Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transport of amino acids in Lactobacillus casei by proton-motive-force-dependent and non-proton-motive-force-dependent mechanisms

Lactobacillus casei 393 cells which were energized with glucose (pH 6.0) took up glutamine, asparagine, glutamate, aspartate, leucine, and phenylalanine. Little or no uptake of several essential amino acids (valine, isoleucine, arginine, cysteine, tyrosine, and tryptophan) was observed. Inhibition studies indicated that there were at least five amino acid carriers, for glutamine, asparagine, glutamate/aspartate, phenylalanine, or branched-chain amino acids. Transport activities had pH optima between 5.5 and 6.0, but all amino acid carriers showed significant activity even at pH 4.0. Leucine and phenylalanine transport decreased markedly when the pH was increased to 7.5. Inhibitors which decreased proton motive force (delta p) nearly eliminated leucine and phenylalanine uptake, and studies with de-energized cells and membrane vesicles showed that an artificial electrical potential (delta psi) of at least -100 mV was needed for rapid uptake. An artificial delta p was unable to drive glutamine, asparagine, or glutamate uptake, and transport of these amino acids was sensitive to a decline in intracellular pH. When intracellular pH was greater than 7.7, glutamine, asparagine, or glutamate was transported rapidly even though the proton motive force had been abolished by inhibitors.
The Association between Auditor Litigation and Abnormal Accruals

Concern that earnings management erodes the quality of financial reporting has prompted the Securities and Exchange Commission to question the role of the external auditor. To help address that concern, this study examines the relation between earnings management and auditor litigation. While prior research on the relation between auditor litigation and total accruals has yielded inconclusive results, I find that the risk of auditor litigation is positively associated with a sharper measure of earnings management—abnormal accruals. Using a larger and more recent sample, this study provides evidence that the probability of auditor litigation increases as clients report more positive (income‐increasing) abnormal accruals. This result holds in: (1) univariate analyses, (2) logit analyses that also control for auditor size, client importance to the auditor, length of the auditor‐client relationship, client industry, client financial condition, client size, and client growth, and in (3) the subsample of lawsui.
A PD‐1 polymorphism is associated with disease progression in multiple sclerosis

T cells are considered to play a pivotal role in orchestrating the self‐reactive immune responses in multiple sclerosis (MS). Programmed death 1 (PD‐1) is a member of the B7/CD28 superfamily of costimulatory molecules exerting inhibitory functions on T cells. Recently, an intronic 7146G/A polymorphism within the PD‐1 gene was described and suggested to be associated with autoimmunity. We investigated whether this genetic polymorphism is a genetic modifier for risk and progression of MS. Blood samples from 939 German MS patients (mean age, 39 years; range, 13–71; 566 patients [60%] with relapsing‐remitting MS, 279 (30%) with secondary, and 94 (10%) with primary progressive MS) and 272 healthy white controls were tested. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme digestion; results were confirmed by automatic sequencing. A significant association of the mutated allele with a progressive disease course was detected (44% 7146G vs 56% 7146A, χ2 p = 0.002). Consequences of the PD‐1 mutation for T‐cell function were assessed ex vivo in some patients using microsphere‐stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes and purified CD4 cells. Importantly, PD‐1–mediated inhibition of T‐cell cytokine secretion (interferon‐γ) is impaired in patients carrying the PD‐1 polymorphism. In conclusion, our data suggest that PD‐1 polymorphism is a genetic modifier of the progression of MS, possibly through inducing a partial defect in PD‐1–mediated inhibition of T‐cell activation. Ann Neurol 2005
Body image as a mediator of the relationship between body mass index and weight-related quality of life in black women.

BACKGROUND Body image (BI) may be important in understanding weight-related attitudes and behaviors in black women. Specifically, body dissatisfaction may mediate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and weight-related quality of life (QOL) in black women. We examined the relationship between BMI and weight-related QOL in black women and tested for mediation by body dissatisfaction. METHODS The sample included 149 black women recruited from Birmingham, Alabama, for a one-time clinic visit. BIs were self-reported using the Pulvers figure rating scale. Body discrepancy (BD), a surrogate measure of body dissatisfaction, was calculated as perceived current image minus ideal image. QOL was self-reported using the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite (IWQOL-Lite). Baron and Kenny's test for mediation was conducted where BMI was the predictor, IWQOL-Lite score was the outcome, and BD was the mediator under investigation. RESULTS Mean age was 40.5 years, and mean BMI was 36.1 kg/m(2). The mean IWQOL-Lite score was 81.1±15.8 out of 100. Participants had a BD score of 2.3, indicating a desire to be two figure sizes smaller than their current perceived body size. Tests for mediation revealed that BD partially mediated the relationship between BMI and IWQOL-Lite scores in this sample. CONCLUSIONS BD was in the pathway of the association between BMI and IWQOL-Lite scores. BI dissatisfaction may contribute to explaining more about black women's weight-related QOL beyond actual BMI alone. Additional research is needed to better understand black women's perception of weight and subsequent weight-related behaviors.
Health Care Competition and Antibiotic Use in Taiwan

type="main"> Antibiotic resistance, a negative externality of antibiotic use, is a growing threat to public health. Health care competition may encourage antibiotic use because receiving an antibiotic is a form of ‘quality’ for many patients. This paper examines the effect of market concentration on antibiotic use in a large, nationally-representative data set from Taiwan. Moving from the 75th percentile to the 25th percentile of market concentration is associated with 6.6 per cent greater antibiotic use. We control for leading market-level confounds, including population density and community health. We also show that the correlation is robust using fixed effects for patients, physicians and diagnoses. We document the correlation between antibiotic use and patient retention, which suggests a mechanism for this result. Finally, we show that strict regulation of antibiotics reduces but does not eliminate the effect of competition on antibiotic use.
A study on the presence of leucocytozoonosis in pigeon and chicken of hilly districts of Bangladesh

*Corresponding Author’s Email : tilak1986.dvm@gmail.com Tel. : +8801917379549 Presence of Leucocytozoonosis in pigeon and chicken and the pathology it produced were investigated in four (4) selected districts of Bangladesh (Khagrachari, Bandarban, Sylhet and Sunamgonj) during the period of January to December’ 2011. A total of 200 samples (live birds) were collected randomly. Both ante-mortem and post-mortem examinations were performed along with microscopy of blood and affected tissue samples and collection of data using well-designed questionnaire. A total of 100 pigeons and 100 chickens were examined of which overall 2% pigeon and 12% chicken were found to be infected by Leucocytozoon sp. Leucocytozoon belonging to two species were identified. Identified species were Leucocytozoon marchouxi in pigeons and Leucocytozoon caulleryi in chicken. Pathological lesions were also observed. The suspected organs such as liver, lungs, kidney, heart, bursa and intestine were apparently normal on gross observation. However, numerous microgametocyte and macrogametocytes of Leucocytozoon were seen in many blood vessels of the organs examined. Oval to irregular shape gametocytes were observed in vessels of the affected organs. Small necrotic foci were observed in the liver upon histopathological study.
Effects of Temperature Stress on Bean-Nodulating Rhizobium Strains

High soil temperatures in tropical areas limit nodulation and dinitrogen fixation by strains of Rhizobium. Several heat-tolerant bean-nodulating Rhizobium strains have been isolated previously. However, the basis of their resistance to heat remains unknown. In this study, we compared the effects of heat on symbiotic nitrogen fixation, cell survival, amino acid uptake, and protein synthesis in a heat-tolerant (CIAT899) and a heat-sensitive (CNPAF512) bean-nodulating Rhizobium strain. Acetylene reduction activity of nodulated roots excised from unstressed plants was strongly diminished at 35 or 40°C when plants were nodulated either by CIAT899 or by CNPAF512. When these strains were tested under free-living conditions, survival at 40°C as well as the kinetics of l-[35S]methionine uptake and protein synthesis at 35 and 40°C indicated the higher tolerance of CIAT899 than of CNPAF512 to thermal stress. The synthesis of heat shock proteins was detected in both strains, although at different temperatures. Increased synthesis of 14 heat shock proteins in CNPAF512 and of 6 heat shock proteins in CIAT899 was observed at 40 and 45°C, respectively. A heat shock protein of approximately 21 kDa, of which the synthesis was strongest in both Rhizobium strains upon a temperature shift up, was also conserved in several other bean-nodulating rhizobia. Acquired thermotolerance in CIAT899 was shown to depend on protein synthesis.
A Traditional Interpretation of Macroeconomic Fluctuations

Under the traditional interpretation of macroeconomic fluctuations, aggregate demand shocks move output and prices in the same direction, while aggregate supply shocks move output and prices in opposite directions. This paper examines the joint behavior of U.S. output, unemployment, prices, wages, and nominal money and asks whether it is consistent with this interpretation. The answer is a qualified yes. Copyright 1989 by American Economic Association.
Sensitivity of consumption to income and to government purchases: some specification and estimation issues

The paper derives a nonlinear error-correction model (ECM) for consumption and shows that existing models that are based on quadratic utility, combine permanent income and current-income consumption, and nest (or could nest) the hypothesis of substitutability between private consumption and government purchases are special cases of the ECM. The importance of some econometric issues that have not received proper attention in the literature is demonstrated by estimating the models using US aggregate quarterly data, 1953:1-1992:4. The evidence suggests that the ECM produces more reliable estimates than do the existing restrictive models.
GMACE pilot #4: Adjusting the national reliability input data

International standards do not exist for the approximation of national genomic reliabilities, which are used as input data for the GMACE international genomic evaluation system. The focuses of the present study were to develop a method of reducing differences among the national reliabilities approximated by different countries, to apply GMACE using modified national reliabilities, and to use cross-validations tests to determine if GMACE results could be measurably improved. A non-linear international regression model was applied to the average national reliabilities provided by countries for use in GMACE. Residuals of prediction for the average national reliabilities were smaller, indicating greater consistency among the approximations of different countries, for protein and stature relative to traits more difficult to evaluate, such as mastitis, stillbirths and cow conception rate. GMACE input reliabilities were modified by subtracting either some or all of the average prediction error for each combination of trait by country. The impacts of modifying the national reliabilities on GMACE results were relatively small. Predictability of national genomic evaluations by GMACE with only foreign genomic data as input, was essentially the same using either modified or unmodified national reliabilities. However, the international reliabilities produced by GMACE were more consistent if national reliabilities were modified as input and then the modifications were reversed for the GMACE reliability output. The approach was to essentially apply an international standardization of reliability on the way into GMACE and then a de-standardization back to each of the original national scales of expression on the way out.
The External Neighborhood Effects of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Projects Built by Three Sectors

ABSTRACT: This study examines the external neighborhood effects of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Projects built in Santa Clara County, California from 1987 to 2000. Three types of developers have built LIHTC projects in this area: nonprofit, for-profit, and a county public housing authority. Using a difference-in-difference hedonic regression approach, this study finds that almost all the LIHTC projects examined have generated significantly positive impacts on nearby property value. In particular, the study also finds that most nonprofit projects have delivered benefits similar to those of for-profit projects. Yet projects built by some of the largest nonprofits and the county housing authority have generated the greatest neighborhood impacts. Low-income neighborhoods have also benefited more from LIHTC developments than other types of neighborhoods.
Mitochondrial pathophysiology in Friedreich's ataxia

Neurological examination indicates that Friedreich's ataxia corresponds to a mixed sensory and cerebellar ataxia, which affects the proprioceptive pathways. Neuropathology and pathophysiology of Friedreich's ataxia involves the peripheral sensory nerves, dorsal root ganglia, posterior columns, the spinocerebellar, and corticospinal tracts of the spinal cord, gracile and cuneate nuclei, dorsal nuclei of Clarke, and the dentate nucleus. Involvement of the myocardium and pancreatic islets of Langerhans indicates that it is also a systemic disease. The pathophysiology of the disease is the consequence of frataxin deficiency in the mitochondria and cells. Some of the biological consequences are currently recognized such as the effects on iron–sulfur cluster biogenesis or the oxidative status, but others deserve to be studied in depth. Among physiological aspects of mitochondria that have been associated with neurodegeneration and may be interesting to investigate in Friedreich's ataxia we can include mitochondrial dynamics and movement, communication with other organelles especially the endoplasmic reticulum, calcium homeostasis, apoptosis, and mitochondrial biogenesis and quality control. Changes in the mitochondrial physiology and transport in peripheral and central axons and mitochondrial metabolic functions such as bioenergetics and energy delivery in the synapses are also relevant functions to be considered. Thus, to understand the general pathophysiology of the disease and fundamental pathogenic mechanisms such as dying‐back axonopathy, and determine molecular, cellular and tissue therapeutic targets, we need to discover the effect of frataxin depletion on mitochondrial properties and on specific cell susceptibility in the nervous system and other affected organs.
Simulation of Water‐Table Aquifers Using Specified Saturated Thickness

Simulating groundwater flow in a water‐table (unconfined) aquifer can be difficult because the saturated thickness available for flow depends on model‐calculated hydraulic heads. It is often possible to realize substantial time savings and still obtain accurate head and flow solutions by specifying an approximate saturated thickness a priori, thus linearizing this aspect of the model. This specified‐thickness approximation often relies on the use of the “confined” option in numerical models, which has led to confusion and criticism of the method. This article reviews the theoretical basis for the specified‐thickness approximation, derives an error analysis for relatively ideal problems, and illustrates the utility of the approximation with a complex test problem. In the transient version of our complex test problem, the specified‐thickness approximation produced maximum errors in computed drawdown of about 4% of initial aquifer saturated thickness even when maximum drawdowns were nearly 20% of initial saturated thickness. In the final steady‐state version, the approximation produced maximum errors in computed drawdown of about 20% of initial aquifer saturated thickness (mean errors of about 5%) when maximum drawdowns were about 35% of initial saturated thickness. In early phases of model development, such as during initial model calibration efforts, the specified‐thickness approximation can be a very effective tool to facilitate convergence. The reduced execution time and increased stability obtained through the approximation can be especially useful when many model runs are required, such as during inverse model calibration, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses, multimodel analysis, and development of optimal resource management scenarios.
Religion and Acculturation in the Montagnard Community of Greensboro, North Carolina

This ethnographic research explores the concepts of religion and acculturation, and possible relationships between them, in the Greensboro, North Carolina Montagnard community. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. A range of acculturative and religious experiences were found. Gender, time in the United States, age at arrival in the United States, generation of arrival in the United States, and other factors contributed to the experience of acculturation for each participant. Implications and possibilities for further research are discussed.
Military Spending in the United States, Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China

Military expenditures of the United States, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China are examined from two perspectives: (1) a modification of the traditional Richardson arms race formulation and (2) the notion that the military budget is used by decision makers, in part, to respond to the domestic political and economic environment. These competing formulations are juxtaposed in an empirical analysis of their relevance for understanding contemporary arms allocation decisions. The empirical evaluation of these processes is informed by a critical appraisal of alternative assessments of military allocations, as reflected in data provided by the Stockholm Institute for Peace Research International, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and William T. Lee, a noted defense analyst. The findings suggest that the arms race formulation is empirically deficient in accounting for the spending patterns of the United States, Soviet Union, and People's Republic of China in the period from 1949 to 1978. For both the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the use of the military allocation process to influence domestic political and economic conditions receives considerable support. It is also clear from the analysis conducted that the choice of data, especially with regard to Soviet spending, plays a significant role in these findings.
In vitro evaluation of novel bioactive composites based on Bioglass-filled polylactide foams for bone tissue engineering scaffolds.

Highly porous poly(DL-lactic acid) (PDLLA) foams and Bioglass-filled PDLLA composite foams were characterized and evaluated in vitro as bone tissue engineering scaffolds. The hypothesis was that the combination of PDLLA with Bioglass in a porous structure would result in a bioresorbable and bioactive composite, capable of supporting osteoblast adhesion, spreading and viability. Composite and unfilled foams were incubated in simulated body fluid (SBF) at 37 degrees C to study the in vitro degradation of the polymer and to detect hydroxyapatite (HA) formation, which is a measure of the materials' in vitro bioactivity. HA was detected on all the composite samples after incubation in SBF for just 3 days. After 28 days immersion the foams filled with 40 wt % Bioglass developed a continuous layer of HA. The formation of HA for the 5 wt % Bioglass-filled foams was localized to the Bioglass particles. Cell culture studies using a commercially available (ECACC) human osteosarcoma cell line (MG-63) were conducted to assess the biocompatibility of the foams and cell attachment to the porous substrates. The osteoblast cell infiltration study showed that the cells were able to migrate through the porous network and colonize the deeper regions within the foam, indicating that the composition of the foams and the pore structures are able to support osteoblast attachment, spreading, and viability. Rapid formation of HA on the composites and the attachment of MG-63 cells within the porous network of the composite foams confirms the high in vitro bioactivity and biocompatibility of these materials and their potential to be used as scaffolds in bone tissue engineering and repair.
Antibiotic Concentrations Decrease during Wastewater Treatment but Persist at Low Levels in Reclaimed Water

Reclaimed water has emerged as a potential irrigation solution to freshwater shortages. However, limited data exist on the persistence of antibiotics in reclaimed water used for irrigation. Therefore, we examined the fate of nine commonly-used antibiotics (ampicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, linezolid, oxacillin, oxolinic acid, penicillin G, pipemidic acid, and tetracycline) in differentially treated wastewater and reclaimed water from two U.S. regions. We collected 72 samples from two Mid-Atlantic and two Midwest treatment plants, as well as one Mid-Atlantic spray irrigation site. Antibiotic concentrations were measured using liquid-chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon tests and Kruskal Wallis tests. Overall, antibiotic concentrations in effluent samples were lower than that of influent samples. Mid-Atlantic plants had similar influent but lower effluent antibiotic concentrations compared to Midwest plants. Azithromycin was detected at the highest concentrations (of all antibiotics) in influent and effluent samples from both regions. For most antibiotics, transport from the treatment plant to the irrigation site resulted in no changes in antibiotic concentrations, and UV treatment at the irrigation site had no effect on antibiotic concentrations in reclaimed water. Our findings show that low-level antibiotic concentrations persist in reclaimed water used for irrigation; however, the public health implications are unclear at this time.