Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Journal of Reproduction and Development

Maternal RNA and proteins accumulate in mouse oocytes and regulate initial developmental stages. Sperm DNA combines with protamine, which is exchanged after fertilization with maternal histones, including H3.3; however, the effect of H3.3 on development post-fertilization remains unclear. Herein, we established an electroporation method to introduce H3.3 siRNA into germinal vesicle (GV)-stage oocytes without removing cumulus cells. Oocyte-attached cumulus cells need to be removed during the traditional microinjection method; however, we confirmed that artificially removing cumulus cells from oocytes reduced fertilization rates, and oocytes originally free of cumulus cells had reduced developmental competence. On introducing H3.3 siRNA at the GV stage, H3.3 was maintained in the maternal pronucleus and second polar body but not in the paternal pronucleus, resulting in embryonic lethality after fertilization. These findings indicate that H3.3 protein was not incorporated into the paternal pronucleus, as it was repeatedly translated and degraded over a relatively short period. Conversely, H3.3 protein incorporated into the maternal genome in the GV stage escaped degradation and remained in the maternal pronucleus after fertilization. This new method of electroporation into GV-stage oocytes without cumulus cell removal is not skill-intensive and is essential for the accurate analysis of maternal effect genes.
THREE PAPERS ON HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA AFTER THE ECONOMIC REFORMS

The relationship between income inequality and health has been widely explored. Today there is some evidence suggesting that health status is inversely related with income inequality. This study focuses on China in the 1990s and explores the possible effects of provincial income inequality on individual health status. We use nonparametric techniques and a multi-level regression model to analyze data from nine provinces included in the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) collected in 1991, 1993, 1997 and 2000. The analyses show an independent effect of income inequality on self-reported health after adjusting for individual and household variables. We conclude that in China, societal income inequality appears to be an important determinant of population health during 1991-2000. 1.
General Slowing and Education Mediate Task Switching Performance Across the Life-Span

Objective: This study considered the potential role of both protective factors (cognitive reserve, CR) and adverse ones (general slowing) in modulating cognitive flexibility in the adult life-span. Method: Ninety-eight individuals performed a task-switching (TS) paradigm in which we adopted a manipulation concerning the timing between the cue and the target. Working memory demands were minimized by using transparent cues. Additionally, indices of cognitive integrity, depression, processing speed and different CR dimensions were collected and used in linear models accounting for TS performance under the different time constraints. Results: The main results showed similar mixing costs and higher switching costs in older adults, with an overall age-dependent effect of general slowing on these costs. The link between processing speed and TS performance was attenuated when participants had more time to prepare. Among the different CR indices, formal education only was associated with reduced switch costs under time pressure. Discussion: Even though CR is often operationalized as a unitary construct, the present research confirms the benefits of using tools designed to distinguish between different CR dimensions. Furthermore, our results provide empirical support to the assumption that processing speed influence on executive performance depends on time constraints. Finally, it is suggested that whether age differences appear in terms of switch or mixing costs depends on working memory demands (which were low in our tasks with transparent cues).
Mergers and acquisitions process: the use of corporate culture analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance cross‐cultural management during mergers and acquisitions (M&A), an issue that remains poorly understood despite a large body of literature accumulated over many years of study and experience.Design/methodology/approach – Based on literature review and case studies of both successful and unsuccessful companies, this paper clarifies the concept, the assessment and the use of corporate culture and its dimensions during all mergers and acquisitions stages, and as such shows its role as an important and influential milestone in the international business environment exploration.Findings – The paper arrives at the conclusion that the enduring paradox of the high rate of M&A failure vs the growing activity of M&A may be due to lack of synchronized activities of all merger stages.Practical implications – The paper presents frameworks and managerial tools that can help researchers and practitioners conduct better corporate culture assessment during all stages of t.
Borrowing Constraints and the Tenure Choice of Young Households

In this paper we analyze the factors that affect the tenure choice of young adults, highlighting the impact of mortgage lender imposed borrowing constraints. The data set is a panel of youth age 20-33 for the years 1985-90. Our methods differ from most prior studies in many ways including consideration of possible sample selection bias, a richer model of the stochastic error structure, better measurement of which households are bound by borrowing constraints, and a fuller consideration of the endogeneity of wealth and income. Once all changes are implemented, we find ownership tendencies to be quite sensitive to economic variables. Specifically, potential earnings, the relative cost of owning a home, and especially borrowing constraints affect the tendency to own a home. In our sample of youth, 37% of households are constrained even after choosing their loan-to-value ratio to minimize the impact of the separate wealth and income requirements. The constraints reduce the probability of ownership of these households by 10 to 20 percentage points (a third to a half) depending on the particular characteristics of the household.
Of Time and Partisan Stability

IT IS A COMMONPLACE expectation that newly established social and political institutions somehow accumulate a deepening stability with the passage of time. In the very long run, of course, once-established institutions may obsolesce, evolve into new forms, or be more brusquely overturned. But the timing of these terminal events, embedded as they will be in a complex nexus of change, seems almost impossible to forecast at long range. What is utterly predictable, however, is that threats to the survival of a new institution will be very high in its infant stages. In the degree that it can outlast these first precarious periods, it will typically have put forth roots of sufficient strength so that challenges to its very being diminish in number and those that do occur are warded off with
CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein knockdown alleviates hypoxia-induced myocardial injury in rat cardiomyocytes exposed to high glucose

Diabetic patients are more sensitive to ischemic injury than non-diabetics. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress has been reported to be closely associated with the pathophysiology of ischemic injury in diabetes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanisms involved in the progression of diabetes complicated by myocardial infarction (MI) and further verify the role of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)-homologous protein (CHOP) using an in vitro model of diabetes/MI. The rats were exposed to 65 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) and left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery ligation. ST-segment elevation, heart rate, left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) and LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) were measured. Serum creatinine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) levels were examined by ELISA. Infarct size and apoptosis were measured by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl-transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling assay. Pathological changes were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining. H9c2 cells were used to establish an in vitro model of diabetes complicated by MI. Following CHOP knockdown, cell viability, cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, flow cytometry and Hoechst staining. Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), CHOP, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductase 1 (Ero1)-α, Ero1β and protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) levels in both myocardial tissues and H9c2 cells were determined by western blotting. In the present study, diabetes complicated by MI promoted ST-segment elevation and myocardial apoptosis, increased infarct size, induced pathological changes and elevated LVEDP, CK-MB, cTnT, GRP78, CHOP, Bax, Ero1α, Ero1β and PDI; however, it decreased heart rate, LVSP and Bcl-2. Additionally, high glucose combined with hypoxic treatment reduced cell viability, induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase, promoted cell apoptosis, and activated the GRP78/CHOP and Ero1/PDI signaling pathways, which were reversed by CHOP knockdown. Thus, CHOP may be an effective therapeutic target for the treatment of diabetes complicated by MI.
Coxsackievirus B3 replication and persistence in intestinal cells from mice infected orally and in the human CaCo‐2 cell line

Although the transmission of coxsackievirus B3 occurs mainly via the oral route, little is known about the primary replication and persistence of this agent in the intestine. To address this question, BALB/c mice were inoculated by gavage with coxsackievirus B3, Nancy strain. The mice were killed from 1 hr to 90 days after infection. The viral markers were detected in the small intestine using RT‐PCR, cell culture and detection of VP1 protein. Coxsackievirus B3 was detected positive by the three methods from hr 2 to day 45 after infection. By using monoclonal antibodies directed towards VP1, CD40 and CD26, the virus was shown to be present in the lymphocytes of the mucosa as soon as 2 hr after infection; in contrast, no virus was detected in the epithelial cells lining the intestinal lumen. Further experiments were performed to evaluate the capacity of coxsackievirus B3 to establish a persistent infection in two intestinal cell lines. In contrast to HT29 cells, the CaCo‐2 cells were shown to develop a persistent infection for up to 20 passages, as demonstrated by the detection of viral RNA and VP1 protein. This study provides further evidence that, after infection by the oral route, the viral particles are concentrated in the lymphocytes of the mucosal layer. In addition, the results suggest that coxsackievirus B3 is capable of establishing a persistent infection in the small intestine that may act as a reservoir of viral particles for the delayed spread of the virus to other target organs. J. Med. Virol. 74:283–290, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Effectiveness of the Insider-Trading Sanctions

T HIS study empirically examines the effects of increases in the level and enforcement of insider-trading regulations in the 1980s on corporate insiders.1 The main goal of the insider-trading regulations is to prevent insiders from trading on the basis of material, nonpublic corporate information. In addition, regulations require that insiders report their transactions to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and refrain from generating short-term profits by trading in their own firms' stocks. Regulations also prohibit insiders from short selling the securities of their firms.
Herding behaviour in Spanish equity funds

We analyse the herding phenomenon in the management style of Spanish equity funds. Using the methodology of Lakonishok et al. (1992) and Sharpe's style analysis (1992), we find interesting conclusions in the investment behaviour of fund managers, a barely-explored aspect, especially in the Spanish market.
Enhancing the Regularization Effect of Weight Pruning in Artificial Neural Networks

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) may not be worth their computational/memory costs when used in mobile phones or embedded devices. Parameter-pruning algorithms combat these costs, with some algorithms capable of removing over 90% of an ANN's weights without harming the ANN's performance. Removing weights from an ANN is a form of regularization, but existing pruning algorithms do not significantly improve generalization error. We show that pruning ANNs can improve generalization if pruning targets large weights instead of small weights. Applying our pruning algorithm to an ANN leads to a higher image classification accuracy on CIFAR-10 data than applying the popular regularizer dropout. The pruning couples this higher accuracy with an 85% reduction of the ANN's parameter count.
Gas chromatographic assay for in vitro complementation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants deficient in nitrate reduction

An electron capture gas-chromatographic technique was developed to continuously measure nitrate (NO3-) reduction during in vitro complementation tests with extracts from Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants deficient in both assimilatory and dissimilatory nitrate reduction as a result of a single genetic mutation. The procedure involves coupling nitrate reduction to nitrous oxide (N2O) evolution via a series of reactions specific to the denitrification pathway. The assay was dependent on nitrate concentration, and optimal activity was obtained with a final concentration of 0.2% potassium nitrate. The reduction exhibited a stoichiometry of 2:1 (NO3-/N2O), and succinate was the best electron source for the reaction, followed by glucose, pyruvate, and malate. The technique can also be used for continuously monitoring nitrate reduction. The optimal nitrite concentration in the nitrite reductase assay was 0.025%. The initial complementation studies of mutant extracts demonstrated that at least two genes are shared between the two nitrate reduction pathways in P. aeruginosa.
The Conditional Relationship between the Equity Risk Premium and the Dividend Price Ratio

The dividend price ratio is among the most commonly proposed instruments for forecasting equity returns. Despite an ongoing debate struggling to establish the efficacy of regressions using the dividend price ratio to measure the conditional equity premium, such affine functions are now pervasive in literatures that use the conditional equity premium as an input. In this paper, I point out that economic models of risk speak directly to the properties of predictability regression statistics. Specifically, I demonstrate that in reasonable theoretical settings, predictability regressions may be badly misspecified. In particular, they may have low power to identify the conditional and nonlinear form of predictability suggested by structural treatments of risk. Additionally, simple predictive regressions produce estimates of the conditional risk premium which may be very different from the true values. Moreover, accommodating the implied instability in the relationship between the dividend price ratio and the equity risk premium can substantially improve out of sample forecasting power.
Etiologic Factors and Long-Term Prognosis of Convulsive Disorders in the First Year of Life

Etiological factors and long-term prognosis were studied in 562 cases with convulsive disorders in the first year of life; 114 (20.3%) were prenatal, 114 (20.3%) perinatal, 24 (4.3%) postnatal, and 257 cases (45.7%) were cryptogenic. The remaining 53 (9.4%) patients were doubtful cases. The mortality before six years of age of the pre- and perinatal cases at 17.6% and 15.7%, respectively was significantly higher than in the other etiologic groups. The incidence of a family history of epilepsy or other convulsive disorders was highest in the cryptogenic cases (23.5%), and lowest in the prenatal cases (10.4%) (p less than 0.05). The onset of seizures was very early in the pre- and perinatal groups and they decreased in number after four months of age, whereas cryptogenic cases increased after four months of age. With regard to the seizure types in the first year of life, infantile spasms occurred most frequently as the initial seizures in the prenatal (62.8%) and doubtful (50.9%) group, and generalized motor seizures in the cryptogenic (78.8%) group. The prognosis of seizures and mental and physical development was much better in cryptogenic cases. More than 80% of cases with cryptogenic etiology became seizure-free, mentally and physically normal, whereas in other etiologic groups the rate was much lower.
Testing the stochastic convergence of Italian regions using panel data

This paper examines stochastic convergence in real per capita GDP for Italian regions using recent non-stationary panel data methodologies over the period 1951 to 2002. Economies stochastically converge when regional differences across economies are not persistent, and long-run movements in a region's real per capita GDP are driven by technological shocks. Four panel unit root tests are used to evaluate stochastic convergence and Monte Carlo simulation is performed to obtain critical values. The results indicate that there is no stochastic convergence among Italian regions. They also provide some evidence in favour of stochastic convergence of regions in the Northern part of Italy.
Neural networks: the prediction of residential values

The potential application of data mining techniques in the extraction of information from property data sets is discussed. Particular interest is focused upon neural networks in the valuation of residential property with an evaluation of their ability to predict. Model testing infers a wide variation in the range of outputs with best results for stratified market subsets, using postal code as a locational delimiter. The paper questions whether predicted outcomes are within the range of valuation acceptability and examines issues relating to potential biasing and repeatability of results.
Cost decision making in building maintenance practice in Malaysia

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to systematically identify important factors that are considered in decision making of maintenance cost and discuss how these factors affect maintenance performance.Design/methodology/approach – This paper employs triangulation technique, which combines quantitative and qualitative approaches. The paper starts with the identification of dominant factors through literature reviews followed by semi‐structured interviews with ten building managers and questionnaire survey. A set of questionnaires are distributed to 200 selected buildings managers in Malaysia. The results from 62 completed questionnaires form a database for the quantitative analysis.Findings – This paper concludes that the maintenance performance suffers from the insufficient allocation of maintenance cost. The main factors that are usually considered by the building managers in allocation of maintenance costs are availability of funding, client's preference, and economic situation. Associative test.
Cultural values of natural resources among the San people neighbouring Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa

Globally, cultural values of natural resources are increasingly recognised as important for local natural resource management and conservation in and beyond parks. The tendency has been to focus on the direct-use rather than the cultural values and importance of natural resources. The cultural values underlying natural resources (directly or indirectly used) and various natural resource-based activities, and the implications for conservation, remain little explored. Drawing from household surveys, in-depth qualitative interviews, observations and secondary data, we explore the cultural significance of natural resources and different land-use practices among the San people bordering Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa. Our findings illustrate that though cultural values are inextricably linked to resource use, they are not recognised by all community members. Further, cultural values arise from a diverse and sometimes conflicting array of values that punctuate individuals' lifestyles. A better understanding of context-specific cultural settings and the linkages between the cultural and material dimensions of resource use can lead to the development of interventions that can ensure effective conservation of both natural resources and culture.
In vivo sequence variability of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 envelope gp120: association of V2 extension with slow disease progression

According to the rate of depletion of CD4 cell counts, we grouped 12 cases of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection as 6 rapid (21.0 to 33.8 cells per microl per month) and 6 slow (0.9 to 7.9 cells per microl per month) progressors and determined the individual viral quasispecies patterns by sequencing the genome region encoding the V1, V2, and V3 loops of envelope protein. Although the quasispecies structures varied widely from one individual to another, a strong correlation was observed between a low rate of disease progression and a high degree of genetic diversity of HIV-1. Furthermore, the V2 loop extension was observed specifically in individuals with slow or no disease progression, whereas basic amino acid substitutions in V3 characteristic of a viral phenotype shift from non-syncytium inducing to syncytium inducing were observed in patients with advanced stages of disease regardless of their rate of disease progression. Studies with recombinant viruses suggested that elongation of V2 potentially restricts the capacity of HIV-1 to replicate in macrophages. Thus, our results suggest the association of distinct sequence features of both V3 and V2 with particular patterns of disease progression. Elongation of the V2 loop may be a good predictor of slow disease progression, while basic substitutions of V3 without elongation of V2 are characteristic of rapid progression.
Electrodermal activity in relation to cortisol dysregulation in depressive patients

Electrodermal activity (EDA), basal morning plasma cortisol, outcome of the dexamethasone suppression test (DST), and nocturnal urinary cortisol excretion were studied in a somewhat confined number of originally 59 depressive patients and 59 matched healthy subjects. The patients showed nocturnal hypercortisolism. According to the DST, EDA and cortisol dysregulation were unrelated. In the total patient group, the correlations between EDA and cortisol in plasma and in urine were small and insignificant. However, in suicide attempters, in nonsuicidal patients, and in the healthy subjects, complex patterns of correlations were found between tonic electrodermal activity, electrodermal responsivity, basal morning plasma cortisol, and nocturnal urinary cortisol. Some inconsistencies in the patterns may be explained by differences in the sampling of data. Future research should try to delineate possible relationships between EDA and hormones on all levels of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical axis.