Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Caveolin-1 regulation of dynamin-dependent, raft-mediated endocytosis of cholera toxin–B sub-unit occurs independently of caveolae

Ganglioside GM1‐bound cholera toxin–B sub‐unit (CT‐b) enters the cell via clathrin‐coated pits and dynamin‐independent non‐caveolar raft‐dependent endocytosis. Caveolin‐1 (Cav1), associated with caveolae formation, is a negative regulator of non‐caveolar raft‐dependent endocytosis. In mammary epithelial tumour cells deficient for Mgat5, Cav1 is stably expressed at levels below the threshold for caveolae formation, forming stable oligomerized Cav1 microdomains or scaffolds that were shown to suppress EGFR signalling and reduce the plasma membrane diffusion rate of both EGFR and CT‐b. Below threshold levels of Cav1 also inhibit the dynamin‐dependent raft‐mediated endocytosis of CT‐b to the Golgi indicating that Cav1‐negative regulation of raft‐dependent endocytosis is caveolae independent. Inhibition of CT‐b internalization does not require Cav1 phosphorylation but does require an intact Cav1 scaffolding domain. By flow cytometry, both over‐expression of Cav1 and the dynamin K44A mutant block CT‐b internalization from the plasma membrane defining a dynamin‐dependent raft pathway for CT‐b endocytosis in these cells. However, only minimal co‐localization between CT‐b and Cav1 is observed. These results suggest that Cav1 regulates raft‐dependent internalization of CT‐b indirectly via a mechanism that requires the Cav1 scaffolding domain and the formation of oligomerized Cav1 microdomains but not caveolae.
Challenging School Leadership in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces

This article reports on the challenges facing public school leadership in southern Thailand, a region destabilized by renewal of a longstanding insurgency. Seeking to implement national educational reforms on shifting social, political and cultural terrain, educators in this region face extraordinary challenges as they reconsider and renegotiate an institutional position once perceived as secure. Focusing on two schools in one province, this article offers an account of the variety of challenges reported by principals working in this difficult environment. We find the principals employing number of bridging and buffering strategies as improvisational efforts to re-organize, re-establish and re-position the schools in their respective communities. In the concluding discussion, we surface concerns regarding the nature and naturalness, reason and reasonableness of these strategies within local administrative hegemony premised on market and colonial ideologies that may obscure impending legitimation issues.
The behavioural assessment of visual neglect

Abstract Unilateral visual neglect is among the most striking consequences of right-sided brain damage and is characterised by the patient's failure to respond to stimuli on the side contralateral to the lesion. Visual neglect disrupts many aspects of daily living such as mobility, dressing, and reading, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This paper describes the development, standardisation and validation of a test battery designed to identify a wide variety of visual neglect behaviours observed in clinical practice. The Behavioural Inattention Test (B.I.T.), which was standardised on a large stroke population (n = 80), is described. Unlike existing studies of visual neglect, the B.I. T. relates test results to functional assessment and rehabilitation. Using the test battery and normative data from 50 age-matched controls, 30 patients (37.5%) were classified as demonstrating neglect. Neglect is more frequent and severe following right-rather than left-sided lesions. Inter-rater, test-.
Dissolution of Intact, Divided and Crushed Circadin Tablets: Prolonged vs. Immediate Release of Melatonin

Circadin 2 mg prolonged-release tablet is the only licensed melatonin product available in the UK. Circadin is indicated for patients with primary insomnia aged 55 and over, but is more widely used “off-label” to treat sleep disorders especially in the paediatric population. Children and older people often have difficulty swallowing tablets and dividing the tablet is sometimes required to ease administration. The aim of this study was to measure the release profile of melatonin from Circadin tablets when divided or crushed, and compare this with release from intact tablets. Dissolution testing was also performed for unlicensed melatonin products for comparison. Dissolution tests were performed using the pharmacopoeial paddle apparatus, with melatonin release analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. Melatonin content, hardness, friability, and disintegration of the products were also evaluated. The prolonged release of melatonin from Circadin tablets was unlike that of any other product tested. When divided into halves, Circadin preserved most of the prolonged-release characteristic (f2 = 58), whereas quarter-cut and crushed tablet had a more immediate melatonin release profile. Circadin is significantly less expensive and should be preferred to unlicensed medicines which are not pharmaceutically equivalent and offer less quality assurance.
@Sweden: Curating a Nation on Twitter

On December 10, 2011, the first tweet was sent out from the @Sweden Twitter account, a nation-branding project financed by the Swedish government through the Swedish Institute and VisitSweden. Trumpeted by the media both in Sweden and internationally as an exercise in “transparent” and “democratic” nation-branding via the use of Twitter, the @Sweden account is “given” to a new Swede every week, and, supposedly, these curators are given free rein to tweet what they like, when they like. The use of a popular communication channel by the Swedish government—in this case, Twitter—provides an illuminating example of the carefully planned and managed promotion and nation-branding of Sweden, presented under the guise of a “transparent” and “democratic” selection and editorial processes. The @Sweden project will be addressed in light of “liberation technology” (Diamond, 2010) and “technology discourse” (Fisher, 2010) perspectives, within which a correlation between access to, and use of, technology and proactive change is postulated. These theoretical perspectives are particularly valuable when heeding Kaneva's (2011) call for a more critical, communications-based understanding of nation-branding.
Sociology in Question

The Art of Standing Up to Words A Science that Makes Trouble The Sociologist in Question Are Intellectuals Out of Play? How Can `Free-Floating Intellectuals' Be Set Free? For a Sociology of Sociologists The Paradox of the Sociologist What Talking Means Some Properties of Fields The Linguistic Market Censorship 'Youth' is Just a Word Music-Lovers Origin and Evolution of the Species The Metamorphosis of Tastes How Can Anyone Be a Sportsman? Haute Couture and Haute Culture But Who Created the `Creators'? Public Opinion Does Not Exist Culture and Politics Strikes and Political Action The Racism of `Intelligence'
Enhancing Pancreatic Beta-Cell Regeneration In Vivo with Pioglitazone and Alogliptin

Aims/Hypothesis Pancreatic beta-cells retain limited ability to regenerate and proliferate after various physiologic triggers. Identifying therapies that are able to enhance beta-cell regeneration may therefore be useful for the treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Methods In this study we investigated endogenous and transplanted beta-cell regeneration by serially quantifying changes in bioluminescence from beta-cells from transgenic mice expressing firefly luciferase under the control of the mouse insulin I promoter. We tested the ability of pioglitazone and alogliptin, two drugs developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, to enhance beta-cell regeneration, and also defined the effect of the immunosuppression with rapamycin and tacrolimus on transplanted islet beta mass. Results Pioglitazone is a stimulator of nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma while alogliptin is a selective dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor. Pioglitazone alone, or in combination with alogliptin, enhanced endogenous beta-cell regeneration in streptozotocin-treated mice, while alogliptin alone had modest effects. In a model of syngeneic islet transplantation, immunosuppression with rapamycin and tacrolimus induced an early loss of beta-cell mass, while treatment with insulin implants to maintain normoglycemia and pioglitazone plus alogliptin was able to partially promote beta-cell mass recovery. Conclusions/Interpretation These data highlight the utility of bioluminescence for serially quantifying functional beta-cell mass in living mice. They also demonstrate the ability of pioglitazone, used either alone or in combination with alogliptin, to enhance regeneration of endogenous islet beta-cells as well as transplanted islets into recipients treated with rapamycin and tacrolimus.
Fibronectin Binding Protein BBK32 of the Lyme Disease Spirochete Promotes Bacterial Attachment to Glycosaminoglycans

ABSTRACT Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, causes a multisystemic illness that can affect the skin, heart, joints, and nervous system and is capable of attachment to diverse cell types. Among the host components recognized by this spirochete are fibronectin and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). Three surface-localized GAG-binding bacterial ligands, Bgp, DbpA, and DbpB, have been previously identified, but recent studies suggested that at least one additional GAG-binding ligand is expressed on the spirochetal surface when the spirochete is adapted to the mammalian host environment. BBK32 is a surface lipoprotein that is produced during infection and that has been shown to bind to fibronectin. In this study, we show that, when BBK32 was produced from a shuttle vector in an otherwise nonadherent high-passage B. burgdorferi strain, the protein localized on the bacterial surface and conferred attachment to fibronectin and to mammalian cell monolayers. In addition, the high-passage strain producing BBK32 bound to purified preparations of the GAGs dermatan sulfate and heparin, as well as to these GAGs on the surfaces of cultured mammalian cells. Recombinant BBK32 recognized purified heparin, indicating that the bacterial attachment to GAGs was due to direct binding by BBK32. This GAG-binding activity of BBK32 is apparently independent of fibronectin recognition, because exogenous heparin had no effect on BBK32-mediated bacterial binding to fibronectin.
South Asian women in employment: The impact of migration, ethnic origin and the local economy

Abstract This article presents original survey data on differences between Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Sikhs and Gujaratis in Britain in terms of women's own employment and their household circumstances, including men's position in the labour market. In arguing that differential economic activity is largely explained by familial responsibilities and economic opportunities, it emphasises in particular the impact of migration and of the local economy. The article also assesses South Asian women's experience of domestic labour and gendered obligations in the context of extensive material disadvantage. While it explores various dimensions of exclusion, including racism, it concludes by identifying a number of key issues affecting women's employment prospects in the future.
More Is Less: A Disinhibited Prefrontal Cortex Impairs Cognitive Flexibility

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critical for decision making, and it becomes dysfunctional in many neuropsychiatric disorders. Studies in schizophrenia patients and relevant animal models suggest loss of PFC inhibitory interneuron function. For instance, rats with a neonatal ventral hippocampal lesion (NVHL) show a deficient modulation of PFC interneurons by dopamine (DA). Whether the PFC becomes disinhibited in this model and alters decision making remains to be determined. Here, we recorded neural activity in the medial PFC of NVHL rats during a reward-discounting choice task that activated DA systems. Rats were trained to sample odors that instructed them to select one of two feeders that delivered unequal amounts of liquid. Putative pyramidal neurons in the PFC were hyperactive whereas task-related field potential oscillations were significantly reduced in NVHL rats, consistent with impaired interneuron activation by DA during odor sampling leading to disorganized processing. Cognitive flexibility was tested by examining response bias and errors after reversing reward outcomes. NVHL rats demonstrated impaired flexibility as they were less able to track changes in reward outcome and made more response errors than controls did. Reducing cortical excitability with the metabotropic glutamate receptor 2/3 agonist LY379268 (1 mg/kg, i.p.) improved behavioral flexibility in NVHL rats but not controls. Furthermore, D2 dopamine receptors were involved, as the antagonist eticlopride (0.02 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced the ability to switch only in control animals. We conclude that NVHL rats present PFC disinhibition, which affects neural information processing and the selection of appropriate behavioral responses.
Asthma and Behavior in Homeless 4- to 7-Year-Olds

OBJECTIVE: Low-income, urban, ethnic minority children have higher rates of asthma, more severe symptoms, and more management issues, as well as high risk for academic and behavior problems. This study focused on asthma reported in young children who resided in a family emergency homeless shelter. Asthma rates were considered along with their relation to hospitalization and emergency department use and behavior that is important for school success, including cognitive function, conduct, and academic functioning. METHODS: A total of 104 children (age 4.0–7.5 years) and parents were recruited while residing in an urban emergency homeless shelter for families. Children had no previously identified developmental delays and spoke English proficiently. Parents reported whether the child experienced asthma, as well as emergency department use and hospitalization. Parents and teachers completed measures of child inattention/hyperactivity and behavior problems. Cognitive function of children was directly assessed. RESULTS: Asthma was reported for 27.9% of children, ∼3 times the national average. Children with asthma had been hospitalized more often, showed higher levels of inattention/hyperactivity and behavior problems, and evidenced lower academic functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Young children in homeless family emergency shelters have high rates of asthma and related problems that could lead to higher hospitalization rates, more behavioral problems, and lower academic functioning at school. Screening and treatment of children who stay in emergency family shelters may be particularly important for reducing risks associated with asthma in highly mobile, low-income families.
Modulation of Mycobacterium avium Growth in Murine Macrophages: Reversal of Unresponsiveness to Interferon‐Gamma by Indomethacin or Interleukin‐4

The ability of soluble factors to modulate the growth of a virulent strain of Mycobacterium avium in murine peritoneal macrophages was studied. The virulent strain, TMC 702, grew progressively in the organs of susceptible BALB/C mice. In addition, this strain of M. avium grew progressively in untreated peritoneal macrophages. Treatment of macrophage monolayers with interferon‐gamma (IFN‐γ) did not change significantly the intracellular growth of M. avium. Addition of indomethacin to IFN‐γ‐treated macrophage monolayers rendered them significantly more bacteriostatic than macrophages treated with interferon alone, suggesting a role for prostaglandins in inducing unresponsiveness to IFN‐γ in infected cells. Additionally, treatment with tumour necrosis factor‐alpha led to a modest increase in bacteriostasis, as compared to untreated monolayers. Further experiments with recombinant interleukins showed that interleukin‐4 (IL‐4), on its own, could increase bacteriostatic activity against M.avium in a reproducible fashion. Experiments with interleukin combinations showed that IFN‐γ and IL‐4 treatment of macrophages rendered these cells almost fully bacteriostatic against M. avium. Inclusion of scavengers of reactive oxygen species did not modify the beneficial effect of IFN‐γ and IL‐4. Overall, our results suggest an important role for interleukins in modulating the interaction between virulent mycobacteria and murine macrophages.
Inactivation of p53 by Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 Tax Requires Activation of the NF-κB Pathway and Is Dependent on p53 Phosphorylation

ABSTRACT p53 plays a key role in guarding cells against DNA damage and transformation. We previously demonstrated that the human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) Tax can inactivate p53 transactivation function in lymphocytes. The present study demonstrates that in T cells, Tax-induced p53 inactivation is dependent upon NF-κB activation. Analysis of Tax mutants demonstrated that Tax inactivation of p53 function correlates with the ability of Tax to induce NF-κB but not p300 binding or CREB transactivation. The Tax-induced p53 inactivation can be overcome by overexpression of a dominant IκB mutant. Tax-NF-κB-induced p53 inactivation is not due to p300 squelching, since overexpression of p300 does not recover p53 activity in the presence of Tax. Further, using wild-type and p65 knockout mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs), we demonstrate that the p65 subunit of NF-κB is critical for Tax-induced p53 inactivation. While Tax can inactivate endogenous p53 function in wild-type MEFs, it fails to inactivate p53 function in p65 knockout MEFs. Importantly, Tax-induced p53 inactivation can be restored by expression of p65 in the knockout MEFs. Finally, we present evidence that phosphorylation of serines 15 and 392 correlates with inactivation of p53 by Tax in T cells. This study provides evidence that the divergent NF-κB proliferative and p53 cell cycle arrest pathways may be cross-regulated at several levels, including posttranslational modification of p53.
The development of the LV Prasad-Functional Vision Questionnaire: a measure of functional vision performance of visually impaired children.

PURPOSE To develop a reliable and valid questionnaire (the LV Prasad-Functional Vision Questionnaire, LVP-FVQ) to assess self-reported functional vision problems of visually impaired school children. METHODS The LVP-FVQ consisting of 19 items was administered verbally to 78 visually impaired Indian school children aged 8 to 18 years. Responses for each item were rated on a 5-point scale. A Rasch analysis of the ordinal difficulty ratings was used to estimate interval measures of perceived visual ability for functional vision performance. RESULTS Content validity of the LVP-FVQ was shown by the good separation index (3.75) and high reliability scores (0.93) for the item parameters. Construct validity was shown with good model fit statistics. Criterion validity of the LVP-FVQ was shown by good discrimination among subjects who answered "seeing much worse" versus "as well as"; "seeing much worse" versus "as well as/a little worse" and "seeing much worse" versus "a little worse," compared with their normal-sighted friends. The task that required the least visual ability was "walking alone in the corridor at school"; the task that required the most was "reading a textbook at arm's length. " The estimated person measures of visual ability were linear with logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) acuity and the binocular high contrast distance visual acuity accounted for 32.6% of the variability in the person measure. CONCLUSIONS The LVP-FVQ is a reliable, valid, and simple questionnaire that can be used to measure functional vision in visually impaired children in developing countries such as India.
The Effects of Rural Electrification on Employment: New Evidence from South Africa

This paper estimates the impact of electrification on employment growth by analyzing South Africa's mass roll-out of electricity to rural households. Using several new data sources and two different identification strategies (an instrumental variables strategy and a fixed effects approach), I find that electrification significantly raises female employment within five years. This new infrastructure appears to increase hours of work for men and women, while reducing female wages and increasing male earnings. Several pieces of evidence suggest that household electrification raises employment by releasing women from home production and enabling microenterprises. Migration behavior may also be affected. (JEL H54, L94, L98, O15, O18, R23)
Evidence for Independent Processing of Subjective Contour Brightness and Sharpness

Subjective contours have been of considerable interest because of their importance to theories and physiological models of form perception. In particular, they have recently been characterized as the result of magnocellular cortical processing. There is, however, a paucity of parametric data relating to basic psychophysical parameters in this field. Two experiments are reported in which the roles of subjective contour size, retinal eccentricity, and flicker rate in subjective contour salience were investigated. Eleven observers estimated subjective contour magnitude using an Ehrenstein configuration. Configurations ranging in size from 0.25 to 3 deg were presented to three retinal loci (fovea, 2 deg, and 4 deg) at flicker rates ranging from 5 to 15 Hz. Subjective contour brightness and distinctness were measured separately. Brightness was greatest at a subjective contour size of about 1.25 deg, at flicker rates of 5 – 7 Hz, and at 3 deg peripheral for all flicker rates and all but the smallest stimulus sizes. Distinctness decreased with eccentricity and flicker, but remained high at small diameters (thus implicating spatially sensitive mechanisms). Taken together, the results support a magnocellular processing of subjective contours with respect to brightness, but also suggest that there is a parvocellular contribution to subjective contour sharpness.
Exploring Sustainable Practices in Workplace Settings through Visualizing Electricity Consumption

People’s domestic habits are increasingly being targeted to reduce levels of CO2 emissions. Whereas domestic energy consumption has received a lot of attention with several reported studies on sustainable practices, there are very few studies on workplace practices. Nevertheless, these are considered as having much potential for reducing energy consumption. This article presents the findings from two field studies where two different types of prototypes for visualizing energy use were designed, implemented and evaluated in different types of workplace settings -- factories and offices. The studies used design probes to explore how visual feedback for electricity use was interpreted and acted upon by employees in work settings. A striking observation was that it is very difficult to get people to change to more pro-environmental behavior and practices in a workplace environment. The article discusses why this might be the case.