Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Akt is activated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells and delivers a pro-survival signal: the therapeutic potential of Akt inhibition

Background The aims of the present study were to ascertain the activation status of Akt in the primary cells of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and to investigate the effects of specific Akt inhibition on chronic lymphocytic leukemia-cell survival. Design and Methods Anti-phospho-Akt (Ser473 or Thr308) antibodies and western blotting were used to establish the activation status of Akt. The effects of two different, specific small-molecule inhibitors (A-443654 or Akti-1/2) or small interfering RNA on cell survival and downstream targets of Akt were assessed. Apoptosis was determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis of phosphatidylserine exposure and by measurement of PARP cleavage. The phosphorylation status of GSK-3 and MDM2, two immediate downstream substrates of Akt, levels of the anti-apoptotic proteins BCL2 and MCL1, and expression of p53 and p21 were all measured by western blotting. Results Fully activated Akt was demonstrable in all chronic lymphocytic leukemia clones examined (n=26). These results were validated with extensive controls and it was shown that a harsh method of cell extraction is needed for detection of the active enzyme. Specific inhibition of Akt induced extensive apoptosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, which was associated with both a rapid loss of MCL1 through proteasomal degradation and increased expression of p53. Moreover, the Akt inhibitors, at concentrations that induced extensive apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, had little or no effect on normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Conclusions Chronic lymphocytic leukemia clones consistently contain activated Akt which plays a pivotal role in maintaining cell survival. Inhibition of the Akt pathway may be of potential value as a novel therapeutic strategy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Light on the structural communication in Ras GTPases

The graph theory was combined with fluctuation dynamics to investigate the structural communication in four small G proteins, Arf1, H-Ras, RhoA, and Sec4. The topology of small GTPases is such that it requires the presence of the nucleotide to acquire a persistent structural network. The majority of communication paths involves the nucleotide and does not exist in the unbound forms. The latter are almost devoid of high-frequency paths. Thus, small Ras GTPases acquire the ability to transfer signals in the presence of nucleotide, suggesting that it modifies the intrinsic dynamics of the protein through the establishment of regions of hyperlinked nodes with high occurrence of correlated motions. The analysis of communication paths in the inactive (SGDP) and active (SGTP) states of the four G proteins strengthened the separation of the Ras-like domain into two dynamically distinct lobes, i.e. lobes 1 and 2, representing, respectively, the N-terminal and C-terminal halves of the domain. In the framework of this separation, interfunctional states and interfamily differences could be inferred. The structure network undergoes a reshaping depending on the bound nucleotide. Nucleotide-dependent divergences in structural communication reach the maximum in Arf1 and the minimum in RhoA. In Arf1, the nucleotide-dependent paths essentially express a communication between the G box 4 (G4) and distal portions of lobe 1. In the SGDP state, the G4 communicates with the N-term, while, in the SGTP state, the G4 communicates with the switch II. Clear differences could be also found between Arf1 and the other three G proteins. In Arf1, the nucleotide tends to communicate with distal portions of lobe 1, whereas in H-Ras, RhoA, and Sec4 it tends to communicate with a cluster of aromatic/hydrophobic amino acids in lobe 2. These differences may be linked, at least in part, to the divergent membrane anchoring modes that would involve the N-term for the Arf family and the C-term for the Rab/Ras/Rho families.
Work environment, alcohol consumption and ill-health: The Whitehall II Study

The influences of the psychosocial work environment on incident coronary heart disease and diabetes and the influences of change in work risk factors on health are reported from the longitudinal Whitehall II cohort study of 10308 British civil servants. The contribution of alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence to absence from work attributable to accidents is also investigated. High job demands, low decision latitude and effort reward imbalance were related to increased incidence of coronary heart disease. Work characteristics were not associated with incidence of diabetes, with the exception of effort reward imbalance which was related to increased incidence of diabetes in men. These effects were not explained by conventional risk factors such as smoking and blood pressure. Adverse changes in levels of work characteristics, particularly social support at work, predicted worsening mental health functioning for men and women. The effects of change in work characteristics on physical health and coronary heart disease were modest, although there was some evidence to support a longer term influence on physical functioning and longstanding illness. Alcohol consumption was related to risk of sickness absence due to injury with increased risk seen at moderate levels of alcohol consumption. 'Binge' drinking and alcohol dependence were also related to absence due to injury. This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive. Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Capital Structure of Ghanaian Banks: An Evaluation of its Impact on Performance

The impact of debt structure on financial performance of banks in Ghana remains an important research issue. According to Ghana Banking Survey (2010), the assets of the banks have changed, competition has increased and return on equity has been falling. The present study, therefore, attempts to empirically investigate the impact of debt structure, which is an important component of capital structure, on the profitability of banks listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange, covering the period 2000-2010, using a relatively elongated panel dataset and a robust estimation technique. The study provides an empirical conclusion that listed Ghanaian banks use 80.23% debt and 17.77% equity, and hence the capital structure of Ghanaian banks is hugely skewed towards debt. However, the debt structure of listed Ghanaian banks indicates more than 81% short-term debt and less than 9% long-term debt. Thus, the impact of capital structure on financial performance of Ghanaian listed banks is such that short-term debt positively influences profitability and long-term debt negatively affects profitability.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer.

This paper reviews the epidemiologic studies of benign prostatic hyperplasia in relation to prostate cancer. Such relation was investigated in epidemiologic studies but none have provided clear evidence suggesting an etiologic role for benign prostatic hyperplasia in the development of prostatic cancer. In this regard comprehensive understanding of benign prostatic hyperplasia in relation to prostate cancer would require examination of anatomic relation endocrine factors in the development and progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia stromal-epithelial interactions in the control of prostate growth biochemical and genetic alterations and their prostate-specific antigen (serine protease). In addition study on prostate size urinary symptoms and propensity for prostate cancer detection are also needed. Biological evidence suggests that benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatic carcinoma share common predisposing factors. Since both share a number of determinants a problem on the epidemiologic study of prostate cancer is whether to consider benign prostatic hyperplasia as a potential confounder. Moreover detection bias may arise in such epidemiologic study.
The alveolar epithelium can initiate the extrinsic coagulation cascade through expression of tissue factor

Background: The alveolar compartment is a procoagulant antifibrinolytic environment in acute lung injury (ALI) and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). A study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that the alveolar epithelium can initiate intra-alveolar coagulation by expressing active tissue factor (TF). Methods: Using an in vitro cell surface TF assay and TF ELISA, the activity and production of TF in cultured alveolar epithelial (A549) cells following exposure to cytomix (tumour necrosis factor α, interleukin 1β and interferon γ) was measured. TF gene transcription was measured by semi-quantitative reverse-transcription PCR. Immunohistochemistry for TF was performed on lung sections from patients with ARDS and controls. TF protein levels were measured by ELISA in undiluted pulmonary oedema fluid from patients with ALI/ARDS and compared with control patients with hydrostatic pulmonary oedema. Results: TF activity, mRNA and protein levels increased in A549 cells after stimulation with cytomix. Increased TF activity was also seen in A549 cells following incubation with pulmonary oedema fluid from patients with ALI/ARDS. Immunohistochemistry for TF in human lung tissue from patients with ARDS showed prominent TF staining in alveolar epithelial cells as well as intra-alveolar macrophages and hyaline membranes. TF antigen levels in oedema fluid (median 37 113 (IQR 14 956–73 525) pg/ml) were significantly higher than in plasma (median 336 (IQR 165–669) pg/ml, p<0.001) in patients with ALI/ARDS, and TF procoagulant activity in oedema fluid was much higher than in plasma of these patients. Higher plasma levels were associated with mortality. Conclusions: The alveolar epithelium is capable of modulating intra-alveolar coagulation through upregulation of TF following exposure to inflammatory stimuli and may contribute to intra-alveolar fibrin deposition in ARDS.
Luminosity and stellar mass functions of discs and spheroids in the SDSS and the supermassive black hole mass function

Using the galactica (GALaxy Automated ComponenT Image Construction Algorithm) code of Benson et al., we obtain quantitative measurements of spheroid-to-disc ratios for a sample of 8839 galaxies observed in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We carry out extensive tests of this code and of gim2d, finding that they perform similarly in all respects. From the spheroid and disc luminosities, we construct luminosity and stellar mass functions for each component and estimate the relative luminosity and stellar mass densities of discs and spheroids in the local Universe. Assuming a simple one-to-one mapping between spheroid mass and the mass of a central supermassive black hole, we provide the most accurate determination so far of the black hole mass function in the local universe. From this, we infer a cosmological mass density of black holes of ρ_• = (3.77 ± 0.97) × 10^5 h M_⊙ Mpc^(−3) . We compare our results to predictions from current hierarchical models of galaxy formation and these are found to fare well in predicting the qualitative trends observed. We find that stars in discs contribute 35–51 per cent of the local stellar mass density.
HIGH-REDSHIFT DUST OBSCURED GALAXIES: A MORPHOLOGY–SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTION CONNECTION REVEALED BY KECK ADAPTIVE OPTICS

A simple optical to mid-IR color selection, R − [24]>14, i.e., fν(24 μm)/fν(R) ≳ 1000, identifies highly dust obscured galaxies (DOGs) with typical redshifts of z ∼ 2 ± 0.5. Extreme mid-IR luminosities (LIR > 1012–14) suggest that DOGs are powered by a combination of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and star formation, possibly driven by mergers. In an effort to compare their photometric properties with their rest-frame optical morphologies, we obtained high-spatial resolution (0.″05–0.″1) Keck Adaptive Optics K′-band images of 15 DOGs. The images reveal a wide range of morphologies, including small exponential disks (eight of 15), small ellipticals (four of 15), and unresolved sources (two of 15). One particularly diffuse source could not be classified because of low signal-to-noise ratio. We find a statistically significant correlation between galaxy concentration and mid-IR luminosity, with the most luminous DOGs exhibiting higher concentration and smaller physical size. DOGs with high concentration also tend to have spectral energy distributions (SEDs) suggestive of AGN activity. Thus, central AGN light may be biasing the morphologies of the more luminous DOGs to higher concentration. Conversely, more diffuse DOGs tend to show an SED shape suggestive of star formation. Two of 15 in the sample show multiple resolved components with separations of ∼1 kpc, circumstantial evidence for ongoing mergers.
TidyFS: A Simple and Small Distributed File System

This paper describes TidyFS, a simple and small distributed file system that provides the abstractions necessary for data parallel computations on clusters. In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in computing using clusters of commodity, shared nothing computers. Frequently the primary I/O workload for such clusters is generated by a distributed execution engine such as MapReduce, Hadoop or Dryad, and is high-throughput, sequential, and read-mostly. Other large-scale distributed file systems have emerged to meet these workloads, notably the Google File System (GFS) and the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). TidyFS differs from these earlier systems mostly by being simpler. The system avoids complex replication protocols and read/write code paths by exploiting properties of the workload such as the absence of concurrent writes to a file by multiple clients, and the existence of end-to-end fault tolerance in the execution engine. We describe the design of TidyFS and report some of our experiences operating the system over the past year for a community of a few dozen users. We note some advantages that stem from the system's simplicity and also enumerate lessons learned from our design choices that point out areas for future development.
Social Capital and Soil Fertility Management in the Banana Production Systems of Uganda

The research in this chapter was motivated by the hypothesis that long-term improvement in banana production in Uganda will be achieved by simultaneously solving the problems of pests or diseases and soil fertility depletion. Despite the recognition of its importance, comparatively less research has been directed toward the problem of soil fertility depletion. Information about the factors that influence whether banana farmers invest in soil fertility management is scant. The underlying conceptual approach in this chapter is based on the model of the agricultural household described in Chapter 2. A factor analysis is used to cluster a set of soil fertility management practices that are jointly applied into those related to mulch and manure application. The influence of household, farm, market, and social characteristics of farmers on decisions about soil fertility management is estimated using a probit regression, an ordinary least squares regression, and a two-step Heckman estimation procedure. The analysis assesses the extent to which recommended practices are known and used by farmers; identifies the determinants of use; and draws implications for research, extension, and national policy. The data and sample are described in Chapter 2 and Appendix D.
Motion estimation method for blurred videos and application of deblurring with spatially varying blur kernels

Optical flow methods, such as Lucas-Kanade and Horn-Schunck algorithms, are popular in motion estimation. However, they fall short on accuracy when they are applied to blurred videos. Some people utilize hybrid camera system to get a low resolution image to suppress the blurring effect so that more accurate optical flow for blurred high resolution image can be further derived, though in most of the practical environments it may not be feasible to deploy hybrid camera systems from cost perspective. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to estimate motion from a blurred video without the use of hybrid camera system, and to reduce motion blur by calculating its spatially varying blur kernels. Essentially, we first separate moving objects into small regions and use the corners of their boundaries as feature points, and then apply Hierarchical Block Matching Algorithm (HBMA) to track them between frames. Motions of non-corner pixels can therefore be estimated by interpolating the motion of these corner points, which further support the calculation of the spatially varying blur kernels for deblurring purpose. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed method.
Working Paper Series Department of Economics University of Verona Inequality and Macroeconomic Factors : A Time-Series Analysis for a Set of OECD Countries

In this work, we study the shortand long-run properties of different inequality series vis-à-vis the most important macroeconomic series for a set of OECD countries. We employ standard tools of time series macro-econometrics (e.g. stationarity tests, detrending, comovements analysis, Granger-causality tests, etc.) in order to possible uncover some fresh stylized facts about inequality. The broad picture emerging from our empirical analysis is one where some common patterns coexist together with several country specificities. More specifically, most of inequality series are not stationary; long-run equilibrium relationships between share prices and inequality emerge in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.; at the business cycle frequencies, most inequality series are counter-cyclical (with the exception of Germany), negatively correlated with inflation and positively correlated with unemployment; consumption inequality is pro-cyclical in English-speaking countries; the comovements between inequality series and government consumption appear to be heavily dependent on the institutions of the countries under analysis; Granger-causality tests suggest that in some cases inequality Granger-causes output.
Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis Induced by G&agr;q Signaling Is Mediated by Permeability Transition Pore Formation and Activation of the Mitochondrial Death Pathway

Abstract— Expression of the wild-type &agr; subunit of Gq stimulates phospholipase C and induces hypertrophy in cardiomyocytes. Addition of Gq-coupled receptor agonists additionally activates phospholipase C, as does expression of a constitutively active mutant form of G&agr;q. Under these conditions, hypertrophy is rapidly succeeded by apoptotic cellular and molecular changes, including myofilament disorganization, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, alterations in Bcl-2 family protein levels, DNA fragmentation, increased caspase activity (≈4-fold), cytochrome c redistribution, and nuclear chromatin condensation in ≈12% of the cells. We used various interventions to define the molecular relationships between these events and identify potential sites at which these features of apoptosis could be rescued. Treatment with caspase inhibitors prevented DNA fragmentation and promoted myocyte survival; however, cytochrome c release and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential still occurred. In contrast, treatment with bongkrekic acid, an inhibitor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, not only prevented DNA fragmentation and reduced nuclear chromatin condensation but also preserved mitochondrial membrane potential and limited cytochrome c redistribution to only ≈2% of cells. These data demonstrate the central role of mitochondrial membrane potential in initiation of caspase activation and downstream apoptotic events and suggest that preservation of mitochondrial integrity is crucial for prolonging the life and function of cardiomyocytes exposed to pathological levels of stress.
Belief revision as a truth-tracking process

We analyze the learning power of iterated belief revision methods, and in particular their universality: whether or not they can learn everything that can be learnt. We look in particular at three popular methods: conditioning, lexicographic revision and minimal revision. Our main result is that conditioning and lexicographic revision are universal on arbitrary epistemic states, provided that the observational setting is sound and complete (only true data are observed, and all true data are eventually observed) and provided that a non-standard (non-well-founded) prior plausibility relation is allowed. We show that a standard (well-founded) belief-revision setting is in general too narrow for this. We also show that minimal revision is not universal. Finally, we consider situations in which observational errors (false observations) may occur. Given a fairness condition (saying that only finitely many errors occur, and that every error is eventually corrected), we show that lexicographic revision is still universal in this setting, while the other two methods are not.
Diagnosis of respiratory viral infections in cystic fibrosis by PCR using sputum samples

To the Editors: Recent epidemics of virulent respiratory viruses, such as H1N1 influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), have highlighted the clinical importance of methods for the rapid and accurate detection of respiratory virus infection [1, 2]. A diagnosis of a respiratory viral infection may have implications for infection control measures and treatment of patients [3]. Molecular-based techniques offer a more rapid and sensitive method for diagnosis of respiratory viral infection than viral culture or serology [4]. PCR-based methods can be applied to nasal and/or throat swab samples for the rapid detection of common respiratory viruses [5]. As the majority of adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) produce sputum during infective exacerbations, we investigated whether sputum is a suitable medium for the diagnosis of respiratory viral infections in patients with CF using a PCR method, by comparing results …
Advances in Brief-Dominant Inhibition of Poly ( ADP-ribosyl ) ation Potentiates Carcinogen-induced Gene Amplification in SV 40-transformed Chinese Hamster Cells 1

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is an evolutionally conserved nuclear protein present in most eukaryotic species and catalyzes the formation of ADP-ribose polymers covalently attached to proteins. PARP is strongly activated by DNA singleor double-strand breaks and is thought to be involved in cellular responses to DNA damage. Based on the SV40-transformed Chinese hamster cell line CO60, we had established stable transfectants that overexpress the PARP DNA-binding domain conditionally. DNA-binding domain overexpression led to fr<m.v-dominant inhibition of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and sensitized the cells to genotoxic agents. Using the amplification of chromosomally integrated SV40 DNA as an indicator system, we show here that irons-dominant PARP inhibition potentiates genetic instability induced by iV-methyl-Ar'-nitro-jV-nitrosoguanidine treatment of cells.
Throughput Performance of Generation-Based Network Coding

Using generations to implement random linear network coding garners benefits such as reduced decoding complexity. However, these benefits can come at the expense of throughput. In this paper, we seek to understand and maximize throughput for generation-based network coding (GBNC). Motivated by the application of network coding to scalable multicast, we consider schemes which result in high probability of decoding success with minimal feedback. We show that the throughput performance of GBNC is highly dependent on the choice of coding parameters and that GBNC becomes advantageous only when the number of source packet exceeds a network-dependent threshold. Results for various network topologies lead to the formulation of throughput-motivated guidelines for the adoption of GBNC.