was not dependent on the correct orientation of the lac promoter present on the pBluescript KS(+)-derived expression plasmid. To allow controlled induction of the mmd genes, the upstream region was deleted and the mmd genes were cloned behind a T7 promoter. The derived plasmid, pT7mmd, was transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3) expressing T7 RNA polymerase under the control of the lac promoter. The synthesized proteins showed the typical properties of methylmalonyl-CoA-decarboxylase, i.e., the same migration behavior during sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, stimulation of the decarboxylation activity by sodium ions, and inhibition with avidin. In methylmalonyl-CoA-decarboxylase expressed in E. coli from pT7mmd, the gamma subunit was only partially biotinylated and the alpha subunit was present in substoichiometric amounts, resulting in a low catalytic activity. This activity could be considerably increased by coexpression of biotin ligase and by incubation with separately expressed alpha subunit. After these treatments methylmalonyl-CoA-decarboxylase with a specific activity of about 5 U/mg of protein was isolated by adsorption and elution from monomeric avidin-Sepharose. To analyze the function of the delta and epsilon subunits, the corresponding genes were deleted from plasmid pT7mmd. E. coli cells transformed with pJHdelta2, which lacks mmdE and the 3' -terminal part of mmdD, showed no methylmalonyl-CoA-decarboxylase activity. In addition, a contrast, catalytically active methylmalonyl-CoA-decarboxylase was expressed in E. coli from plasmid pJHdelta1, which contained a deletion of the mmdE gene only. The mutant enzyme could be isolated, reconstituted into proteolipsomes, and shown to function in the transport of Na+ ions coupled to methylmalonyl-CoA decarboxylation. The small epsilon subunit therefore has no catalytic function within the methylmalonyl-CoA-decarboxylase complex but appears to increase the stability of this complex.
Development of lateral interactions in the infant visual system

Abstract The development of lateral inhibitory interactions in the infant visual system, as reflected by the visual-evoked potential (VEP), was studied using a radial, asymmetrical windmill-dartboard stimulus. This contrast-reversing stimulus generates VEP responses with a strong fundamental frequency component and an attenuated second harmonic component (relative to that obtained using a symmetrical stimulus). These two harmonic components reflect distinct phenomena, and appear to be the result of short-range (the fundamental) and long-range (attenuated second harmonic) lateral inhibitory interactions elicited by differential luminance-modulation of contiguous spatial regions. We studied the development of the short-and long-range interactions at 100% and 30% contrast in human infants using both VEP amplitude and phase measures. Attenuation of the second harmonic (long-range interactions) was adult-like by 8 weeks of age while the strength of the fundamental (short-range interactions) was adult-like by 20 weeks suggesting a differential development of long-range and short-range interactions. In contrast, corresponding phase data indicated significant immaturities at 20 weeks of age for both the short-and long-range components.