Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
IL-2 Produced by CD8+ Immune T Cells Can Augment Their IFN-γ Production Independently from Their Proliferation in the Secondary Response to an Intracellular Pathogen

Chronic infection with Toxoplasma gondii induces a potent resistance against reinfection, and IFN-γ production by CD8+ T cells is crucial for the protective immunity. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate the secondary response remain to be elucidated. In the current study, we examined the role of IL-2 in IFN-γ production by CD8+ immune T cells in their secondary responses using T. gondii–specific CD8+ T cell hybridomas and splenic CD8+ immune T cells from chronically infected mice. The majority (92%) of CD8+ T cell hybridomas produced large amounts of IFN-γ only when a low amount (0.5 ng/ml) of exogenous IL-2 was provided in combination with T. gondii Ags. Inhibition of cell proliferation by mitomycin C did not affect the enhancing effect of IL-2 on the IFN-γ production, and significant increases in transcription factor T-bet expression were associated with the IL-2–mediated IFN-γ amplification. Splenic CD8+ immune T cells produced similar low levels of IL-2 in the secondary response to T. gondii, and a blocking of IL-2 signaling by anti–IL-2Rα Ab or inhibitors of JAK1 and JAK3 significantly reduced IFN-γ production of the T cells. This IL-2–mediated upregulation of IFN-γ production was observed in mitomycin C–treated CD8+ immune T cells, thus independent from their cell division. Therefore, endogenous IL-2 produced by CD8+ immune T cells can play an important autocrine-enhancing role on their IFN-γ production in the secondary responses to T. gondii, suggesting an importance of induction of CD8+ immune T cells with an appropriate IL-2 production for vaccine development.
Gauging Metropolitan “High-Tech” and “I-Tech” Activity

In the past few years, a number of new studies have published high-tech rankings of American metropolitan areas that are used by many business consultants and local economic development organizations to advise firms on location strategies. In this article, the authors generate their own rankings based on an occupational definition of “high techness” and compare them with those of four other studies. The results rank larger and older industrial cities, such as Chicago, New York, and even Detroit, higher than many of the smaller places celebrated as high tech, such as Austin. The work demonstrates that the methodology underlying rankings is crucially important to the outcome. By abandoning narrow notions of high tech restricted to maturing technologies in computers, electronics, and telecommunications and instead using science and technology (S&T) occupations as a marker for high tech, it may be possible to tag the innovative potential of emerging sectors, including high-tech services.
Managers' and Investors' Responses to Media Exposure of Board Ineffectiveness

We analyze the impact of the press on the behavior of various economic agents by examining how media exposure of board ineffectiveness affects corporate governance, investor trading behavior, and security prices. Our focus on board quality is motivated by the strong media criticism to which corporate boards and corporate America, in general, have been recently subjected. The results indicate that media releases of (noisy) information have significant economic consequences. In particular, media exposure of board ineffectiveness forces the targeted agents to take corrective actions and enhances shareholder wealth. Individual investors appear to react negatively to the media exposure, whereas investment firms act as if they anticipate the targeted firms’ corrective actions.
Arginine Vasopressin‐lnduced Sensitization in Brain: Facilitated Inositol Phosphate Production Without Changes in Receptor Number

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) has been shown to have a unique sensitization effect whereby repeated injection of AVP into a lateral cerebral ventricle or a mediobasal region of the rat forebrain below the lateral septum and including the anterior hypothalamus referred to as the ventral septal area, causes enhanced motor responses to the ligand. To elucidate possible neuronal mechanisms responsible for AVP sensitization, 1) we determined the dose and the time required for the development and expression of AVP sensitization, and 2) we tested the hypotheses that AVP sensitization may result in a) alteration of septal AVP V1 receptor affinity or number, and/or b) alteration of septal AVP V1 receptor signal transduction (phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis) mechanisms. Our behavioral data show that the magnitude of AVP sensitization varies with dose and time, and the effect is dependent on the time interval between injections, in that an initial intracerebroventricular AVP injection enhances the sensitivity of the animals to the motor effects of similar AVP injections given 6 h to 6 days later but not to injections given hourly or weekly. No changes in septal AVP binding site density and affinity, as measured by [3H]AVP binding to septal synaptic plasma membrane, were found in sensitized animals; [3H]inositol monophosphate stimulation in response to AVP in septal slices, however, was found to be significantly enhanced. This enhanced [3>H]inositol monophosphate stimulation appears specific to a V1‐type receptor because it was significantly reduced in the presence of the V1 receptor antagonist, d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)AVP, and was not found using oxytocin or the V2 receptor agonist, DDAVP. Our results therefore indicate that receptor binding, while critical to peptide neurotransmitter action, is not the sole factor for determining responsiveness. Rather, an appropriate schedule of AVP administration, which may cause changes in postreceptor effector system(s) such as inositol phosphate hydrolysis, appears most important.
Identifying carbon leakage sectors in the EU ETS and implications of results

A detailed description of the European Commission's carbon leakage quantitative assessment methodology is used to assess sectors at risk of carbon leakage. It sets out the steps taken to follow the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) Directive and the necessary work to generate useful data sets, as well as gaps in the assessment and its results. The resulting list of sectors at risk of carbon leakage is discussed from a broader perspective. The impact on emissions exempt from auctioning is also quantified. The results of the carbon leakage assessment show that, despite the carbon leakage provisions of the EU ETS Directive, the majority of emission allowances will be auctioned in Phase III of the EU ETS and, moreover, that the majority of emissions that will be freely allocated originate from only a small number of energy-intensive sectors.
THE PROTECTIVE ROLE OF HEME OXYGENASE-1 ON THE LIVER AFTER HYPOXIC PRECONDITIONING IN RATS1

Background. Hypoxic preconditioning (HP) confers cytoprotection against ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. This effect is in part attributable to the induction of heme oxygenase (HO)-1. This experiment evaluates liver cell damage after I/R injury in HP rats. Methods. HP rats were prepared by exposure (15 hr/day) to an altitude chamber (5,500 m) for 2 weeks. Partial hepatic ischemia was produced in the left lobes for 45 min followed by 180 min of reperfusion. Zinc (Zn) protoporphyrin (PP), a specific inhibitor of HO enzymatic activity, was subcutaneously injected 1 hr before the I/R injury into separate groups of sealevel (SL) control and HP rats. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, liver HO-1 mRNA and protein, and HO enzymatic activity were measured. Results. HO-1 was induced in the livers of rats exposed to HP. The levels of HO-1 mRNA and protein were obviously overexpressed after 2 weeks of HP. HP diminished the elevation of serum ALT levels after I/R injury (83.7±4.9 U/L) when compared with SL controls (280.8±19.4 U/L) and HP+ZnPP-pretreated groups (151.3±4.4 U/L). The HO activity in treated rats also was correlated with these results (237.9±19.8 pmol/mg of protein per hour for the HP group, 164.3±12.7 pmol/mg of protein per hour for the HP+ZnPP group, and 182.6±8 pmol/mg of protein per hour for the SL controls). Conclusions. The authors’ results indicated that the induction of HO-1 in hypoxic preconditioning played a protective role against hepatic I/R injury.
Bureaucratic Structure and Congressional Control

The interest-group theory of government (Stigler [9], Peltzman [7]) has generated many valuable insights into the workings of the political process. Although subsequent contributions to this literature (McCormick and Tollison [6], for example) have extended the theory to explain a wide variety of government behavior, the discussion of the political process tends to be carried out in terms of the interests of groups within the polity that either demand or supply wealth, and those of the legislators who broker the transfers. Little attention is normally paid to the bureaucratic organizations that enforce and, indeed, often set the policies that the legislature wishes to put in place. Exceptions are Eckert [1], who discussed how the personal incentives of regulators affect policy choices as a function of the costs and rewards of serving on a commission versus being employed by a bureaucratic agency, and Ehrlich and Posner [2], who offered a useful theoretical exposition based on legislative decision costs of why Congress delegates programs and policies to bureaus. In addition, Faith, Leavens, and Tollison [3] and Weingast and Moran [10] have shown that the composition of important oversight committees influences bureaucratic policymaking initiatives.
The Application of Corporate Governance Indicators With XBRL Technology to Financial Crisis Prediction

ABSTRACT The widespread adoption of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) suggests that intelligent software agents can now use financial information disseminated on the Web with high accuracy. Financial data have been widely used by researchers to predict financial crises; however, few studies have considered corporate governance indicators in building prediction models. This article presents a financial crisis prediction model that involves using a genetic algorithm for determining the optimal feature set and support vector machines (SVMs) to be used with XBRL. The experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms models based on only one type of information, either financial or corporate governance. Compared with conventional statistical methods, the proposed SVM model forecasts financial crises more accurately.
Knowledge management in Chinese organizations: collectivist values for open-minded discussions

Employees from different departments of an organization often do not have the relationships and interaction patterns that facilitate integrating and applying their knowledge together. This study proposes that departments that develop collectivist rather than individualist relationships engage in constructive controversy (CC) and share knowledge. Results using data from CEOs and Vice Presidents of various industries and regions of China suggested that collectivist but not individualistic values promote open-minded discussion of views which results in knowledge sharing. Coupled with previous research, these results suggest that collectivist values and CC provide an important foundation for productive knowledge management in organizations.
Diagnosing Equine Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction in Ambulatory Practice

Diagnosis of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction can be achieved in the field using the dexamethasone suppression test or plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). Equine ACTH is considerably more stable than previously suggested, which makes it useful for field-collected samples. Fasting insulin and circadian cortisol concentration are not discriminating tests. Additionally, season may affect interpretation of diagnostic test results. Author’s address: Department of Physiological Sciences, 264 McElroy, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078; e-mail: diannem@okstate.edu. © 2008 AAEP.
Does Management Performance Impact Citizen Satisfaction?

This article aims to examine the relationship between internal management performance and citizen satisfaction in the public sector. Top-down style evaluations emphasize improving the internal managerial performance of an agency, but few studies examine the relationship between the internal management of a governmental agency and citizen satisfaction. Our case study of government management in Seoul city attempts to address this deficiency by using data from the Seoul Service Index. Our results demonstrate a positive correlation between management performance and citizen satisfaction. We also found that the level of citizen satisfaction that helped trigger improvements in management practices varies according to the type of service. The implication of these results is that the managers of public organizations who wish to improve citizens’ satisfaction with the particular service offered by their organization must seek to strategically reform their bureaucracy’s internal management.
Physiological and functional responses to low-moderate versus high-intensity progressive resistance training in frail elders.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this efficacy study was to measure the dose-response effect of a free weight-based resistance training program by comparing the effects of two training intensities (low-moderate and high) of the knee extensor (KE) muscles on muscle function, functional limitations, and self-reported disability. METHODS The authors conducted a single-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Twenty-two institutionalized elders (mean age, 81.5 years) were assigned to either high-intensity strength training (HI; n = 8), low-moderate intensity strength training (LI; n = 6), or weight-free placebo-control training (PC; n = 8). The HI group trained at 80% of their 1-repetition maximum and the LI group trained at 40%. All groups performed 3 sets of 8 repetitions, 3 times per week for 10 weeks. Outcome measures included KE maximal strength, KE endurance, and functional performance as assessed by 6-minute walking, chair-rising, and stair-climbing tests, and by self-reported disability. RESULTS KE strength and endurance, stair-climbing power, and chair-rising time improved significantly in the HI and LI groups compared with the PC group. Six-minute walking distance improved significantly in the HI group but not in the LI group compared with the PC group. Changes observed in HI were significantly different from those observed in the LI group for KE strength and endurance and the 6-minute walking test, with a trend in the same direction for chair-rising and stair-climbing. Changes in strength were significantly related to changes in functional outcomes, explaining 37% to 61% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS These results show strong dose-response relationships between resistance training intensity and strength gains, and between strength gains and functional improvements after resistance training. Low-moderate intensity resistance training of the KE muscles may not be sufficiently robust from a physiologic perspective to achieve optimal improvement of functional performance. Supervised HI, free weight-based training for frail elders appears to be as safe as lower intensity training but is more effective physiologically and functionally.
Sheepskin Effects in the Returns to Education

We test for non-linearities in the returns to education and the presence of sheepskin effects to see if a causality between education and earnings can be determined. If there are non-linearities and/or sheepskin effects, the screening hypothesis will be favoured over the human capital theory. The data set used is from a developing country, Guatemala, in an attempt to add to the existing empirical literature on the existence of sheepskin effects.
Determinants of Collaboration in European R&D Networks: Empirical Evidence from a Discrete Choice Model

This paper focuses on inter-organizational R&D collaborations as captured by joint research projects funded within the European Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development (EU-FPs). We identify determinants of collaboration, including actor characteristics, relational and network effects as well as geographical effects by means of a discrete choice model. Using data on EU-FP projects from the EUPRO database and from a representative survey of participants, we produce statistically significant evidence that collaboration choices in EU-FPs are primarily facilitated by prior acquaintance, thematic proximity and geographical proximity. Also, network effects are significantly related to collaboration choice. Moreover, the study shows that the impact of geographical effects increases for more intensive collaboration. The results are promising since a deeper understanding of these collaboration processes is needed for future governance of research policies in the EU.
CORTICOTROPIN RELEASING HORMONE RECEPTOR 2 (CRHR‐2) GENE IS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED RISK AND SEVERITY OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN WOMEN

The corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) system has been implicated in a variety of anxiety and mood‐based symptoms and disorders. CRH receptor‐2 (CRHR‐2) plays a role in attenuating biological responses to stressful life events and trauma, making the CRHR‐2 gene a strong candidate to study in relationship to PTSD.
Synergistic effect of exogeneous and endogeneous electrostimulation on osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells seeded on silk scaffolds

Bioelectrical regulation of bone fracture healing is important for many cellular events such as proliferation, migration, and differentiation. The aim of this study was to investigate the osteogenic differentiation potential of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) cultivated on silk scaffolds in response to different modes of electrostimulation (e.g., exogeneous and/or endogeneous). Endogeneous electrophysiology was altered through the use of monensin (10 nM) and glibenclamide (10 μM), along with external electrostimulation (60 kHz; 100–500 mV). Monensin enhanced the expression of early osteogenic markers such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and runt‐related transcription factor 2 (RUNX‐2). When exogeneous electrostimulation was combined with glibenclamide, more mature osteogenic marker upregulation based on bone sialoprotein expression (BSP) and mineralization was found. These results suggest the potential to exploit both exogeneous and endogeneous biophysical control of cell functions towards tissue‐specific goals. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:581–590, 2016.
The ground truth about metadata and community detection in networks

Troubles with community detection in networks: No ground truth, no free lunch, and the complex coupling of metadata with structure. Across many scientific domains, there is a common need to automatically extract a simplified view or coarse-graining of how a complex system’s components interact. This general task is called community detection in networks and is analogous to searching for clusters in independent vector data. It is common to evaluate the performance of community detection algorithms by their ability to find so-called ground truth communities. This works well in synthetic networks with planted communities because these networks’ links are formed explicitly based on those known communities. However, there are no planted communities in real-world networks. Instead, it is standard practice to treat some observed discrete-valued node attributes, or metadata, as ground truth. We show that metadata are not the same as ground truth and that treating them as such induces severe theoretical and practical problems. We prove that no algorithm can uniquely solve community detection, and we prove a general No Free Lunch theorem for community detection, which implies that there can be no algorithm that is optimal for all possible community detection tasks. However, community detection remains a powerful tool and node metadata still have value, so a careful exploration of their relationship with network structure can yield insights of genuine worth. We illustrate this point by introducing two statistical techniques that can quantify the relationship between metadata and community structure for a broad class of models. We demonstrate these techniques using both synthetic and real-world networks, and for multiple types of metadata and community structures.
Combined osteotome-induced ridge expansion and guided bone regeneration simultaneous with implant placement: a biometric study.

PURPOSE To evaluate the long-term outcome of a single-step ridge expansion osteotome procedure and implant placement combined with guided bone regeneration in patients presenting narrow maxillary alveolar ridges. MATERIALS AND METHODS During the period 1999 to 2010, 41 patients aged 19 to 77 years (18 males; 23 females) suffering from partial or full edentulism associated with horizontal resorption of the maxillary ridges (2.5-5 mm) were treated using the combined ridge expansion and guided bone-regeneration techniques to obtain an improved bony base for implant placement. Implant survival, bone width measurements, clinical and radiologic implant success, and clinical complications were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS Achievement of primary stability of the implant was impossible at six sites; these were recorded as failures. In the remaining 35 patients, one hundred sixteen endosseous titanium implants were simultaneously placed. Follow-up time varied between 6 and 144 months (mean 52.4); of these, 36% were followed up for periods of time longer than 60 months. Implant diameter and lengths varied between 3.3 to 4.8 and 12 to 16 mm, respectively. In the 35 successful procedures (one hundred sixteen implants), the overall implant survival rate was 100%. An average gain in ridge width was 3.5 ± 0.93 (p < .0001) and an average enlargement of the buccal bone was 1.91 ± 0.6 (p < .0001). The mean vertical mesial bone loss was 1.81 mm ± 1.07 (ranging from 0.3 to 4.2 mm), and the mean vertical distal bone loss was 1.74 mm ± 1.12 (ranging from 0.4 to 4.5 mm). In eight patients (32%), at least one implant presented bone loss of ≥3 mm. CONCLUSIONS Within the limitations of this study, we suggest that the combined osteotome-induced ridge expansion and guided bone regeneration simultaneous with implant placement is a reliable procedure with reduced morbidity and may offer an alternative in suitable situations.
Volatility Feedback and Risk Premium in GARCH Models with Generalized Hyperbolic Distributions

The mixture structure of the generalized hyperbolic distribution of Barndorff-Nielsen (1997) is explored to quantify the contemporaneous correlation between return and volatility and to identify the effects of volatility feedback and risk premium within GARCH models. The statistical analysis of the excess returns based on the CRSP value-weighted portfolio index supports both volatility feedback and risk premium theories.
Government Size, Nonprofit Sector Strength, and Corruption

Government should serve the public good. Yet critics argue that “big government” is a major cause of corruption. This article assesses the empirical validity of their argument through cross-national statistical analysis, addressing two of previous research’s key weaknesses: lack of controls for potential reverse causation and for the likely confounding impact of nonprofit sector size. Contrary to critics’ claims, the analysis presented here finds no evidence that a larger government generally contributes to higher corruption. Instead, both government and nonprofit sector size generally have an inverse relationship with the level of corruption. To combat corruption, therefore, public administrators should be skeptical of recommendations for sweeping government cuts and should instead consider policies that strengthen the public and the nonprofit sectors.