Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Genetic control of natural resistance in mouse macrophages regulating intracellular Legionella pneumophila multiplication in vitro

It is known that Legionella pneumophila proliferates in peritoneal macrophage cultures derived from A/J mice but not in macrophage cultures derived from many other strains, including C57BL/6 mice. To analyze the genetic control of this trait and the location of the Legionella resistance-susceptibility gene, we prepared segregating progeny of A/J and C57BL/6 mice and determined the levels of susceptibility of individual mice. Peritoneal macrophages were collected by injecting thioglycolate medium, and macrophage monolayers were infected in vitro with L. pneumophila Philadelphia-1. Counting of colonies on buffered charcoal yeast extract agar plates and Gimenez staining of macrophage monolayers were carried out daily. There was a 10-fold increase in bacterial burden 1 day after infection and a 100-fold increase after 2 days in A/J (susceptible) macrophages. The increase in bacterial burden was always less than 10-fold in macrophages from C57BL/6 (resistant) progenitors, A/J x C57BL/6 F1 hybrids, and C57BL/6 x F1 backcross progeny. The ratios of resistant individuals to susceptible individuals were 22:6 for F2 progeny and 20:22 for A/J x F1 backcross progeny. The fact that the organism did not proliferate in macrophages from B10.A mice demonstrated that major histocompatibility antigens did not regulate the macrophage resistance of C57BL/6-derived mice. The sex and coat color genes of mice were not linked to the resistance-susceptibility gene. We suggest that resistance and susceptibility are controlled by a single gene or closely linked genes which are autosomal and that the resistance allele is dominant. The results of a comparison of the strain distribution pattern of this trait with the distribution pattern of 185 allelic markers in A/J x C57BL/6 and C57BL/6 x A/J recombinant inbred strains suggest that this susceptibility-resistance gene is located in the proximal part of chromosome 15.
Protective effect of hydrogen sulphide against 6‐OHDA‐induced cell injury in SH‐SY5Y cells involves PKC/PI3K/Akt pathway

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is a novel neuromodulator. The present study aimed to investigate the protective effect of H2S against cell injury induced by 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA), a selective dopaminergic neurotoxin often used to establish a model of Parkinson's disease for studying the underlying mechanisms of this condition.
Rapid Screening of Low Molecular Mass Proteinuria: Evaluation of the First Immunochemical Test Strip for the Detection of α1-Microglobulin in Urine

A new semiquantitative immunochemical test strip for urinary alpha 1-microglobulin, a marker protein for tubular proteinuria, was assessed. This test strip has four colour zones, reflecting alpha 1-microglobulin concentrations of ca. 10, 25, 50, and 80 mg/l. alpha 1-Microglobulin concentrations were measured by means of the test strip and an immunonephelometric method in 330 samples collected as the second voided morning urine. The reading time of the test strip must be strictly observed. Reading one minute earlier or later than the 5 min stated in the instructions led to misclassification of over 70% of the results. Correlation between both methods was highly significant, with a Spearman rank correlation coefficient of rs = 0.84 (P < 0.001). There was a partial overlap of the test strip results in different concentration ranges. An elevation of alpha 1-microglobulin was defined as > 25 mg/l, calculated as the upper limit of the central 95% interval of alpha 1-microglobulin concentration in urine samples measured in a previous study of 304 healthy adults. Using this definition of alpha 1-microglobulin elevation, a sensitivity of 97.5%, specificity of 73.6%, a false-positive rate of 16.6%, and a false-negative rate of 0.9% of the test strip results were obtained. A fraction of 82.4% of the 330 samples investigated was correctly classified as having increased alpha 1-microglobulin concentration or not. Methodical improvements of the test strip are necessary to reduce overlapping results, in order to make the test suitable for screening purposes.
Relative Efficacy of Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (Diptera: Culicidae) Under Field Conditions

Abstract The relative efficacy of insecticide treated mosquito nets was evaluated under field conditions in Dehra village of Dhaulana PHC, District Ghaziabad, U.P., India, during 1996. Nylon nets were impregnated with deltamethrin, cyfluthrin, lambdacyhalothrin, and etofenprox at 25 mg/m2 by standard methods. Repellent, excito-repellency, killing, and airborne actions were monitored from dusk to dawn by hourly collection of mosquitoes that entered and rested in rooms and also females that landed on treated and untreated mosquito nets. Results revealed 15.3–22.9% repellent action, 98.3–99.3% excito-repellency action, and 100% mortality of females that landed on treated fabrics. No significant differences were observed in the efficacy of different synthetic pyrethroids against anophelines. However, against Culex quinquefasciatus Say there was a significant difference between deltamethrin and etofenprox. Control of anophelines was more pronounced than Cx. quinquefasciatus. There was no pronounced airborne action with any insecticide tested. Synthetic pyrethroids with strong airborne action may be more appropriate for impregnation of mosquito nets.
A wavelet approach for factor‐augmented forecasting

It has been acknowledged that wavelets can constitute a useful tool for forecasting in economics. Through a wavelet multi-resolution analysis, a time series can be decomposed into different timescale components and a model can be fitted to each component to improve the forecast accuracy of the series as a whole. Up to now, the literature on forecasting with wavelets has mainly focused on univariate modelling. On the other hand, in a context of growing data availability, a line of research has emerged on forecasting with large datasets. In particular, the use of factor‐augmented models have become quite widespread in the literature and among practitioners. The aim of this paper is to bridge the two strands of the literature. A wavelet approach for factor‐augmented forecasting is proposed and put to test for forecasting GDP growth for the major euro area countries. The results show that the forecasting performance is enhanced when wavelets and factor‐augmented models are used together. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nicotine‐induced proliferation of isolated rat pancreatic acinar cells: effect on cell signalling and function

Abstract. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to investigate whether nicotine treatment would induce the proliferation of isolated rat primary pancreatic acinar cells in culture by activating mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling and exocrine secretion. Materials and Methods: A nicotine dose‐ and time‐response curve was initially developed to determine the optimal dose and time used for all subsequent studies. Proliferation studies were conducted by cell counting and confirmed further by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and flow cytometry assays. MAPK signalling studies were conducted by Western blot analysis. Localization of ERK1/2 signals, with or without nicotine and the MAPK inhibitor, was visualized by immunofluorescence. Results: Nicotine treatment caused dose‐dependent activation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERK1/2), the maxima occurring at 100 µm and at 3 min after treatment; the response was suppressed by the ERK1/2 inhibitor. Maximal nicotine‐induced cell proliferation occurred at 24 h, and UO126‐treatment significantly reduced this response. Exposure of cells to 100 µm nicotine for 6 min significantly enhanced both baseline and cholecystokinin‐stimulated cell function, and these effects were not affected by treatment with the inhibitor of ERK1/2 but were suppressed by mecamylamine, a nicotinic receptor antagonist. Conclusions: Our results suggest that nicotine treatment induced cell proliferation of isolated pancreatic acinar cells and that this is coupled with the activation of MAPK signalling with no effect on its function. Hence, in primary cells, the mechanism of induction and regulation of these two processes, cell proliferation and cell function, by nicotine treatment are independent of each other.
The Relevant Effectiveness of Different Training and Development Methodologies

Choosing an effective method for instruction is a decision the training professional must deal with as an integral part of course design. The importance of the training professional being able to make this decision is relatively obvious, but effective training methods are also something that every manager should be aware of. Given that people indeed are the most valuable asset to an organisation, developing that resource is a key responsibility of the manager.
Antitrust Issues in Schumpeterian Industries

A half-century ago, Joseph Schumpeter (1950 Chapters 5–8) presented a vision of modern capitalism in which monopolies are common but frequently swept aside by a “perennial gale of creative destruction” (p. 84). This gale is driven not by price competition, but by “competition from the new commodity, the new technology . competition which strikes not at the margins of the profits of the existing firms but at their foundations and their very lives” (p. 84). I focus here on the personal-computer (PC) software (hereafter simply “software”) industry, which resembles this vision. I discuss some important issues this industry poses for antitrust policy and, in the final section, illustrate with examples from the Microsoft case.
Cambodia's Garment Industry - Origins and Future Prospects

The paper, written largely before Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) quotas on developing country exports of textiles and garments were removed on 31 December 2004, argues that Cambodia’s garment industry is well placed to withstand the increase in competition in its export markets that quota removal has brought. This conclusion is highly significant for the Cambodian economy, over 80% of whose exports now consist of garments.
Cardiac function after exhaustive open-sea swimming.

AIM The present study examined the acute effects of exhaustive 25-km open-sea swimming on left ventricular (LV) function and morphology. METHODS Twenty elite male swimmers (22.3+/-4.1 years) participated in this study. Two-dimensionally guided M-mode echocardiograms, and electrocardiographic, phonocardiographic and carotid pulse tracings were performed simultaneously before and immediately after prolonged exhaustive swimming to evaluate the LV function and morphology, and the cardiac sympathetic outflow. Blood samples were also collected before and after the race to determine the hematocrit and the plasma concentrations of K+, Na+, Ca2+, a-ANP, renin, myoglobulin, CPK-MB, and lactate. RESULTS Exhaustive swimming was associated with a significant reduction in LV fractional shortening (-13%), ejection fraction (-11%), stroke volume (-25%), and LV internal diastolic diameter (-7%). In contrast, cardiac index was increased by 31%, total peripheral resistance was increased by 7%, and LV circumferential and meridional wall stresses were increased by 101% and 102%, respectively. Significant relationships were found between the increases in total peripheral resistance and LV circumferential wall stress and the decrease in ejection fraction. On the contrast, no significant relationship was found between the increased hematocrit and decreased ejection fraction. Furthermore, the pre-ejection period increased by 11%, the pre-ejection period to LV ejection time ratio increased by 15%, and the electrical to electromechanical systole relationship increased from -8 to 10 ms. Immediately after the race, there were significant increases in hematocrit (9%), and plasma concentrations of a-ANP (211%), renin (161%) and lactate (72%), myoglobulin (421%), and CPK-MB (141%) compared to pre-race values. CONCLUSIONS In elite athletes, prolonged exhaustive swimming is associated with depressed LV function, as suggested by reduced stroke volume, ejection fraction, and LV fractional shortening. This alteration is mainly due to increased afterload.
A genome-wide association study of hypertension-related phenotypes in a Japanese population.

BACKGROUND Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been successful in identifying genes that contribute to common diseases and phenotypes. A GWAS of hypertension-related phenotypes in a Japanese population was conducted in the current study. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 936 participants were recruited from the Suita Study and a GWAS with 538,732 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) was performed. The phenotypes included were systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC), plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) concentration and alcohol consumption (AC). The SNP exceeding the genome-wide significance level were subjected to subsequent association studies using samples available from the Suita Study and Nomura Study. There is no master gene in the Japanese population that profoundly affects SBP, DBP, BMI, WHR, PRA and PAC. AC was influenced by the functional polymorphism in ALDH2, which affected BP levels in men. The BNP concentration was influenced by a polymorphism in the 3' region of the gene encoding for BNP. However, this polymorphism did not influence blood pressure (BP). Six SNP were identified to be associated with hypertension in both the Suita and Nomura studies. CONCLUSIONS Although several candidate SNP relevant to hypertension and those influencing AC and BNP were identified, our middle-sized GWAS indicated that there is no master gene in Japanese people that profoundly affects BP-related phenotypes.
The Influence of Culture on the Perceived Attractiveness of Hotel Loyalty Programs: Chinese versus Japanese Customers

Loyalty programs have risen in popularity as a tool to build customer loyalty in many industries, including the hotel industry. Though their effectiveness in building customer loyalty is still under debate (Dowling & Uncles, 1997; Hu, Huang, & Chen, 2010; Wirtz, Mattila, & Lwin, 2007), to attract customers to enroll is a prerequisite. This study examines the perceived attractiveness of various attributes of hotel loyalty programs. In particular, the influence of culture on the perceived attractiveness of hotel loyalty programs is investigated, an aspect seldom considered by hotel practitioners when promoting their loyalty programs to international customers. Drawing on a sample of business travelers, this study identifies significant differences between Chinese and Japanese respondents in their perceptions of seven attributes of hotel loyalty programs. “Guaranteed room availability upon reservation” was perceived as the most attractive attribute regardless of culture, whereas communication-related attributes were considered least important. Multiple regression analysis was employed to gain new insights into the role of culture in attracting customers to hotel loyalty programs. Hofstede’s five cultural orientations were used to explain the perceived attractiveness of hotel loyalty programs. Study results showed that culture played a more important role in attracting Japanese customers when compared to Chinese ones. These results imply that hotels should not omit the role of culture when targeting international customers to enroll and retain them in their loyalty programs.
A pilot study of mindfulness-based stress reduction for hot flashes

Objective: A variety of results from both population and laboratory studies suggest that stress and hot flashes (HFs) are correlated and that HFs are more severe in women with lower coping abilities. The objective of this pilot study was to obtain information on the feasibility and effect of participation in a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program on HF severity and menopause-related quality of life. Design: Fifteen women volunteers reporting a minimum of seven moderate to severe HFs per day at study intake attended the eight weekly MBSR classes at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Participants were assessed for menopause-related quality of life before beginning and at the conclusion of the MBSR program. Women also kept a daily log of their HFs through the course of the 7 weeks of the MBSR program and for 4 weeks after it. Results: Women's scores on quality-of-life measures increased significantly, and the median reported HF severity, calculated as the weekly average of a daily HF severity score, decreased 40% over the course of the 11 weeks of the assessment period. The women were individually interviewed at the completion of their participation, and the results of the interviews were consistent with the results from daily diaries. Conclusions: These results provide preliminary positive evidence of the feasibility and efficacy of MBSR in supporting women who are experiencing severe HFs, and it warrants further investigation.
Is Class Appreciation Just a Click Away?: Using Student Response System Technology to Enhance Shy Students' Introductory American Government Experience

Do individual-level student characteristics affect appreciation for, and benefit from, the use of student response system technology? We investigate the usefulness of in-class electronic student response systems (“classroom clickers”) to understand if it benefits some college students more than others. Specifically, we investigate whether shyer students benefit more from the use of the student response system, with the expectation that shyer students will appreciate using the system more and consequently make more positive gains in attitudes about the class, knowledge of politics, and political engagement. Utilizing original survey data collected from Fall 2009 and Fall 2010 introductory American Government courses, we find that shyer students show greater attitude improvement over the course of the semester, exhibit more knowledge about politics and engage in more outside-of-class political discussions than less shy students when electronic student response systems are utilized, but no such difference emerges when more traditional in-class feedback methods are used. Overall, the findings presented here suggest that, at least marginally, the use of in-class electronic response systems can improve the educational experience of students who are typically isolated by traditional classroom teaching methods.
Memantine and HIV-associated cognitive impairment: a neuropsychological and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

Objective:To assess the safety and efficacy of memantine, an uncompetitive antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor as treatment of HIV-associated cognitive impairment. Methods:This was a Phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial within the Adult AIDS Clinical Trials Group. One-hundred and forty HIV-infected adults with mild to severe AIDS dementia complex receiving stable antiretroviral therapy were enrolled. Memantine was initiated at 10 mg daily escalated to 40 mg daily, or up to the maximum tolerated dose and continued for 16 weeks (primary evaluation visit) followed by a 4-week washout period and re-evaluation at week 20. Changes in cognitive performance were measured as percent change from baseline to week 16 in the average of eight neuropsychological test scores (NPZ-8). Brain metabolism was measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy in a subgroup of subjects. Results:Sixty-one percent of subjects in the memantine group and 85% in the placebo group reached the 40 mg dose while the reported adverse experiences between the two groups were similar. There were no significant improvements in neuropsychological performance over 16 weeks; however, memantine was associated with a significant increase at week 16 in the N-acetyl aspartate to creatine ratio, in the frontal white matter (P = 0.040) and parietal cortex (P = 0.023). Conclusions:Memantine was safe and tolerated by HIV-infected subjects with cognitive impairment. Although we observed no significant differences in cognitive performance, the magnetic resonance spectroscopy data suggest that memantine may ameliorate neuronal metabolism, an important step to stabilizing or preventing neuronal injury. These results underscore the need for longer studies to assess the full potential of neuroprotective agents.
The future of genetic studies of complex human diseases: an epidemiologic perspective.

With advances in the human genome project and the increasing availability of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) markers scattered throughout the genome, such as simple sequence polymorphisms, variable number tandem repeats, and short sequence repeat polymorphisms, it has become increasingly possible to search for the genetic basis of complex human diseases using genome-wide screening methods.1-3 Linkage analysis using log odds (LOD) score analysis in large pedigrees has been the traditional tool to identify gene loci for human disorders, both for single-gene disorders (for example, Huntington's disease4) and for complex chronic diseases (such as bipolar disease5). Recently, Risch and Merikangas6 have argued that the future of genetic studies of complex human disease may depend, to a large extent, on applications of new "association"-type methods to familybased data.7 The main method of interest is the trans? mission disequilibrium test (TDT), in which alleles at a given locus for a person with a specific disease are compared with parental nontransmitted alleles to look for evidence of deviation from expectations in the ab? sence of linkage.8 The TDT has been shown to be a valid test of linkage in the presence of linkage disequilibrium (which creates associations with specific alleles). They showed that the TDT has more power than traditional linkage analysis for disease genes with weak to moderate effects on disease risks. In this paper, we argue that the future of the genetic study of complex disorders will rely increasingly on the classical epidemiologic "association" paradigm. We show that in the long run, improvements in study designs and in adjusting for population stratification using interviews and genetic markers will lead to a new era of populationbased incident case-control studies that could have more power, can lead to more detailed information on the presence or absence of a disease susceptibility gene, and define the magnitude of risks and gene-environment interaction, a crucial first step to disease prevention and health promotion.
Swedish Tax Rates, Labor Supply, and Tax Revenues

Effective marginal tax rates on labor income for the "representative" Swede have increased from roughly 50 percent in 1959 to 80 percent today. The effects of this increase in the level of taxation are examined using a two-sector model parameterized to correspond to the Swedish economy. The model contains a single household which allocates labor to either taxed (essentially market) or untaxed (largely household) uses. The estimated long-run effects are sufficient to explain up to 75 percent of the recent decline in the measured growth rate of the Swedish GNP. Calculations of total tax revenues are also derived from the model. These peak when the tax rate is approximately 70 percent, indicating that Sweden is presently on the downward-sloping portion of its "Laffer Curve. "