Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of the Brucella suis Lipopolysaccharide O Antigen in Phagosomal Genesis and in Inhibition of Phagosome-Lysosome Fusion in Murine Macrophages

ABSTRACT Brucella species are gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria that infect humans and animals. These organisms can survive and replicate within a membrane-bound compartment inside professional and nonprofessional phagocytic cells. Inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion has been proposed as a mechanism for intracellular survival in both cell types. However, the molecular mechanisms and the microbial factors involved are poorly understood. Smooth lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Brucella has been reported to be an important virulence factor, although its precise role in pathogenesis is not yet clear. In this study, we show that the LPS O side chain is involved in inhibition of the early fusion between Brucella suis-containing phagosomes and lysosomes in murine macrophages. In contrast, the phagosomes containing rough mutants, which fail to express the O antigen, rapidly fuse with lysosomes. In addition, we show that rough mutants do not enter host cells by using lipid rafts, contrary to smooth strains. Thus, we propose that the LPS O chain might be a major factor that governs the early behavior of bacteria inside macrophages.
Olig2+ neuroepithelial motoneuron progenitors are not multipotent stem cells in vivo

Neurons and glia are thought to arise from multipotent and self-renewing stem cells, which comprise the majority of neuroepithelial cells in the ventricular zone (VZ) of the early embryonic CNS. However, this idea remains to be tested rigorously, because CNS stem cells have been identified only by using in vitro assays, from which their abundance in vivo cannot be directly inferred. In the hematopoietic system, stem cells are characterized by using prospective isolation and direct in vivo transplantation. Here we have used this approach to ask whether most VZ progenitors behave as stem cells in vivo. The best-studied region of the embryonic CNS for addressing this problem is, arguably, the ventral spinal cord, within which progenitors in the motoneuron progenitor (pMN) domain sequentially generate motoneurons (MNs) and oligodendrocyte precursors (OPs). Virtually all VZ cells in pMN express the transcription factor Olig2. If most of these cells are stem cells, then they should maintain neurogenic potential, even at later, gliogenic stages. To test this hypothesis, we have prospectively isolated Olig2+ cells from murine embryonic day (E)9.5 and E13.5 spinal cord and directly transplanted them to E2 chick spinal cord. Transplanted E9.5 cells generate both neurons, including MNs and OPs, whereas E13.5 cells generate. The observation that most Olig2+ progenitors do not maintain neurogenic potential into the period of gliogenesis argues that they do not self-renew. These results do not support the commonly held view that most neuroepithelial cells in the embryonic CNS VZ are stem cells in vivo.
Dendritic Cell (DC) Vaccine in Mouse Lung Cancer Minimal Residual Model; Comparison of Monocyte-derived DC vs. Hematopoietic Stem Cell Derived-DC

The anti-tumor effect of monocyte-derived DC (MoDC) vaccine was studied in lung cancer model with feasible but weak Ag-specific immune response and incomplete blocking of tumor growth. To overcome this limitation, the hematopoietic stem cell-derived DC (SDC) was cultured and the anti-tumor effect of MoDC & SDC was compared in mouse lung cancer minimal residual model (MRD). Therapeutic DCs were cultured from either CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells with GM-CSF, SCF and IL-4 for 14 days (SDC) or monocytes with GM-CSF and IL-4 for 7 days (MoDC). DCs were injected twice by one week interval into the peritoneum of mice that are inoculated with Lewis Lung Carcinoma cells (LLC) one day before the DC injection. Anti-tumor responses and the immune modulation were observed 3 weeks after the final DC injection. CD11c expression, IL-12 and TGF-β secretion were higher in SDC but CCR7 expression, IFN-γ and IL-10 secretion were higher in MoDC. The proportion of CD11c+CD8a+ cells was similar in both DC cultures. Although both DC reduced the tumor burden, histological anti-tumor effect and the frequencies of IFN-γ secreting CD8+ T cells were higher in SDC treated group than in MoDC. Conclusively, although both MoDC and SDC can induce the anti-tumor immunity, SDC may be better module as anti-tumor vaccine than MoDC in mouse lung cancer.
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Relationship between Objective Measures of Physical Activity and Weather: a Longitudinal Study

Background: The weather may be a barrier to physical activity but objective assessment of this hypothesis is lacking. Therefore we evaluated the effect of temperature, rain or snow, and wind speed on the daily physical activity of adults. Methods: This report contains data from 25 males (BMI (mean ± SD): 28.7 ± 3.83 kg/m 2) and 177 females (BMI: 29.2 ± 5.92 kg/m 2) enrolled in an intervention to increase physical activity. Steps/day of the participants was measured by pedometer. Weather data were obtained from Environment Canada. A total of 8,125 observations were included in a mixed linear model analysis. Results: Significant weather related variables (at the 5% level) impacting steps/day included: seasonal effects related to the interaction between weekday and month; mean temperature, total rainfall, interactions between gender, BMI and total snow, interactions between maximum wind speed and BMI, and the amount of snow on the ground. The estimated magnitudes for the various effects were modest, ranging from ~1% to ~20%. Thus for an average individual taking ~10,000 steps/day, weather-dependent changes in physical activity could reach 2,000 steps/day. Conclusion: We conclude that weather had modest effects on physical activity of participants in an intervention to increase their activity. It should be stressed that these effects may be different for less or more motivated people. With this in mind, we suggest that the effect of weather on physical activity in the general population needs to be objectively assessed to better understand the barrier it poses, especially as it relates to outdoor recreation or work activities.
Effects of a Diphtheria-Tetanus-Acellular Pertussis Vaccine on Immune Responses in Murine Local Lymph Node and Lung Allergy Models

ABSTRACT We have previously shown that in mice, diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccination before Bordetella pertussis infection resulted in, besides effective clearance, immediate hypersensitivity (lung eosinophilia, increased total serum immunoglobulin E [IgE], and increased ex vivo Th2 cytokine production by cells from the bronchial lymph nodes). To better appreciate the extent of these findings, we measured DTaP vaccination effects in the local lymph node assay (LLNA) and an ovalbumin (OVA) lung allergy model. In the LLNA, mice were vaccinated or adjuvant treated before being sensitized with trimellitic anhydride (TMA; inducing a Th2-directed response) and dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB; inducing a Th1-directed response). Compared to the adjuvant-treated controls, the vaccinated mice showed a decreased response to TMA and (to a much lesser extent) an increased response to DNCB. The decreased response to TMA coincided with increased transforming growth factor β levels. With the exception of filamentous hemagglutinin, all vaccine constituents contributed to the decreased response to TMA. In the lung allergy model, sensitization induced OVA-specific IgE, lung pathology (peribronchiolitis, perivasculitis, and hypertrophy of the bronchiolar mucus cells) and increased the number of eosinophils, lymphocytes, and neutrophils in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Vaccination failed to modulate these parameters. In conclusion, although DTaP vaccination may affect the LLNA response, we found no evidence of an effect on lung allergy.
Trade Costs in Asia and the Pacific: Improved and Sectoral Estimates

There is ample evidence that successful implementation of bilateral or regional trade and economic integration initiatives would have a very significant impact on intraregional trade in Asia and the Pacific. However, little is known about the level of intraregional trade costs in the region and to what extent these costs may have decreased over time. This paper introduces new aggregate and sectoral estimates of bilateral trade costs in Asia and the Pacific available in an updated and extended version of the ESCAP Trade Cost Database (Version 2). The new data suggests that (1) most countries and subregions have made improvements in reducing trade costs; (2) Trade costs among Asian countries still often exceed the costs of trade of Asian countries with developed countries outside the region; and (3) tariff costs accounts for only a small portion of comprehensive trade costs – although tariff cuts account for a large share of overall trade cost reduction over the past decade. At the sectoral level, agricultural trade costs are systematically found to exceed manufacturing trade costs, even when tariff costs are excluded. The fact that agricultural trade costs in many developing countries are twice as high as their trade costs in manufactured goods suggest that focusing trade facilitation efforts on that sector may be particularly productive, especially given the importance of this sector for poverty reduction and more inclusive and sustainable development.
Does Power Influence Bargaining Outcomes ? A Video Experimental Study in Germany and the People ’ s Republic of China

We experimentally study the influence of bargaining power, defined by outside options, on negotiation outcomes. The bargaining literature mainly focuses on symmetric power situations, power asymmetries typically being neglected even though in reality power differences exist in many bargaining situations. Only a few studies incorporate power disparity into their models. Predictions on the impact of bargaining power on outcomes are not clear cut. According to the Nash bargaining solution (Nash 1950), bargainers' final payoffs should reflect power differences. Binmore et al. (1989, 1991) argue that players should settle at the Equal Split, unless offers are lower than guaranteed payoffs. To investigate the impact of power differences on bargaining outcomes, we run a 2player characteristic function experiment based on Selten's (1981) model where players are represented by groups of participants. The analysis is based on two sources of information: (i) bargaining outcomes, and (ii) video-taped in-group discussions. We compare two treatments characterized by high and low power asymmetry run at Bonn University, and did not find evidence that power differences are reflected in bargaining outcomes. However, running the high asymmetry treatment in the People’s Republic of China shows that more powerful players are able to enforce significantly higher payoffs in China than in Germany. Video tapes reveal that the behavioral disparity can be attributed to different lines of reasoning in the two subject pools. German participants in the less powerful position do not accept the power relation given by the experimental setup, taking the Equal Split as their reference point. In contrast, Chinese participants in the less powerful position acknowledge the power asymmetry given, taking Split the Difference as their reference point.
Navigating beyond “here & now” affordances—on sensorimotor maturation and “false belief” performance

How and when do we learn to understand other people's perspectives and possibly divergent beliefs? This question has elicited much theoretical and empirical research. A puzzling finding has been that toddlers perform well on so-called implicit false belief (FB) tasks but do not show such capacities on traditional explicit FB tasks. I propose a navigational approach, which offers a hitherto ignored way of making sense of the seemingly contradictory results. The proposal involves a distinction between how we navigate FBs as they relate to (1) our current affordances (here & now navigation) as opposed to (2) presently non-actual relations, where we need to leave our concrete embodied/situated viewpoint (counterfactual navigation). It is proposed that whereas toddlers seem able to understand FBs in their current affordance space, they do not yet possess the resources to navigate in abstraction from such concrete affordances, which explicit FB tests seem to require. It is hypothesized that counterfactual navigation depends on the development of “sensorimotor priors,” i.e., statistical expectations of own kinesthetic re-afference, which evidence now suggests matures around age four, consistent with core findings of explicit FB performance.
Testing the proposed causal link between cosmic rays and cloud cover

A decrease in the globally averaged low level cloud cover, deduced from the ISCCP infrared data, as the cosmic ray intensity decreased during the solar cycle 22 was observed by two groups. The groups went on to hypothesize that the decrease in ionization due to cosmic rays causes the decrease in cloud cover, thereby explaining a large part of the currently observed global warming. We have examined this hypothesis to look for evidence to corroborate it. None has been found and so our conclusions are to doubt it. From the absence of corroborative evidence, we estimate that less than 23%, at the 95% confidence level, of the 11 year cycle change in the globally averaged cloud cover observed in solar cycle 22 is due to the change in the rate of ionization from the solar modulation of cosmic rays.
Economics of Collective Refusals to Supply

This paper examines situations where vertically integrated firms refuse to supply an input to an independent competitor in the downstream market. The treatment of such cases by competition or regulatory authorities is often based on the assumption that such outcomes can only arise if there is collusion in the upstream markets. We argue that this is not always the case. In particular, we argue that proper antitrust or regulatory assessment of such cases must take into account the nature of competition, whether sales contracts are observable, the degree of contractual flexibility that is permitted, the substitutability of downstream products, and even the number of potential competitors in the downstream market.
The structure of equilibrium solutions of the one-dimensional Doi equation

We analyse the structure of steady state solutions of the one-dimensional Doi model for rod-like molecules. We prove that if the interaction strength parameter U is less than 4, then the constant solution is the only possible steady state solution. If U is larger than 4, then there is a new solution that corresponds to the nematic phase. All other non-constant solutions are obtained from this solution by translation. We prove further that the nematic solutions have period π instead of 2π, a property that signifies the fact the rods are symmetric, i.e. they have orientations but no directions.
Productivity and Firm Turnover in Israeli Industry: 1979-1988

An analysis of a large panel data set on Israeli industrial firms finds that most of the growth in aggregate productivity comes from productivity changes within firms rather than from entry, exit, or differential growth; that firms which will exit in the future have lower productivity performance several years earlier (the "shadow of death" effect); and that, overall, there was little total factor productivity growth in Israeli industry during 1979-1988 (another "lost decade").
Exchange Rate Regimes and Risk Premia under Alternative Wage Structure

Title of dissertation: EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES AND RISK PREMIA UNDER ALTERNATIVE WAGE STRUCTURE Hyunsoo Joo, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Dissertation directed by: Professor Carlos Vegh Department of Economics This paper analyzes the relationship between risk premium and exchange rate regimes. I conclude that fixed exchange regime is preferred to flexible regime, and risk premium is lower under fixed regime. I analyze this problem with the friction where there are two types of wages; a conventional wage available to the current period consumption and a deferred wage paid at the end of period. When deferred wage increases, the real exchange rate and capital used for the next period production is higher under the flexible exchange regime. Since production in the current period can be defined as a negative function of real exchange rate, higher increase of real exchange rate leads into lower production when a positive deferred wage shock occurs under flexible regime. As a result, fixed regime is preferred thanks to lower volatility in consumption. In addition, remaining wealth is further reduced. The reduce of remaining wealth, increase of real exchange rate, and a surge of capital lead into the increase of leverage ratio. Therefore, the risk premium under the flexible regime is higher. When I replace a deferred wage shock with technology shock and world interest rate shock, still risk premium under flexible regime is higher than under fixed regime. The addition of the asset holders with the assumption of exogenous segmented asset market does not change these results. The second chapter utilizes a uniques high-frequency database to measure how exchange rates in nine emerging markets react to macroeconomic news in the U.S. and domestic economies from 2000 to 2006. We find that major U.S. macroeconomic news have a strong impact on the ruturns and volatilities of emerging market exchange rates, but many domestic news do not. Emerging market currencies have become more sensitive to U.S. news in recent years. We also find that market sentiment could sway the impact of news on these currencies sustematically, as good (bad) news seems to matter more when optimism (pessimism) prevails. Market uncertainty also interacts with macroeconomic news in a statistically significant way, but its role varies across currencies and news. EXCHANGE RATE REGIMES AND RISK PREMIA UNDER ALTERNATIVE WAGE STRUCTURE
The Electronic Structures and Optical Properties of Alkaline-Earth Metals Doped Anatase TiO2: A Comparative Study of Screened Hybrid Functional and Generalized Gradient Approximation

Alkaline-earth metallic dopant can improve the performance of anatase TiO2 in photocatalysis and solar cells. Aiming to understand doping mechanisms, the dopant formation energies, electronic structures, and optical properties for Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba doped anatase TiO2 are investigated by using density functional theory calculations with the HSE06 and PBE functionals. By combining our results with those of previous studies, the HSE06 functional provides a better description of electronic structures. The calculated formation energies indicate that the substitution of a lattice Ti with an AEM atom is energetically favorable under O-rich growth conditions. The electronic structures suggest that, AEM dopants shift the valence bands (VBs) to higher energy, and the dopant-state energies for the cases of Ca, Sr, and Ba are quite higher than Fermi levels, while the Be and Mg dopants result into the spin polarized gap states near the top of VBs. The components of VBs and dopant-states support that the AEM dopants are active in inter-band transitions with lower energy excitations. As to optical properties, Ca/Sr/Ba are more effective than Be/Mg to enhance absorbance in visible region, but the Be/Mg are superior to Ca/Sr/Ba for the absorbance improvement in near-IR region.
Does ‘Protection for Sale’ Apply to the US Food Industries?

This paper tests the Protection for Sale model in terms of the structure of protection and how realistic the estimated domestic welfare weight is relative to campaign contributions. Using data from US food manufacturing, empirical results support the key predictions for the structure of protection when either all food manufacturing industries or most of the general population is assumed to be politically organised. The domestic welfare weight is estimated as low as 0.837, the lowest econometric estimate to date, underlining that protection is for sale and that, with a qualified 'yes', the model fits the data for these industries. Copyright 2008 The Author. Journal compilation 2008 The Agricultural Economics Society.
Facilitators and Threats to the Patient Dignity in Hospitalized Patients with Heart Diseases: A Qualitative Study

Background: Patient’s dignity is an important issue which is highlighted in nursing It is an issue that is highly dependent on context and culture. Heart disease is the most common disease in Iran and the world. Identification of facilitator and threatening patient dignity in heart patients is vital. This study aimed to explore facilitator and threatening patient dignity in hospitalized patients with heart disease. Methods: This qualitative content analysis study was performed in 2014 in Kerman, Iran. 20 patients admitted to coronary care units and 5 personnel were selected using purposeful sampling in semi-structured and in depth interviews. Researchers also used documentation and field notes until data saturation. Qualitative data analysis was done constantly and simultaneously with data collection Results: Three central themes emerged: a) Care context which includes human environment and physical environment, b) Holistic safe care including meeting the needs of patients both in the hospital and after discharge, c) Creating a sense of security and an effective relationship between patient and nurse, including a respectful relationship and account the family in health team. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that care context is important for patient dignity as well as physical environment and safe holistic care.
Software Effort Estimation Using NBC and SWR: A Comparison Based on ISBSG Projects

There are many quantitative estimation methods, e.g. linear regression, neural networks, regression trees. Compared to traditional methods, Bayesian networks are being increasingly used in software engineering because their use opens many possibilities. A main feature of Bayesian networks is their capability to combine data and expert knowledge. This paper seeks to reinforce the hypothesis that Bayesian networks are a competitive method for estimating software effort in terms of prediction accuracy. For this purpose a Naive Bayes Classifier (NBC) and a forward Stepwise Regression (SWR) models have been developed from a subset of the ISBSG dataset. Under homogeneous conditions we found similar results provided that the discretization of the continuous variables is thin enough.
System Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World

Todays problems often arise as unintended consequences of yesterdays solutions. Social systems often suffer from policy resistance, the tendency for well-intentioned interventions to be defeated by the response of the system to the intervention itself. The field of system dynamics, created at MIT in the 1950s by Jay Forrester, is designed to help us learn about the structure and dynamics of the complex systems in which we are embedded, design high-leverage policies for sustained improvement, and catalyze successful implementation and change. Drawing on engineering control theory and the modern theory of nonlinear dynamical systems, system dynamics often involves the development of formal models andmanagement flight simulators� to capture complex dynamics, and to create an environment for learning and policy design. Unlikepureengineering problemsif any existhuman systems present unique challenges, including long time horizons, issues that cross disciplinary boundaries, the need to develop reliable models of human behavior, and the great difficulty of experimental testing. Successful change in social systems also requires the active participation of a wide range of people in the modeling and policy design process, people who often lack technical training. In this paper I discuss requirements for the effective use of system dynamics and illustrate with a successful application to a difficult business issue.