Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constitutive Secretion of Protease Nexin-1 by Glial Cells and Its Regulation by G-Protein-Coupled Receptors

Extracellular serine proteases and their inhibitors (serpins) play a key role for synaptic plasticity in the developing and adult CNS. Serpins also counteract the extravasated proteases during brain injury. We studied the mechanisms by which one of the most important serpins, serpinE2 or protease nexin-1 (PN-1), is secreted by glial cells and how its secretion is regulated by extracellular signals. Using time-lapse videomicroscopy and biochemical methods, we demonstrate that PN-1 is constitutively secreted through small vesicles animated by a discontinuous movement using microtubules as tracks. The F-actin network underneath the plasma membrane acting as a barrier hindered PN-1 vesicle exocytosis. Vasointestinal/pituitary adenylate cyclase peptides and the G-protein activator mastoparan increased PN-1 secretion by disrupting the F-actin barrier. The receptor-mediated regulation of PN-1 constitutive secretion may be an important mechanism adapting extracellular proteolytic activity to synaptic activity.
The Influence of Tagging on the Results of Partial Parsing in German Corpora

In the last two years good progress has been made in work on part-of-speech tagging for German, while for a long time it was focussed on the English language. Now, that German corporacan be tagged with quite a high accuracy (cf. [Schmid 951 ) , we have to think about for which applications tagging can be used, and how tagged corpora are to be used and processed. One possibility is the use of a tagger as preprocessor for a partial syntactic analysis of textual corpora. Parsing a sentence results in many cases in a ( more or less) great number of ambiguities, which are to be resolved in subsequent analysis steps. To reduce the number of result trees in an earlier stage a tagger could be used to disambiguate the morphological and morphosyntactic part-of-speech annotations of the input for the parser. This paper describes an examination of the influence of tagging on subsequent partial parsing in German corpora with respect to the number of analysis trees. The underlying question is, to what extent tagging can serve as a preprocessor for a partial syntactic analysis to reduce the number of ambiguities in the parse results. For this, two small corpora have been partially syntactically analyzed, each in a tagged and an untagged form, and the results between these forms are compared with respect to their number of trees. The term tagged corpus(-form) /sentence means in this context, that (most of) its part-of­ speech tags are unambiguous. Words of a few classes constitute an exception being annotated with one additional tag if a structural analysis is needed to disambiguate them (for more details, see chapter 2) . A corpus(-form)/sentence, on the other hand, is called untagged, if its words are annotated ambiguously with all tags that result from a morphological analysis without considering their context. This is equal to the input of a tagger. The next chapter makes some more detailed remarks on the corpus material used for this work and on the part-of-speech annotation. In the third chapter the parsing method for par­ tially analyzing the sentences is explained. In chapter 4 the quantitative results of the different analyses are presented and compared. The last chapter summarizes these results and draws a conclusion with respect to the influence of tagging on the parsing results.
Cu-S Coped TiO 2 NanoPhotocatalyst for the Degradation of Environmental and Industrial Pollutants

Sulfur doped titanium dioxide anatase nano-photocatalyst with different copper loadings (5, 10, 15, and 20 w/w %) was synthesized by hydrothermal method. The fabricated nanocatalysts were found to have high surface area, high aspect ratio, good surface morphology and high metals dispersion. The synthesized nanocatalysts were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Brunauer Emmett teller method (BET). The results revealed that photocatalyst possesses anatase phase having particle size in the range of 9 to 12nm. The band gap of the photocatalyst was determined using transformed diffuse reflectance spectroscopy according to the Kubelka-Munk theory, showed prominent band gap decrease with increase in the Cu loadings. The photocatalytic activity of S-TiO2 and copper loaded S-TiO2 nanocatalyst were determined for degradation of phenol into hydrocarbons (methane, ethene, and propene) and photo reduction of CO2 into ethanol. The activity results revealed that degradation of phenol and photoreduction of CO2 increased with increasing copper loadings, due to creation of electronically modified active sites and change in the electron accepting properties of TiO2 with Cu addition and creation of electron hole pair.
Distinct Roles of Urinary Liver-Type Fatty Acid-Binding Protein in Non-Diabetic Patients with Anemia

Background Various stresses including ischemia are known to up-regulate renal L-FABP gene expression and increase the urinary excretion of L-FABP. In diabetic patients with anemia, the urinary excretion of L-FABP is significantly increased. We studied the clinical significance of urinary L-FABP and its relationship with anemia in non-diabetic patients. Subjects and Methods A total of 156 patients were studied in this retrospective cross-sectional analysis. The associations between anemia and urinary L-FABP levels, and the predictors of urinary L-FABP levels in non-diabetic patients were evaluated. Results Urinary L-FABP levels were significantly higher in patients with anemia compared to those in patients without anemia. Similarly, the urinary L-FABP levels were significantly higher in patients with albuminuria compared to those in patients without albuminuria. Urinary L-FABP levels correlated with urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratios, estimated glomerular filtration rates, body mass index, and hemoglobin levels. Multivariate linear regression analysis determined that hemoglobin levels (β = -0.249, P = 0.001) and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratios (β = 0.349, P < 0.001) were significant predictors of urinary L-FABP levels. Conclusions Urinary L-FABP is strongly associated with anemia in non-diabetic patients.
Performance evaluation under uncertainty: the impact of information system integration on procedural justice perceptions

The design and functioning of organizational control systems that allow for the monitoring of employee performance is at the core of management accounting research. With the emergence of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and the recent developments towards information system integration, the traditional structures of organizational control mechanisms have significantly changed. Only sparse evidence exists, however, regarding the role that the integration of information technology plays in performance measurement and evaluation. As a response, this paper investigates the impact that information system integration has on managers’ attitudes towards their performance evaluation processes. Based on organizational justice theory we hypothesize that integrated information systems positively impact managers’ perceptions of procedural justice, as these systems can improve the comprehensiveness and objectivity of performance data as well as the traceability of managers’ decisions. We further hypothesize that this effect is amplified with an increasing environmental uncertainty the managers perceive. Survey evidence from 132 managers of companies in Germany confirms the hypotheses and highlights the importance of integrated information systems in the performance
Comparison of cytokine levels and metabolic parameters of stored platelet concentrates of the Fundação Hemominas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Background Prolonged storage of platelets could improve availability and logistical management and decrease wastage. Immunobiochemical methods can be used to guarantee the quality of platelets after prolonged storage. Objective The aim of this study was to compare storage-related changes in buffy coat-derived platelet concentrations versus platelet-rich plasmal. Methods Units of whole blood were drawn using a quadruple-bag blood container system. Platelet-rich plasma and buffy coat prepared from whole blood following standard methods were stored for 9 days. During this period test samples were aseptically collected for analysis on Days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9. Results The highest CD42b expression was greater than 95%. The percentage of CD62p was significantly lower than the CD42b expression. The pH remained fairly stable during storage. Measurement of pO2 and pCO2 showed that oxygen levels were significantly higher than carbon dioxide levels. There were no significant differences in bicarbonate levels, glucose consumption and lactate production between the groups. The swirling effect with platelet-rich plasma samples decreased after 5 days of storage and after 7 days of storage for buffy coat samples. There was a significant twenty-fold increase in the mean IL-1β after 5 days of storage for both groups. Slight increases in IL-6 and IL-8 levels were seen at 5 days. Conclusion The quality of platelet concentrates remained acceptable during 7 days of storage in respect to the swirling effect, pH and platelet activation. There were no significant differences between buffy coat-derived platelets and platelet-rich plasma in this study.
The origin of radio haloes and non-thermal emission in clusters of galaxies

We study the origin of the non-thermal emission from the intracluster medium, including the excess hard X-ray emission and cluster-wide radio haloes, through fitting two representative models to the Coma cluster. If the synchrotron-emitting relativistic electrons are accelerated in situ from the vast pool of thermal electrons, then a quasi-stationary solution of the kinetic equation with particle acceleration through turbulence at high energies (>200 keV) naturally produces a population of suprathermal electrons responsible for the excess hard X-ray emission through bremsstrahlung. Inverse Compton scattering is negligible at hard X-ray energies in this case. The radio halo flux density constrains the magnetic field strength to a value close to that of equipartition, ∼1 μG. Alternatively, if the relativistic electrons are injected from numerous localized ‘external’ sources, then the hard X-rays are best explained by inverse Compton scattering from GeV electrons, and little of the hard X-radiation has a bremsstrahlung origin. In this case, the magnetic field strength is constrained to ∼0.1–0.2 μG. Both models assume that the non-thermal emissions are generated by a single electron spectrum, so that only two free parameters, well constrained by the observed hard X-ray and radio halo spectra, are needed in either case. Measurements of the cluster magnetic field will distinguish between the models.
The Tissue Selective Estrogen Complex: A Promising New Menopausal Therapy

Menopause is associated with health concerns including vasomotor symptoms, vulvar/vaginal atrophy (VVA), and osteoporosis. Estrogen therapy or combined estrogen-progestin therapy (EPT) are primary treatment options for menopausal symptom relief and osteoporosis prevention. Because EPT has been associated with some safety/tolerability concerns relating to undesirable effects of estrogen and progestin, alternative options are needed. The tissue selective estrogen complex (TSEC) is a novel class of agents pairing a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) with 1 or more estrogens. The TSEC combines the established efficacy of estrogens on menopausal symptoms and bone with the protective effects of a SERM on the reproductive tract. The pairing of bazedoxifene (BZA) with conjugated estrogens (CE) has been evaluated in a series of phase 3 clinical trials. BZA 20 mg/CE 0.45 mg and BZA 20 mg/CE 0.625 mg have shown efficacy in reducing the frequency and severity of hot flushes, relieving VVA symptoms, and maintaining bone mass while protecting the endometrium and breast. These BZA/CE doses have been associated with a favorable safety/tolerability profile, with higher rates of cumulative amenorrhea and lower incidences of breast pain than those reported for EPT. Thus, BZA/CE may be a promising alternative to conventional EPT for treating non-hysterectomized, postmenopausal women.
Updated overview of the putative role of the serotoninergic system in obsessive-compulsive disorder

The pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) remains unknown. However, increasing attention has been paid to the putative role of the serotoninergic system, the strongest evidence being based on the widely demonstrated efficacy of serotonin (5HT) reuptake inhibitor antidepressants in the treatment of OCD. The therapeutic effects are correlated with changes in peripheral parameters of 5HT function, which have been found to be altered in OCD, suggesting the possibility of reduced 5HT reuptake capacity. This could reflect a compensatory mechanism presumably due to decreased availability of extracellular 5HT, as evidenced by data derived from direct assessment of central 5HT neurotransmission. The development of new neurochemical probes that explore the sensitivity of various 5HT receptor subtypes has provided precious information. m-Chlorophenylpyperazine (m-CPP), an agonist to 5HT1A, 5HT1D, and 5HT2C receptors, and which also blocks 5HT3 receptors, exacerbates OC symptoms. In contrast, neither MK-212 (6-chloro-2-[1-piperazinyl]-pyrazine), a 5HT1A and 5HT2C receptor agonist, nor ipsapirone or buspirone, which acts as an agonist to 5HT1A receptors, have any effect on OC symptom severity. This suggests the potential implication of the 5HT1D receptor, as shown by the aggravation of OC manifestations in response to sumatriptan, a selective 5HT1D receptor agonist. The 5HT3 plays no specific role, given the lack of influence of the 5HT3 antagonist ondansetron, on OC symptom intensity. Further studies are required to elucidate the pharmacological molecular determinants of the putative 5HT1D receptor dysfunction.
Economic Tracking Portfolios

An economic tracking portfolio is a portfolio of assets with returns that track an economic variable. Monthly returns on stocks and bonds are useful in forecasting post-war US output, consumption, labor income, inflation, stock returns, bond returns, and Treasury bill returns. These forecasting relationships define portfolios that track market expectations about future economic variables. Using tracking portfolio returns as instruments for future economic variables substantially raises the estimated sensitivity of asset prices to news about future economic variables. Out-of-sample results show that tracking portfolios are useful in forecasting macroeconomic variables and hedging economic risk.
Gauging Correct Relative Rankings For Similarity Search

One of the important tasks in link analysis is to quantify the similarity between two objects based on hyperlink structure. SimRank is an attractive similarity measure of this type. Existing work mainly focuses on absolute SimRank scores, and often harnesses an iterative paradigm to compute them. While these iterative scores converge to exact ones with the increasing number of iterations, it is still notoriously difficult to determine how well the relative orders of these iterative scores can be preserved for a given iteration. In this paper, we propose efficient ranking criteria that can secure correct relative orders of node-pairs with respect to SimRank scores when they are computed in an iterative fashion. Moreover, we show the superiority of our criteria in harvesting top-K SimRank scores and bucket orders from a full ranking list. Finally, viable empirical studies verify the usefulness of our techniques for SimRank top-K ranking and bucket ordering.
Managing stress: the influence of gender, age and emotion regulation on coping among university students in Botswana

This study focused on the influence of gender, age and emotion regulation on coping strategies among university students in Botswana. Sixty-four males and 64 females, ranging in age from 18 to 29 years completed the Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale and the Coping Strategy Inventory. Female students used wishful thinking and problem-focused disengagement more than male students; however, there were no other significant gender differences in coping strategies. Older students were more likely to use problem-solving, cognitive restructuring and express emotion coping strategies. In addition, problems in emotion regulation significantly predicted problem- and emotion-focused engagement, problem- and emotion-focused disengagement and coping strategies. There was a unique finding that non-acceptance of emotional responses, a type of emotion suppression, was positively correlated with problem solving, cognitive restructuring, expressing emotion, social support, problem avoidance and wishful thinking coping strategies. Cultural context and implications for student well-being and university support are discussed.
A COMPACT MICROSTRIP RAT-RACE COUPLER WITH MODIFIED LANGE AND T-SHAPED ARMS

A compact microstrip rat-race coupler is proposed with a new phase inverter which is realized by a modified Lange coupling structure with a slotted ground plane and a floating-potential conductor. Based on the evenand odd-mode theory, its parameters are generally synthesized. In order to further miniaturize the rat-race coupler, a T-shaped line is utilized. A prototype operating at 2.0GHz is designed and fabricated for verification. The circumference of our proposed rat-race coupler is only 0. 52λ. Its in-phase and out-of-phase bandwidths are also enhanced, with reasonable agreement obtained between its simulated and measured S-parameters.
On the parallel complexity of computing a maximal independent set in a hypergraph

A maximal independent set in a hypergraph is a subset of vertices that is maximal with respect to the property of not containing any edge of the hypergraph. We show that an algorithm proposed by Beame and Luby is in randomized NC for hypergraphs in which the maximum edge size is bounded by a constant. To prove this, we bound the upper tail of sums of dependent random variables defined on the edges of a hypergraph. These bounds may be viewed as extensions of bounds on the tail of the binomial distribution. We derandomize this algorithm to obtain the first sublinear time deterministic algorithm for hypergraphs with edges of size O(1). The algorithm exhibits the following time-processor tradeoff: it can be made to run in time O(<italic>n</italic><supscrpt>ε</supscrpt>) with <italic>n</italic><supscrpt>O(1/ε)</supscrpt> processors for a hypergraph on <italic>n</italic> vertices, for any ε ≥ 2<supscrpt>d+1</supscrpt>• (log log <italic>n</italic>)/(log <italic>n</italic>); here <italic>d</italic> = O(1) denotes the maximum size of an edge in H. In particular, for any constant ε > O, we have an algorithm running in time O(<italic>n</italic><supscrpt>ε</supscrpt>) on a polynomial number of processors, and we have an algorithm running in time (log <italic>n</italic>)<supscrpt>O(1)</supscrpt> on <italic>n</italic><supscrpt>O(log <italic>n</italic>/log log <italic>n</italic>)</supscrpt> processors.
Corporate Governance and Valuation of Ipos

We synthesize the positive interest-alignment hypothesis proposed by La Porta et al. (1999) and Claessens et al. (2000), the reduced-control hypothesis proposed by Brennan and Franks (1997), and the informativeness hypothesis proposed by Fan and Wong (2002) in explaining the relationship between corporate governance and comparable price multiples and the relationship between corporate governance and initial returns for 218 Taiwanese IPO firms in the sample period between 1992 and 2001. The results support the interest-alignment argument that the controlling shareholder's cash flow rights is positively associated with the comparable price multiples, while a deviating voting-cash structure associating with the controlling shareholder is negatively corrected with the comparable price multiples. The relationship between corporate governance and the initial return is less significant in that the prediction from the interest-alignment argument and that from the reduced-monitoring hypothesis is contradictory when the controlling shareholder invests high cash flow rights. The informativeness hypothesis receives mixed support in that the result from the information content of the ownership structure is identical to that from the interest-alignment hypothesis, while the result from the accessibility of information is less supported.
ERP System Customization In SMEs: A Multiple Case Study

One of the biggest challenges for organizations implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is to find the right fit between the processes embedded in the system and the existing organizational business processes. “Conventional wisdom” founded on studies from large enterprises holds that ERP systems should be implemented without customization. However, studies of ERP system implementations in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) indicate that in these organizations ERP system customization is more common. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the scarce literature on identifying reasons for ERP system customization in SMEs. Based on a multiple case study of four SMEs, the study investigates reasons for ERP system customization with a focus on distinguishing characteristics of the SME context. The analysis identified eight various reasons for ERP system customization observed in the SMEs. Reasons specific to the SME context here include unique business processes, ownership type, and organizational maturity.
An Investigation on the Factor Structure of Hindi Version of Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ)

This study examines the factor structure of the Hindi version of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) (Hills & Argyle, 2002) in a sample of 1000 Indian university students. OHQ is a widely used in positive psychology research. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA)has resulted in six factors. Another study has been carried to test the results of EFA and other reported models with a sample of 800 students. Confirmatory factor analysis has resulted in the six-factor model showing a better fit against the other tested models. The study results support the multi-dimensional structure of OHQ. The factor structure of OHQ in India has some common factors and many differences when compared to the Euro-American studies.
Analysis and design of a 1.8-GHz CMOS LC quadrature VCO

This paper presents a quadrature voltage-controlled oscillator (QVCO) based on the coupling of two LC-tank VCOs. A simplified theoretical analysis for the oscillation frequency and phase noise displayed by the QVCO in the 1/f/sup 3/ region is developed, and good agreement is found between theory and simulation results. A prototype for the QVCO was implemented in a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS process with three standard metal layers. The QVCO could be tuned between 1.64 and 1.97 GHz, and showed a phase noise of -140 dBc/Hz or less across the tuning range at a 3-MHz offset frequency from the carrier, for a current consumption of 25 mA from a 2-V power supply. The equivalent phase error between I and Q signals was at most 0.25/spl deg/.
Solid Von Neumann Algebras

We prove that the relative commutant of a diffuse von Neumann subalgebra in a hyperbolic group von Neumann algebra is always injective. It follows that any non-injective subfactor in a hyperbolic group von Neumann algebra is non-Γ and prime. The proof is based on C∗-algebra theory.