Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Conditioned Medium Differentially Regulates Matrix Protein Gene Expression in Cells of the Intervertebral Disc

Study Design. Matrix protein gene expression was determined for cells of the anulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) regions of the intervertebral disc when cultured in AF or NP cell-conditioned medium. Objectives. To investigate changes in mRNA levels for type I collagen, type II collagen and aggrecan in cells of the AF and NP in response to cell-conditioned medium. Summary of Background Data. Cells of the intervertebral disc have been shown to respond to exogenous soluble mediators such as the growth factors TGF-beta and IGF-1. Little is known of their biologic response to endogenous factors that may be secreted locally or by cells of neighboring regions. Methods. Porcine cells were cultured for 48 hours in alginate gel in the presence or absence of conditioned medium. Gene expression for aggrecan and collagens was quantified using real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction. Results. AF cell gene expression was generally stimulated by the conditioned medium of either AF or NP cells. In contrast, the notochordal cell-containing NP cells showed little change in gene expression with either source of conditioned medium. Conclusions. Cells of the NP and AF secrete soluble factors in culture at similarly effective doses to stimulate matrix protein gene expression in AF cells of the intervertebral disc. Unlike AF cells, however, NP cell gene expression was not stimulated by any conditioned medium, suggesting that differences exist in the responsiveness of cells of notochordal (NP) and fibrocartilaginous (AF) phenotypes. Understanding these differences between cells of the intervertebral disc may reveal unique stimulatory factors important to repair and regeneration of the degenerated intervertebral disc.
A Soft Robust Model for Optimization Under Ambiguity

In this paper, we propose a framework for robust optimization that relaxes the standard notion of robustness by allowing the decision maker to vary the protection level in a smooth way across the uncertainty set. We apply our approach to the problem of maximizing the expected value of a payoff function when the underlying distribution is ambiguous and therefore robustness is relevant. Our primary objective is to develop this framework and relate it to the standard notion of robustness, which deals with only a single guarantee across one uncertainty set. First, we show that our approach connects closely to the theory of convex risk measures. We show that the complexity of this approach is equivalent to that of solving a small number of standard robust problems. We then investigate the conservatism benefits and downside probability guarantees implied by this approach and compare to the standard robust approach. Finally, we illustrate the methodology on an asset allocation example consisting of historical market data over a 25-year investment horizon and find in every case we explore that relaxing standard robustness with soft robustness yields a seemingly favorable risk-return trade-off: each case results in a higher out-of-sample expected return for a relatively minor degradation of out-of-sample downside performance.
The Snail Family Gene Snai3 Is Not Essential for Embryogenesis in Mice

The Snail gene family encodes zinc finger-containing transcriptional repressor proteins. Three members of the Snail gene family have been described in mammals, encoded by the Snai1, Snai2, and Snai3 genes. The function of the Snai1 and Snai2 genes have been studied extensively during both vertebrate embryogenesis and tumor progression and metastasis, and play critically important roles during these processes. However, little is known about the function of the Snai3 gene and protein. We describe here generation and analysis of Snai3 conditional and null mutant mice. We also generated an EYFP-tagged Snai3 null allele that accurately reflects endogenous Snai3 gene expression, with the highest levels of expression detected in thymus and skeletal muscle. Snai3 null mutant homozygous mice are viable and fertile, and exhibit no obvious phenotypic defects. These results demonstrate that Snai3 gene function is not essential for embryogenesis in mice.
Nature-Inspired Optimisation Approaches and the New Plant Propagation Algorithm

Nature-inspired algorithms are proving to be very successful on complex optimisation problems. A new algorithm, inspired by the way plants, and in particular the strawberry plant, propagate is presented. The algorithm is explained, tested on standard test functions, and compared with the well known Nelder-Mead algorithm. The new approach is then applied to a complex process design problem that arises in Chlorobenzene purification, a problem that exhibits strong nonlinear behaviour and has a small feasible region.
A Psychometric Evaluation of Poloma and Pendleton's (1991) and Ladd and Spilka's (2002, 2006) Measures of Prayer

Prayer has increasingly been used as an empirical measure of religiosity. Recent developments include Ladd and Spilka’s Inward, Outward and Upward Prayer Scale, which measures what respondents think about while praying,andPolomaandPendleton’sMeasureofPrayerType,whichmeasures fourdifferentdimensionsofprayer as well as degree of intimacy with the divine. The present study provides a factor analytical evaluation of both measures, including an examination of total scale and subscale reliability. The measures were administered to a sample of 518 Irish respondents. Although the total scales and subscales were found to be reliable, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the hypothesized factor structures were a less than optimal fit of the data, while correlational analysis revealed a conceptual overlap between the measures.
Beyond Getting In and Fitting In

Social network analyses, combined with qualitative analyses, are examined to understand key components of the college trajectories of 261 Latina/o students. Their social network ties reveal variation in extensity and the relevance. Most ties facilitate social capital relevant to getting into college, fewer engage social capital relevant to strategizing success in college, and even fewer provide social capital benefits useful for planning career/professional trajectories.
The c.7409G>A (p.Cys2470Tyr) Variant of FBN1: Phenotypic Variability across Three Generations

Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in the fibrillin gene FBN1, which encodes an extracellular matrix glycoprotein. Major features of Marfan syndrome occur in the ocular, cardiovascular, and skeletal systems as well as in the dura mater. Approximately 60% of known disease-causing mutations are missense mutations of single amino acid residues. Effects on the cardiovascular system are classically associated with mutations in exons 24-32 of the 65 FBN1 exons and many, though not all, reports associate missense mutations in exons 59-65 with a mild cardiovascular phenotype. Here we present 5 related individuals among whom a c.7409G>A (p.Cys2470Tyr) missense variant in exon 59 of FBN1 is associated with significant cardiovascular features. The index case also had an apparently de novo 46,XX,del(5)(q33.1q33.3) deletion on chromosome 5. This family demonstrates skeletal, dermatological and neurological features consistent with Marfan syndrome but lacks significant ophthalmological findings to date. These findings suggest that FBN1 C-terminal missense mutations may not confer the ophthalmological features of Marfan syndrome, but they also confer a more significant risk for cardiovascular pathology than that suggested by previous studies. Furthermore, clinical data from this family supports the previously reported association of dural ectasia with C-terminal mutations.
Rethinking the Threats to Scientific Balance in Contexts of Litigation and Regulation

Background Although existing literature does discuss difficulties of doing science in contexts of litigation and regulation, work to date reflects little first-hand experience in such contexts. This gap is understandable but also potentially troubling: Concerns that seem important from afar may or may not match those that are most salient for scientists actually engaged in such work. Objectives Drawing on experience on scientific committees and in lawsuits, and using skills developed through doing qualitative fieldwork, I reanalyze past experiences and field notes from the perspective of the 2006 Coronado Conference “Truth and Advocacy in Contexts of Litigation and Regulation. ” Although I initially shared the kinds of concerns generally stressed by other scientists and science-studies scholars—emphasizing overt, relatively sinister efforts to limit scientific objectivity—neither the literature nor my initial instincts provided adequate preparation for more subtle influences, which actually created stronger pressures toward bias. Particularly unexpected pressures came from consistent deference and praise for independence and credibility. Discussion and Conclusions The cases discussed in this article are by nature suggestive, not definitive; additional research is clearly needed. Future research, however, needs to focus not just on pressures toward bias that are easy to imagine, but also on those that are easy to overlook.
Introduction to Semiconductor Physics in Secondary Education: Evaluation of a teaching sequence

The present article presents a didactic proposal oriented to teaching notions of semiconductor physics in secondary education. The methods and the results of a pilot study designed to analyse the effectiveness of a teaching sequence on the topic are also described. The subjects were 60 students, aged 14–15 years, of a secondary school in Seville, Spain. The levels of knowledge acquired by the students were evaluated by means of a test and personal interviews, which we also used to detect the most frequent obstacles they encountered against learning. Also, we employed personal interviews and analysis of the students’ notebooks to evaluate their attitudes towards semiconductor physics and its learning, and to evaluate the degree to which the teaching sequence fosters cooperative learning and the self‐regulation of learning. The results indicated that the students in general acquired ideas and reasoning in the appropriate line, although with some mistakes or inaccuracies with respect to scientific conceptions, and acquired positive attitudes towards the learning of semiconductor physics, with a high degree of motivation during the teaching–learning process. The conclusion is that it is possible to initiate teaching the basic notions of semiconductor physics in secondary education, although it is necessary to continue going deeper into the topic with new research. As a proposal for improvement in future actions, we formulate new objectives oriented at overcoming the students’ commonest obstacles against learning with respect to the topic.
Measuring distributed properties of neural representations beyond the decoding of local variables: Implications for cognition

Neural representations are distributed. This means that more information can be gleaned from neural ensembles than from single cells. Modern recording technology allows the simultaneous recording of large neural ensembles (of more than 100 cells simultaneously) from awake behaving animals. Historically, the principal means of analyzing representations encoded within large ensembles has been to measure the immediate accuracy of the encoding of behavioral variables (”reconstruction”). In this chapter, we will argue that measuring immediate reconstruction only touches the surface of what can be gleaned from these ensembles. We will discuss the implications of distributed representation, in particular, the usefulness of measuring self-consistency of the representation within neural ensembles. Because representations are distributed, neurons in a population can agree or disagree on the value being represented. Measuring the extent to which a firing pattern matches expectations can provide an accurate assessment of the self-consistency of a representation. Dynamic changes in the self-consistency of a representation are potentially indicative of cognitive processes. We will also discuss the implications of representation of non-local (non-immediate) values for cognitive processes. Because cognition occurs at fast time scales, changes must be detectable at fast (ms, tens of ms) timescales.
Hepatitis C virus infection in young, low-income women: the role of sexually transmitted infection as a potential cofactor for HCV infection.

OBJECTIVES We evaluated risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in women residing in low-income neighborhoods of northern California. METHODS A population-based sample of 1707 women, aged 18 to 29, were surveyed and screened for sexually transmitted infections and HCV. RESULTS Women infected with HCV (2.5%) were more likely to have a history of injection and noninjection drug use, to exchange sex for money or drugs, and to have sexually transmitted infections. HCV was independently associated with history of injection drug use, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, and heroin and cocaine use. CONCLUSIONS Injection drug use is the highest risk exposure for HCV, but HSV-2 and noninjection drug use contribute significantly to increased risk. HCV prevention programs in impoverished areas should integrate drug treatment and sexually transmitted infection control.
Journeys in ink: re-presenting the spaces of inclusive arts practice

This article documents some of the imaginative and physical journeys taken by a group of performance makers during a two-week course at Northbrook College, West Sussex in July 2011. Text, photographs and artworks are used to re-present some of the journeys we have taken together as a group and the modes of marking, map making and documentation used. MB: is an inclusive arts practitioner who works with artists with learning disabilities. Mary was coordinating the course and HM: was participating as an interested Cultural Geographer. The article is written as a dialogue and is likely to be of interest to readers interested in the geographies of performance, disability, non-representational research, innovative non-verbal methods or inclusive arts practice.
Time for old friends and grandchildren? Post‐retirement get‐togethers and life satisfaction

Abstract This article examines patterns of participation in get‐togethers and their impact on well‐being in a sample of 383 recently retired individuals in Israel. Results indicated that retirees, regardless of their background, tend to maintain existing patterns of involvement at the same or at increased frequency. However, get‐togethers’ role in successful adjustment to retirement seems to be limited. Only two types of relationships were found to be significant for respondents’ well‐being (with spouses and siblings), while spending time with other family members and friends did not significantly predict their satisfaction with life. These findings led to the conclusion that increasing the participation in get‐togethers may not be a good strategy for facing the challenge posed by the tremendous amount of additional free time following retirement. In order to better adjust to retirement, energies should be reallocated in more satisfying and meaningful directions.
Plastocyanin Is Indispensable for Photosynthetic Electron Flow in Arabidopsis thaliana*

Plastocyanin is a soluble copper-containing protein present in the thylakoid lumen, which transfers electrons to photosystem I. In the chloroplast of the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana, a cytochrome c6-like protein is present, which was recently suggested to function as an alternative electron carrier to plastocyanin. We show that Arabidopsis plants mutated in both of the two plastocyanin-coding genes and with a functional cytochrome c6 cannot grow photoautotrophically because of a complete block in light-driven electron transport. Even increased dosage of the gene encoding the cytochrome c6-like protein cannot complement the double mutant phenotype. This demonstrates that in Arabidopsis only plastocyanin can donate electrons to photosystem I in vivo.
Suppressive Effect of Coffee on Lipopolysaccharide-induced Hepatitis in D-Galactosamine-sensitized Rats

A coffee extract significantly suppressed lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced hepatitis in D-galactosamine-sensitized rats, as assessed by the plasma alanine and aspartate aminotransferase activities, when it was added to the diet (30 g/kg) and fed to rats for 14 days. Its effect was as strong as that of a green tea extract. The coffee extract suppressed LPS-induced hepatitis when singly force-fed (1.2 g/kg) 1.5 h prior to the injection of the drugs, whereas a decaffeinated cofee extract had no significant effect. The hepatoprotective effect of caffeine was stronger than that of theobromine. These results indicate that coffee can protect animals from LPS-induced hepatitis, and that the effect of coffee might be mainly due to caffeine.
Building customer-based brand equity : a blueprint for creating strong brands

and others at both organizations for their support and valuable input. Special thanks to Grey Advertising's Ben Arno who suggested the term brand resonance. Additional thanks to workshop participants at Duke University and Dartmouth College. MSI was established in 1961 as a not-for profit institute with the goal of bringing together business leaders and academics to create knowledge that will improve business performance. The primary mission was to provide intellectual leadership in marketing and its allied fields. Over the years, MSI's global network of scholars from leading graduate schools of management and thought leaders from sponsoring corporations has expanded to encompass multiple business functions and disciplines. Issues of key importance to business performance are identified by the Board of Trustees, which represents MSI corporations and the academic community. MSI supports studies by academics on these issues and disseminates the results through conferences and workshops, as well as through its publications series. This report, prepared with the support of MSI, is being sent to you for your information and review. It is not to be reproduced or published, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the Institute and the author. Building a strong brand has been shown to provide numerous financial rewards to firms, and has become a top priority for many organizations. In this report, author Keller outlines the Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model to assist management in their brand-building efforts. According to the model, building a strong brand involves four steps: (1) establishing the proper brand identity, that is, establishing breadth and depth of brand awareness, (2) creating the appropriate brand meaning through strong, favorable, and unique brand associations, (3) eliciting positive, accessible brand responses, and (4) forging brand relationships with customers that are characterized by intense, active loyalty. Achieving these four steps, in turn, involves establishing six brand-building blocks—brand salience, brand performance, brand imagery, brand judgments, brand feelings, and brand resonance. The most valuable brand-building block, brand resonance, occurs when all the other brand-building blocks are established. With true brand resonance, customers express a high degree of loyalty to the brand such that they actively seek means to interact with the brand and share their experiences with others. Firms that are able to achieve brand resonance should reap a host of benefits, for example, greater price premiums and more efficient and effective marketing programs. The CBBE model provides a yardstick by …
A Pre-Performance Routine to Alleviate Choking in “Choking-Susceptible” Athletes

“Choking under pressure” is a maladaptive response to performance pressure whereby choking models have been identified, yet, theory-matched interventions have not empirically tested. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether a preperformance routine (PPR) could reduce choking effects, based on the distraction model of choking. Three “choking-susceptible”, experienced participants were purposively sampled, from 88 participants, to complete ten-pin bowling deliveries in a single-case A1-B1-A2-B2 design (A phases = “low-pressure”; B phases = “high-pressure”), with an interview following the single-case design. Participants experienced “choking” in the B1 phase, which the interviews indicated was partially due to an increase in self-awareness (S-A). During the B2 phase, improved accuracy occurred when using the personalized PPR and, qualitatively, positive psychological outcomes included reduced S-A and decreased conscious processing. Using the personalized PPR produced adaptive and relevant,.
Anti-free prostate-specific antigen monoclonal antibody epitopes defined by mimotopes and molecular modeling.

BACKGROUND Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is an important marker for the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer, and the free PSA/total PSA ratio has been shown to be efficient for distinguishing prostate cancer from benign prostatic hyperplasia. We report here the characterization of seven mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and the partial localization of two conformational epitopes identified by anti-free PSA mAbs. METHODS The mAbs were studied by competition and sandwich assays, and the epitope localization of the two anti-free PSA mAbs (6C8D8 and 5D3D11) was performed using phage displayed peptide libraries and molecular modeling. RESULTS The seven mAbs were classified into three groups according to their recognition specificities and their ability to inhibit the enzymatic activity of PSA and the formation of PSA-alpha1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) complex. Among the anti-free PSA mAb group, 6C8D8 recognized the phage displayed peptide RKLRPHWLHFHPVAV, two parts of which presented similarities with two regions distant on the PSA sequence but joined in the tridimensional structure. mAb 5D3D11 recognized the peptide DTPYPWGWLLDEGYD, which is similar to a PSA region located on the board of the groove containing the PSA enzymatic site. Both epitopes were located in the theoretical ACT binding site described previously. Moreover, these mAbs were able to inhibit the enzymatic activity of PSA. CONCLUSIONS These epitope localizations are in agreement with the ability of both mAbs to inhibit enzymatic activity and ACT fixation. The results presented here could bring information for the generation of clinically relevant PSA assays.
Metaphor as categorization: a connectionist implementation

A key issue for models of metaphor comprehension is to explain how, in some metaphorical comparison "A is B," only some features of B are transferred to A. The features of B that are transferred to A depend both on A and on B. This is the central thrust of Black's (1979) well-known interaction theory of metaphor comprehension. However, this theory is somewhat abstract, and it is not obvious how it may be implemented in terms of mental representations and processes. In this article, we describe a simple computational model of online metaphor comprehension that combines Black's interaction theory with the idea that metaphor comprehension is a type of categorization process (Glucksberg & Keysar, 1990, 1993). The model is based on a distributed connectionist network depicting semantic memory (McClelland & Rumelhart, 1986). The network learns feature-based information about various concepts. A metaphor is comprehended by applying a representation of the first term (A) to the network storing knowledge of the se.