Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
4E-BP1 participates in maintaining spindle integrity and genomic stability via interacting with PLK1

The essential function of eIF4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) in translation initiation has been well established; however, the role of 4E-BP1 in normal cell cycle progression is coming to attention. Here, we revealed the role of 4E-BP1 on mitotic regulation and chromosomal DNA dynamics during mitosis. First, we have observed the co-localization of the phosphorylated 4E-BP1 at T37/46 with Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) at the centrosomes during. Depression of 4E-BP1 by small interfering RNA in HepG2 or HeLa cells resulted in an increased outcome of polyploidy and aberrant mitosis, including chromosomal DNA misaligned and multi-polar spindles or multiple centrosomes. We observed that 4E-BP1 interacted with PLK1 directly in vitro and in vivo in mitotic cells, and the C-terminal aa 77–118 of 4E-BP1 mediates its interaction with PLK1. PLK1 can phosphorylate 4E-BP1 in vitro. Furthermore, the depletion of 4E-BP1 sensitized HepG2 and HeLa cells to the microtubule disruption agent paclitaxel. These results demonstrate that 4E-BP1, beyond its role in translation regulation, can function as a regulator of mitosis via interacting with PLK1, and possibly plays a role in genomic stability maintaining.
LDMNet: Low Dimensional Manifold Regularized Neural Networks

Deep neural networks have proved very successful on archetypal tasks for which large training sets are available, but when the training data are scarce, their performance suffers from overfitting. Many existing methods of reducing overfitting are data-independent. Data-dependent regularizations are mostly motivated by the observation that data of interest lie close to a manifold, which is typically hard to parametrize explicitly. These methods usually only focus on the geometry of the input data, and do not necessarily encourage the networks to produce geometrically meaningful features. To resolve this, we propose the Low-Dimensional-Manifold-regularized neural Network (LDMNet), which incorporates a feature regularization method that focuses on the geometry of both the input data and the output features. In LDMNet, we regularize the network by encouraging the combination of the input data and the output features to sample a collection of low dimensional manifolds, which are searched efficiently without explicit parametrization. To achieve this, we directly use the manifold dimension as a regularization term in a variational functional. The resulting Euler-Lagrange equation is a Laplace-Beltrami equation over a point cloud, which is solved by the point integral method without increasing the computational complexity. In the experiments, we show that LDMNet significantly outperforms widely-used regularizers. Moreover, LDMNet can extract common features of an object imaged via different modalities, which is very useful in real-world applications such as cross-spectral face recognition.
Private Wealth: Wealth Management in Practice

Organized around 23 informative pieces drawn from the Research Foundation of CFA Institute, the Financial Analysts Journal, and CFA Institute Conference Proceedings Quarterly, this reliable resource taps into the vast store of knowledge of some of the most prominent thought leaders in private wealth—from Nobel Prize winners and academics to practitioners—who have focused their energies on solving the complex problems facing individual investors.
The influence of age on recreational trail preferences of urban green-space visitors: a discrete choice experiment with digitally calibrated images

This study explored the influence of age on recreational trail preferences using an image-based discrete choice experiment. The trail scenarios were depicted as digitally calibrated images that systematically displayed eight social, managerial and physical trail features. In 2006, on-site visitors (N = 321) to public green spaces in Vienna were intercepted. Age groups were formed based on quartiles. Across all quartiles, visitor numbers and litter had the highest influence on trail preferences. Not all attributes were relevant for each quartile. The elderly quartile placed more importance on litter and activity type, while trail environment and trail type were of marginal importance compared with the younger quartiles. Consequently, visitor preferences are diverse because of age and planning and management has to consider these different needs for recreational trails.
Review of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor galanthamine

Galanthamine (or galantamine, Reminyl®) is a tertiary alkaloid acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI) which has been approved in several countries for the symptomatic treatment of senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. Derived from bulbs of the common snowdrop and several Amaryllidaceae plants, (-)-galanthamine (GAL) has long been used in anaesthetics to reverse neuromuscular paralysis induced by turbocurarine-like muscle relaxants and more recently, has been shown to attenuate drug- and lesion-induced cognitive deficits in animal models of learning and memory. GAL directly inhibits acetylcholinesterase activity, while demonstrating much weaker activity on butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE). GAL also stimulates pre- and postsynaptic nicotinic receptors, although the clinical significance of this finding is yet unclear. Numerous variants and analogues of GAL have also been developed, with varying potency in inhibiting AChE activity. GAL is readily absorbed after oral administration, with a tmaxof 52 min and a plasma elimination t½ of 5.7 h. The efficacy of GAL administered to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients has been well demonstrated by large-scale clinical trials. Typical of AChEIs, the most common adverse events associated with GAL are nausea and vomiting. In conclusion, evidence to date suggests galanthamine to be similar to other AChEIs in improving cognitive function in AD patients.
MILITARY EXPENDITURES AND INEQUALITY: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM GLOBAL DATA

A substantial body of literature has uncovered a robust relationship between institutions including unionization and political democracy and economic inequality. This paper examines the effect of military spending on inequality, controlling for the size of the armed forces, GDP growth, per capita income, and other possible determinants. Using a panel regression with country level observations from 1987–1997, we obtained consistent estimates that there is a positive effect of military expenditure on pay inequality. This relationship is robust across variable definitions and model specifications. Given the close relationship between pay and income, this result suggests that a country’s increases in military spending could increase income inequality.
Are there any roles for social conformity and deviance in poverty? Insights from a field study on working poverty and educational investment in Bangladesh

In recent decades the Indian subcontinent has displayed remarkable invariance in the incidence of working poverty despite strong economic performance. It is widely held that education can rescue households from various types of poverty traps created by information problems and incorrect expectations. Yet we know very little about the motivation of the working poor in acquiring education. From a field study conducted in Bangladesh, we gain invaluable insights for the first time, to our best understanding, into the factors that shape the decision of a poor household to care about and respond to educational decisions of others in one's community. Based on the ‘choice-theoretic framework of rational emulation and deviance’, we empirically explain why some households choose to copy others, while some choose deviance even though social deviance in acquiring education can throw subjects into abject poverty.
Forecasting Latent Volatility Through a Markov Chain Approximation Filter

We propose a new methodology for filtering and forecasting the latent variance in a two-factor diffusion process with jumps from a continuous time perspective. For this purpose we use a continuous time Markov chain approximation with a finite state space. Essentially, we extend Markov chain filters to processes of higher dimensions. We assess forecastability of the models under consideration by measuring forecast error of model expected realised variance, trading in variance swap contracts, producing Value-at-Risk estimates as well as examining sign forecastability. We provide empirical evidence using two sources, the S&P500 index values and its corresponding cumulative risk-neutral expected variance (namely the VIX index). Joint estimation reveals the market prices of equity and variance risk implicit by the two probability measures. A further simulation study shows that the proposed methodology can filter the variance of virtually any type of diffusion process (coupled with a jump process) with non-analytical density function.
Convergence, clustering and their effects on attendance in the Japan Professional Baseball League

In this research, using a panel data set for the Japan Professional Baseball League (JPBL) during the post-WWII period, we apply the technique developed by Hobijn and Franses (2000) to examine the competitive balance from the view point of convergence and its effect upon game attendance. The JPBL comprises two leagues, the Central League (CL) and the Pacific League (PL). The CL is far more popular with fans than the PL. Our estimation results showed that the number of the PL clusters continues to go towards unity, thereby raising the uncertainty of the outcome to increase the PL game attendance more rapidly. Also, attendance by CL fans tends to be more inelastic with team performance than for the PL. Therefore, the PL payroll was more elastic to wins than that of the CL. The features of each League have crucial impacts on the outcomes and the behaviours of team insiders such as players and managers.
Regulation, deregulation, and internationalisation in South African and New Zealand banking

The banking industries of New Zealand and South Africa were among the most tightly regulated in the western world in the early 1980s. Restrictions on foreign banks were particularly acute, especially in South Africa. From a position of considerable isolation, first New Zealand then South Africa implemented programmes of financial liberalisation. We show that the outcome of liberalisation was different in these two countries. South African banks were able to establish a strong presence in external markets, but the New Zealand banking system was mopped up by its Australian neighbour. These divergent outcomes reflect the origins, geographical position, and unequal capabilities of the New Zealand and South African banking industries.
Natural history of chronic gastritis in a population-based cohort

Abstract Objective. To describe and explore the natural history of Helicobacter pylori infection and chronic gastritis in terms of gastric mucosal atrophy and ulcer development over time in a population-based cohort. Material and methods. A population-based cohort of 314 volunteers was re-screened (median follow-up interval of 8.4 years) with gastroduodenoscopy with biopsy, assessment of H. pylori status, analysis of pepsinogens, and monitoring of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use and alcohol and smoking habits. Results. The incidence of duodenal or prepyloric ulcer was 0.45 per 100 person years and was associated with weekly NSAID use (odds ratios, OR 27.8), weekly alcohol consumption (OR 19.4) and smoking (OR 31.0), but not with H. pylori status. De novo infection with H. pylori was not observed, and the infection had disappeared in 11 of 113 subjects. Among subjects with chronic gastritis, the incidence of atrophy of the corpus mucosa was 1.4 per 100 person years. Atrophy development was related to age (OR 1.23) and to the severity of chronic inflammation in the corpus mucosa at baseline (OR 8.98). Substituting atrophy for subnormal S-pepsinogen I/S-pepsingen II gave similar results. Conclusions. In this cohort, the minimum incidence of ulcer was 0.45 per 100 person years. Smoking, alcohol, and NSAIDs, but not H. pylori infection were significant risk factors. The incidence of atrophy of the corpus mucosa was 1.4 per 100 person years with a positive relation to age and to the degree of chronic inflammation at baseline. Atrophy was stationary in advanced stages.
Semi-occlusive dressing for the treatment of fingertip amputations with exposed bone: quantity and quality of soft-tissue regeneration

Nineteen fingertip amputations with exposed bone were treated with a semi-occlusive dressing. The quantity and quality of the regenerated soft tissue was examined. In all 19 fingers there was sufficient uncomplicated healing such that secondary surgical procedures were not needed. At follow-up 6–18 months after the injury, soft tissue thickness around the bone of the distal phalanx measured 6.0 mm (SD 1.6) on the palmar aspect (opposite side 7.0 mm (SD 0.8)) and 4.2 mm (SD 1.7) distally (opposite side 4.5 mm (SD 0.8)). The two-point discrimination was 4 mm (SD 2) (opposite side 3 mm (SD 1)). The skin healed almost without scarring and the dermal ridges reformed. The regeneration of the soft tissue thickness to almost 90% of its former extent is higher than we expected.
Adult Vocational Training and Government Policy in France and Britain

Provision of continuing vocational training is subject to several market failures: capital-market imperfections (credit constraints), risk arising from variability of future values of skills, mismatch of costs and returns owing to worker mobility, and general positive externalities of human capital. In the light of these market imperfections we evaluate the contrasting French and British systems of adult training. French policy is interventionist and includes an employer training levy. British policy has abandoned levies and emphasizes individual initiatives by workers and employers. Despite contrasting policies, the character of training provision is similar in both countries, being mainly arranged and financed by employers. Differences are that the French system offers both higher public subsidy and cost-sharing between training and non-training employers. Training provision is higher in France and occurs earlier in the working life-cycle. We conclude British policy could usefully reconsider employer levies for solving training under-investment. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.
Efficiency in Swedish Public Education: Competition and Voter Monitoring

Abstract Sweden reformed public education in 1991–1993. A system with private school competition was introduced and the production of public education was decentralized from central to local government. One of the aims with this reform was to increase efficiency in the production of education. In this paper, efficiency in Swedish public education is estimated with data envelopment analysis and the efficiency scores are explained by variables reflecting competition and local politics in a second‐stage Tobit regression. In 1999–2000 Swedish municipalities could decrease school resources by 8–12% without decreasing outcomes. We find the political majority in the city council to affect efficiency, but we do not find efficiency to be related to private school competition.
Interleukin-10 inhibits the capacity of synovial macrophages to function as antigen-presenting cells.

OBJECTIVE We have investigated the effects of interleukin (IL)-10, IL-4 + granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) on the phenotype and antigen-presenting capacity of synovial fluid (SF) macrophages from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS The effects of IL-4, IL-10, GM-CSF and TNF-alpha on the expression of surface antigens on SF macrophages were studied using flow cytometry. The effects of these cytokines on the capacity of SF macrophages to activate T cells was investigated using the allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). RESULTS IL-10 reduced the expression of CD40, CD86 and HLA-DR, and increased the expression of CD14, on SF macrophages. IL-10 had no effect on the expression of CD80. Importantly, these effects of IL-10 on the phenotype of SF macrophages appear to have functional consequences, because cells incubated with IL-10 had a significantly reduced capacity to activate T cells in MLR. The effects of IL-4, GM-CSF and TNF-alpha were generally opposite to those observed in response to IL-10. IL-4 + GM-CSF, a combination of cytokines known to induce differentiation of dendritic cells, increased the expression of CD40, CD80 and CD86, and decreased the expression of CD14 on SF macrophages. Accordingly, IL-4 + GM-CSF increased the capacity of SF macrophages to activate T cells in MLR. IL-10 inhibited the effects of IL-4 + GM-CSF on SF macrophages. CONCLUSIONS IL-10 inhibits the antigen-presenting capacity of SF macrophages, which further emphasizes the anti-inflammatory potential of IL-10 in RA. Importantly, IL-10 is able to downregulate the APC function of SF macrophages even when they are efficiently activated.
Outsourcing in Australian Hotels: A Transaction Cost Economics Perspective

A triangulated field study and questionnaire survey methodology was applied to investigate antecedents of outsourcing activity in Australian hotels. The field study involved the conduct of semistructured interviews with 15 managers in large hotels. Subsequent to this, a survey questionnaire was mailed to 356 general managers in Australian hotels with 100 or more rooms. The survey yielded a return of 111 completed questionnaires. The study represents an examination of transaction cost economics (TCE), a partial investigation of agency theory, and other organizational factors that may influence hotel outsourcing. The study’s findings provide some support for TCE and provide insight into other factors that appear to be affecting Australian hotels’ propensity to outsource.
The Employment Structure of the Sunday Labour Market in Retailing: A Comparative Analysis of DIY and Grocery Superstores in Scotland and in England and Wales

Sunday trading in Scotland is an established feature integral to the retail operations of many companies. This requires that a considerable number of people take up paid employment on Sunday. Illegal Sunday trading in England and Wales, particularly since Christmas 1991, has made similar demands on retail staff. In this paper Sunday employment in superstores in Scotland with its more established and legal Sunday working, is compared with England and Wales, with their more recent and illegal opening pattern. It is concluded that a number of differences do exist, particularly in grocery superstores. Key findings include the high number of Sunday-only workers and a lower proportion of workers on premium rates in Scotland. When Sunday trading is legalised and established in England and Wales it would be expected that the employment pattern would come to mirror more closely the Scottish situation. These findings are discussed in the context of employment change and spatial-legal debates.
Endogenous recoveries and true ileal digestibilities of amino acids in newly weaned pigs fed diets with protease-treated soybean meal.

Endogenous recoveries and true ileal digestibilities of amino acids were determined in pigs fed cornstarch-based diets with untreated or protease-treated soybean meal as protein sources. Twelve pigs, fitted with a modified post valve T-cecum cannula on d 14, 15, and 16 after birth, were weaned on d 20 and assigned to one of four diets according to a two-period balanced change-over design. Diets consisted of soybean meal 1) untreated (SBM), 2) incubated (1:2 wt/vol in distilled water adjusted to pH 4.5, for 16 h at 50 degrees C; CI-SBM), 3) sprayed with protease (1 microL/g of soybean meal; PS-SBM), and 4) incubated, as for CI-SBM, with protease in the water (PI-SBM) at the same application rate as that for PS-SBM. Each period consisted of 5 d of adaptation to diets followed by collection of ileal digesta on d 6 and 7 to determine the apparent ileal amino acid digestibilities of the diets. On d 9, guanidinated meals were fed, followed by a 24-h continuous collection of digesta. Recoveries of chromic oxide and dysprosium from the guanidinated meals were 96.0 +/- . 5 and 94.5 +/- 1.1%, respectively. Endogenous amino acid recoveries were similar (P > .05) for SBM, CI-SBM, and PS-SBM but less (P < .05) for PI-SBM. True digestibilities were also less (P < .05) for PI-SBM than for the other meals. Recoveries of endogenous branched-chain and aromatic amino acids were less (P < .05) during Period 2 than during Period 1, suggesting dietary change- and(or) age-dependent adaptive increases in the secretions of pepsin and pancreatic proteases. In conclusion, protease treatment did not improve the true digestibilities of amino acids in soybean meal fed to newly weaned pigs.
Liver regeneration: From laboratory to clinic

The knowledge that livers can regenerate dates back to Greek mythology (Aeschylus, Prometheus unbound ). We do not know whether the Prometheus myth of regeneration originated from direct observation, idle conjecture, or a flight of poetic imagination. In any case, centuries later, the depiction of the vulture feasting on the liver of a chained but powerful victim became scientific reality. A landmark event in the transformation of the myth into experimental research was the description in 1931 of a method to reproducibly perform two thirds partial hepatectomy (PH) in rats.1 Since then, liver regeneration after PH, as well as after acute hepatic necrogenic injury, has been investigated intensively.2-5 Throughout this time, it was assumed that the human liver was also capable of regeneration, a view supported by scattered clinical reports.6 The introduction into clinical practice during the last dozen years of the techniques of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and split transplantation from cadaver liver convincingly showed that the human liver also has great regenerative capacity.7-11 There is remarkable similarity between the process of hepatic regeneration in laboratory animals and humans. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that mechanisms that regulate regeneration may be fairly similar among species, and the knowledge gained from studies of liver regeneration in rats and mice is applicable to the human liver. This article emphasizes common features between liver regeneration in humans and animals and describes some of the main mechanisms that regulate regeneration. A major goal of this presentation is to point out that laboratory experimentation on liver regeneration can provide specific data, as well as new concepts, that may help resolve clinical problems in liver transplantation and acute hepatic failure.
The influence of oceanic basins on drought and ecosystem dynamics in Northeast Brazil

The 2012 drought in Northeast Brazil was the harshest in decades, with potentially significant impacts on the vegetation of the unique semi-arid caatinga biome and on local livelihoods. Here, we use a coupled climate–vegetation model (CCM3-IBIS) to: (1) investigate the role of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the 2012 drought, and; (2) evaluate the response of the caatinga vegetation to the 2012 climate extreme. Our results indicate that anomalous sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Atlantic Ocean were the primary factor forcing the 2012 drought, with Pacific Ocean SST having a larger role in sustaining typical climatic conditions in the region. The drought strongly influenced net primary production in the caatinga, causing a reduction in annual net ecosystem exchange indicating a reduction in amount of CO2 released to the atmosphere.