Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The contribution of a private higher education institution to the South African higher education landscape

Private Higher Education (PHE) in South Africa has been perceived to deliver programmes of questionable quality in search of profit maximisation (CHE 2016, 84). To curb this perception, the Council on Higher Education (CHE) has instituted strict regulations with regard to accrediting qualifications offered by Higher Education (HE) institutions. To determine the contributions of PHE to the South African higher education landscape, this article evaluates a registered management programme, on recommendation of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) of the CHE, with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) (CHE, 2013). Using Kirkpatrick’s (1996) four-level model of training programme evaluation as the theoretical framework, the management programme was evaluated to determine its contribution to higher education in South Africa. The four levels included the perception of the learners, the knowledge gained by the learners, the learners’ performance in the workplace and the return on investment. Other stakeholders, such as the sponsor and students’ line managers, were interviewed to determine whether the programme has contributed to work outputs. Overall, the results show that the programme is contributing to the development of higher education in South Africa.
Experimental Reproduction of Bovine Fetal Neospora Infection and Death with a Bovine Neospora Isolate

Studies were conducted to determine the pathogenic potential of the recently isolated bovine Neospora protozoa (BPA-1) for the bovine fetus. Cows chosen for study had Neospora titers < 160 using an indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test. Four experimental groups were studied. In group 1, 2 fetuses were inoculated in utero at 118 days gestation with culture-derived Neospora tachyzoites. A pregnant control cow was housed in the same pen, observed daily and screened serologically for evidence of exposure to Neospora. In group 2, 2 cows were infected with Neospora tachyzoites at 138 or 161 days gestation, and 1 control cow was given uninfected cell culture suspension simultaneously at 154 days gestation. Groups 3 (85 days gestation) and 4 (120 days gestation) each consisted of 2 cows infected with Neospora tachyzoites and 1 control cow given uninfected material at the same stage of gestation. Dead fetuses were surgically removed from the infected cows in group 1 on postinfection day (PID) 17. The histopathology was compatible with protozoal fetal infection, and protozoa were identified by immunohistochemistry. Viable fetuses were removed surgically from cows in group 2 on PID 28-30. The histopathology was compatible with protozoal fetal infection, protozoa were identified by immunoperoxidase techniques, and Neospora tachyzoites were reisolated in vitro from tissues of the 2 infected fetuses. In groups 3 and 4, the control fetus and 1 infected fetus were removed surgically between PID 26 and PID 33. The remaining infected cows were observed until fetal death or abortion occurred. In group 3, the fetus that was surgically removed from 1 infected cow had no pathologic abnormalities, and parasites were not found (PID 26). The second fetus in group 3 died in utero, and expulsion of a mummified fetus was induced on PID 67. Brain histopathology was compatible with protozoal infection, and parasites were identified by immunoperoxidase techniques. The fetus that was surgically removed (PID 32) from 1 infected cow in group 4 had lesions compatible with protozoal infection, and Neospora tachyzoites were reisolated in vitro from fetal tissues. The second infected cow in group 4 produced a full-term live calf that had a precolostral Neospora titer of 20,480. Clinically, this calf had depressed conscious proprioception in all limbs. Very mild lesions were found in the central nervous system, but protozoa were not found in the tissues. The results demonstrate that the bovine Neospora protozoa can be transplacentally transmitted, resulting in fetal infection and death, and mimics the naturally occurring fetal disease.
Effects of simulated-microgravity on development and p53 gene expression of zebrafish embryos

Microgravity can induce a serial of physiological and pathological changes in human body. The mechanism of microgravity-induced bio-effects is one of the most important issues in space studies and still remains unclear. In this research, zebrafish embryo, a powerful model for studying vertebrate development, was exposed to a NASA-designed rotary cell culture system (RCCS) to investigate the effects of simulated-microgravity on development and gene expression. Parameters for development, such as malformation rate, mortality rate, heart rate and body length, as well as p53 gene expression were examined between RCCS-exposed zebrafish embryos and their synchronized controls. The malformation rate, heart rate and body length were all found increased, while no significant change was found on mortality rate after simulated-microgravity exposure. A significant decrease of p53 gene expression was found in 60hpf (hour past fertilization) zebrafish embryos after a 36h simulated-microgravity exposure from 24hpf. Together, our data presented here illustrate that zebrafish embryo can be significantly induced by microgravity on development and gene expression and therefore could be a powerful vertebrate development model for further mechanism study on simulated microgravity.
How Important are Dual Economy Effects for Aggregate Productivity?

This paper brings together development accounting techniques and the dual economy model to address the role that factor markets have in creating variation in aggregate total factor productivity (TFP). Development accounting research has shown that much of the variation in income across countries can be attributed to differences in TFP. The dual economy model suggests that aggregate productivity is depressed by having too many factors allocated to low productivity work in agriculture. Data show large differences in marginal products of similar factors within many developing countries, offering prima facie evidence of this misallocation. Using a simple two-sector decomposition of the economy, this article estimates the role of these misallocations in accounting for the cross-country income distribution. A key contribution is the ability to bring sector-specific data on human and physical capital stocks to the analysis. Variation across countries in the degree of misallocation is shown to account for 30-40% of the variation in income per capita, and up to 80% of the variation in aggregate TFP.
Pituitary Adenylyl Cyclase-activating Peptide Stimulates Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase 1 or 2 (ERK1/2) Activity in a Ras-independent, Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase/ERK Kinase 1 or 2-dependent Manner in PC12 Cells*

Sustained activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) is critical for initiating differentiation of the PC12 cell to a sympathetic-like neurone. The neuropeptide, pituitary adenylyl cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP), has been demonstrated to cause cells to adopt a neuronal phenotype, although the mechanism of this activity is unclear. PACAP through its type I receptor stimulates a biphasic activation of ERK1/2; a >10-fold increase within 5 min, followed by a >5-fold increase that is sustained for ≥60 min. An equivalent stimulation is seen in PC12 cells expressing a dominant negative Ras mutant. However, the mitogen-activated kinase/ERK kinase 1/2 (MEK1/2) inhibitor PD98059 blocked both PACAP-induced stimulation of ERK1/2 activity and neurite outgrowth. Thus, the activation signal from the PACAP type I receptor on the ERK1/2 cascade pathway is received downstream of Ras, either at Raf or MEK. Down-regulation of protein kinase C or its inhibition by calphostin C blocked the ability of PACAP to stimulate ERK1/2. We conclude that activation of PACAP type I receptor activates protein kinase C, which then activates the ERK1/2 cascade in a Ras-independent manner at either Raf or MEK1/2.
Randomized Trial on the 5 a Day, the Rio Grande Way Website, A Web-based Program to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Rural Communities

The Internet is a new technology for health communication in communities. The 5 a Day, the Rio Grande Way website intended to increase fruits and vegetables (FV) consumption was evaluated in a rural region enrolling 755 adults (65% Hispanic, 9% Native American, 88% female) in a randomized pretest–posttest controlled trial in 2002–2004. A total of 473 (63%) adults completed a 4-month follow-up. The change in daily intake on a food frequency questionnaire (control: mean = − 0.26 servings; intervention: mean = 0.38; estimated difference = 0.64, SD = 0.52, t(df = 416) = 1.22, p = 0.223) and single item (13.9% eating 5 + servings at pretest, 19.8% posttest for intervention; 17.4%, 13.8% for controls; odds ratio (OR) = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.07, 3.17) was in the expected direction but significant only for the single item. Website use was low and variable (logins: M = 3.3, range = 1 to 39.0; total time: M = 22.2 minutes, range = 0 to 322.7), but it was associated positively with fruit and vegetable intake (total time: Spearman r = 0.14, p = 0.004 for food frequency; Spearman r = 0.135, p = 0.004 for single item). A nutrition website may improve FV intake. The comparison on the food frequency measure may have been undermined by its high variability. Websites may be successful in community settings only when they are used enough by adults to influence them.
Decreased lung function in female but not male subjects with established cystic fibrosis-related diabetes.

OBJECTIVE Although cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) is associated with decreased lung function, sex is not known to influence CFRD. However, compared with male subjects with cystic fibrosis, female subjects with cystic fibrosis have increased morbidity. This study examines the association between female subjects with CFRD and poor lung function relative to male subjects using the percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) as a surrogate measure of morbidity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We compared 323 patients with established CFRD with 489 cystic fibrosis control subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) listed in the U.K. Cystic Fibrosis Database. Patients stratified by sex and chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection were compared using binary logistic regression, and patients with new CFRD diagnoses were compared prospectively for the year 2002. RESULTS CFRD in female subjects (but not male subjects) without chronic P. aeruginosa infection had a 20% lower percent predicted FEV(1) compared with control subjects with NGT (95% CI -11.7 to -27.7; P < 0.0001). Genotype, age, treatment center, age at diagnosis of cystic fibrosis, pregnancy, liver function, or dose of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy did not confound this female disadvantage. Comparison of female subjects with newly diagnosed CFRD free of chronic P. aeruginosa infection with matched control subjects with NGT showed no FEV(1) disadvantage in the 1st year after CFRD diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS Only female subjects with CFRD have significantly decreased lung function compared with sex-matched NGT control subjects. The absence of poor lung function in the first 12 months after diagnosis of diabetes suggests that an opportunity may exist to intervene and possibly prevent a decline in lung function, which can be as much as 20% in female subjects with CFRD.
Detection and sequences of the enteroaggregative Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin 1 gene in enterotoxigenic E. coli strains isolated from piglets and calves with diarrhea

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) strains isolated from piglets and calves with diarrhea were tested for the presence of the enteroaggregative E. coli enterotoxin 1 (EAST1) gene sequences by PCR and colony hybridization. The EAST1 gene was found in most porcine ETEC strains with adherence factor K88, especially in those elaborating heat-labile enterotoxin. One porcine ETEC strain with adherence factor K99 was also positive for the EAST1 gene. In contrast, 987P-positive (987P+) ETEC strains from piglets, K99+ ETEC strains from calves, and K99+ F41+ or F41+ ETEC strains from piglets and calves were negative for the EAST1 gene. The K88ab+ or K88ac+ ETEC strains tested possessed the EAST1 gene on a plasmid that was distinct from a K88-encoding plasmid. The EAST1 gene sequences of the K88+ ETEC strains were identical to each other and 99.1 and 98.3% homologous to the previously reported sequences of ETEC strains colonizing humans and enteroaggregative E. coli strains, respectively. The data indicate that the EAST1 gene is distributed among porcine ETEC strains in association with the adherence factor type.
Vive la Différence: The Freedom and Inherent Responsibilities When Designing and Implementing Multiple Mini-Interviews

The literature on multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) is replete with heterogeneous study results related to the constructs measured, correlations with other measures, and demographic relationships. Rather than view these results as contradictory, the authors ask, What if all of the results are correct? They point out that the MMI is not an assessment tool but, rather, an assessment method. Design and implementation of locally conducted MMIs in medical school admissions processes should reflect local needs. As with other local assessments, MMIs should be considered separate from nationally conducted assessments that reflect more universal competencies. With the freedom to exercise unique values in locally constructed MMIs, individual institutions, or small bands of like-minded institutions, in parallel carry the responsibility to ensure local assessment tool validity.
Lipids and Stroke: The Opportunity of Lipid-Lowering Treatment

Dyslipemia is a clear risk factor (RF) for ischemic heart disease and peripheral artery disease, but its relation with ischemic stroke (IS) is not so clear. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor drugs or statins (simvastatin, atorvastatin, pravastatin) reduce the relative risk of IS by between 18 and 51% in patients with IHD, in patients with high vascular disease risk and in hypertensive patients with other RFs, acute coronary syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. According to the guidelines for use, statins are indicated in the majority of patients with IS since the risk is equivalent to that of IHD or high vascular disease risk. In view of the existing clinical evidence of benefit, it would not seem unreasonable to proceed with treatment of patients using statins while awaiting specific studies justifying their use. The non-lipid-lowering mechanisms of the statins and results of studies, such as the Heart Protection Study, provide evidence for widening the indications of statins beyond the prevention of dyslipemia, as a new therapeutic approach in the prevention of IS in patients with plasma levels of total cholesterol or low density lipoproteins currently considered within the normal distribution. The neuroprotective role, which these drugs may play in the acute phase of cerebral ischemia, remains to be clarified, but very recent evidence suggests that such patients may also benefit.
The origins and evolution of functional modules: lessons from protein complexes

Modularity is an attribute of a system that can be decomposed into a set of cohesive entities that are loosely coupled. Many cellular networks can be decomposed into functional modules—each functionally separable from the other modules. The protein complexes in physical protein interaction networks are a good example of this, and here we focus on their origins and evolution. We investigate the emergence of protein complexes and physical interactions between proteins by duplication, and review other mechanisms. We dissect the dataset of protein complexes of known three-dimensional structure, and show that roughly 90% of these complexes contain contacts between identical proteins within the same complex. Proteins that are shared across different complexes occur frequently, and they tend to be essential genes more often than members of a single protein complex. We also provide a perspective on the evolutionary mechanisms driving the growth of other modular cellular networks such as transcriptional regulatory and metabolic networks.
A Joint Scheduling and Resource Allocation Scheme for Millimeter Wave Heterogeneous Networks

Millimeter wave (mm-wave) frequencies provide orders of magnitude larger spectrum than current cellular allocations and allow usage of high dimensional antenna arrays for exploiting beamforming and spatial multiplexing. This paper addresses the problem of joint scheduling and radio resource allocation optimization in mm-wave heterogeneous networks where mm-wave small cells are densely deployed underlying the conventional homogeneous macro cells. Furthermore, mm-wave small cells operate in time division duplexing mode and share the same spectrum and air-interface for backhaul and access links. The scheme proposed in this paper can significantly enhance network throughput by exploiting space-division multiple access, i.e., allowing non-conflicting flows to be transmitted simultaneously. The optimization problem of maximizing network throughput is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming problem. To find a practical solution, this is decomposed into three steps: concurrent transmission scheduling, time resource allocation, and power allocation. A maximum independent set based algorithm is developed for concurrent transmission scheduling to improve resource utilization efficiency with low computational complexity. Through extensive simulations, we demonstrate that the proposed algorithm achieves significant gain over benchmark schemes in terms of user throughput.
Early Detection of Hepatitis C Virus Infection by Use of a New Combined Antigen-Antibody Detection Assay: Potential Use for High-Risk Individuals

ABSTRACT The performance of a new combined antigen-antibody assay (Monolisa HCV Ag-Ab Ultra; Bio-Rad Laboratories) was evaluated in the context of acute hepatitis C in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. The combined assay became positive as early as the first PCR and earlier than a third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 65% of the cases. Reduction of the long period of HCV seronegativity should improve the diagnosis of hepatitis C infection, especially in high-risk populations.
Hydrogen bonding in the bromide salts of 4-aminobenzoic acid and 4-aminoacetophenone.

In the title compounds, 4-carboxyanilinium bromide, C(7)H(8)NO(2)(+) x Br(-), (I), and 4-acetylanilinium bromide, C(8)H(10)NO(+) x Br(-), (II), each asymmetric unit contains a discrete cation with a protonated amino group and a halide anion. Both crystal structures are characterized by two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded networks. The ions in (I) are connected via N-H.Br, N-H.O and O-H.Br hydrogen bonds, with three characteristic graph-set motifs, viz. C(8), C(2)(1)(4) and R(3)(2)(8). The centrosymmetric hydrogen-bonded R(2)(2)(8) dimer motif characteristic of carboxylic acids is absent. The ions in (II) are connected via N-H.Br and N-H.O hydrogen bonds, with two characteristic graph-set motifs, viz. C(8) and R(4)(2)(8). The significance of this study lies in its illustration of the differences between the supramolecular aggregations in two similar compounds. The presence of the methyl group in (II) at the site corresponding to the hydroxyl group in (I) results in a significantly different hydrogen-bonding arrangement.
Evulvalution: The Portrayal of Women's External Genitalia and Physique across Time and the Current Barbie Doll Ideals

Media images of the female body commonly represent reigning appearance ideals of the era in which they are published. To date, limited documentation of the genital appearance ideals in mainstream media exists. Analysis 1 sought to describe genital appearance ideals (i.e., mons pubis and labia majora visibility, labia minora size and color, and pubic hair style) and general physique ideals (i.e., hip, waist, and bust size, height, weight, and body mass index [BMI]) across time based on 647 Playboy Magazine centerfolds published between 1953 and 2007. Analysis 2 focused exclusively on the genital appearance ideals embodied by models in 185 Playboy photographs published between 2007 and 2008. Taken together, results suggest the perpetuation of a “Barbie Doll” ideal characterized by a low BMI, narrow hips, a prominent bust, and hairless, undefined genitalia resembling those of a prepubescent female.
The Role of Equine Herpesvirus Type 4 Glycoprotein K in Virus Replication

Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) is an important equine pathogen that causes respiratory tract disease among horses worldwide. Glycoprotein K (gK) homologues have been identified in several alphaherpesviruses as a major player in virus entry, replication, and spread. In the present study, EHV-4 gK-deletion mutant has been generated by using bacterial artificial chromosome technology and Red mutagenesis to investigate the role of gK in EHV-4 replication. Our findings reported here show that gK is essential for virus replication in vitro and that the gK-negative strain was not able to be reconstituted in equine cells. It is noteworthy that these findings agree with the previously published study describing gK deletion in other alphaherpesviruses.
Cigarette smoking as a cause of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and risk for vasospasm: a report of the Cooperative Aneurysm Study.

OBJECT Cigarette smoking is associated with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and subsequent vasospasm. The purpose of this study was to quantify this association. METHODS Nearly 3500 patients with SAH from North America and Europe have been enrolled in five different multicenter, controlled studies coordinated at the Neuroclinical Trials Center of the Virginia Neurological Institute at the University of Virginia. Among the prospective data gathered were whether the patient smoked at the time of their most recent SAH and the evolution of angiographic vasospasm. The rate of smoking in the patients enrolled in the studies was compared with the expected rate by using a chi-square statistic adjusted for age and gender, in the general population in the United States (U.S.) and Europe. In virtually all age and gender subgroups, and for the combined populations in the five clinical trials, patients with SAH reported current smoking rates 2.5 times higher than expected based on U.S. and European national surveys (p < 0.0001). Cigarette smoking was also associated with younger age at onset of SAH (5-10 years, p < 0.0001) and increased incidence of clinically confirmed vasospasm (p < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS The findings of a significantly increased representation of current cigarette smokers in the study populations and significant association with younger age at the time of SAH and increased incidence of vasospasm concur with recent reports of smoking as a significant risk factor for ruptured aneurysms and subsequent vasospasm.