Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activation of ERAD Pathway by Human Hepatitis B Virus Modulates Viral and Subviral Particle Production

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) belongs to the Hepadnaviridae family of enveloped DNA viruses. It was previously shown that HBV can induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and activate the IRE1-XBP1 pathway of the unfolded protein response (UPR), through the expression of the viral regulatory protein X (HBx). However, it remained obscure whether or not this activation had any functional consequences on the target genes of the UPR pathway. Of these targets, the ER degradation-enhancing, mannosidase-like proteins (EDEMs) are thought to play an important role in relieving the ER stress during UPR, by recognizing terminally misfolded glycoproteins and delivering them to the ER-associated degradation (ERAD). In this study, we investigated the role of EDEMs in the HBV life-cycle. We found that synthesis of EDEMs (EDEM1 and its homologues, EDEM2 and EDEM3) is significantly up-regulated in cells with persistent or transient HBV replication. Co-expression of the wild-type HBV envelope proteins with EDEM1 resulted in their massive degradation, a process reversed by EDEM1 silencing. Surprisingly, the autophagy/lysosomes, rather than the proteasome were involved in disposal of the HBV envelope proteins. Importantly, inhibition of the endogenous EDEM1 expression in HBV replicating cells significantly increased secretion of both, enveloped virus and subviral particles. This is the first report showing that HBV activates the ERAD pathway, which, in turn, reduces the amount of envelope proteins, possibly as a mechanism to control the level of virus particles in infected cells and facilitate the establishment of chronic infections.
Bequests, inter vivos transfers, and wealth distribution

This paper constructs a heterogeneous agent overlapping generations model with bequests and inter vivos transfers. In the model, households in the same family line behave strategically to determine their consumption, working hours, gifts, and savings. Calibrating the model to the U.S. economy, the paper measures time preference and parental altruism consistent with the economy's capital-output ratio and the size of intergenerational transfers. The model with intergenerational transfers better explains, although not fully, the wealth distribution of the United States. The paper also analyzes the effects of government policy changes on wealth accumulation, distribution, and social welfare. (Copyright: Elsevier)
The 99% Market Sentiment Index

We build a market sentiment index based solely on the changes over time in the number of different stocks held by individual investors. No prices, returns or trading volumes enter the definition and trades of unwealthy and underdiversified investors are overweighted in our sentiment index. Using the trades and portfolios of a large sample of 87,373 French investors over a eight-year period, we show that our index outperforms other usual indices (based on surveys, macro-economic variables or buy-sell imbalances) in predicting short-term returns on long-short portfolios based on size or on the book-to-market ratio. An increase of one standard deviation of our market sentiment index in a given month implies a decrease of 1.05% of the return on such a long-short size based portfolio the following month. A simple dynamic strategy driven by our sentiment index delivers a Sharpe ratio higher than that of random dynamic strategies in 99.6% of cases and a much higher Sharpe ratio than the one of a buy-and-hold strategy.
Numerical Solution of Plasma Fluid Equations Using Locally Refined Grids

This paper describes a numerical method for the solution of plasma fluid equations on block-structured, locally refined grids. The plasmas under consideration are typical of those used for the processing of semiconductors. The governing equations consist of a drift? diffusion model of the electrons, together with an energy equation, coupled via Poisson's equation to a system of Euler equations for each ion species augmented with electric field, collisional, and source/sink terms. A discretization previously developed for a uniform spatial grid is generalized to enable local grid refinement. This extension involves the time integration of the discrete system on a hierarchy of levels, each of which represents a degree of refinement, together with synchronization steps to ensure consistency across levels. This approach represents an advancement of methodologies developed for neutral flows using block-structured adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) to include the significant additional effect of the electrostatic forces that couple the ion and electron fluid components. Numerical results that assess the accuracy and efficiency of the method and illustrate the importance of using adequate resolution are also presented.
Effective tax rates and the political cost hypothesis: a re-evaluation of Australian evidence

This paper examines the relationship between effective tax rates and firm size. The Political Cost hypothesis suggests that the very largest firms would face higher effective tax rates, while the Political Power hypothesis suggests that larger firms are better able to lobby government and reduce their effective tax rate. Conversely larger firms have access to better tax planning resources and so could reduce their effective tax rate. The results in this paper show a non-linear relationship between size and effective tax rate. In contrast to the extant Australian literature this paper documents evidence in support of the Political Cost hypothesis.
Framework Methodology of the Autism Children -- Vibratory Haptic Interface (AC-VHI)

This paper provides the Framework Methodology of the Autism Children -Vibratory Haptic Interface (AC-VHI) conducted on the mild autism children who have impairment in social interaction. This paper has exclusively explored problems faced by Malaysian autistic children in a National Autism Society at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It also has been conducted at two locations: the classroom and the court of the National Autism Society in Malaysia (NASOM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The paper has sampled 20 children with mild autism, who have impairment in social interaction, based on the records of the National Autism Society of Malaysia. The sample collection method followed the purposive sampling approach, which is a form of non-probability sampling that allowed us to choose a case, because it illustrates some features or processes, in which we are interested. The framework included three main three process which are Process one, process Two and Process Three. This's three processes of the framework was suitable with the area of research and could to accomplish objectives of this research in helping the autism children to interact and communicate effectively with their families, friends and the broad community. The framework included three main three process which are Process one, process Two and Process Three. This's three processes of the framework was suitable with the area of research and could to accomplish objectives of this research in helping the autism children to interact and communicate effectively with their families, friends and the broad community.
Behavioral cusps: a model for selecting target behaviors.

A cusp, as defined by Rosales-Ruiz and Baer (1997), is ‘‘a behavior change that has consequences for the organism beyond the change itself, some of which may be considered important’’ (p. 537). For example, when a child learns to walk, that child gains access to environmental stimuli and contingencies (interactions with siblings or with the family pet) that would be otherwise unavailable. These contingencies may shape other behaviors such as social play, running, and dancing. From the standpoint of application, it might be especially useful to construct guidelines for the a priori identification of potential cusps. Just as with reinforcement, cusps are identified by their effects. A priori identification of potential reinforcers can take the form of a reinforcer assessment or a stimulus preference interview, but no analogous methods exist to identify possible cusps. We have integrated some criteria for cusps proposed by Rosales-Ruiz and Baer (1997) with some of our own as a suggested starting point for the a priori identification of cusps. Articulating preliminary criteria for assessing a cusp may be an initial step to developing a system for prioritizing target behaviors based on their potential for long-term benefits for the learner. Suggesting the need for a more systematic method of prioritizing target behaviors does not imply that the target behaviors reflected in current behavior-analytic research fail to qualify as cusps. However, the process we are suggesting might allow a more systematic selection and prioritization of target behaviors in behavior-ana-
Democracy And Environmental Movements In Eastern Europe: A Comparative Study Of Hungary And Russia

Introduction A Little Bit to the East from the West and a Little Bit to the West from the East: Democratic Development in Hungary The Historical Absence of Democratic Tradition: The Case of Russia Pluralism, Opposition and Civil Society in Soviet-Type Regimes: in Conceptual Debates and Practice Hungarian Environmental Movements: Case Studies and Analysis Environmental Movements in Russia Local and National Authorities Versus Environmental Movements: the Hungarian Case Local and National Authorities Versus Environmental Movements: the Russian Case A Comparison of Russian and Hungarian Environmental Movements The Relevance of Western Theories in Eastern Europe Conclusion
Capitalisation rates for commercial real estate investment decisions

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to present a basic model of commercial real estate valuation in which the capitalization rate is the critical variable, and to present empirical results for a study of office building capitalization rates. Design/methodology/approach - – The model is derived from standard economic and financial theories. The empirical study uses data from the sale of office buildings in 37 downtown markets for 2012. The empirical results are related to concepts of asset market efficiency. Findings - – The empirical results show that capitalization rates depend on features of the office buildings, vacancy rate, and recent change in the office building market as captured by the vacancy rate. In other words, investors are using variables implied by standard economic and financial theory and basic economic data from the recent past to determine the capitalization rate. Practical implications - – The empirical results show how investors determine capitalization rates for office buildings, so potential investors can gauge the state of a property market. Originality/value - – The paper shows that changes in capitalization rates are predictable; investors use past data to adjust their capitalization rates. Furthermore, if an investor does not agree that current trends will continue, then the investment decision should be determined accordingly. For example, if an investor thinks that the future will not be as robust as the recent past, then other investors will bid more than the investor thinks is reasonable. However, if the investor sees a future that is brighter than the recent past, it is time to buy.
Quantitative PCR in the diagnosis and monitoring of human cytomegalovirus infection in organ transplant patients

List of original publications 7 Abbreviations 8 Summary 9 Review of the literature 10 1. Human cytomegalovirus 10 1.1. Virus structure and genome organization 10 1.2. Virus replication 10 1.3. Epidemiology and transmission 11 1.4. Pathogenesis 12 2. Human cytomegalovirus infections in organ transplant patients 14 2.1. Clinical manifestations 14 2.2. Prevention and treatment of HCMV disease 15 2.2.1. Treatment of the disease 16 2.2.2. Prophylaxis 16 2.2.3. Pre-emptive therapy 17 2.2. 4. Drug resistance 18 3. 1.2. Correlation of quantitative PCR assay and pp65 antigenemia test 36 1.3. Cobas Amplicor CMV Monitor test 37 2. Diagnostic validation and use of the Cobas Amplicor CMV Monitor assay (II, III) 37 2.1. Comparison of the quantitative assays and shell vial culture assay (III) 38 2.2. Diagnosis of symptomatic HCMV infection by the Cobas Amplicor CMV Monitor assay (II, III) 38 2.3. Monitoring of HCMV infection in individual patients (II, III) 39 3. HCMV real-time PCR assay (IV) 41 3.1. Technical characteristics of HCMV real-time assay 41 3.1.1. Detection limit, linearity and reproducibility of HCMV real-time assay 41 3.1.2. Automated extraction of nucleic acids 42 3.1.3. Turnaround time of HCMV real-time assay 42 3.2. Diagnostic validation and use of HCMV real-time PCR assay 43 3.2.1. Detection of HCMV DNA by real-time assay 43 3.2.2. Correlation between quantitative tests 45 3.2.3. Diagnosis and monitoring of HCMV infection in individual patients by HCMV real-time assay 46 Acknowledgements 47 References 48 7 List of original publications This thesis is based on the following original articles, which are referred to in the text by their Roman numerals.tenschlager I (2001). Comparison of plasma polymerase chain reaction and pp65-anti-genemia assay in the quantification of cytomegalovirus in liver and kidney transplant patients. (2002). Monitoring of viral load by quantitative plasma PCR during active cytomegalovirus infection of individual liver transplant patients. and Lautenschlager I. Quantitative PCR in the diagnosis of CMV infection and in the monitoring of viral load during the antiviral treatment in renal transplant patients. (submitted). (2004). Comparison of two quantitative CMV PCR tests, Cobas Amplicor CMV Monitor and TaqMan assay, and pp65-antigenemia assay in the determination of viral loads from peripheral blood of organ transplant patients. Journal of Clinical Virology (in press). 8 Abbreviations CMV cytomegalovirus CPE cytopathic effect cps/ml copies/ml dsDNA double stranded DNAE early gene product EIA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay FRET fluorescence resonance energy transfer GCV ganciclovir HCMV human cytomegalovirus HCV hepatitis C virus HHV-6 human …
Eph/Ephrins-Mediated Thymocyte–Thymic Epithelial Cell Interactions Control Numerous Processes of Thymus Biology

Numerous studies emphasize the relevance of thymocyte–thymic epithelial cell (TECs) interactions for the functional maturation of intrathymic T lymphocytes. The tyrosine kinase receptors, Ephs (erythropoietin-producing hepatocyte kinases) and their ligands, ephrins (Eph receptor interaction proteins), are molecules known to be involved in the regulation of numerous biological systems in which cell-to-cell interactions are particularly relevant. In the last years, we and other authors have demonstrated the importance of these molecules in the thymic functions and the T-cell development. In the present report, we review data on the effects of Ephs and ephrins in the functional maturation of both thymic epithelial microenvironment and thymocyte maturation as well as on their role in the lymphoid progenitor recruitment into the thymus.
Epidemiology of coronary artery bypass grafting at the Hospital Beneficência Portuguesa, São Paulo

Introduction The knowledge of the prevalence of risk factors and comorbidities, as well as the evolution and complications in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft allows comparison between institutions and evidence of changes in the profile of patients and postoperative evolution over time. Objective To profile (risk factors and comorbidities) and clinical outcome (complications) in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft in a national institution of great surgical volume. Methods A retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft in the hospital Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, from July 2009 to July 2010. Results We included 3,010 patients, mean age of 62.2 years and 69.9% male. 83.8% of patients were hypertensive, 36.6% diabetic, 44.5% had dyslipidemia, 15.3% were smokers, 65.7% were overweight/obese, 29.3% had a family history of coronary heart disease. The expected mortality calculated by logistic EuroSCORE was 2.7%. The isolated CABG occurred in 89.3% and 11.9% surgery was performed without cardiopulmonary bypass. The most common complication was cardiac arrhythmia (18.7%), especially acute atrial fibrillation (14.3%). Pneumonia occurred in 6.2% of patients, acute renal failure in 4.4%, mediastinites in 2.1%, stroke in 1.8% and AMI in 1.2%. The in-hospital mortality was 5.4% and in isolated coronary artery bypass graft was 3.5%. The average hospital stay was 11 days with a median of eight days (3-244 days). Conclusion The profile of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery in this study is similar to other published studies.
Characterization of Thi9, a Novel Thiamine (Vitamin B1) Transporter from Schizosaccharomyces pombe*

Thiamine is an essential component of the human diet and thiamine diphosphate-dependent enzymes play an important role in carbohydrate metabolism in all living cells. Although the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe can derive thiamine from biosynthesis, both are also able to take up thiamine from external sources, leading to the down-regulation of the enzymes involved in its formation. We have isolated the S. pombe thiamine transporter Thi9 by genetic complementation of mutants defective in thiamine biosynthesis and transport. Thi9 localizes to the S. pombe cell surface and works as a high-affinity proton/thiamine symporter. The uptake of thiamine was reduced in the presence of pyrithiamine, oxythiamine, amprolium, and the thiazole part of thiamine, indicating that these compounds are substrates of Thi9. In pyrithiamine-resistant mutants, a conserved glutamate residue close to the first of the 12 transmembrane domains is exchanged by a lysine and this causes aberrant localization of the protein. Thiamine uptake is significantly increased in thiamine-deficient medium and this is associated with an increase in thi9+ mRNA and protein levels. Upon addition of thiamine, the thi9+ mRNA becomes undetectable within minutes, whereas the Thi9 protein appears to be stable. The protein is distantly related to transporters for amino acids, γ-aminobutyric acid and polyamines, and not to any of the known thiamine transporters. We also found that the pyridoxine transporter Bsu1 has a marked contribution to the thiamine uptake activity of S. pombe cells.
Clustering Mobile Apps Based on Mined Textual Features

Context: Categorising software systems according to their functionality yields many benefits to both users and developers. Goal: In order to uncover the latent clustering of mobile apps in app stores, we propose a novel technique that measures app similarity based on claimed behaviour. Method: Features are extracted using information retrieval augmented with ontological analysis and used as attributes to characterise apps. These attributes are then used to cluster the apps using agglomerative hierarchical clustering. We empirically evaluate our approach on 17,877 apps mined from the BlackBerry and Google app stores in 2014. Results: The results show that our approach dramatically improves the existing categorisation quality for both Blackberry (from 0.02 to 0.41 on average) and Google (from 0.03 to 0.21 on average) stores. We also find a strong Spearman rank correlation (ρ= 0.96 for Google and ρ= 0.99 for BlackBerry) between the number of apps and the ideal granularity within each category, indicating that ideal granularity increases with category size, as expected. Conclusions: Current categorisation in the app stores studied do not exhibit a good classification quality in terms of the claimed feature space. However, a better quality can be achieved using a good feature extraction technique and a traditional clustering method.
Effect of Sudden Salt Stress on Ion Fluxes in Intact Wheat Suspension Cells

Although salinity is one of the major problems limiting agricultural production around the world, the underlying mechanisms of high NaCl perception and tolerance are still poorly understood. The effects of different bathing solutions and fusicoccin (FC), a known activator of plasma membrane ATPase, on plasma membrane potential (Em) and net fluxes of Na+, K+and H+were studied in wheat suspension cells (Triticum aestivum) in response to different NaCl treatments. Emof cells in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium was less negative than in cells exposed to a medium containing 10 mM KCl + 0.1 m M CaCl2(KSM) and to a basic salt medium (BSM), containing 1 m M KCl and 0.1 m M CaCl2. Multiphasic Na+accumulation in cells was observed, peaking at 13 min after addition of 120 m M NaCl to MS medium. This time scale was in good agreement with net Na+flux changes measured non-invasively by moving ion-selective microelectrodes (the MIFE system). When 120 m M NaCl was added to all media studied, a quick rise of Na+influx was reversed within the first 20 min. In both 120 and 20 m M NaCl treatments in MS medium, net Na+efflux was observed, indicating that active Na+transporters function in the plant cell response to salt stress. Lower external K+concentrations (KSM and BSM) and FC pre-treatment caused shifts in Na+fluxes towards net influx at 120 m M NaCl stress.
Adaptive filtering of evoked potentials with radial-basis-function neural network prefilter

Evoked potentials (EPs) are time-varying signals typically buried in relatively large background noise. To extract the EP more effectively from noise, we had previously developed an approach using an adaptive signal enhancer (ASE) (Chen et al., 1995). ASE requires a proper reference input signal for its optimal performance. Ensemble- and moving window-averages were formerly used with good results. In this paper, we present a new method to provide even more effective reference inputs for the ASE. Specifically, a Gaussian radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) was used to preprocess raw EP signals before serving as the reference input. Since the RBFNN has built-in nonlinear activation functions that enable it to closely fit any function mapping, the output of RBFNN can effectively track the signal variations of EP. Results confirmed the superior performance of ASE with RBFNN over the previous method.