Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cross-Sectional Survey of Relevant Literatures as to the Current Proposed Disease Mechanisms and Treatments of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressively degenerative neuromuscular disorder affecting both the upper and lower motor neurons and preferentially affecting males in their forties to seventies. Although the pathology of ALS has been clearly elucidated elsewhere, the precise mechanisms by which the disease progresses and the means by which it is acquired are still poorly understood areas of medicine. Current genomic and proteomic studies in human and animal models have yielded exciting and promising new findings that may help elucidate this pathology. It is the purpose of this review article to discuss the most relevant proposed mechanisms in current medical literature available from NCBI’s PubMed database as well as to highlight past, present, and future pharmacologic intervention therapies which have experienced varying degrees of success. This is by no means an exhaustive assessment of the current literature available; however it should suffice as a thorough review of the most salient points of modern ALS research.
Secreted β3-Integrin Enhances Natural Killer Cell Activity against Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells

Integrins are a large family of heterodimeric proteins that are involved in cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. Integrin diversity and function is regulated by alternative splicing. Membrane-bound and truncated β3-integrins were shown to be key players in cancer metastasis. However, the immunomodulatory functions of the soluble (s) β3-integrin have not been investigated yet. In this study, we described a novel form of sβ3-integrin in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients. Furthermore, we assessed the role of the sβ3-integrin in the modulation of natural killer (NK)-cell activity. Levels of sβ3-integrin were analysed in plasma samples of 23 AML patients and 26 healthy donors by ELISA. The capacity of sβ3-integrin to regulate NK cell activity was investigated using proliferation, cytokine secretion, and cytotoxicity assays. Circulating sβ3-integrin was detected in the plasma of 8 AML patients. NK cells showed significantly higher proliferation rates after stimulation with sβ3-integrin and IL-2, IL-15 (73%). Significant increases in the NK cells’ secreted levels of TNF-α, IFN-γ were measured in presence of sβ3-integrin. In addition, sβ3-integrin caused the upregulation of Granzyme B transcripts levels as well as FasL expression levels in NK cells. Most importantly, significantly higher K562 or AML blast target cell lysis rates were observed when NK cells were exposed to sβ3-integrin. This study reports the identification of a novel sβ3-integrin in AML patients and provides novel insights into its role in the immunomodulation of NK cell activity.
Spatial Variations in Amenity Values: New Evidence from Beijing, China

Using parks as an example, this paper explores the robustness and sources of spatial variation in the estimated amenity values using an extended geographically weighted regression (GWR) technique. This analysis, illustrated with estimates using geo-coded data from Beijing’s residential land market, has three important implications. First, it provides a powerful estimation strategy to evaluate how sensitive GWR parameters are to unobserved amenities and complementarities between amenities. Second, it compares the spatial variation patterns for the marginal prices of proximity to parks, estimated using a range of GWR model specifications. The answers generated using the GWR approach still reveal a significant underlying problem of omitted variables. Finally, it highlights the importance of conceptualizing amenity values not just in terms of their structural characteristics but how those characteristics interact with or are conditioned by local social, economic, and other contextual characteristics.
The Role of Tenure Security and Private Time Preference in Neotropical Deforestation

A survey of 209 Chimane Amerindian households in 18 villages in the Bolivian rain forest was done to examine the role of tenure security and private time preference on the clearance of old-growth forest. Results of Tobit regressions suggest that conflict with abutters was associated with more deforestation, but the average impatience of the household heads was associated with less deforestation. Results suggest that governments should protect the land rights of indigenous people if they wish to enhance conservation. Results cast doubts on the idea that high private time preference increases the depletion of natural resources.
Quiet-condition variations in the scale height at F2-layer peak at Jicamarca during solar minimum and maximum

Abstract. This study is the first attempt to examine the quiet-condition variations in scale height (Hm) near the F2-layer peak in the equatorial ionosphere. The data periods of Hm derived from the Jicamarca ionograms are January-December 1996 and April 1999–March 2000. The results show that the greatest and smallest Hm values are generally at 11:00–12:00 LT and 04:00–05:00 LT, respectively. Additionally, the sunrise peak occurs at 06:00 LT only during solar minimum. The post-sunset peaks in the equinoctial and summer months are more obvious during solar maximum. The Hm difference between solar minimum and maximum are significant from afternoon to midnight. On the other hand, the Hm values during 07:00–10:00 LT for solar minimum are close to those for solar maximum. Furthermore, the correlation of Hm with the critical frequency (foF2) of F2-layer is generally low. In contrast, the correlation between Hm and the peak height (hmF2) of F2-layer is high. For Hm and the thickness parameter (B0) of F2-layer, the correlation between these two parameters is almost perfect.
Two notched band two post waveguide section

In this paper a two post rectangular waveguide section is presented. The posts are located side by side in a guide cross-section. The waveguide section provides a frequency response with two independently controllable notched bands. Each rejection frequency is tuned by a changing the height of one of two posts, whereas a rejection bandwidth is defined mainly by a post width.
Finding similar identities among objects from multiple web sources

When integrating data from multiple Web sources, objects can exist in different formats and structures, making it difficult to identify those that can be matched together. In this paper, we propose an identification approach to finding similar identities among objects from multiple Web sources. In this approach, object identification works like the relational join operation where a similarity function takes the place of the equality condition. This similarity function is based on information retrieval techniques. Our approach differs from others in the literature since it can be used to identify objects more complexly structured (e.g., XML documents) and not only objects with a flat structure such as relations. The effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated by experimental results with real Web data sources from different domains, that reach precision levels above 75%.
Leishmania infantum Amastigotes Enhance HIV-1 Production in Cocultures of Human Dendritic Cells and CD4+ T Cells by Inducing Secretion of IL-6 and TNF-α

Background Visceral leishmaniasis has emerged as an important opportunistic disease among patients infected with HIV-1. Both HIV-1 and the protozoan parasite Leishmania can productively infect cells of the macrophage-dendritic cell lineage. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we demonstrate that Leishmania infantum amastigotes increase HIV-1 production when human primary dendritic cells (DCs) are cocultured together with autologous CD4+ T cells. Interestingly, the promastigote form of the parasite does not modulate virus replication. Moreover, we report that amastigotes promote virus replication in both cell types. Our results indicate that this process is due to secretion of parasite-induced soluble factors by DCs. Luminex micro-beads array system analyses indicate that Leishmania infantum amastigotes induce a higher secretion of several cytokines (i.e. IL-1α, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-α) and chemokines (i.e. MIP-1α, MIP-1β and RANTES) in these cells. Studies conducted with pentoxifylline and neutralizing antibodies revealed that the Leishmania-dependent augmentation in HIV-1 replication is due to a higher secretion of IL-6 and TNF-α. Conclusions/Significance Altogether these findings suggest that the presence of Leishmania within DC/T-cell conjugates leads to an enhancement of virus production and demonstrate that HIV-1 and Leishmania can establish complex interactions in such a cellular microenvironment.
High phosphate feeding promotes mineral and bone abnormalities in mice with chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD) is a systemic syndrome characterized by imbalances in mineral homeostasis, renal osteodystrophy (ROD) and ectopic calcification. The mechanisms underlying this syndrome in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are not yet clear. METHODS We examined the effect of normal phosphate (NP) or high phosphate (HP) feeding in the setting of CKD on bone pathology, serum biochemistry and vascular calcification in calcification-prone dilute brown non-agouti (DBA/2) mice. RESULTS In both NP and HP-fed CKD mice, elevated serum parathyroid hormone and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels were observed, but serum phosphorus levels were equivalent compared with sham controls. CKD mice on NP diet showed trabecular alterations in the long bone consistent with high-turnover ROD, including increased trabecular number with abundant osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Despite trabecular bone and serum biochemical changes, CKD/NP mice did not develop vascular calcification. In contrast, CKD/HP mice developed arterial medial calcification (AMC), more severe trabecular bone alterations and cortical bone abnormalities that included decreased cortical thickness and density, and increased cortical porosity. Cortical bone porosity and trabecular number strongly correlated with the degree of aortic calcification. CONCLUSIONS HP feeding was required to induce the full spectrum of CKD-MBD symptoms in CKD mice.
WT1 represses HOX gene expression in the regulation of gynaecologic tumour histologic type

Homeobox genes encode transcription factors that dictate developmental identity, including that of the Mullerian tract. These genes also direct differential Mullerian transformation of the ovarian cancer cells. The homeobox gene HOXA10 controls uterine organogenesis during embryonic development and similarly is expressed in endometroid epithelial ovarian cancer. Here we confirmed aberrant regulation of HOXA10 expression in epithelial uterine and ovarian carcinomas. We identified a HOXA10 epithelial regulatory element containing an enhancer that drove HOXA10 expression specifically in gynaecologic epithelium. We further identified an adjoining dominant repressor element that restricted regulation by the epithelial enhancer to a subset of epithelial cell types. The repressor contained two functional WT1 binding sites. We identified a strong inverse correlation between HOXA10 expression and that of the Wilms’ Tumour 1 (WT1) gene in multiple benign and malignant gynaecologic tissues, suggesting functionality of the WT1 sites in the repressor. Mutation of the two WT1 binding sites abolished WT1 binding to the element as well as the ability to affect epithelial enhancer activity in reporter assays. Similarly, decreased expression of WT1 using siRNA prevented repressor activity. The Mullerian phenotype seen in ovarian cancer is dependent on gain of HOX gene expression secondary to the loss of WT1‐mediated HOX repression. This suggests that Gynaecologic epithelial histologic type is regulated by WT1 expression through its selective repression of HOX genes.
cDNA Sequences for Transcription Factors and Signaling Proteins of the Hemichordate Saccoglossus kowalevskii: Efficacy of the Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) Approach for Evolutionary and Developmental Studies of a New Organism

We describe a collection of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) for Saccoglossus kowalevskii, a direct-developing hemichordate valuable for evolutionary comparisons with chordates. The 202,175 ESTs represent 163,633 arrayed clones carrying cDNAs prepared from embryonic libraries, and they assemble into 13,677 continuous sequences (contigs), leaving 10,896 singletons (excluding mitochondrial sequences). Of the contigs, 53% had significant matches when BLAST was used to query the NCBI databases (≤10−10), as did 51% of the singletons. Contigs most frequently matched sequences from amphioxus (29%), chordates (67%), and deuterostomes (87%). From the clone array, we isolated 400 full-length sequences for transcription factors and signaling proteins of use for evolutionary and developmental studies. The set includes sequences for fox, pax, tbx, hox, and other homeobox-containing factors, and for ligands and receptors of the TGFβ, Wnt, Hh, Delta/Notch, and RTK pathways. At least 80% of key sequences have been obtained, when judged against gene lists of model organisms. The median length of these cDNAs is 2.3 kb, including 1.05 kb of 3′ untranslated region (UTR). Only 30% are entirely matched by single contigs assembled from ESTs. We conclude that an EST collection based on 150,000 clones is a rich source of sequences for molecular developmental work, and that the EST approach is an efficient way to initiate comparative studies of a new organism.
Essays on International Finance and Macroeconomics

This thesis aims to investigate several economic issues in the field of international finance and macroeconomics and attempts to apply theoretical and empirical techniques to explore economic mechanisms and macroeconomic implications behind these economic phenomena. In Chapter 2, we focus on the hot money issue aroused by the enormous stock of foreign exchange reserves in China. This subject is worth exploring because these abnormal amounts of foreign exchange assets have been suspected to result from the crowding international speculative capital, so-called ”hot money,” which is considered to target the expected excess returns from Renminbi (RMB) appreciation. Enlightened by China’s case, we investigate whether higher expected excess returns from local currency appreciation accounts for the inflow of international speculative capital. Based on the ”return-chasing” hypothesis developed by Bohn and Tesar (1996), we take the undervaluation index as a proxy for the expected excess returns on currency and explore its relationship with international speculative capital by using large-sample panel data. To overcome the bias due to the endogenous problem, we adopt the System Generalized Method of Moments (System-GMM) to conduct estimation and test the robustness of the results using other possible sources of expected return. Finally, we find that when controlling for the countryspecific, time-variant economic environments, there is a significant return-chasing effect between movements of expected currency excess returns and hot money. Other possible sources of expected returns (such as interest rate differential) can not explain the dynamics of hot money inflow according to our results. After providing empirical evidence for why abnormal financial flows in the foreign sector occurred, in Chapter 3, we begin to think seriously about the macroeconomic effects of the perturbation that originated in the financial sectors. The recent financial disaster that occurred in the U.S. suggests that the financial sector has played an important role as a source of business cycle fluctuations, which is different from the propagation opinion in literature. Enlightened by the US’s experience, following Jermann and Quadrini (2012), we apply the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) modeling method to assess
A Physiologically Plausible Spatio-Temporal Model for EEG Signals Recorded With Intracerebral Electrodes in Human Partial Epilepsy

Stereoelectroencephalography (depth-EEG signals) is a presurgical investigation technique of drug-resistant partial epilepsy, in which multiple sensor intracerebral electrodes are used to directly record brain electrical activity. In order to interpret depth-EEG signals, we developed an extended source model which connects two levels of representation: 1) a distributed current dipole model which describes the spatial distribution of neuronal sources; 2) a model of coupled neuronal populations which describes their temporal dynamics. From this extended source model, depth-EEG signals were simulated from the forward solution at each electrode sensor located inside the brain. Results showed that realistic transient epileptiform activities (spikes) are obtained under specific conditions in the model in terms of degree of coupling between neuronal populations and spatial extent of the source. In particular, the cortical area involved in the generation of epileptic spikes was estimated to vary from 18 to 25 cm2, for brain conductivity values ranging from 30 to 35times10-5 S/mm, for high coupling degree between neuronal populations and for a volume conductor model that accounts for the three main tissues of the head (brain, skull, and scalp). This study provides insight into the relationship between spatio-temporal properties of cortical neuronal sources and depth-EEG signals
Fast principal component analysis and data whitening algorithms

In this paper, we propose an adaptive implementation of a fast-convergent algorithm for principal component extraction. Our approach consists of first estimating a basis of the principal subspace through the use of OPAST algorithm. The obtained basis is then fed to a second process where at each iteration one or several Givens transformations are applied to estimate the principal components. Later on, the proposed PCA algorithm is used to derive a fast data whitening solution that overcomes the existing ones of similar complexity order. Simulation results support the high performance of our algorithms in terms of accuracy and speed of convergence.
D2 dopamine receptor gene haplotypes and their influence on alcohol and tobacco consumption magnitude in alcohol-dependent individuals.

INTRODUCTION Alcohol dependence and habitual smoking frequently co-occur and possibly mutually influence each other. Both have been related to alterations of dopaminergic neurotransmission. The aim of this analysis of the Munich Gene Data Bank for Alcoholism(MGBA) was to re-evaluate the potential relation between D2 receptor and dopamine transporter gene haplotypes and quantity-related phenotypes of alcohol consumption (average daily alcohol intake before admission for treatment) and smoking (average units smoked per day). METHODS A total of 333 inpatients (265 males) were enrolled in the study, all of who met the ICD10 diagnosis of alcohol dependence. Mild and strong quantity drinkers and smokers were separated into groups by median split. A number of genetic markers were chosen across D2 dopamine receptor gene (-141 Ins/Del, Taq1B, Taq1D, Ser311Cys; rs1079594 (intron 7); Taq1A) and dopamine transporter (40bp variable number of tandem repeat; rs2617605 (intron 2); rs37022 (intron 7); rs40184 (intron 14)). Genotyping was performed using PCR. RESULTS Strong drinkers reported significantly higher amounts of smoking and vice versa. While no association was detected for dopamine transporter genetic variants, a number of D2 receptor gene single nucleotide polymorphisms were related to both smoking- and drinking-related behaviours. Subsequent analysis of D2 receptor gene haplotypes revealed that two common haplotypes had a significant association with quantitative phenotypes of regular drinking (Ins-C-G-C-A1) and smoking (Ins-T-G-A-A2). DISCUSSION The finding of an association between common D2 dopamine receptor gene haplotypes with the quantity of drinking and smoking corroborates with results from previous studies suggesting a relationship between the dopamine system and alcohol and substance use disorders. Furthermore, it makes D2 dopamine receptor a candidate gene significantly influencing both alcohol and nicotine dependence.
Estimation with Aggregate Shocks

Aggregate shocks affect most households’ and firms’ decisions. Using three stylized models, we show that inference based on cross-sectional data alone generally fails to correctly account for decision making of rational agents facing aggregate uncertainty. We propose an econometric framework that overcomes these problems by explicitly parameterizing the agents’ decision problem relative to aggregate shocks. Our framework and examples illustrate that the cross-sectional and time-series aspects of the model are often interdependent. Therefore, estimation of model parameters in the presence of aggregate shocks requires the combined use of cross-sectional and time-series data. We provide easy-to-use formulas for test statistics and confidence intervals that account for the interaction between the cross-sectional and time-series variation. Lastly, we perform Monte Carlo simulations that highlight the properties of the proposed method and the risks of not properly accounting for the presence of aggregate shocks.
The Movement Aftereffect and a Distribution-Shift Model for Coding the Direction of Visual Movement

At present the only widely accepted explanation for the movement aftereffect is Sutherland's so-called ratio model, which states that motion is coded by taking the ratio between the outputs of detectors tuned to opposite directions. However, as yet there have been few attempts to derive predictions from the model in the context of movement aftereffects and test them experimentally. This paper reports experiments which attempt to determine whether such a simple model is sufficient, or requires additional assumptions which recast it in a form more akin to the distribution-shift models used in other domains (which assume comparisons between outputs in the whole population of direction detectors, rather than just those tuned to opposite directions). These experiments examined the interactive effects of two simultaneous directions on subsequent aftereffect durations and directions. The results obtained are difficult to explain in terms of a simple ratio model but can be incorporated into a more complex distribution-shift type model.
Adoption and Impacts of Sustainable Agricultural Practices on Maize Yields and Incomes: Evidence from Rural Zambia

This paper uses a multinomial endogenous treatment effects model and data from a sample of over 800 households and 3,000 plots to assess the determinants and impacts of adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) on maize yields and household incomes in rural Zambia. Results show that adoption decisions are driven by household and plot level characteristics and that the adoption of a combination of SAPs raises both maize yields and incomes of smallholder farmers. Adoption of improved maize alone has greater impacts on maize yields, but given the high cost of inorganic fertiliser that limits the profitability of adoption of improved maize, greater household incomes are associated rather with a package involving SAPs such as maize–legume rotation and residue retention.
Harmonic morphisms between spaces of constant curvature

Let M and N be simply connected space forms, and U an open and connected subset of M. Further let π: U → N be a horizontally homothetic harmonic morphism. In this paper we show that if π has totally geodesic fibres and integrable horizontal distribution, then the horizontal foliation of U is totally umbilic and isoparametric. This leads to a classification of such maps. We also show that horizontally homothetic harmonic morphisms of codimension one are either Riemannian submersions modulo a constant, or up to isometrics of M and N one of six well known examples.