Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Testis Cord Maintenance in Mouse Embryos: Genes and Signaling1

ABSTRACT Testis cords, embryonic precursors of the seminiferous tubules, are fundamental for testis structure and function. Delay or disruption of testis cord formation could result in gonadal dysgenesis. Although mechanisms regulating testis cord formation during sex determination have been well-studied, the genes and signaling pathways involving in testis cord maintenance after the cords have formed are not well characterized. It is now clear that the maintenance of cord structure is an active process. In this review, we summarize the recent findings regarding the regulation of testis cord integrity by a series of Sertoli cell transcription factors, including the WT1-SOX8/SOX9-beta-CATENIN-DHH network, GPR56, STIM1, and NR0B1 (also known as DAX1). In particularly, we emphasize the underappreciated role of peritubular myoid cells in testis cord maintenance and their cooperation with Sertoli cells. The regulation of the size, shape, and number of testis cords by Sertoli cell proliferation (e.g., SMAD4, GATA4, and TGF-beta signaling), Leydig cell products (e.g., ACTIVIN A), vascular development (a lesson learned from PDGF signaling), and available gonad space (as observed in Ift144 mutant mice) is also addressed. Further efforts and new genetic models are needed to unveil the gene networks and underlying mechanisms regulating testis cord integrity and morphology after sex determination.
Exploring the Motivational Factors for Learning English in Aceh = العوامل المؤثرة في تعلم اللغة الإنجليزية في إقليم أتشية

This study investigated the motivational factors of tertiary students for learning English in Aceh, Indonesia. It further examined the year of study and urban/rural provenance influences on their levels of motivation. Approximately 56 university students participated in this research. The research instrument was a closed-ended questionnaire consisting of 10 items adapted from the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (Smythe & Gardner, 1981). Three types of motivation were measured: intrinsic, extrinsic/instrumental and integrative (Noels, 2003). The findings showed that integrative motivation/international posture was the popular motive for learning English (M=5.369), followed by intrinsic (M=4.991) and extrinsic/instrumental motivations (M=4.732). This indicated that English was learned in order to converse and associate with foreigners from other countries who speak English. We further presume that this may have also been triggered by the increasing number of foreigners who are entering Aceh either for work or tourism after the earthquake and tsunami disaster which struck the province in 2004 and “opened” to the world the previously “closed” province due to political conflicts. Therefore, the year of study and the areas in which they came from did not affect their levels of motivation as both showed no significant differences between these variables.
Total and regional cerebral blood flow during hypotension, hypertension, and hypocapnia. Effect of sympathetic denervation in dogs.

SUMMARY This study was performed to determine whether acute or chronic sympathetic denervation increases or redistributes cerebral blood flow (CBF) during hypotension or during the action of vasoconstrictor stimuli (hypocapnia and hypertension). Left superior cervical and stellate ganglionectomy was performed in anesthetized dogs. Total and regional CBF were measured by using microspheres. In acute experiments, hemorrhagic hypotension produced a redistribution of CBF which tended to preserve blood flow to the brainstem and to cerebral gray matter. Hypertension and hypocapnia did not redistribute CBF. Blood flows were similar in the acutely denervated and nondenervated half of the brain during control conditions, hypotension, hypertension, and hypocapnia. Completeness of sympathetic denervation was demonstrated by large increases in blood flow to the masseter muscle on the denervated side. Similar studies were undertaken 6-7 days after sympathetic ganglionectomy, at which time cerebral vascular catecholamines were depleted on the denervated side: norepinephrine content in innervated and denervated middle cerebral arteries was 3.1 ± 0.5 and 0.1 ± 0.02 ng/g, respectively. Blood flows in the chronically denervated and nondenervated half of the brain were similar during control conditions and during interventions. The major new findings in this study are, first, that hypotension produces a redistribution of CBF which tends to preserve blood flow to brainstem and to cerebral gray matter, and second, that acute "or chronic sympathetic denervation does not alter distribution of CBF over a wide range of arterial pressure or during hypocapnia.
SCL-6 and SCL-10 R 1 Six and Ten Item Indices of Psychological Distress Based on the Symptom Checklist-90

Clinicians, provider organizations, and researchers need simple and valid measures to monitor mental health treatment outcomes. This paper describes development of sixand tenitem indices of psychological distress based on the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). A review of eight factor-analytic studies identified SCL-90 items most indicative of overall distress. Convergent validity of two new indices and the previously developed SCL-10 were compared in an archival sample of PTSD patients (n = 323). One index, the SCL-6, was further validated with archival data on substance abuse patients (n = 3,014 and n = 316) and hospital staff (n = 542). The three brief scales had similar convergent validity, correlating . 87 to . 97 with the SCL90 and Brief Symptom Inventory, . 49 to . 76 with other symptom scales, and . 46 to . 73 with changes in other symptom measures over time. These results indicate the concise, easily administered scales are valid indicators of psychological distress.
The Chandra Deep Field North Survey. X. X-ray Emission from Very Red Objects

The multi-wavelength properties of Very Red Objects (VROs; I − K ≥ 4) are largely unknown as many of these sources are optically faint (I ≥ 24) and undetected at most wavelengths. Here we provide constraints on the X-ray (0.5–8.0 keV) properties of VROs using the 1 Ms Chandra exposure of an 8.4 ′ × 8.4 ′ region within the Hawaii Flanking-Field area containing the Hubble Deep Field North (HDF-N). We find that VROs detected in the hard band (2.0–8.0 keV) have flat X-ray spectral slopes (Γ ≈ 0.9) and X-ray properties consistent with those expected from luminous obscured AGN. The fraction of such sources in the K ≤ 20.1 VRO population is 14 +11 −7 %. Conversely, the average X-ray spectral slope of VROs detected in the soft band (0.5–2.0 keV) but not in the hard band is comparatively steep (Γ > 1.4), and the X-ray emission from these sources is consistent with that expected from less energetic processes (i.e., star formation, low-luminosity AGN activity, normal elliptical galaxy emission); star-formation and low-luminosity AGN activity scenarios are favored in those sources with irregular optical morphologies. Stacking analyses of the X-ray emission from VROs not individually detected at X-ray energies yield significant detections (≥99% confidence level) in the soft band and the full band (0.5–8.0 keV). We find this X-ray emission is produced predominantly by the optically brightest VROs. The simplest explanation of this result is that we have detected the average X-ray emission from non-active VROs with low X-ray-to-optical flux ratios [log (f X f I) ≈ –2]; this is consistent with that expected if the majority of these VROs are ≈ M * I elliptical galaxies. A number of VROs are also detected with mid-infrared (15 µm) and radio emission, and we provide constraints on the nature of this emission.
Anti-S-Nitrosocysteine Antibodies Are a Predictive Marker for Demyelination in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis: Implications for Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by inflammation within the CNS. This inflammatory response is associated with production of nitric oxide (NO) and NO-related species that nitrosylate thiols. We postulated that MS patients would exhibit an antibody (Ab) response directed against proteins containing S-nitrosocysteine (SNO-cysteine) and showed that anti-NO-cysteine Abs of the IgM isotype are in fact present in the sera of some MS patients (Boullerne et al., 1995). We report here the presence of a seemingly identical Ab response directed against SNO-cysteine in an acute model of MS, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced in Lewis rats with the 68–84 peptide of guinea pig myelin basic protein (MBP68–84). Serum levels of anti-SNO-cysteine Abs peaked 1 week before the onset of clinical signs and well before the appearance of anti-MBP68–84 Abs. The anti-SNO-cysteine Ab peak titer correlated with the extent of subsequent CNS demyelination, suggesting a link between Ab level and CNS lesion formation. In relapsing–remitting MS patients, we found elevated anti-SNO-cysteine Ab at times of relapse and normal values in most patients judged to be in remission. Two-thirds of patients with secondary progressive MS had elevated anti-SNO-cysteine Ab levels, including those receiving interferon β-1b. The data show that a rise in circulating anti-SNO-cysteine Ab levels precedes onset of EAE. Anti-SNO-cysteine Abs are also elevated at times of MS attacks and in progressive disease, suggesting a possible role for these Abs, measurable in blood, as a biological marker for clinical activity.
Livestock Drugs and Disease: The Fatal Combination behind Breeding Failure in Endangered Bearded Vultures

There is increasing concern about the impact of veterinary drugs and livestock pathogens as factors damaging wildlife health, especially of threatened avian scavengers feeding upon medicated livestock carcasses. We conducted a comprehensive study of failed eggs and dead nestlings in bearded vultures (Gypaetus barbatus) to attempt to elucidate the proximate causes of breeding failure behind the recent decline in productivity in the Spanish Pyrenees. We found high concentrations of multiple veterinary drugs, primarily fluoroquinolones, in most failed eggs and nestlings, associated with multiple internal organ damage and livestock pathogens causing disease, especially septicaemia by swine pathogens and infectious bursal disease. The combined impact of drugs and disease as stochastic factors may result in potentially devastating effects exacerbating an already high risk of extinction and should be considered in current conservation programs for bearded vultures and other scavenger species, especially in regards to dangerous veterinary drugs and highly pathogenic poultry viruses.
ARock: an Algorithmic Framework for Asynchronous Parallel Coordinate Updates

Finding a fixed point to a nonexpansive operator, i.e., $x^*=Tx^*$, abstracts many problems in numerical linear algebra, optimization, and other areas of scientific computing. To solve fixed-point problems, we propose ARock, an algorithmic framework in which multiple agents (machines, processors, or cores) update $x$ in an asynchronous parallel fashion. Asynchrony is crucial to parallel computing since it reduces synchronization wait, relaxes communication bottleneck, and thus speeds up computing significantly. At each step of ARock, an agent updates a randomly selected coordinate $x_i$ based on possibly out-of-date information on $x$. The agents share $x$ through either global memory or communication. If writing $x_i$ is atomic, the agents can read and write $x$ without memory locks. Theoretically, we show that if the nonexpansive operator $T$ has a fixed point, then with probability one, ARock generates a sequence that converges to a fixed points of $T$. Our conditions on $T$ and step sizes are weaker than comparable work. Linear convergence is also obtained. We propose special cases of ARock for linear systems, convex optimization, machine learning, as well as distributed and decentralized consensus problems. Numerical experiments of solving sparse logistic regression problems are presented.
A Wide-Field CCD Survey for Centaurs and Kuiper Belt Objects

A modified Baker-Nunn camera was used to conduct a wide-field survey of 1428 deg2 of sky near the ecliptic in search of bright Kuiper Belt objects and Centaurs. This area is an order of magnitude larger than any previously published CCD survey for Centaurs and Kuiper Belt objects. No new objects brighter than red magnitude mR = 18.8 and moving at a rate 1″ to 20″ hr-1 were discovered, although one previously discovered Centaur, 1997 CU26 (Chariklo), was serendipitously detected. The parameters of the survey were characterized using both visual and automated techniques. From this survey, the empirical projected surface density of Centaurs was found to be ΣC(mR ≤ 18.8) = 7.8 × 10-4 deg-2, and we found a projected surface density 3 σ upper confidence limit for Kuiper Belt objects of ΣK(mR ≤ 18.8) < 4.1 × 10-3 deg-2. We discuss the current state of the cumulative luminosity functions of both Centaurs and Kuiper Belt objects. Through a Monte Carlo simulation we show that the size distribution of Centaurs is consistent with a q ∼ 4 differential power law, similar to the size distribution of the parent Kuiper Belt objects. The Centaur population is of order 1 × 107 (radius ≥1 km), assuming a geometric albedo of 0.04. We predict about 100 Centaurs larger than 50 km in radius, of which only four are presently known. The current total mass of the Centaurs is about 10-4 M⊕. No dust clouds were detected resulting from Kuiper Belt object collisions, placing a 3 σ upper limit of fewer than 600 collisionally produced clouds of mR < 18.8 per year.
Trade Policy versus Trade Facilitation: An Application Using ‘Good Old’ OLS

Abstract Trade policy barriers are only one element of overall trade costs. Among these, and due to the decrease in the influence of tariff barriers on trade over time, institutional barriers might increase in relative importance and become a key obstacle to the movements of goods across countries. This paper quantifies and compares the impact that a number of trade facilitation and trade policy barriers have on bilateral trade flows. A theoretically justified gravity model of trade is estimated by using the methodology proposed in Baier and Bergstrand (Bonus vetus OLS: A simple method for approximating international trade-cost effects using the gravity equation, 2009) for a cross-section of countries in the year 2000. Results indicate that institutional trade barriers have a greater impact on trade flows than tariff barriers. According to these findings, trade policy negotiation efforts should focus on facilitating trade processes and should be at the forefront of multilateral negotiations.
Constrained Assortment Optimization for the Nested Logit Model

We study assortment optimization problems where customer choices are governed by the nested logit model and there are constraints on the set of products offered in each nest. Under the nested logit model, the products are organized in nests. Each product in each nest has a fixed revenue associated with it. The goal is to find a feasible set of products, i.e., a feasible assortment, to maximize the expected revenue per customer. We consider cardinality and space constraints on the offered assortment, which limit the number of products and the total space consumption of the products offered in each nest, respectively. We show that the optimal assortment under cardinality constraints can be obtained efficiently by solving a linear program. The assortment optimization problem under space constraints is NP-hard. We show how to obtain an assortment with a performance guarantee of 2 under space constraints. This assortment also provides a performance guarantee of 1/(1- (epsilon) ) when the space requirement of each product is at most a fraction (epsilon) of the space availability in each nest. Building on our results for constrained assortment optimization, we show that we can efficiently solve joint assortment optimization and pricing problems under the nested logit model, where we choose the assortment of products to offer to customers, as well as the prices of the offered products.Data, as supplemental material, are available at http://dx.doi. org/10.1287/mnsc.2014. 1931 . This paper was accepted by Dimitris Bertsimas, optimization.
Influence of Biogenic Silica from Terrestrial Vegetation on Riverine Systems and Diatom Evolution

Presently within the scientific literature no terrestrial biogenic silica models exist that compare by magnitude, processes transporting silica. Change in vegetation type has the potential to alter dissolved concentrations of Si in rivers and ultimately the oceans. Diatoms greatly depend on Si concentrations for growth, and as a result land cover change may have influenced onset diatom radiation during the Cenozoic. To expand our understanding of this cycle, a terrestrial biogenic silica model is proposed. This model accounts for biogenic silica production, dissolution and leaching through soils, as well as providing estimates for annual silica soil storage. A case study performed using the constructed biogenic silica model, showed an increase in oceanic DSi concentration during the Miocene (period of diatom diversification). However, this increase does not appear to have been sufficient to trigger global diatom radiation, suggesting multiple geographically isolated locations for this diversification.
Sense of Smell in Long-Standing Nasal Polyposis

An impaired sense of smell is a common complaint in patients with nasal polyposis, and hyposmia is usually attributed to obstruction of the nasal airways. The duration of nasal polyposis and nasal surgery may also affect olfaction. It has been shown that aging and chronic rhinitis both impair olfaction. The aim of our study was to evaluate the sense of smell in patients who had had nasal polyposis for at least 20 years. The olfactory threshold was assessed with a commercially available odor detection threshold test. The threshold of 19 (46%) of 41 patients was greater than the age-related upper 95% reference limit. In a forward stepwise multiple regression analysis of all the polyposis patients, the degree of opacity of ethmoidal sinuses seen in computed tomography (CT), polyposis visible in anterior rhinoscopy, total nasal resistance, and gender had a significant association with olfactory threshold.
Surgical procedures in the treatment of 784 infected THAs reported to the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register

Background and purpose Controversies still exist regarding the best surgical procedure in the treatment of periprosthetic infection after total hip arthroplasty (THA). Based on data in the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register (NAR), we have compared the risk of re-revision after 4 different surgical procedures: 2-stage with exchange of the whole prosthesis, 1-stage with exchange of the whole prosthesis, major partial 1-stage with exchange of stem or cup, and minor partial 1-stage with exchange of femoral head and/or acetabular liner. Methods Between 1987 and 2009, 124,759 primary THAs were reported to the NAR, of which 906 (0.7%) were revised due to infection. Included in this study were the 784 revisions that had been performed by 1 of the 4 different surgical procedures. Cox-estimated survival and relative revision risks are presented with adjustment for differences among groups regarding gender, type of fixation, type of prosthesis, and age at revision. Results 2-stage procedures were used in 283 revisions (36%), 1-stage in 192 revisions (25%), major partial in 129 revisions (17%), and minor partial in 180 revisions (23%). 2-year Kaplan-Meier survival for all revisions was 83%; it was 92% for those re-revised by 2-stage exchange procedure, 88% for those re-revised by 1-stage exchange procedure, 66% for those re-revised by major partial exchange procedure, and it was 76% for those re-revised by minor partial exchange. Compared to the 2-stage procedure and with any reason for revision as endpoint (180 re-revisions), the risk of re-revision increased 1.4 times for 1-stage (p = 0.2), 4.1 times for major partial exchange (p < 0.001), and 1.5 times for minor partial exchange (p = 0.1). With infection as the endpoint (108 re-revisions), the risk of re-revision increased 2.0 times for 1-stage exchange (p = 0.04), 6.0 times for major partial exchange (p < 0.001), and 2.3 times for minor partial exchange (p = 0.02). Similar results were found when the analyses were restricted to the period 2002–2009. Interpretation In the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register, the survival after revision of infected primary THA with 2-stage implant exchange was slightly superior to that for 1-stage exchange of the whole prosthesis. This result is noteworthy, since 2-stage procedures are often used with the most severe infections. However, debridement with exchange of head and/or liner but with retention of the fixed implant (minor revision) meant that there was a 76% chance of not being re-revised within 2 years.
A Group Rule–Utilitarian Approach to Voter Turnout: Theory and Evidence

This paper explores a group rule–utilitarian approach to understanding voter turnout, inspired by the theoretical work of John C. Harsanyi (1980) and Timothy J. Feddersen and Alvaro Sandroni (2002). It develops a model based on this approach and studies its performance in explaining turnout in Texas liquor referenda. The results are encouraging: the comparative static predictions of the model are broadly consistent with the data, and a structurally estimated version of the model yields reasonable coefficient estimates and fits the data well. The structurally estimated model also outperforms a simple expressive voting model.
Improving Homeless Point-In-Time Counts: Uncovering the Marginally Housed

This article discusses improvements made to the methodology of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) point-in-time (PIT) homeless census. HUD’s PIT results are presented to Congress as official data for policy consideration. Yet, PIT methodology focuses on visible street homeless individuals and those in shelters while neglecting the “marginally housed” or less visible homeless who live in automobiles or temporarily stay with friends and extended family. Being a hidden population, the marginally housed has been a traditionally difficult population to study. We replicated HUD’s PIT count but additionally targeted the marginally housed to improve traditional methods of counting the homeless. We improve the PIT count in two ways: (1) by extensively training counters, and (2) by using the personal networks of hundreds of counters to seek out the marginally housed. Student researchers from a local university located 333 more homeless individuals than the local PIT, of which 153 were marginally housed. We do not claim this to be an exhaustive count of all the marginally housed in the region, but it is an initial step in developing methodologies to include this hidden population when calculating the total homeless population. This approach can also improve traditional homeless counts in other cities.
Incomplete Markets, Liquidation Risk, and the Term Structure of Interest Rates

We analyze the term structure of real interest rates in a general equilibrium model with incomplete markets and borrowing constraints. Agents are subject to both aggregate and idiosyncratic income shocks, which latter may force them into early portfolio liquidation in a bad aggregate state. We derive a closed-form equilibrium with limited agent heterogeneity (despite market incompleteness), which allows us to produce analytical expressions for bond prices and returns at any maturity. The attractiveness of bonds as liquidity makes aggregate bond demand downward-sloping, so that greater bond supply raises both the level and the slope of the yield curve. Moreover, time-variations in liquidation risk are shown to help explain the rejection of the Expectations Hypothesis.