Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Anomalous Type IV Secretion System in Rickettsia Is Evolutionarily Conserved

Background Bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) comprise a diverse transporter family functioning in conjugation, competence, and effector molecule (DNA and/or protein) translocation. Thirteen genome sequences from Rickettsia, obligate intracellular symbionts/pathogens of a wide range of eukaryotes, have revealed a reduced T4SS relative to the Agrobacterium tumefaciens archetype (vir). However, the Rickettsia T4SS has not been functionally characterized for its role in symbiosis/virulence, and none of its substrates are known. Results Superimposition of T4SS structural/functional information over previously identified Rickettsia components implicate a functional Rickettsia T4SS. virB4, virB8 and virB9 are duplicated, yet only one copy of each has the conserved features of similar genes in other T4SSs. An extraordinarily duplicated VirB6 gene encodes five hydrophobic proteins conserved only in a short region known to be involved in DNA transfer in A. tumefaciens. virB1, virB2 and virB7 are newly identified, revealing a Rickettsia T4SS lacking only virB5 relative to the vir archetype. Phylogeny estimation suggests vertical inheritance of all components, despite gene rearrangements into an archipelago of five islets. Similarities of Rickettsia VirB7/VirB9 to ComB7/ComB9 proteins of ε-proteobacteria, as well as phylogenetic affinities to the Legionella lvh T4SS, imply the Rickettsiales ancestor acquired a vir-like locus from distantly related bacteria, perhaps while residing in a protozoan host. Modern modifications of these systems likely reflect diversification with various eukaryotic host cells. Conclusion We present the rvh (Rickettsiales vir homolog) T4SS, an evolutionary conserved transporter with an unknown role in rickettsial biology. This work lays the foundation for future laboratory characterization of this system, and also identifies the Legionella lvh T4SS as a suitable genetic model.
Reynolds stresses from hydrodynamic turbulence with shear and rotation

Aims. We study the Reynolds stresses which describe turbulent momentum transport from turbulence affected by large-scale shear and rotation. Methods. Three-dimensional numerical simulations are used to study turbulent transport under the influences of large-scale shear and rotation in homogeneous, isotropically forced turbulence. We study three cases: one with only shear, and two others where in addition to shear, rotation is present. These cases differ by the angle (0 or 90°) the rotation vector makes with respect to the z -direction. Two subsets of runs are performed with both values of θ where either rotation or shear is kept constant. When only shear is present, the off-diagonal stress can be described by turbulent viscosity whereas if the system also rotates, nondiffusive contributions ( Λ -effect) to the stress can arise. Comparison of the direct simulations are made with analytical results from a simple closure model. Results. We find that the turbulent viscosity is of the order of the first order smoothing result in the parameter regime studied and that for sufficiently large Reynolds numbers the Strouhal number, describing the ratio of correlation to turnover times, is roughly 1.5. This is consistent with the closure model based on the minimal tau-approximation which produces a reasonable fit to the simulation data for similar Strouhal numbers. In the cases where rotation is present, separating the diffusive and nondiffusive components of the stress turns out to be challenging but taking the results at face value, we can obtain nondiffusive contributions of the order of 0.1 times the turbulent viscosity. We also find that the simple closure model is able to reproduce most of the qualitative features of the numerical results provided that the Strouhal number is of the order of unity.
Whether New Cooperative Medical Schemes Reduce the Economic Burden of Chronic Disease in Rural China

Background The New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) provides health insurance coverage for rural populations in China. This study aimed to evaluate changes in household catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) due to chronic disease before and after the reimbursement policies for services of chronic disease were implemented to provide additional financial support. Methods The study used data from the household surveys conducted in Shandong Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in 2006 and 2008. The study sample in village-level units was divided into two groups: 36 villages which implemented the NCMS reimbursement policies for chronic diseases as the intervention group, and 72 villages which did not as the control group. Health care expenditure of more than 40% of household’s non-food expenditure was defined as a household with CHE (i.e., impoverishment). The conceptual framework was established based on the Andersen socio-behavioral model of health care utilization to explore how the NCMS reimbursement policies impacted health expenditures. A difference-in-difference model was employed to compare the change in the proportion of households incurring CHE due to chronic disease between the two groups over time. Results The households that participated in the NCMS were less likely to become impoverished (P<0.05). In addition, the households with both male household head and higher income level were protective factors to prevent CHE (P<0.05). Young households with preschool children suffered less from CHE (P<0.05). The effect of the NCMS reimbursement policies for chronic disease on the CHE was negative, yet not statistically significant (p = 0.814). Conclusions The NCMS coverage showed financial protection for households with chronic disease. However, the NCMS reimbursement policies should be strengthened in the future.
Cynicism and the Evolution of the American Dream

Today we face America's most terrifying enemy ever: an indigenous insurgent army made up of millions of our own citizens. We snipe at each other from behind impregnable barricades of cynicism, mocking efforts to move ahead and scoffing at once-cherished national ideals. Diverse and resourceful warriors, we wield our cynicism as both sword and shield. "We have met the enemy, and they are us. " Still, what does cynicism really mean? The term is tossed about so carelessly these days that it may soon cease to have meaning at all. Cynicism and the Evolution of the American Dream defines the unique nature of American cynicism and traces its historical roots. It looks into its present causes and the many ways cynicism manifests itself, shaping all aspects of modern American life. Wilber W. Caldwell asserts that the disturbing growth of cynicism in America today results from a recent shift in the American Dream, the structure that holds the country together. Like all national dreams, the American Dream has mirrored our national experience and our collective character, as well as reflected our national mood, which has run a parallel course all the way from idealism through realism and skepticism to cynicism. Drawing on the disciplines of history, sociology, and philosophy, Cynicism and the Evolution of the American Dream will appeal to a broad audience of educated readers and offer hope for those who would eradicate such an insidious cancer.
Agriculture and Nation Building: Do Students Still Use the University Library? Case Study of University of Ibadan Agricultural Economics Graduate Students

The growing awareness of internet based information resources has made students to reduce their use of the physical library in which university has invested huge financial resources for nation building. Past research efforts on the use of library have mostly focused on the generality of students without localised study on a particular set of students. This paper therefore looked at whether graduate students of agricultural economics still use the physical library in the face of the growing efforts of promoting agricultural study and production in Nigeria. The factors that affect the length of time students spend in the library were also established. Simple random sampling was used to select 60 graduate students during the 2010/2011 academic session in Agricultural Economics Department, University of Ibadan. The students were administered with structured questionnaire and 57 were successful for analysis. Majority of the respondents were female while 47.37 per cent was single. Majority of the students visit the university, faculty department and outside library occasionally while 73.68 per cent are of full time mode of study. Almost all the students, 96.49 per cent use internet based library. The tobit regression revealed that full-time mode of study, increase in weekly financial allowance on study, membership of registered group off- and on-campus encourages students to spend more hours in the library. Full-time mode of study should be encouraged among the graduate students while the library should be equipped with adequate and reliable internet facilities and personal computers to encourage students’ visit and use of the library towards the promotion of agricultural scholarship for food sufficiency which is a valid aim of agricultural development and nation building. Keywords : Agricultural Economics, Graduate Students, Library Use
Strong asymmetry of hemispheric climates during MIS-13 inferred from correlating China loess and Antarctica ice records

Abstract. We correlate the China loess and Antarctica ice records to address the inter-hemispheric climate link over the past 800 ka. The results show a broad coupling between Asian and Antarctic climates at the glacial-interglacial scale. However, a number of decoupled aspects are revealed, among which marine isotope stage (MIS) 13 exhibits a strong anomaly compared with the other interglacials. It is characterized by unusually positive benthic oxygen (δ18O) and carbon isotope (δ13C) values in the world oceans, cooler Antarctic temperature, lower summer sea surface temperature in the South Atlantic, lower CO2 and CH4 concentrations, but by extremely strong Asian, Indian and African summer monsoons, weakest Asian winter monsoon, and lowest Asian dust and iron fluxes. Pervasive warm conditions were also evidenced by the records from northern high-latitude regions. These consistently indicate a warmer Northern Hemisphere and a cooler Southern Hemisphere, and hence a strong asymmetry of hemispheric climates during MIS-13. Similar anomalies of lesser extents also occurred during MIS-11 and MIS-5e. Thus, MIS-13 provides a case that the Northern Hemisphere experienced a substantial warming under relatively low concentrations of greenhouse gases. It suggests that the global climate system possesses a natural variability that is not predictable from the simple response of northern summer insolation and atmospheric CO2 changes. During MIS-13, both hemispheres responded in different ways leading to anomalous continental, marine and atmospheric conditions at the global scale. The correlations also suggest that the marine δ18O record is not always a reliable indicator of the northern ice-volume changes, and that the asymmetry of hemispheric climates is one of the prominent factors controlling the strength of Asian, Indian and African monsoon circulations, most likely through modulating the position of the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and land-sea thermal contrasts.
Regional Trade in Northeast Asia: Why Do Trade Costs Matter?

Trade costs are often cited as an important determinant of the volume of trade. This paper provides enough evidence to ascertain that today's trade issues in Northeast Asia go beyond the traditional mechanisms of tariffs, and include "behind-the-border" issues. By estimating a modified gravity equation, controlling for endogeneity and remoteness, we find that variations in transaction costs along with trade infrastructure facilities have significant influence on regional trade flows in Northeast Asia. On average, 10 percent saving in transaction costs increases imports by about 5 percent in Northeast Asia. This paper concludes that when tariffs tend to become low in Northeast Asia, the economies in this region could potentially benefit substantially from higher trade provided trade costs are well controlled.
Spatial organization of the tenascin-C microenvironment in experimental and human cancer

The extracellular matrix (ECM) molecule tenascin-C (TNC) promotes tumor progression. This has recently been demonstrated in the stochastic murine RIP1-Tag2 insulinoma model, engineered to either express TNC abundantly or to be devoid of TNC. However, our knowledge about organization of the TNC microenvironment is scant. Here we determined the spatial distribution of TNC together with other ECM molecules in murine RIP1-Tag2 insulinoma and human cancer tissue (insulinoma and colorectal carcinoma). We found that TNC is organized in matrix tracks together with other ECM molecules of the AngioMatrix signature, a previously described gene expression profile that characterizes the angiogenic switch. Moreover, stromal cells including endothelial cells, fibroblasts and leukocytes were enriched in the TNC tracks. Thus, TNC tracks may provide niches for stromal cells and regulate their behavior. Given similarities of TNC rich niches for stromal cells in human insulinoma and colon cancer, we propose that the RIP1-Tag2 model may be useful for providing insights into the contribution of the tumor stroma specific ECM as promoter of cancer progression.
Mechanisms of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in Basketball

Background The mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injury in basketball are not well defined. Purpose To describe the mechanisms of anterior cruciate ligament injury in basketball based on videos of injury situations. Study Design Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods Six international experts performed visual inspection analyses of 39 videos (17 male and 22 female players) of anterior cruciate ligament injury situations from high school, college, and professional basketball games. Two predefined time points were analyzed: initial ground contact and 50 milliseconds later. The analysts were asked to assess the playing situation, player behavior, and joint kinematics. Results There was contact at the assumed time of injury in 11 of the 39 cases (5 male and 6 female players). Four of these cases were direct blows to the knee, all in men. Eleven of the 22 female cases were collisions, or the player was pushed by an opponent before the time of injury. The estimated time of injury, based on the group median, ranged from 17 to 50 milliseconds after initial ground contact. The mean knee flexion angle was higher in female than in male players, both at initial contact (15° vs 9°, P = .034) and at 50 milliseconds later (27° vs 19°, P = .042). Valgus knee collapse occurred more frequently in female players than in male players (relative risk, 5.3; P = .002). Conclusion Female players landed with significantly more knee and hip flexion and had a 5.3 times higher relative risk of sustaining a valgus collapse than did male players. Movement patterns were frequently perturbed by opponents. Clinical Relevance Preventive programs to enhance knee control should focus on avoiding valgus motion and include distractions resembling those seen in match situations.
Executive Control Strategies in Verbal Working Memory : Sources of the Disappearing Recency Effect and Other Mysteries of Immediate Serial Recall

Contemporary researchers have concluded that short-term memory tasks involve both storage and processing, leading them to adopt the term “working memory” to describe the systems involved in performing such tasks. Despite their findings, research on traditional short-term memory tasks (such as immediate serial recall) has remained focused on the structural architecture of working memory, failing to acknowledge the many flexible strategies participants use to accomplish the task. In this article, we suggest that such strategies may be the source of many phenomena in verbal working memory, such as the finding that the magnitude of the recency effect differs substantially across experiments. We present five experiments that demonstrate the role strategy plays during different stages of immediate serial recall, focusing on the adaptive guessing strategies that allow participants to reconstruct a sequence of words as best possible. We conclude that in order to understand the architectural limitations of verbal working memory, we must first understand the strategies used to accomplish immediate serial recall.
Oral antioxidant supplementation does not prevent acute mountain sickness: double blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Acute mountain sickness may be caused by cerebrovascular fluid leakage due to oxidative damage to the endothelium. This may be reduced by oral antioxidant supplementation. AIM To assess the effectiveness of antioxidant supplementation for the prevention of acute mountain sickness (AMS). DESIGN A parallel-group double blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. METHODS The study was conducted in a university clinical research facility and a high altitude research laboratory. Eighty-three healthy lowland volunteers ascended to 5200 m on the Apex 2 high altitude research expedition. The treatment group received a daily dose of 1 g l-ascorbic acid, 400 IU of alpha-tocopherol acetate and 600 mg of alpha-lipoic acid (Cultech Ltd., Wales, UK) in four divided doses. Prevalence of AMS was measured using the Lake Louise Consensus score sheet (LLS). Secondary outcomes were AMS severity measured using a novel visual analogue scale, arterial oxygen saturation and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP). RESULTS Forty-one subjects were allocated to the antioxidant group, and 42 to the placebo group. There was no difference in AMS incidence or severity between the antioxidant and placebo groups using the LLS at any time at high altitude. At the pre-determined comparison point at Day 2 at 5200 m, 69% of the antioxidant group (25/36) and 66% of the placebo group (23/35) had AMS using the LLS criteria (P = 0.74). No differences were observed between the groups for PASP, oxygen saturation, presence of a pericardial effusion or AMS assessed by VAS. CONCLUSION This trial found no evidence of benefit from antioxidant supplementation at high altitude. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT00664001.
New Parties in Old Party Systems: Persistence and Decline in Seventeen Democracies

1. Introduction 2. Disentangling Dimensions and Sources of Party Success: Conceptual and Methodological Challenges 3. Between Leadership and Structure Formation: The Challenges of Party Institutionalization 4. Patterns of New Party Persistence and Sustainability in 17 Democracies 5. The Leadership-Structure Dilemma in Green and Religious New Parties: Short-term Trouble but Long-Term Endurance through Fully-Fledged Institutionalization 6. The Leadership-Structure Dilemma in New Liberal and New Left Parties: Short-Term Success but Long-Term Decline through Partial Institutionalization 7. The Leadership-Structure Dilemma in Rooted New Right Parties: Reinforcing or Undermining Advantageous Formative Conditions? 8. The Leadership-Structure Dilemma in Entrepreneurial New Right Parties: From Disintegration to Fully-Fledged Institutionalization 9. Conclusions
A bankruptcy constraint and asymmetric influence of the real interest rate on unemployment

In this paper, we consider a simple model of the firm based on the neoclassical presumptions and include a bankniptcy constraint. This inchision implies a different reaction of unemployment to the interest rate. Whereas the neoclassical theory suggests a negative relation to reflect substitution between labor and capital when the interest rate is high, inchision of the bankniptcy constraint implies a positive nnemployment-interest rate relation, caused by the threat of bankniptcy when the interest rate, and thus interest payments on debt, is high. This gives rise to two employment regimes, one where the bankniptcy constraint is nonbinding and one where it is binding. An empirical cointegration model, based on qnarterly data for the USA and the Netherlands, is specified, which is capable of representing these regimes. It appears that the interest rate is particularly influential when the bankniptcy constraint is binding, i.e., when the threat of bankniptcy is eminent. AUTHOR'S NOTE Correspondence to Department of Economics, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, NL-1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands, phone: +3120-5484633, fax: +3120-6462645.
Involvement of a Subpopulation of Neuronal M4 Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in the Antipsychotic-like Effects of the M1/M4 Preferring Muscarinic Receptor Agonist Xanomeline

Disturbances in central dopaminergic neurotransmission are believed to be centrally involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Central dopaminergic and cholinergic systems interact and the cholinergic muscarinic agonist xanomeline has shown antipsychotic effects in clinical studies. Preclinical studies indicate that the M4 muscarinic cholinergic receptor subtype (mAChR) modulates the activity of the dopaminergic system and that this specific mAChR subtype is involved in mediating the antipsychotic-like effects of xanomeline. A specific neuronal subpopulation that expresses M4 mAChRs together with D1 dopamine receptors seems to be especially important in modulating dopamine-dependent behaviors. Using mutant mice that lack the M4 mAChR only in D1 dopamine receptor-expressing cells (D1-M4-KO), we investigated the role of this neuronal population in the antipsychotic-like effects of xanomeline in amphetamine-induced hyperactivity and apomorphine-induced climbing. Interestingly, the antipsychotic-like effects of xanomeline in the two models were almost completely abolished in D1-M4-KO mice, suggesting that M4 mAChRs colocalized with D1 dopamine receptors are centrally involved in mediating the antipsychotic-like effects of xanomeline. This is consistent with the hypothesis that activation of the M4 mAChR represents a potential target for the future medical treatment of psychosis.
THE EFFECTS OF TAX REFORM ON CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS

Examines the response of charitable contributions to changes in marginal tax rates and other tax law changes over the period from 1979-1990. The analysis spans three major tax laws affecting charitable giving: The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984, and the Tax Reform Act of 1986.
Quasars in the 4D eigenvector 1 context: a stroll down memory lane

Recently some pessimism has been expressed about our lack of progress in understanding quasars over the 50+ year since their discovery. It is worthwhile to look back at some of the progress that has been made - but still lies under the radar - perhaps because few people are working on optical/UV spectroscopy in this field. Great advances in understanding quasar phenomenology have emerged using eigenvector techniques. The 4D eigenvector 1 context provides a surrogate H-R Diagram for quasars with a source main sequence driven by Eddington ratio convolved with line-of-sight orientation. Appreciating the striking differences between quasars at opposite ends of the main sequence (so-called population A and B sources) opens the door towards a unified model of quasar physics, geometry and kinematics. We present a review of some of the progress that has been made over the past 15 years, and point out unsolved issues.