Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TWEAK Promotes Peritoneal Inflammation

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is complicated by peritonitis episodes that cause loss of mesothelium and eventually sclerosing peritonitis. An improved understanding of the molecular contributors to peritoneal injury and defense may increase the therapeutic armamentarium to optimize peritoneal defenses while minimizing peritoneal injury. There is no information on the expression and function of the cytokine TWEAK and its receptor Fn14 during peritoneal injury. Fn14 expression and soluble TWEAK levels were measured in human PD peritoneal effluent cells or fluids with or without peritonitis. Fn14 expression was also analyzed in peritoneal biopsies from PD patients. Actions of intraperitoneal TWEAK were studied in mice in vivo. sTWEAK levels were increased in peritoneal effluent in PD peritonitis. Effluent sTWEAK levels correlated with the number of peritoneal macrophages (r = 0.491, p = 0.002). Potential TWEAK targets that express the receptor Fn14 include mesothelial cells and macrophages, as demonstrated by flow cytometry of peritoneal effluents and by analysis of peritoneal biopsies. Peritoneal biopsy Fn14 correlated with mesothelial injury, fibrosis and inflammation, suggesting a potential deleterious effect of TWEAK/Fn14. In this regard, intraperitoneal TWEAK administration to mice promoted peritoneal inflammation characterized by increased peritoneal effluent MCP-1, Fn14 and Gr1+ macrophages, increased mesothelial Fn14, MCP-1 and CCL21 expression and submesothelial tissue macrophage recruitment. Taken together these data suggest that the TWEAK/Fn14 system may promote inflammation and tissue injury during peritonitis and PD.
Quantitative assessment of mRNA cap analogues as inhibitors of in vitro translation.

Fifty-eight analogues of the 5'-terminal 7-methylguanosine-containing cap of eukaryotic messenger RNA were synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit in vitro protein synthesis. A new algorithm was developed for extracting KI, the dissociation constant for the cap analogue.eIF4E complex, from protein synthesis data. The results indicated that addition of a methyl group to the N2 of guanine produced more inhibitory compounds, but addition of a second methyl group to N2 decreased the level of inhibition dramatically. Aryl substitution at N7 improved the efficacy of guanine nucleoside monophosphate analogues. Substitution of the aromatic ring at the para position with methyl or NO2 groups abolished this effect, but substitution with Cl or F enhanced it. By contrast, aryl substitution at N7 in nucleoside di- or triphosphate analogues produced only minor effects, both positive and negative. By far the strongest determinants of inhibitory activity for cap analogues were phosphate residues. The beneficial effect of more phosphate residues was related more to anionic charge than to the number of phosphate groups per se. The second nucleotide residue in analogues of the form m7GpppN affected inhibitory activity in the order G > C > U > A, but there was no effect of 2'-O-modification. Opening the first ribose ring of m7GpppG analogues dramatically decreased activity, but alterations at the 2'-position of this ribose had no effect. Non-nucleotide-based cap analogues containing benzimidazole derivatives were inhibitory, though less so than those containing 7-methylguanine.
Les secondes générations sur le marché du travail en France : une pénalité ethnique ancrée dans le temps Contribution à la théorie de l'assimilation segmentée

Cet article examine la consistance dans le temps de la penalite ethnique a l’embauche pour deux cohortes de jeunes sortis de l’ecole au cours de la derniere decennie du XXe siecle. Les resultats montrent que la penalite subie, a diplome egal, n’a pas substantiellement change pour le groupe des Maghrebins qui etait deja, dans les annees quatre-vingt, en difficulte en depit d’une baisse passagere du chomage et de la poursuite de la democratisation du systeme scolaire. Elle est significative pour deux autres groupes : les jeunes originaires d’Afrique subsaharienne et a un moindre degre d’Asie du Sud-Est. Dans cette periode ou l’amelioration de la conjoncture a ete plus favorable aux diplomes, les jeunes issus de l’immigration maghrebine sont, en nombre, encore restes detenteurs de faibles certifications. Ils sont desormais devances par les jeunes originaires du Portugal, qui paraissent avoir ete portes par l’expansion des filieres professionnelles vers les niveaux superieurs. Ceci peut conforter l’hypothese d’une « discrimination statistique », mecanisme qui s’appuie sur les caracteristiques moyennes d’un groupe. La frontiere avec une discrimination a caractere plus ouvertement raciste reste cependant floue. Le tres fort sentiment de discrimination qu’expriment les jeunes issus du Maghreb et d’Afrique noire ainsi que la vision pessimiste de l’avenir qui l’accompagne indiquent de toute facon une fracture forte au sein de la societe francaise que l’on ne retrouve pas pour le courant turc. Ces perceptions peuvent aussi contribuer a accentuer une dynamique negative sur le plus long terme, comme le montrent les donnees longitudinales dont on dispose pour la seconde cohorte. Ces resultats ouvrent sur une relecture de la theorie de « l’assimilation segmentee », telle qu’elle a ete proposee dans un contexte americain, en reference au racisme specifique de la societe americaine a l’egard de la population noire heritiere de l’esclavage.
Coronary Artery Complicated Lesion Area Is Related to Functional Polymorphism of Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 Gene: An Autopsy Study

Matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is expressed in human atherosclerotic plaques, and the protein is localized in human coronary atherosclerotic lesions. The MMP9 gene has a C-to-T promoter polymorphism at position −1562, which affects transcription and leads to promoter low-activity (C/C) and high-activity (C/T, T/T) genotypes. To determine whether these genotypes exert an influence on the atherosclerotic lesion area, we investigated their association with different types of coronary lesions in an autopsy cohort of 276 men aged 33 to 69 years. Areas of the coronary wall covered with fatty streaks and fibrotic, calcified, and complicated lesions were measured, and the percentage of coronary narrowing was determined. MMP9 genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme digestion. In men aged ≥53 years, the mean area of complicated lesions in 3 coronaries was significantly associated with the MMP9 genotype (P =0.008). Subjects with high promoter activity genotypes had, on average, larger complicated lesion areas than did those with the low-activity genotype. The MMP9 genotype persisted as an independent predictor of complicated lesion area after adjustment for age, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking (P =0.012). These data provide evidence that the proposed effect of MMP9 in the process of atherosclerotic lesion development may be modified by the MMP9 genotype.
Dietary carbohydrates, glycaemic load, food groups and newly detected type 2 diabetes among urban Asian Indian population in Chennai, India (Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study 59)

The aim of the study was to examine the association of dietary carbohydrates and glycaemic load with the risk of type 2 diabetes among an urban adult Asian Indian population. Adult subjects aged >20 years (n 1843) were randomly selected from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study, in Chennai city in southern India. Dietary carbohydrates, glycaemic load and food groups were assessed using FFQ. Oral glucose tolerance tests were performed using 75 g glucose in all subjects. Diagnosis of diabetes was based on WHO Consulting Group criteria. OR for newly detected diabetes were calculated for carbohydrates, glycaemic load and specific food groups comparing subjects in the highest with those in the lowest quartiles, after adjustment for potential confounders such as age, sex, BMI, family history of diabetes, physical activity, current smoking, alcohol consumption and relevant dietary factors. We identified 156 (8·5 %) newly diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes. Refined grain intake was positively associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes (OR 5·31 (95 % CI 2·98, 9·45); P < 0·001). In the multivariate model, after adjustment for potential confounders, total carbohydrate (OR 4·98 (95 % CI 2·69, 9·19), P < 0·001), glycaemic load (OR 4·25 (95 % CI 2·33, 7·77); P < 0·001) and glycaemic index (OR 2·51 (95 % CI 1·42, 4·43); P = 0·006) were associated with type 2 diabetes. Dietary fibre intake was inversely associated with diabetes (OR 0·31 (95 % CI 0·15, 0·62); P < 0·001). In urban south Indians, total dietary carbohydrate and glycaemic load are associated with increased, and dietary fibre with decreased, risk of type 2 diabetes.
A Dynamic Perspective on Next-Generation Offshoring: The Global Sourcing of Science and Engineering Talent

The seemingly unlimited availability of science and engineering (S&E) talent in emerging economies and the increasing difficulties of finding such talent in advanced economies have given rise to a new trend: the global sourcing of S&E talent. This paper examines the antecedents and dynamics of this trend. In particular, it examines the coevolution of macroeconomic forces, domestic and offshore national policies, industry dynamics, and firm-level offshoring capabilities driving today’s offshoring decisions. The analysis exploits findings from the Offshoring Research Network (ORN) project. By taking a dynamic and multilevel perspective on next-generation offshoring, this paper may inform both firm-level strategies and national policy-making.
Race, Gender, and Outcomes in First Degree Murder Cases

Abstract This paper examines the effects of offender's and victim's race and gender on legal outcomes for defendants initially charged with first degree murder. Drawing upon past theorizing and research, we hypothesize that Black offenders and killers of non-Blacks will be subjected to more severe legal sanctioning, and that female offenders and killers of males will receive less severe sanctioning. We also predict that the effects of status characteristics on legal outcomes will be attenuated in the subsample of cases that go to trial because of formal guidelines governing trial procedures. Using data from prosecutor's files for a sample of 33 U.S. counties, these hypotheses are tested for three legal outcomes: first degree murder conviction, conviction on a lesser charge, and no conviction. The results of ordinal logistic regression analyses offered mixed support for our hypotheses. Both race and gender exhibit some of the expected effects on legal outcomes, but contrary to predictions, status effects a.
Interpersonal Trust, Political Preference, and Perceptions of the Watergate Affair

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a personality variable political preferences on perceptions of and early reactions to the Watergate affair. Those aspects of the Watergate affair with which the present research was particularly concerned include perceptions) (prior to the Senate hearings) of the involvement of various central figures in the Watergate break-in, the alleged subsequent cover-up activities, and potential consequences of the affair. A personality variable which should be related to the credibility issues involved in the Watergate affair is interpersonal trust (Rotter, 1971). Rotter’s Interperscnal Trust Scale (ITS) has been shown to predict differences in trustworthiness, suspicion, maTad3ustment, certain antisocial behaviors (e.g., shoph.fta.ng, mvasi&oelig; on privacy) , and reactions to political events. For example, Hamsher, Geller, and Rotter (1968)
Age does not count: resilience of quantity processing in healthy ageing

Quantity skills have been extensively studied in terms of their development and pathological decline. Recently, numerosity discrimination (i.e., how many items are in a set) has been shown to be resilient to healthy ageing despite relying on inhibitory skills, but whether processing continuous quantities such as time and space is equally well-maintained in ageing participants is not known. Life-long exposure to quantity-related problems may progressively refine proficiency in quantity tasks, or alternatively quantity skills may decline with age. In addition, is not known whether the tight relationship between quantity dimensions typically shown in their interactions is preserved in ageing. To address these questions, two experimental paradigms were used in 38 younger and 32 older healthy adults who showed typical age-related decline in attention, executive function and memory tasks. In both groups we first assessed time and space discrimination independently using a two-choice task (i.e., “Which of two horizontal lines is longer in duration or extension? ”), and found that time and space processing were equally accurate in younger and older participants. In a second paradigm, we assessed the relation between different quantity dimensions which were presented as a dynamic pattern of dots independently changing in duration, spatial extension and numerosity. Younger and older participants again showed a similar profile of interaction between number, cumulative area and duration, although older adults showed a greater sensitivity to task-irrelevant information than younger adults in the cumulative area task but lower sensitivity in the duration task. Continuous quantity processing seems therefore resilient to ageing similar to numerosity and to other non-quantity skills like vocabulary or implicit memory; however, ageing might differentially affect different quantity dimensions.
Leisure time physical activity participation among Latino visitors to outdoor recreation areas

Previous research indicates that Latinos have low rates of leisure time physical activity (LTPA). As a result, Latinos suffer from higher rates of obesity and other diseases associated with this lack of activity. Thus, the primary purpose of this exploratory study was to gain a greater understanding of LTPA among Latinos. The goals of this study were threefold: (1) gain an understanding of the similarities and differences between Latino male and female LTPA levels and their levels of walking (done in a variety of settings); (2) examine the types of environments where their LTPA occurs; and (3) gain insight into Latinos’ attitudes and perceptions of social support and constraints to LTPA. The study included Latinos from two suburban Chicago communities. Data were collected at local parks and in a sports complex. The findings indicated that 39.1% of the Latinos had engaged in vigorous LTPA 2.75 days in the previous week, and men were active for longer periods of time than were women (F = 6.47; p = 0.021). Additionally, 38.6% of the Latinos had engaged in moderate LTPA an average of 2.57 days in a week. The majority of participants indicated they walked at least 10 minutes per day (77.5%), and men spent significantly more time walking than did women (F = 47.17; p = 0.001). Men were more likely to exercise in parks whereas women were more likely to exercise at home. Most Latinos indicated high levels of social support for exercise, and men found LTPA more interesting than did women (F = 4.23; p = 0.040). The top constraint for women was lack of childcare and for men it was too tired after work. Consistent with previous findings, a large proportion of respondents were totally inactive and did not participate in moderate or vigorous LTPA. Findings indicated that men and women experienced constraints differently, but that for both groups constraints led to lower LTPA.
Application of marrow grafts in human disease.

THE iNITIAL DISCOVERY of Jacobson et al 1 in 1949 that mice could be protected from an otherwise lethal dose of x-ray by lead shield-ing of the spleen led to the subsequent observation of others that a variety of lethally x-irradiated mammals could be saved from death by intravenously injecting syngeneic, allogeneic or in some cases xenogeneic marrow suspensions.2 These initial observations provided the laboratory worker with the stimulus and much of the methodology for further fundamental investigations into the areas concerned with the differentiation and kinetics of hematopoietic stem cells, kinetics of antibody formation, thymus-marrow interactions, etc. The clinician was no less excited by these early observations because of the obvious implications of therapy for human disease. The majority of early attempts at marrow grafting in man failed,3 however, because of lack of knowledge regarding tissue typing, immunosuppression and experience in the supportive care of patients with bone marrow aplasia. With new knowledge in these areas, there has been a resurgence of interest in the application of marrow grafts in human disease.4 In the next few pages, I will try to outline some of the principles as well as the problems associated with marrow transplantation in man.
Agents for Change and Changed Agents: The Micro‐politics of Change and Feminism in the Academy

This article explores gender politics and processes in the academy and investigates change from the perspectives of feminist academics. In particular, it explores the experiences of women academics attempting to effect change to the gendered status quo of their own institutions. Focusing on micro-politics, the feminist movement is empirically explored in localized spaces of resistance and in the small but significant individual efforts at making changes in academic institutions. The analysis is based on interviews with female academics working in business and management schools and focuses on the challenges for change and how change attempts affect their personal and professional identities. The article explores the range of change strategies that participants use as they try to progress in their academic career while staying true to their feminist values and priorities through both resisting and incorporating dominant discourses of academic work. The analysis highlights such tensions and focuses on a contextualized, bottom-up perspective on change that, unlike more totalizing theorization, takes into account mundane and lived experiences at the level of the individual.
The Perceived Impacts of Tourism: The Case of Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

A study was undertaken among the residents in Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh, Vietnam to examine the perceived impacts of tourism and to explore how residents’ support for tourism development. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 residents. The findings of the study have shown that, on the whole, respondents viewed tourism positively and showed strong support for tourism development. They were generally in favor of tourism that contributes economically and socio-culturally to Ha Long Bay. They were however slightly ambivalent to the environmental impacts of tourism. Based on the findings, this paper discusses and suggests the implications of the research, and the direction for the future studies.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Learning from Human Reward Benefits from Socio-competitive Feedback

Learning from rewards generated by a human trainer observing an agent in action has proven to be a powerful method for non-experts in autonomous agents to teach such agents to perform challenging tasks. Since the efficacy of this approach depends critically on the reward the trainer provides, we consider how the interaction between the trainer and the agent should be designed so as to increase the efficiency of the training process. This paper investigates the influence of the agent’s socio-competitive feedback on the human trainer’s training behavior and the agent’s learning. The results of our user study with 85 subjects suggest that the agent’s sociocompetitive feedback substantially increases the engagement of the participants in the game task and improves the agents’ performance, even though the participants do not directly play the game but instead train the agent to do so. Moreover, making this feedback active further induces more subjects to train the agents longer but does not further improve agent performance. Our analysis suggests that this may be because some trainers train a more complex behavior in the agent that is appropriate for a different performance metric that is sometimes associated with the target task.
Role of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 in Urokinase's Paradoxical In Vivo Tumor Suppressing or Promoting Effects

Tumor proteases and inhibitors have been associated with paradoxical effects on tumor progression in preclinical and clinical settings. We previously reported that urokinase (uPA) overexpression delays tumor progression in mammary cancer. This study aimed to determine the role of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) on uPA's paradoxical in vivo effects. Using syngeneic murine models, we found that stable uPA overexpression promoted in vivo growth of colon tumors (MC-38) naturally expressing high PAI-1, whereas growth inhibition was observed in renal tumors (RENCA) expressing lower PAI-1 levels. In murine mammary carcinoma (4T1), uPA overexpression shifted the uPA/PAI-1 balance in favor of the protease, resulting in significantly reduced tumor growth and metastases in vivo. Conversely, increased tumor progression was observed in stable PAI-1 overexpressing 4T1 tumors as compared with uPA-overexpressing and control tumors. These effects were associated with downregulation of metastases promoting genes in uPA-overexpressing tumors, such as metalloproteinases, CXCL-1, c-Fos, integrin α-5, VEGF-A, PDGF-α, and IL-1β. In PAI-1–overexpressing tumors, many of the above genes were upregulated. PAI-1 overexpressing tumors had increased total and new tumor microvessels, and increased tumor cell proliferation, whereas the opposite effects were found in uPA-overexpressing tumors. Finally, PAI-1 downregulation led to significant inhibition of 4T1 tumor growth and metastases in vivo. In conclusion, uPA's dual effects on tumor progression occur in the context of its interactions with endogenous PAI-1 expression. Our studies uncover novel mechanisms of in vivo tumor control by modulation of the balance between tumor proteases and inhibitors, which may be exploited therapeutically. Mol Cancer Res; 10(10); 1271–81. ©2012 AACR.
Activities of RPR 106972 (a new oral streptogramin), cefditoren (a new oral cephalosporin), two new oxazolidinones (U-100592 and U-100766), and other oral and parenteral agents against 203 penicillin-susceptible and -resistant pneumococci

Agar dilution was used to determine the MICs of RPR 106972 (a new oral streptogramin), cefditoren (a new oral cephalosporin), two new oxazolidinones (U-100592 and U-100766), and other oral and parenteral agents for 203 penicillin-susceptible and -resistant pneumococci. All pneumococci were inhibited by RPR 106972 at < or = 0.5 microgram/ml. Cefditoren was very active against all pneumococcal groups, with MICs of < or = 2.0 micrograms/ml. Amoxicillin with or without clavulanate was the next most active oral beta-lactam, followed by cefdinir, cefuroxime, cefpodoxime, and cefprozil. U-100592 and U-100766 were very active against all classes of pneumococci, with all MICs < or = 1.0 microgram/ml.
Does Personality Smell? Accuracy of Personality Assessments Based on Body Odour

People are able to assess some personality traits of others based on videotaped behaviour, short interaction or a photograph. In our study, we investigated the relationship between body odour and the Big Five personality dimensions and dominance. Sixty odour samples were assessed by 20 raters each. The main finding of the presented study is that for a few personality traits, the correlation between self–assessed personality of odour donors and judgments based on their body odour was above chance level. The correlations were strongest for extraversion (.36), neuroticism (.34) and dominance (.29). Further analyses showed that self–other agreement in assessments of neuroticism slightly differed between sexes and that the ratings of dominance were particularly accurate for assessments of the opposite sex. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.