Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Thymic Orchestration Involving Aire, miRNAs, and Cell–Cell Interactions during the Induction of Central Tolerance

Developing thymocytes interact sequentially with two distinct structures within the thymus: the cortex and medulla. Surviving single-positive and double-positive thymocytes from the cortex migrate into the medulla, where they interact with medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs). These cells ectopically express a vast set of peripheral tissue antigens (PTAs), a property termed promiscuous gene expression that is associated with the presentation of PTAs by mTECs to thymocytes. Thymocyte clones that have a high affinity for PTAs are eliminated by apoptosis in a process termed negative selection, which is essential for tolerance induction. The Aire gene is an important factor that controls the expression of a large set of PTAs. In addition to PTAs, Aire also controls the expression of miRNAs in mTECs. These miRNAs are important in the organization of the thymic architecture and act as posttranscriptional controllers of PTAs. Herein, we discuss recent discoveries and highlight open questions regarding the migration and interaction of developing thymocytes with thymic stroma, the ectopic expression of PTAs by mTECs, the association between Aire and miRNAs and its effects on central tolerance.
A longitudinal examination of the link between youth physical fitness and academic achievement.

BACKGROUND Childhood obesity has been linked with other persistent health problems, but research is just beginning to examine its relationship with academic performance. This article tracks students longitudinally to examine the ways student physical fitness and changes in fitness align with school performance. METHODS Using matched administrative data and individual growth modeling, we examine the relationship between academic achievement and overall physical fitness longitudinally from fourth to seventh and sixth to ninth grades for students in a California community. RESULTS Comparing those who are persistently fit to those who are persistently unfit, we find disparities in both math and English language arts test scores. These academic disparities begin even before students begin fitness testing in fifth grade and are larger for girls and Latinos. Overall physical fitness is a better predictor of academic achievement than obesity as measured by body mass index. Socioeconomic status acts as a buffer for those who have poor physical fitness but strong academic performance. CONCLUSION The findings indicate the presence of a physical fitness achievement gap that has consequences for potential students' future educational and health outcomes. This gap begins as early as fourth grade, which is before physical fitness testing begins in California.
True Photographs and False Memories

Some trauma-memory-oriented psychotherapists advise clients to review old family photo albums to cue suspected “repressed” memories of childhood sexual abuse. Old photos might cue long-forgotten memories, but when combined with other suggestive influences they might also contribute to false memories. We asked 45 undergraduates to work at remembering three school-related childhood events (two true events provided by parents and one pseudoevent). By random assignment, 23 subjects were also given their school classes' group photos from the years of the to-be-recalled events as memory cues. As predicted, the rate of false-memory reports was dramatically higher in the photo condition than in the no-photo condition. Indeed, the rate of false-memory reports in the photo condition was substantially higher than the rate in any previously published study.
Effect of load on preferred speed and cost of transport.

Horses have a tendency to utilize a relatively narrow set of speeds near the middle of a much broader range they are capable of using within a particular gait, i.e., a preferred speed. Possible explanations for this behavior include minimizing musculoskeletal stresses and maximizing metabolic economy. If metabolic economy (cost of transport, CT) and preferred speeds are linked, then shifts in CT should produce shifts in preferred speed. To test this hypothesis, preferred speed was measured in trotting horses (n = 7) unloaded on the level and loaded with 19% of their body weight on the level. The preferred speed on the level was 3.33 +/- 0.09 (SE) m/s, and this decreased to 3.13 +/- 0.11 m/s when loaded. In both conditions (no load and load), the rate of O2 consumption (n = 3) was a curvilinear function of speed that produced a minimum CT (i.e., speed at which trotting is most economical). When unloaded, the speed at which CT was minimum was very near the preferred speed. With a load, CT decreased and the minimum was also near the preferred speed of horses while carrying a load.
Optimal Severance Payment: Theory and Practice

I present a model in which the employment contract includes severance payment as an instrument for achieving optimal separation between the firm and the worker. I show that the privately optimal severance payment from the model can replicate the level and the variation in actual severance payments (and notice periods) across OECD countries. I conduct a policy experiment in which the existing unemployment benefits are financed by a separation tax. Under this policy, the actual severance payments need to change only marginally in order to achieve socially optimal separation.
Identifying Free-Riding in Energy-Conservation Programs Using Revealed Preference Data

Identifying the incidence of free-ridership is significant to a range of issues relevant to program evaluation, including the calculation of net program benefits and more general assessments of political acceptability. Estimates of free-ridership in the area of energy policy frequently rely on ex-post surveys that ask program participants whether they would have behaved differently in the absence of program support. The present paper proposes an ex-ante approach to the calculation of the free-rider share using revealed preference data on home renovations from Germany's residential sector. We employ a discrete-choice model to simulate the effect of grants on renovation choices, the output from which is used to assess the extent of free-ridership under a contemporary subsidy program. Aside from its simplicity, a key advantage of the approach is that it bestows policymakers with an estimate of free-ridership prior to program implementation.
Baboon phylogeny as inferred from complete mitochondrial genomes

Baboons (genus Papio) are an interesting phylogeographical primate model for the evolution of savanna species during the Pleistocene. Earlier studies, based on partial mitochondrial sequence information, revealed seven major haplogroups indicating multiple para- and polyphylies among the six baboon species. The most basal splits among baboon lineages remained unresolved and the credibility intervals for divergence time estimates were rather large. Assuming that genetic variation within the two studied mitochondrial loci so far was insufficient to infer the apparently rapid early radiation of baboons we used complete mitochondrial sequence information of ten specimens, representing all major baboon lineages, to reconstruct a baboon phylogeny and to re-estimate divergence times. Our data confirmed the earlier tree topology including the para- and polyphyletic relationships of most baboon species; divergence time estimates are slightly younger and credibility intervals narrowed substantially, thus making the estimates more precise. However, the most basal relationships could not be resolved and it remains open whether (1) the most southern population of baboons diverged first or (2) a major split occurred between southern and northern clades. Our study shows that complete mitochondrial genome sequences are more effective to reconstruct robust phylogenies and to narrow down estimated divergence time intervals than only short portions of the mitochondrial genome, although there are also limitations in resolving phylogenetic relationships. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Retinoids in lung development

The “retinoid revolution” has had considerable impact on research activity in the field of lung development. Postnatal lungs are very sensitive to dietary retinol (R) deprivation. The trachea and the bronchopulmonary tree in R‐deficient animals show a striking change in morphology. The columnar epithelium undergoes keratinizing metaplasia, which is reversed when R is supplied. The fetal lung develops postnatally to become one of the most complex organs, characterized by 40 different cell types. The fetal lungs can accumulate retinyl esters. Before birth an unknown signal causes the lowering of these esters, which may be the source of retinoic acid (RA). The administration of glucocorticoids speeds up this process, which in turn is followed by acceleration of lung maturation, ending postnatally. It is not clear what role, if any, the cellular retinoid binding proteins play in this phenomenon. Fetal lung branching leading to the development of the alveolar tree is accelerated by RA, and so is the expression of some fetal genes coding for surfactant proteins and the enzymes that produce their lipid components. It is not clear whether RA influences the development of pulmonary epithelium by interacting directly with the epithelial cells or whether its effects require interaction with other cells like mesenchymal cells. Nuclear RA receptors are intimately involved in lung development. Despite the wealth of evidence on the effect of retinoids on lung development, the application of vitamin A to clinical work has been limited to prematurely delivered infants who have immature lungs. Here attempts are made, by improving their R status, to aid in the development and healing of lungs injured by oxygen therapy. —Chytil, F. Retinoids in lung development. FASEBJ. 10, 986‐992 (1996)
The Flattened, Rotating Molecular Gas Core of Protostellar Jet HH 212

The recently discovered protostellar jet known as HH 212 is beautifully symmetric, with a series of paired shock knots and bow shocks on either side of the exciting source region IRAS 05413-0104. We present VLA ammonia maps of the IRAS 05413-0104 molecular gas envelope in which the protostellar jet source is embedded. We find that the envelope, with a mass of 0.2 M☉ detected by the interferometer, is flattened perpendicular to the jet axis with an FWHM diameter of 12,000 AU and an axis ratio of 2 : 1, as seen in NH3 (1, 1) emission. There is a velocity gradient of about 4-5 km s-1 pc-1 across the flattened disklike core, suggestive of rotation around an axis aligned with the jet. Flux-weighted mean velocities increase smoothly with a roughly constant velocity gradient. In young (class 0) systems such as HH 212, a significant amount of material is still distributed in a large surrounding envelope, and thus the observable kinematics of the system may reflect the less centrally condensed, youthful state of the source and obscuration of central dynamics. The angular momentum of this envelope material may be released from infalling gas through rotation in the HH 212 jet, as recent observations suggest. A blueshifted wisp or bowl of emitting gas appears to be swept up along the blue side of the outflow, possibly lining the cavity of a wider angle wind around the more collimated shock jet axis. Our ammonia (2, 2)/(1, 1) ratio map indicates that this very cold core is heated to 14 K in a centrally condensed area surrounding the jet source. This edge-on core and jet system appears to be young and deeply embedded. This environment, however, is apparently not disrupting the pristine symmetry and collimation of the jet.
Analysing Qualitative Attributes of Freight Transport from Stated Orders of Preference Experiment

The research aims to estimate the relative importance and value for freight shippers of transport qualitative factors: service frequency, transport time, reliability of delivery, carrier's flexibility, and safety. A stated preference experiment with transport managers provided a sample of preference orders among hypothetical transport solutions. A conditional logit model adjusted for handling preference orders (Beggs et al., 1981) is applied to the sample and to subsamples according to transport distances, goods' values, and so on. This analysis shows that these qualitative factors play a significant role in the modal choice, and that their relative importance varies according to subsamples. © 2008 LSE and the University of Bath
Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Glycoprotein Does Not Determine the Site of Virus Release in Polarized Epithelial Cells

ABSTRACT In polarized epithelial cells, the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein is segregated to the basolateral plasma membrane, where budding of the virus takes place. We have generated recombinant viruses expressing mutant glycoproteins without the basolateral-membrane-targeting signal in the cytoplasmic domain. Though about 50% of the mutant glycoproteins were found at the apical plasma membranes of infected MDCK cells, the virus was still predominantly released at the basolateral membranes, indicating that factors other than the glycoprotein determine the site of virus budding.
Functional desensitization of the β2 adrenoceptor is not dependent on agonist efficacy

Chronic treatment with β2 adrenoceptor agonists is recommended as a first‐line maintenance therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, a potential consequence of long‐term treatment may be the loss of functional response (tachyphylaxis) over time. In this study, we have investigated the tendency of such agonists, with a range of efficacies, to develop functional desensitization to cAMP responses in primary human bronchial smooth muscle cells following prolonged agonist exposure. The data show that upon repeat exposure, all agonists produced functional desensitization to the same degree and rate. In addition, β2 adrenoceptor internalization and β‐arrestin‐2 recruitment were monitored using β2·eGFP visualization and the PathHunter™ β‐arrestin‐2 assay, respectively. All agonists were capable of causing robust receptor internalization and β‐arrestin‐2 recruitment, the rate of which was influenced by agonist efficacy, as measured in those assays. In summary, although a relationship exists between agonist efficacy and the rate of both receptor internalization and β‐arrestin‐2 recruitment, there is no correlation between agonist efficacy and the rate or extent of functional desensitization.
‘It’s not about money, it’s about my health’: determinants of participation and adherence among women in an HIV-HSV2 prevention trial in Johannesburg, South Africa

High levels of adherence in clinical trials are essential for producing accurate intervention efficacy estimates. Adherence to clinical trial products and procedures is dependent on the motivations that drive participants. Data are presented to document reasons for trial participation and adherence to daily aciclovir for HSV-2 and HIV-1 genital shedding suppression among 300 HIV-1/HSV-2 seropositive women in South Africa. In-depth interviews after exit from the trial with 31 randomly selected women stratified by age and time since HIV diagnosis confirmed high levels of adherence measured during the trial. Main reasons for trial participation were related to seeking high-quality health care, which explains high levels of adherence in both study arms. Concerns that women would abuse reimbursements, fabricate data, and share or dump pills were not corroborated. Altruism is not a primary motivator in these settings where access to quality services is an issue. This study provides further evidence that good adherence of daily medication is possible in developing countries, particularly where study activities resonate with participants or fill an unmet need.
Positioning of volunteer interpreters in the field of public service interpreting in Spanish hospitals: A Bourdieusian perspective

This thesis sets out to investigate the field of public service interpreting in southern Spain, with a particular emphasis on the position of volunteer interpreters working at two different healthcare institutions. It looks at the power relationships that develop between agents that hold different degrees of control and autonomy, especially in a context where individuals hold different forms and volume of capital in each encounter. Drawing on Bourdieu? s Theory of Practice, the study offers an in-depth examination of a group of volunteer interpreters as legitimate agents of the wider field of public service interpreting and the sub-field of healthcare interpreting, while looking at their impact on the structures and ethics of the larger field. This is the first project to employ Bourdieu? s theory in a sustained case study of a healthcare context where volunteer interpreters operate as legitimised institutional agents. One of the peculiarities of the two settings under examination is that volunteer interpreters seem to have acquired a high degree of institutionalisation, which provides them with a large volume of symbolic capital and allows them to take part in the field as legitimate members of the healthcare team, often occupying similar positions to those adopted by doctors at the top end of the field hierarchy. The study adopts an ethnographic approach based on a triangulation of data: participant observation of volunteer interpreters, audio-recorded interpreter-mediated interaction and focus-group interviews with volunteer interpreters. The primary data that informs the thesis consists of four focus groups carried out with volunteer interpreters in two different Spanish hospitals. The additional use of participant observations and audio-recordings make it possible to examine not only interpreters? perceptions but also actual behaviour in authentic encounters, and to compare interpreters? perception of their positioning with the actual positions they often occupy in the field.
EFFECTIVE INTERFIRM COLLABORATION : HOW FIRMS MINIMIZE TRANSACTION COSTS AND MAXIMIZE TRANSACTION VALUE r

This study of automotive transaction relationships in the U.S.A. and Japan offers abta which indicate that transaction costs do not necessarily increase with an increase in reiation-specijk investments. We empirically examine the conditions under which transactors can simultaneously achieve the twin benejits of high asset specificity and low transaction costs. This is possible because the dtfferent safeguards which can be employed to control opportunism have different set-up costs and result in different transaction costs over dl~erent time horizons. We examine in detail the ~ractices of Javanese firms which result in effective inteq%n collaboration. @ . 1997 by JohnWiley & Sons: Ltd. “
H I Properties of Low-Luminosity Star-forming Galaxies in the KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey

New H I observations are presented for a complete sample of 109 low-luminosity star-forming galaxies taken from the KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS), the first CCD-based wide-field objective-prism survey for emission-line galaxies. This sample consists of all star-forming galaxies with MB > -18.0 and cz < 11,000 km s-1 from the first Hα-selected survey list. The galaxies in this list lie within a 1. °3-wide strip centered on δ(B1950) = 29°30′, which spans the range α(B1950) = 12h15m to α(B1950) = 17h0m. Overall, 97 out of 109 galaxies have been detected in H I. We confirm the weak trend of increasing gas richness with decreasing luminosity found by previous authors. Gas richness is also shown to be weakly anticorrelated with metallicity. The dependence of star formation rates (SFRs) and H I gas depletion timescales on metallicity is examined. The median solar-metallicity–based SFR and gas depletion timescale are 0.16 M⊙ yr-1 and 5 Gyr, respectively. Corrections for variations in metallicity decreases SFRs by ∼0.5 dex and increases gas depletion timescales by an average of ∼8 Gyr. The majority of galaxies in this sample still have large reservoirs of H I gas and, despite their large current star formation rates, could have formed stars in a quasi-continuous manner for a Hubble time. Finally, we present the first H I mass function for low-luminosity star-forming galaxies and show that this subpopulation contributes 10%–15% of the overall H I density in the local universe. We conclude that if the H I mass function of the universe does indeed have a steeply rising low-mass slope, as suggested by previous authors, it is not due to the population of low-luminosity star-forming galaxies. Comparison with the H I mass function number densities from H I blind surveys in the range 108 M⊙ < MH I < 109 M⊙ implies that 25%–50% of galaxies in this mass regime are currently undergoing a strong episode of star formation.
Dual Lyapunov stability analysis in behavioral approach

This paper considers a Lyapunov stability analysis for continuous-time systems described by high order difference-algebraic equation from the viewpoint of the semidefinite programming (SDP) duality. In the behavioral system theory, a Lyapunov function is described by a quadratic differential form (QDF) and equivalently characterized by a two-variable polynomial matrix. We first develop the SDP duality to the non-negativity and positivity of two-variable polynomial matrices. Using the duality, we derive an alternative stability condition in terms of the two-variable polynomial matrix equation and QDFs as a main result.
Explaining the use of planning consultants in Ontario cities

Consulting firms providing policy advice to governments is a widespread phenomenon. This article asks why municipalities employ urban planning consultant firms to advise on public sector projects. Municipal employees from 19 mid-sized Ontario cities responded to online survey questionnaires asking for their opinions on why urban planning consultant firms are hired by their cities. In testing four hypotheses, this study found functionalism (the need for expertise because of a lack of in-house talent or time) to be the strongest explanation for this phenomenon. In addition to a lack of staff time and resources, the ideational hypothesis — perceived specialized knowledge and expertise of consultants — was also found to be relevant. Sommaire Les cabinets d'experts-conseils qui fournissent des conseils d'orientation strategique aux gouvernements representent un phenomene generalise. Cet article s'interroge sur les raisons pour lesquelles les municipalites emploient des cabinets d'experts-conseils en planification urbaine pour obtenir des conseils sur des projets du secteur public. Des employes municipaux de 19 villes ontariennes de taille moyenne ont repondu a des questionnaires de sondages en ligne leur demandant leurs opinions sur les raisons pour lesquelles leur ville avait retenu les services de cabinets d'experts-conseils en planification urbaine. En testant quatre hypotheses, cette etude a revele que le fonctionnalisme (le besoin d'expertise en raison d'un manque de competence interne ou de temps) etait la plus forte explication de ce phenomene. L'etude a revele qu'en plus du manque de temps et de ressources de la part du personnel, l'hypothese conceptuelle — selon laquelle les consultants sont percus comme ayant des connaissances et une expertise specialisees — s'averait egalement pertinente.