Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic R&D networks with process and product innovations

We analyze the endogenous formation of R&D networks, where firms are active in different product markets and can benefit from R&D spillovers form collaborating firms within or across different industries. R&D spillovers help firms to introduce process innovations to lower their production costs. Product innovations introduce an escape-competition effect, through which firms can enter new markets with fewer competitors. We provide a complete equilibrium char- acterization in which both, the network of R&D collaborations as well as the market structure, are endogenously determined. We show that the coevolution of market and network structure matter for the relationship between competition and innovation. Moreover, our model allows us to explain differences in the R&D network structures observed across different industries, and how they are related to different levels of competition in these industries.
Distributed Robust Optimization (DRO) Part II: Wireless Power Control

Optimization formulations and distributed solution algorithms have long been used for resource allocation problems in wireless networks including power control. However, constant parameters in these formulations are often time-varying, unknown, or based on inaccurate estimates. Can we keep the algorithms distributed with little communication overhead while making the solutions robust to inevitable errors in problem formulations? We answer this question through the general framework of Distributed Robust Optimization, as in Part I of this two-part paper. Robustness against channel fluctuations, SIR measurement errors, and user dynamics is described through the ellipsoid, polyhedron, and D-norm uncertain sets, respectively. We then quantify the tradeoff between robustness, measured by the deviation from the nominal problem, and distributiveness, measured by the amount of message passing in the algorithm. Related tradeoffs such as robustness vs. nominal performance, and robustness vs. energy expenditure are also characterized, while convergence of new, robust power control algorithms proved under various sufficient conditions.
Wages, Unemployment and Inequality with Heterogeneous Firms and Workers

In this paper we develop a multi-sector general equilibrium model of firm heterogeneity, worker heterogeneity and labor market frictions. We characterize the distributions of employment, unemployment, wages and income within and between sectors as a function of structural parameters. We find that greater firm heterogeneity increases unemployment, wage inequality and income inequality, whereas greater worker heterogeneity has ambiguous effects. We also find that labor market frictions have non-monotonic effects on aggregate unemployment and inequality through within- and between-sector components. Finally, high-ability workers have the lowest unemployment rates but the greatest wage inequality, and income inequality is lowest for intermediate ability. Although these results are interesting in their own right, the main contribution of the paper is in providing a framework for analyzing these types of issues.
Juxtaposition between host population structures: implications for disease transmission in a sympatric cervid community

Sympatric populations of phylogenetically related species are often vulnerable to similar communicable diseases. Although some host populations may exhibit spatial structure, other hosts within the community may have unstructured populations. Thus, individuals from unstructured host populations may act as interspecific vectors among discrete subpopulations of sympatric alternate hosts. We used a cervid‐bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) system to investigate the landscape‐scale potential for bovine tuberculosis transmission within a nonmigratory white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and elk (Cervus canadensis) community. Using landscape population genetics, we tested for genetic and spatial structure in white‐tailed deer. We then compared these findings with the sympatric elk population that is structured and which has structure that correlates spatially and genetically to physiognomic landscape features. Despite genetic structure that indicates the white‐tailed deer population forms three sympatric clusters, the absence of spatial structure suggested that intraspecific pathogen transmission is not likely to be limited by physiognomic landscape features. The potential for intraspecific transmission among subpopulations of elk is low due to spatial population structure. Given that white‐tailed deer are abundant, widely distributed, and exhibit a distinct lack of spatial population structure, white‐tailed deer likely pose a greater threat as bovine tuberculosis vectors among elk subpopulations than elk.
Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) Prevents Development of STZ-ICV Induced dementia in Rats

Background: Chronic oxidative stress and inflammation severely affect the normal physiology of neurons and lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Polyphenols proved a boon in the prevention of dementia due to their antioxidant and neuroprotective potential. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a natural polyphenolic compound attributed with antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and neuroprotective properties. Objective: The present study investigates the effect of CAPE on experimental dementia in rats. Methods: Intracerebroventricle (ICV) injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 3 mg/kg) was given to Wistar rats (200 g, either sex) on days 1 and 3 to induce dementia of AD type. CAPE (3 and 6 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered to separate groups of rats for 28 successive days daily. Morris water maze and elevated plus maze served as exteroceptive behavioral models to measure the memory of the rats. Results: The present study illustrated that CAPE treatment for 28 consecutive days arrested the development of cognitive deficits in STZ-ICV-treated rats, that is, a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the mean escape latency during acquisition trial and increased (P < 0.05) time spent in target quadrant during retrieval trial in Morris water maze test and reduction (P < 0.05) in transfer latency in elevated plus maze test. Furthermore, both the doses of CAPE when administered to rats that were previously treated with STZ-ICV prevented the rise of brain thiobarbituric acid reactive substance as well as TNF-α and simultaneously enhanced the GSH content. Conclusion: CAPE administration ameliorated STZ-ICV-induced dementia through the attenuation of oxidative stress and inflammation. Abbreviation used: AD: Alzheimer's disease, ANOVA: Analysis of Variance, aCSF: Artificial cerebrospinal fluid, CAPE: Caffeic acid phenethylester, EPM: Elevated plus maze, ELT: Escape latency time, GSH: Reduced glutathione, IL: Interleukin, ICV: Intracerebroventricular, MDA: Malondialdehyde, MEL: Mean escape latency, MWM: Morris water maze, NFTs: Neurofibrillary tangles, RNS: Reactive nitrogen species, ROS: Reactive oxygen species, SEM: Standard error of mean, STZ: Streptozotocin, TBARS: Thiobarbituric reactive substances, TSTQ: Time spent in target quadrant, TL: Transfer latency, TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor alpha.
Adaptive gait changes in older people due to lens magnification

Citation information: Chapman GJ, Scally AJ & Elliott DB. Adaptive gait changes in older people due to lens magnification. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2011, 31, 311–317 doi: 10.1111/j.1475‐1313.2010. 00807.x
Mechanical and rheological behavior of highly filled polystyrene with lignin

The mechanical, rheological, and morphological properties of polystyrene (PS)/lignin blends over a wide range of lignin content (0–80 wt%) have been studied in this work. PS/lignin blends were compounded in an internal batch mixer with and without the addition of a linear triblock copolymer based on styrene, ethylene, and butylene (SEBS). A morphological analysis was carried out by scanning electron microscopy to determine the state of dispersion and the interfacial adhesion between the lignin particles and the PS matrix. It was found that the flexural and torsion moduli both increased, while the tensile properties decreased with increasing lignin content. Nevertheless, compatibilizer addition was found to improve the tensile properties of the lignin/PS blend. The shear rheological behavior of the lignin/PS blends was also studied in this work where viscosity, dynamic moduli, and activation energy were found to be very sensitive to both lignin and compatibilizer contents. POLYM. COMPOS. , 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers
Serotonin 2a Receptor and Serotonin 1a Receptor Interact Within the Medial Prefrontal Cortex During Recognition Memory in Mice

Episodic memory, can be defined as the memory for unique events. The serotonergic system one of the main neuromodulatory systems in the brain appears to play a role in it. The serotonin 2a receptor (5-HT2aR) one of the principal post-synaptic receptors for 5-HT in the brain, is involved in neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders associated with memory deficits. Recognition memory can be defined as the ability to recognize if a particular event or item was previously encountered and is thus considered, under certain conditions, a form of episodic memory. As human data suggest that a constitutively decrease of 5-HT2A signaling might affect episodic memory performance we decided to compare the performance of mice with disrupted 5-HT2aR signaling (htr2a−/−) with wild type (htr2a+/+) littermates in different recognition memory and working memory tasks that differed in the level of proactive interference. We found that ablation of 5-HT2aR signaling throughout development produces a deficit in tasks that cannot be solved by single item strategy suggesting that 5-HT2aR signaling is involved in interference resolution. We also found that in the absence of 5-HT2aR signaling serotonin has a deleterious effect on recognition memory retrieval through the activation of 5-HT1aR in the medial prefrontal cortex.
Low-Cost Gate Drive Circuit for Three-Level Neutral-Point-Clamped Voltage-Source Inverter

This paper presents a new hardware implementation of gate drive circuits applied to low-power neutral-point-clamped (NPC) multilevel three-phase inverters. The proposed circuit is based on commercially available MOS-gate driver ICs (MGDs) for large-scale applications, which may reduce the total cost of implementation of NPC inverters. Only one DC power supply is required to feed all the gate drivers for the three-phase system. Detailed design procedures are presented, which include the protection circuits for avoiding hazardous switching states of the power switches. Experimental results of a laboratory prototype demonstrate the validity of the proposed circuit. These results also suggest that for achieving safe operation of snubberless power switches during transients, a hybrid implementation of each NPC phase leg, consisting of MOSFETs with voltage ratings at half the DC bus voltage and of insulated gate bipolar transistors rated at the total DC bus voltage, is recommended.
Inhibiting ROS-STAT3-dependent autophagy enhanced capsaicin–induced apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Abstract Capsaicin, which is the pungent ingredient of red hot chili peppers, has been reported to possess anticancer activity, including that against hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the precise molecular mechanisms by which capsaicin exerts its anticancer effects remain poorly understood. Herein, we have tested the involvement of autophagy in the capsaicin mechanism of action in human hepatocellular carcinoma. HepG2 cancer cells were treated with different doses of capsaicin (50, 100 and 200μmol/L) for 6, 12, and 24 h. Flow cytometry and Caspase-3 activity assay were performed to determine cell apoptosis. Immunofluorescence was performed to visualize LC3-positive puncta. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of the hallmarks of apoptosis and autophagy. Capsaicin can induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells. The expression levels of CL-PARP and Bcl-2 were significantly increased. In line with the apoptosis, capsaicin can trigger autophagy in HepG2 cells. Capsaicin increased LC3-II and beclin-1 expression and GFP-LC3-positive autophagosomes. Pharmacological or genetic inhibition of autophagy further sensitized HepG2 cells to capsaicin-induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, capsaicin upregulated the Stat3 activity which contributed to autophagy. Importantly, we found that capsaicin triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in hepatoma cells and that the levels of ROS decreased with N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a ROS scavenger. Moreover, NAC abrogated the effects of capsaicin on Stat3-dependent autophagy. In this study, we demonstrated that capsaicin increased the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (p-STAT3)-dependent autophagy through the generation of ROS signaling pathways in human hepatoma. Inhibiting autophagy could enhance capsaicin-induced apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma.
Middle Cerebral Artery Bifurcation Aneurysms Treated by Extrasaccular Flow Diverters: Midterm Angiographic Evolution and Clinical Outcome

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Flow diverters have been increasingly used lately in off-label, distal intracranial aneurysm treatments. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of flow diverters in the treatment of middle cerebral artery bifurcation aneurysms and to analyze midterm angiographic patterns of regional flow modifications for safety and clinical outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients treated from January 2010 to December 2014 by the authors by using endovascular flow-diverting stents for MCA bifurcation aneurysms were evaluated retrospectively with prospectively maintained data. All patients had been followed for at least 12 months after treatment, with at least 2 control angiograms; regional flow-related angiographic modifications were registered by using a new angiographic outcome scale for flow diverters. Data were analyzed with emphasis on procedure-related events, angiographic results, and clinical outcome. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients were included in the study, with 63 MCA bifurcation aneurysms; 13 of these were large and giant. Pretreatment mRS was 0 for 12 patients (20.7%), 1 for 41 (70.7%), and 2 for 5 patients (8.6%). Six-month control revealed mRS 0–2 for 57 (98.3%) patients and 3 for 1 (1.7%) patient. Procedure-related morbidity and mortality were 8.6% (5/58) and 0%, respectively. From 95% of still circulating immediate postprocedure angiographic outcomes, 68% progressed to aneurysm occlusion at 6 months and 95%, to occlusion at 12 months, with a 0% aneurysm rupture rate. CONCLUSIONS: Flow diverters seem to be an effective treatment alternative for complex MCA bifurcation aneurysms, with reasonable complication rates. Longer angiographic follow-ups are needed to assess the morphologic outcome; immediate subtotal occlusions do not seem to be related to rupture.
Population III Star Formation in a ΛCDM Universe. I. The Effect of Formation Redshift and Environment on Protostellar Accretion Rate

We perform 12 extremely high resolution adaptive mesh refinement cosmological simulations of Population III star formation in a ΛCDM universe, varying the box size and large-scale structure, to understand systematic effects in the formation of primordial protostellar cores. We find results that are qualitatively similar to those of previous groups. We observe that in the absence of a photodissociating ultraviolet background, the threshold halo mass for formation of a Population III protostar does not evolve significantly with time in the redshift range studied (33 > z > 19) but exhibits substantial scatter (1.5 < Mvir/105 M☉ < 7) due to different halo assembly histories: halos that assembled more slowly develop cooling cores at lower mass than those that assemble more rapidly, in agreement with previous work. We do, however, observe significant evolution in the accretion rates of Population III protostars with redshift, with objects that form later having higher maximum accretion rates (ṁ ≃ 10-4 M☉ yr-1 at z = 33 and ≃10-2 M☉ yr-1 at z = 20). This can be explained by considering the evolving virial properties of the halos with redshift and the physics of molecular hydrogen formation at low densities. Our result implies that the inferred mass distribution of Population III stars is broader than previously thought and may evolve with redshift. Finally, we observe that our collapsing protostellar cloud cores do not fragment, consistent with previous results, which suggests that Population III stars that form in halos of mass 105-106 M☉ always form in isolation.
Specific mtDNA Mutations in Mouse Carcinoma Cells Suppress Their Tumor Formation via Activation of the Host Innate Immune System

In mammalian species, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) with pathogenic mutations that induce mitochondrial respiration defects has been proposed to be involved in tumor phenotypes via induction of enhanced glycolysis under normoxic conditions (the Warburg effects). However, because both nuclear DNA and mtDNA control mitochondrial respiratory function, it is difficult to exclude the possible contribution of nuclear DNA mutations to mitochondrial respiration defects and the resultant expression of tumor phenotypes. Therefore, it is important to generate transmitochondrial cybrids sharing the same nuclear DNA background but carrying mtDNA with and without the mutations by using intercellular mtDNA transfer technology. Our previous studies isolated transmitochondrial cybrids and showed that specific mtDNA mutations enhanced tumor progression as a consequence of overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study assessed whether mtDNA mutations inducing ROS overproduction always enhance tumor progression. We introduced mtDNA from senescence-accelerated mice P1 (SAMP1) into C57BL/6J (B6) mice-derived Lewis lung carcinoma P29 cells, and isolated new transmitochondrial cybrids (P29mtSAMP1 cybrids) that overproduced ROS. The inoculation of the cybrids into B6 mice unexpectedly showed that mtDNA from SAMP1 mice conversely induced tumor suppression. Moreover, the tumor suppression of P29mtSAMP1 cybrids in B6 mice occurred as a consequence of innate immune responses of the host B6 mice. Enzyme pretreatment experiments of P29mtSAMP1 cybrids revealed that some peptides encoded by mtDNA and expressed on the cell surface of P29mtSAMP1 cybrids induce increased IL-6 production from innate immune cells (dendritic cells) of B6 mice, and mediate augmented inflammatory responses around the tumor-inoculated environment. These observations indicate presence of a novel role of mtDNA in tumor phenotype, and provide new insights into the fields of mitochondrial tumor biology and tumor immunology.
The Lopsidedness of Present-Day Galaxies: Results from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Large-scale asymmetries in the stellar mass distribution in galaxies are believed to trace nonequilibrium situations in the luminous and/or dark matter component. These may arise in the aftermath of events such as mergers, accretion, and tidal interactions. These events are key in the evolution of galaxies. In this paper we quantify the large-scale lopsidedness of light distributions in 25,155 galaxies at z < 0.06 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 using the m = 1 azimuthal Fourier mode. We show that the lopsided distribution of light is primarily due to a corresponding lopsidedness in the stellar mass distribution. Observational effects, such as seeing, Poisson noise, and inclination, introduce only small errors in lopsidedness for the majority of this sample. We find that lopsidedness correlates strongly with other basic galaxy structural parameters: galaxies with low concentration, stellar mass, and stellar surface mass density tend to be lopsided, while galaxies with high concentration, mass, and density are not. We find that the strongest and most fundamental relationship between lopsidedness and the other structural parameters is with the surface mass density. We also find, in agreement with previous studies, that lopsidedness tends to increase with radius. Both these results may be understood as a consequence of several factors. The outer regions of galaxies and low-density galaxies are more susceptible to tidal perturbations, and they also have longer dynamical times (so lopsidedness will last longer). They are also more likely to be affected by any underlying asymmetries in the dark matter halo.
Diagnosis and immunotherapy of mould allergy

The IgE‐response was evaluated by skin prick test, bronchial provocation test and RAST in a 1‐year placebo‐controlled double‐blind immunotherapy study. Eleven adult asthmatics were treated with a Cladosporium allergen preparation and 11 comparable patients received histamine placebo. The bronchial sensitivity (PC20) decrease > 0.5 log step in 8/11 (73%) Cladosporium‐treated versus 3/11 (27%) in the placebo group. Corresponding figures for skin prick test sensitivity was 10/11 (91%) and 1/11 (9%) respectively. Circulating IgE showed a temporary boost in the Cladosporium group and then values approaching the pretreatment value. Only minimal and insignificant changes were found in the placebo‐treated patients. Changes in IgE‐reactivity were not related to allergen dose, clinical efficacy or to the occurrence of side effects. Some interrelation between changes in skin prick test, bronchial provocation test and RAST was found indicating a differentiated effect of immunotherapy on various IgE compartments. In spite of the pathogenetic role of IgE in allergic diseases, changes in IgE‐reactivity do not seem directly involved in the mechanisms underlying the clinical efficacy of immunotherapy but might be of importance in a complex interaction with other immunological parameters.
The Arabidopsis Synaptotagmin1 Is Enriched in Endoplasmic Reticulum-Plasma Membrane Contact Sites and Confers Cellular Resistance to Mechanical Stresses1[OPEN]

A phospholipid binding protein is enriched on specific organelle contact sites and maintains the mechanical stability of plant cells upon stress exposure. Eukaryotic endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-plasma membrane (PM) contact sites are evolutionarily conserved microdomains that have important roles in specialized metabolic functions such as ER-PM communication, lipid homeostasis, and Ca2+ influx. Despite recent advances in knowledge about ER-PM contact site components and functions in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and mammals, relatively little is known about the functional significance of these structures in plants. In this report, we characterize the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) phospholipid binding Synaptotagmin1 (SYT1) as a plant ortholog of the mammal extended synaptotagmins and yeast tricalbins families of ER-PM anchors. We propose that SYT1 functions at ER-PM contact sites because it displays a dual ER-PM localization, it is enriched in microtubule-depleted regions at the cell cortex, and it colocalizes with Vesicle-Associated Protein27-1, a known ER-PM marker. Furthermore, biochemical and physiological analyses indicate that SYT1 might function as an electrostatic phospholipid anchor conferring mechanical stability in plant cells. Together, the subcellular localization and functional characterization of SYT1 highlights a putative role of plant ER-PM contact site components in the cellular adaptation to environmental stresses.