Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Metabolism, Energetics, and Lipid Biology in the Podocyte – Cellular Cholesterol-Mediated Glomerular Injury

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a high risk of death. Dyslipidemia is commonly observed in patients with CKD and is accompanied by a decrease in plasma high-density lipoprotein, and an increase in plasma triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and oxidized lipids. The observation that statins may decrease albuminuria but do not stop the progression of CKD indicates that pathways other than the cholesterol synthesis contribute to cholesterol accumulation in the kidneys of patients with CKD. Recently, it has become clear that increased lipid influx and impaired reverse cholesterol transport can promote glomerulosclerosis, and tubulointerstitial damage. Lipid-rafts are cholesterol-rich membrane domains with important functions in regulating membrane fluidity, membrane protein trafficking, and in the assembly of signaling molecules. In podocytes, which are specialized cells of the glomerulus, they contribute to the spatial organization of the slit diaphragm (SD) under physiological and pathological conditions. The discovery that podocyte-specific proteins such as podocin can bind and recruit cholesterol contributing to the formation of the SD underlines the importance of cholesterol homeostasis in podocytes and suggests cholesterol as an important regulator in the development of proteinuric kidney disease. Cellular cholesterol accumulation due to increased synthesis, influx, or decreased efflux is an emerging concept in podocyte biology. This review will focus on the role of cellular cholesterol accumulation in the pathogenesis of kidney diseases with a focus on glomerular diseases.
Present-Day Growth of Black Holes and Bulges: The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Perspective

We investigate the accretion-driven growth of supermassive black holes in the low-redshift universe using 23,000 narrow-emission-line ("type 2") active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and the complete sample of 123,000 galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey from which they were drawn. We use the stellar velocity dispersions of the early-type galaxies and AGN hosts to estimate their black hole masses, and we use the AGN [O III] λ5007 emission line luminosities to estimate black hole accretion rates. We find that most present-day accretion occurs onto black holes with masses less than 108 M☉ that reside in moderately massive galaxies (M* ≈ 1010-1011.5 M☉) with high stellar surface mass densities (μ* ≈ 108.5-109.5 M☉ kpc-2) and young stellar populations. The volume-averaged accretion rates of low-mass black holes (<3 × 107 M☉) imply that this population is growing on a timescale that is comparable to the age of the universe. Around half this growth takes place in AGNs that are radiating within a factor of 5 of the Eddington luminosity. Such systems are rare, making up only 0.2% of the low-mass black hole population at the present day. The rest of the growth occurs in lower luminosity AGNs. The growth timescale is more than 2 orders of magnitude longer for the population of the most massive black holes in our sample. The volume-averaged ratio of star formation to black hole accretion in bulge-dominated galaxies is ~1000, in remarkable agreement with the observed ratio of stellar mass to black hole mass in nearby galaxy bulges. We conclude that (1) bulge formation and black hole formation are tightly coupled, even in present-day galaxies, and (2) the evolution of the AGN luminosity function documented in recent optical and X-ray surveys is driven by a decrease in the characteristic mass scale of actively accreting black holes.
Chronic Autoimmune Urticaria: Frequency and Association With Immunological Markers

■ Abstract Background: Chronic autoimmune urticaria (CAU), a subgroup of chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU), is characterized by severe and persistent wheals accompanied by redness and itching. Diagnosis is almost completely based on clinical suspicion and the results of the autologous serum skin test (ASST). Objectives: To determine the frequency of CAU and compare the clinical and laboratory parameters of patients with positive and negative ASST results. Patients and Methods: A total of 165 patients with chronic urticaria (CU) were enrolled; 31 were excluded (known causes and pregnancy/ breastfeeding), leaving 134 patients with CIU. A clinical evaluation and routine and specifi c laboratory tests were performed. Results: The cause of CU was identifi ed in 18.9% of patients; 81.2% patients were considered to have CIU. The ASST result was positive in 39.6% of patients with CIU, who had more frequent urticaria attacks than patients with a negative ASST result. Patients with positive results had a higher urticaria activity score than those with negative results, although the difference was not statistically signifi cant. As for immunological markers, the absolute eosinophil count and serum immunoglobulin (Ig) E titer were lower in patients with a positive ASST result than in those with a negative ASST result, although, again, the difference was not statistically signifi cant (P=.07). Antithyroid antibody titer and B-cell percentage were higher in patients with a positive ASST result than in those with a negative result, and the difference was statistically signifi cant (P=.04 and .004, respectively). Conclusions: ASST remains a baseline diagnostic test for CAU. Patients with CAU had more frequent attacks and higher antithyroid antibody titers and peripheral B-cell percentages, as well as lower absolute eosinophil counts and serum IgE concentrations.
Relationship between spinal mobility and disease activity, function, quality of life and radiology. A cross-sectional Spanish registry of spondyloarthropathies (REGISPONSER).

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between anthropometric measurements and disease activity, functional capacity, quality of life and radiology in Spanish patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). PATIENTS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was made of 842 patients with definite ankylosing spondylitis (REGISPONSER). Sociodemographic data, spinal mobility measurements, Bath AS disease activity index (BASDAI), nocturnal pain, Bath AS radiology index (BASRI), Bath AS functional index (BASFI), the Short-Format 12 (SF-12) and the AS specific quality of life (ASQoL) questionnaire were applied. Pearson correlation coefficient analysis and regression models were constructed. RESULTS There was moderate correlation between fingertip-to-floor distance and lateral cervical rotation with the BASFI (p<0.01). Good correlation was evident between wall-occiput distance and lateral cervical rotation with the BASRI (p<0.01). Moderate correlation was found between chest expansion, the Schober modified test and fingertip-to-floor distance with the total BASRI (p<0.01). The anthropometric measurement with the lowest correlation value was lateral lumbar flexion. Significant association was found between the Schober modified test and BASFI, BASDAI and BASRI (R(2) = 0.37; p<0.001); chest expansion and BASFI, BASDAI and BASRI (R(2) = 0.25; p<0.001); wall-occiput distance and BASFI, BASRI and ASQoL (R(2) = 0.44; p<0.001); fingertip-to-floor distance and BASFI and BASRI (R(2) = 0.30; p<0.001); and lateral cervical rotation and BASFI and BASRI (R(2) = 0.34; p<0.001). CONCLUSION In our study, wall-occiput distance and lateral cervical rotation showed the strongest correlation to BASRI. Similarly, fingertip-to-floor distance and lateral cervical rotation exhibited the closest correlation to BASFI.
THE DIVISIONAL ORGANIZATION OF AFFERENT FIBRES OF THE TRIGEMINAL NERVE.

DURING evoked-potential studies of the projection of the three divisions. of the trigeminal nerve on the corresponding spinal tract and nucleus (to be reported elsewhere), the writer was disconcerted by certain observations, which appeared to be at variance with the classical conception of the organization of the trigeminal system. The early observation of Harrison and Corbin (1942) and of McKinley and Magoun (1942), that evoked responses of the third division of the trigeminal were usually not recorded much below the obex, was confirmed. In addition, it was found that the first and second divisions could be traced by these electrophysiologic techniques as far as the midpoint of the second cervical segment and that the evoked response from second-division' stimulation was almost invariably of greater amplitude and often obtained at a slightly more caudal level than that from activation of the first division. Since it is usually stated that the third (mandibular) division terminatesfirst, followed by the second (maxillary) division, and that the first (ophthalmic) division reaches the most caudal level in the spinal tract, it appeared difficult to reconcile the experimental results with the accepted notions. Most anatomical work on divisional representation in the spinal tract of V has been carried out with the use of the Marchi or the Weigert technique; these provide excellent demonstrations of myelinated fibres of large and medium size, but are less satisfactory when applied to finer myelinated fibres and are of no value in tracing unmyelinated fibres. Sjoqvist (1938) indicated that the mean diameter of trigeminal fibres at caudal levels decreases markedly; Darian-Smith and Mayday (1960) suggested that this
Resolving Macroeconomic Uncertainty in Stock and Bond Markets

We establish an empirical link between the ex-ante uncertainty about macroeconomic fundamentals and the ex-post resolution of this uncertainty in financial markets. We measure macroeconomic uncertainty using prices of economic derivatives and relate this measure to changes in implied volatilities of stock and bond options when the economic data is released. We also examine the relationship between our measure of macroeconomic uncertainty and trading activity in stock and bond option markets before and after the announcements. Higher macroeconomic uncertainty is associated with greater reduction in implied volatilities. Higher macroeconomic uncertainty is also associated with increased volume in option markets after the release, consistent with market participants waiting to trade until economic uncertainty is resolved, and with decreased open interest in option markets after the release, consistent with market participants using financial options to hedge macroeconomic uncertainty. The empirical relationships are strongest for long-term bonds and weakest for non-cyclical stocks.
Birth And Fortune

In this influential work, Richard A. Easterlin shows how the size of a generation—the number of persons born in a particular year—directly and indirectly affects the personal welfare of its members, the make-up and breakdown of the family, and the general well being of the economy. "[Easterlin] has made clear, I think unambiguously, that the baby-boom generation is economically underprivileged merely because of its size. And in showing this, he demonstrates that population size can be as restrictive as a factor as sex, race, or class on equality of opportunity in the U.S."—Jeffrey Madrick, Business Week
Modeling of Membrane Excitability in Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone-Secreting Hypothalamic Neurons Regulated by Ca2+-Mobilizing and Adenylyl Cyclase-Coupled Receptors

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secretion from native and immortalized hypothalamic neurons is regulated by endogenous Ca2+-mobilizing and adenylyl cyclase (AC)-coupled receptors. Activation of both receptor types leads to an increase in action potential firing frequency and a rise in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and neuropeptide secretion. The stimulatory action of Ca2+-mobilizing agonists on voltage-gated Ca2+ influx is determined by depletion of the intracellular Ca2+ pool, whereas AC agonist-stimulated Ca2+ influx occurs independently of stored Ca2+ and is controlled by cAMP, possibly through cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. Here, experimental records from immortalized GnRH-secreting neurons are simulated with a mathematical model to determine the requirements for generating complex membrane potential (Vm) and [Ca2+]i responses to Ca2+-mobilizing and AC agonists. Included in the model are three pacemaker currents: a store-operated Ca2+ current (ISOC), an SK-type Ca2+-activated K+ current (ISK), and an inward current that is modulated by cAMP and [Ca2+]i(Id). Spontaneous electrical activity and Ca2+ signaling in the model are predominantly controlled by Id, which is activated by cAMP and inhibited by high [Ca2+]i. Depletion of the intracellular Ca2+ pool mimics the receptor-induced activation of ISOC andISK, leading to an increase in the firing frequency and Ca2+ influx after a transient cessation of electrical activity. However, increasing the activity ofId simulates the experimental response to forskolin-induced activation of AC. Analysis of the behaviors ofISOC,Id, andISK in the model reveals the complexity in the interplay of these currents that is necessary to fully account for the experimental results.
BRCA1 Is Required for Common-Fragile-Site Stability via Its G2/M Checkpoint Function

ABSTRACT Common fragile sites are loci that form chromosome gaps or breaks when DNA synthesis is partially inhibited. Fragile sites are prone to deletions, translocations, and other rearrangements that can cause the inactivation of associated tumor suppressor genes in cancer cells. It was previously shown that ATR is critical to fragile-site stability and that ATR-deficient cells have greatly elevated fragile-site expression (A. M. Casper, P. Nghiem, M. F. Arlt, and T. W. Glover, Cell 111:779-789, 2002). Here we demonstrate that mouse and human cells deficient for BRCA1, due to mutation or knockdown by RNA interference, also have elevated fragile-site expression. We further show that BRCA1 functions in the induction of the G2/M checkpoint after aphidicolin-induced replication stalling and that this checkpoint function is involved in fragile-site stability. These data indicate that BRCA1 is important in fragile-site stability and that fragile sites are recognized by the G2/M checkpoint pathway, in which BRCA1 plays a key role. Furthermore, they suggest that mutations in BRCA1 or interacting proteins could lead to rearrangements at fragile sites in cancer cells.
Dynamics of infection by Leptosphaeria maculans on canola (Brassica napus) as influenced by crop rotation and tillage

Abstract This study, intending to understand the effects of crop rotation and tillage on blackleg disease, was conducted in a field at Carman, Manitoba, Canada, from 1999 – 2002. Canola, wheat and flax were among the rotated crops. Rotations were performed under conventional or zero-till conditions. The number of infected plants, infected leaves per plant, lesions per plant, and percentage of leaf coverage with lesions decreased when canola was rotated with wheat and flax under zero till. The number of lesions per plant and percentage of leaf coverage with lesions were strongly correlated with stem disease severity, and the number of infected plants with stem disease incidence. Ascospores and pycnidiospores of Leptosphaeria maculans were reduced by crop rotation and tillage. This study suggests that the appropriate combination of rotation and tillage may lower airborne inoculum and reduce infection of canola plants by L. maculans.
Cancer Stemness in Apc- vs. Apc/KRAS-Driven Intestinal Tumorigenesis

Constitutive activation of the Wnt pathway leads to adenoma formation, an obligatory step towards intestinal cancer. In view of the established role of Wnt in regulating stemness, we attempted the isolation of cancer stem cells (CSCs) from Apc- and Apc/KRAS-mutant intestinal tumours. Whereas CSCs are present in Apc/KRAS tumours, they appear to be very rare (<10−6) in the Apc–mutant adenomas. In contrast, the Lin−CD24hiCD29+ subpopulation of adenocarcinoma cells appear to be enriched in CSCs with increased levels of active β-catenin. Expression profiling analysis of the CSC-enriched subpopulation confirmed their enhanced Wnt activity and revealed additional differential expression of other signalling pathways, growth factor binding proteins, and extracellular matrix components. As expected, genes characteristic of the Paneth cell lineage (e.g. defensins) are co-expressed together with stem cell genes (e.g. Lgr5) within the CSC-enriched subpopulation. This is of interest as it may indicate a cancer stem cell niche role for tumor-derived Paneth-like cells, similar to their role in supporting Lgr5+ stem cells in the normal intestinal crypt. Overall, our results indicate that oncogenic KRAS activation in Apc-driven tumours results in the expansion of the CSCs compartment by increasing ®-catenin intracellular stabilization.
The Decline of Popular Politics: The American North

In the 1984 presidential election, only half of the eligible electorate exercised its right to vote. Why does politics no longer excite many-of not most Americans? Michael McGerr attrributes the decline in voting in the American North to the transformation of political style after the Civil War. The Decline of Popular Politics vividly recreates a vanished world of democratic ritual and charts its disappearance in the rapid change of industrial society. A century ago, political campaigns meant torchlight parades, spectacular pageants staged by opposing parties, and crowds of citizens attired in military dress or proudly displaying their crafts at well-attended rallies. The intense partisanship of presidential campaigns and party newspapers made political choice easy for people from all walks of life. In the late 1860s and 1870s, however, the rise of liberalism led to a rejection of partisanship by the press and a move towards "educational," rather than spectacular, electioneering. This style then lost out at the turn of the century to the sensational journalism of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, and the "advertised" campaigning of Mark Hanna and other politicians. McGerr shows how these new developments made it increasingly difficult for many Northerners to link their political impulses with political action. By the 1920s, Northern politics resembled our own public life today. A vital democratic culture had yielded to advertised campaigns, an emphasis on personalities rather than issues or partisanship, and low voter turnout.
Business process management adoption: a case study of a South African supermarket retailer

The management approaches to process change have been dominated by process-oriented theories and "best practices" and have been criticized for lacking a theoretical basis. Business Process Management (BPM) the latest approach is no exception. While BPM has had significant press, hype status and high adoption expectations, problems with adoption and justifying benefits to business exist. To increase understanding of these adoption concerns, this paper explores BPM in a leading Southern African supermarket retailer where various attempts had been made to implement a formal BPM discipline. The research describes the organisation's understanding of BPM and factors influencing its adoption. Qualitative research methods were used to collect rich narrative data from interviews with information systems (IS) and retail professionals. The BPM adoption themes that emerged focused on the understanding and education of BPM, cultural limitations, centralisation as a strategic driver, ERP as an enabler, structural and people factors. A theoretical model was developed to explain the themes and their inter-relationships. This empirical research provides a conceptual understanding of BPM and its adoption from professionals employed by the retail industry.
A kinetic approach for simulating redox‐controlled fringe and core biodegradation processes in groundwater: model development and application to a landfill site in Piedmont, Italy

A three‐dimensional model for predicting redox controlled, multi‐species reactive transport processes in groundwater systems is presented. The model equations were fully integrated within a MODFLOW‐family reactive transport code, RT3D. The model can simulate organic compound biodegradation coupled to different terminal electron acceptor processes. A computational approach, which uses the spatial and temporal distribution of the rates of different redox reactions, is proposed to map redox zones. The method allows one to quantify and visualize the biological degradation reactions occurring in three distinct patterns involving fringe, pseudo‐core and core processes. The capabilities of the numerical model are demonstrated using two hypothetical examples: a batch problem and a simplified two‐dimensional reactive transport problem. The model is then applied to an unconfined aquifer underlying a leaking landfill located near the city of Turin, in Piedmont (Italy). At this site, high organic load from the landfill leachate activates different biogeochemical processes, including aerobic degradation, denitrification, manganese reduction, iron reduction, sulfate reduction and methanogenesis. The model was able to describe and quantify these complex biogeochemical processes. The proposed model offers a rational framework for simulating coupled reactive transport processes occurring beneath a landfill site. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Curva salarial: una aplicacin para el caso de Mxico, 1993-2002

The purpose of this document is to analyze the relation between unemployment and wages in Mexico during the 1993-2002 period, using the methodology of wage curve. The results show a negative relation between the rate of local unemployment and the wages, although its elasticity is inferior to the obtained one in other countries. The classification of the workers by groups establishes that the conditions of local unemployment do not affect the remunerations of workers of the public sector. In addition, there exists different wage elasticity between different groups (sex, disposition of social benefits, age and schooling). The exploration of alternative specifications indicates that wages have a different behavior based on the level from the rate of leisure.
Indirect dark matter signatures in the cosmic dark ages. I. Generalizing the bound on s-wave dark matter annihilation from Planck results

Recent measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies by Planck provide a sensitive probe of dark matter annihilation during the cosmic dark ages, and specifically constrain the annihilation parameter $f_\mathrm{eff} \langle \sigma v \rangle/m_\chi$. Using new results (Paper II) for the ionization produced by particles injected at arbitrary energies, we calculate and provide $f_\mathrm{eff}$ values for photons and $e^+e^-$ pairs injected at keV-TeV energies; the $f_\mathrm{eff}$ value for any dark matter model can be obtained straightforwardly by weighting these results by the spectrum of annihilation products. This result allows the sensitive and robust constraints on dark matter annihilation presented by the Planck Collaboration to be applied to arbitrary dark matter models with $s$-wave annihilation. We demonstrate the validity of this approach using principal component analysis. As an example, we integrate over the spectrum of annihilation products for a range of Standard Model final states to determine the CMB bounds on these models as a function of dark matter mass, and demonstrate that the new limits generically exclude models proposed to explain the observed high-energy rise in the cosmic ray positron fraction. We make our results publicly available at this http URL
Education or Exploitation? Reflecting on the Entrepreneurial University and the Role of the Entrepreneurship Educator

In Chapter 1, Education or Exploitation? Reflecting on the Entrepreneurial University and the Role of the Entrepreneurship Educator, Richard sets the scene in an outstanding way by showing that entrepreneurship is no longer a marginal issue of providing students with a particular kind of education, but has turned into an issue of managing the university through university–business collaborations. One point he makes is that this sets the very idea of the university in motion.