Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Shocking Germany – A spatial analysis of German regional labor markets

This paper quantifies the surprisingly large heterogeneity of real income and employment effects across German counties in response to local productivity shocks. Using a quantitative model with imperfect mobility and sector-specific labor market frictions together with an outstanding data set of county level goods shipments, I identify the sources of the heterogeneity in Germany’s complex interregional linkages. I find that population mobility reduces the magnitude of local employment rate responses by a striking 70 percent on average. In all but a few counties, changes in the sectoral composition of production have a much milder effect on employment elasticities. National employment rates are less dependent on mobility with worker in- and outflows in individual counties partially cancelling out effects. For productivity shocks affecting individual sectors across all regions the composition effect is substantially magnified, the mobility effect reduced. In line with recent real world observations I find that real income and employment effects, while correlated, do not need to be of the same sign. Finally, the spatial propagation of real income effects closely follows trade linkages whereas employment effects are more complex to predict.
Ocular rigidity evaluation after photorefractive keratectomy: an experimental study.

PURPOSE To evaluate possible changes of the ocular rigidity coefficient in vivo after photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in a series of rabbit eyes, using an invasive ocular rigidity measurement device. METHODS Sixteen eyes of 8 rabbits were used in this study. One eye from each rabbit underwent PRK for -10.00 diopters (D) in a 5-mm optical zone (92 microm) while the fellow eye served as the control. Five weeks later, the rabbits were examined under general anesthesia. The pressure-volume relationship and the ocular rigidity coefficient were determined in all 16 eyes, by injecting 200 microL of saline solution (in increments of 4.5 microL) through the limbus into the anterior chamber, while the intraocular pressure (IOP) was continually monitored with a transducer, up to a maximum limit of 40 mmHg. Data within an IOP range of 10 to 40 mmHg were used to calculate the ocular rigidity coefficient. RESULTS The preoperative central corneal thickness was comparable (P = .73, paired t test) in the pre-PRK eyes (mean: 347.5 +/- 17.11 microm) and control eyes (mean: 349.1 +/- 17.46 microm). No statistically significant difference was noted in measured ocular rigidity coefficient between eyes treated with PRK and control eyes (mean rigidity coefficient: 0.42 +/- 0.12 mmHg/microL [range: 0.23 to 0.56] and 0.47 +/- 0.12 mmHg/microL [range: 0.28 to 0.62], respectively, with 95% confidence interval of the difference, lower: -0.10 to upper: 0.015, P = .121). CONCLUSIONS Photorefractive keratectomy did not significantly alter ocular rigidity measurements in this experimental model.
Skeletal Changes in Transgenic Male Mice Expressing Human Cytochrome P450 Aromatase

In this study, we showed that overexpressing P450 aromatase in male mice can increase bone mass and strengthen the tibia. Probably as a result of the action of products of local estrogen biosynthesis at different stages of life, the increased bone mass in young mice was induced by decreased bone turnover, but in aged animals, it was induced by increased bone formation.
Is Idiosyncratic Risk Conditionally Priced?

In Merton (1987), idiosyncratic risk is priced in equilibrium as a consequence of incomplete diversification. We modify his model to allow the degree of diversification to vary with average idiosyncratic volatility. This simple recognition results in a state‐dependent idiosyncratic risk premium that is higher when average idiosyncratic volatility is low, and vice versa. The data appear to be consistent a positive state‐dependent premium for idiosyncratic risk both in the US and other developed markets.
Labour supply and employment growth

This article examines the main factors behind the recent changes in euro area labour supply and how they have influenced employment developments. It finds that the increasing supply from older people and women, as well as immigration, have had a significant influence on employment growth during the economic recovery. Both migration and the numbers of older people and women in or seeking work have been driven by long-term trends and structural changes, while migration has also been affected by several cyclical factors. In the medium to longer term, labour supply is expected to decline as the population ages. This calls for policies to support labour force and employment growth, for example by helping the long-term unemployed, migrants and other groups whose participation rates remain low, to enter or return to the labour market, or find jobs that better match their skills.
Neuronal Mechanisms and Attentional Modulation of Corticothalamic Alpha Oscillations

Field potential oscillations in the ∼10 Hz range are known as the alpha rhythm. The genesis and function of alpha has been the subject of intense investigation for the past 80 years. Whereas early work focused on the thalamus as the pacemaker of alpha rhythm, subsequent slice studies revealed that pyramidal neurons in the deep layers of sensory cortices are capable of oscillating in the alpha frequency range independently. How thalamic and cortical generating mechanisms in the intact brain might interact to shape the organization and function of alpha oscillations remains unclear. We addressed this problem by analyzing laminar profiles of local field potential and multiunit activity (MUA) recorded with linear array multielectrodes from the striate cortex of two macaque monkeys performing an intermodal selective attention task. Current source density (CSD) analysis was combined with CSD–MUA coherence to identify intracortical alpha current generators and assess their potential for pacemaking. Coherence and Granger causality analysis was applied to delineate the patterns of interaction among different alpha current generators. We found that (1) separable alpha current generators are located in superficial, granular, and deep layers, with both layer 4C and deep layers containing primary local pacemaking generators, suggesting the involvement of the thalamocortical network, and (2) visual attention reduces the magnitude of alpha oscillations as well as the level of alpha interactions, consistent with numerous reports of occipital alpha reduction with visual attention in human EEG. There is also indication that alpha oscillations in the lateral geniculate cohere with those in V1.
Toxicological comparison of diverse Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii strains: Evidence of liver damage caused by a French C. raciborskii strain

The freshwater cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii is known to produce toxic effects in several countries. Acute and chronic exposures to C. raciborskii in Australia have been linked to liver damage (hepatotoxicity) with concomitant effects on the kidneys, adrenal glands, small intestine, lungs, thymus, and heart. The alkaloid cylindrospermopsin, which produces these toxic effects, is thought to be a potent inhibitor of protein synthesis. C. raciborskii strains producing cylindrospermopsin or analogue alkaloids have also been reported in Florida, USA, and Thailand. Brazilian isolates of C. raciborskii are also toxic but act by a different mechanism, causing acute death in mice with neurotoxic symptoms similar to those induced by the saxitoxins. In this article we compare the toxicity in the mouse of a C. raciborskii French strain with C. raciborskii strains from various other sources (Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Hungary). We tested the toxicity of cell extracts by a mouse bioassay. Acute, fatal neurotoxicity was produced by the Brazilian strain, which was confirmed by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection of the cell extracts, which revealed the presence of saxitoxin, neosaxitoxin, and decarbamoylsaxitoxin, along with two unidentified compounds. Acute hepatotoxicity with severe liver, kidney, and thymus damage was observed with the Australian cylindrospermopsin‐producing strain. The Mexican and Hungarian strains were not found to be toxic to mice in our experimental conditions. No animals died after exposure to the extracts of the French C. raciborskii strain. Histological examination of the liver revealed moderate, multifocal necrosis characterized by small areas of hepatocellular necrosis, combined with disorganization of the parenchyma and congestion of the inner sinusoid. These symptoms and lesions resembled those induced by cylindrospermopsin, but the chemical analysis performed by liquid chromatography coupled with either a diode array detector or a mass spectrometer demonstrated that this toxin was not present in our culture extract. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 18: 176–186, 2003.
Methylation status and expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase mRNA in relation to hypermethylation of the p16 gene in colorectal cancers as analyzed by bisulfite PCR-SSCP.

BACKGROUND The expression level of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is correlated with telomerase activity and is expressed at high levels in malignant tumors. It is of interest whether expression of hTERT is regulated by methylation of the CpG island in the promoter of the hTERT gene. We examined hTERT expression and methylation status of the hTERT and other genes including p16. METHODS We analyzed methylation status by bisulfite treatment and polymerase chain reaction with single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis (PCR-SSCP) and expression of the hTERT by RT-PCR, in 13 cancer cell lines, eight white blood cell samples and 24 colorectal cancer tissues. RESULTS In the cancer cell lines, hTERT was expressed and the CpG island of the hTERT promoter was methylated. Most colorectal cancer tissues showed similar results. The promoter of hTERT was methylated in six cases, partially methylated in 17 cases and unmethylated in one case. All cases with methylation of hMLH1 or p16 also showed methylation of hTERT; however, some of the cases lacking p16 methylation also had hTERT methylation. CONCLUSION Increased expression of hTERT is related to hypermethylation of hTERT in colorectal cancerous tissues as well as some cancer cell lines and disconcordant with hypermethylation of p16.
Monoclonal antibodies against a 62 kDa proteinase of Trichomonas vaginalis decrease parasite cytoadherence to epithelial cells and confer protection in mice

Trichomonas vaginalis infects the epithelium of the genital tract. The mechanism by which it invades the tissue leading to the disease is not thoroughly understood. However, results of several studies seem to agree that parasite adhesion to epithelium cells is the initial step leading to infection in women. T. vaginalis is associated with high levels of proteolytic activity. The role of some of these proteinases in the development of infection has been demonstrated. The current study establishes the role of a 62 kDa excretion–secretion proteinase in parasite cytoadherence. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against this enzyme were tested for their ability to inhibit this process. Three stable hybrid producers of IgG1class MAbs (4D8, 1A8, 3C11) against the 62 kDa proteinase were obtained. Two of them (4D8 and 1A8) showed parasite recognition by immunofluorescence. Parasite cytoadherence to a monolayer of HeLa cells was inhibited by the 4D8, 1A8 and 3C11 antibodies. MAb 4D8 administered 24 h before a challenge with T. vaginalis by the intraperitoneal route was able to protect the majority of mice. Nitric oxide levels in the serum of animals inoculated with MAb 4D8 and challenged with the parasite were significantly different from those recorded in mice treated with an unrelated MAb. These studies show that an appropriate antibody against 62 kDa proteinase can help the host resist a challenge by the intraperitoneal route with T. vaginalis.
Metastable Macromolecular Complexes Containing High Mobility Group Nucleosome-binding Chromosomal Proteins in HeLa Nuclei*

High mobility group nucleosome-binding (HMGN) proteins belong to a family of nuclear proteins that bind to nucleosomes and enhance transcription from chromatin templates by altering the structure of the chromatin fiber. The intranuclear organization of these proteins is dynamic and related to the metabolic state of the cell. Here we report that ∼50% of the HMGN proteins are organized into macromolecular complexes in a fashion that is similar to that of other nuclear activities that modify the structure of the chromatin fiber. We identify several distinct HMGN-containing complexes that are relatively unstable and find that the inclusion of HMGN in the complexes varies according to the metabolic state of the cell. The nucleosome binding ability of HMGN in the complex is stronger than that of the free HMGN. We suggest that the inclusion of HMGN proteins into metastable multiprotein complexes serves to target the HMGN proteins to specific sites in chromatin and enhances their interaction with nucleosomes.
Inhibition of the Type I Interferon Response by the Nucleoprotein of the Prototypic Arenavirus Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus

ABSTRACT The prototypic arenavirus lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) is a formidable battle horse for the study of viral immunology, as well as viral persistence and associated diseases. Investigations with LCMV have uncovered basic mechanisms by which viruses avoid elimination by the host adaptive immune response. In this study we show that LCMV also disables the host innate defense by interfering with beta interferon (IFN-β) production in response to different stimuli, including infection with Sendai virus and liposome-mediated DNA transfection. Inhibition of IFN production in LCMV-infected cells was caused by an early block in the IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) activation pathway. This defect was restored in cells cured of LCMV, indicating that one or more LCMV products are responsible for the inhibition of IRF-3 activation. Using expression plasmids encoding individual LCMV proteins, we found that expression of the LCMV nucleoprotein (NP) was sufficient to inhibit both IFN production and nuclear translocation of IRF-3. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of an IFN-counteracting viral protein in the Arenaviridae family. Inhibition of IFN production by the arenavirus NP is likely to be a determinant of virulence in vivo.
Progenitor cells from the CA3 region of the embryonic day 19 rat hippocampus generate region‐specific neuronal phenotypes in vitro

Progenitor cells that endure in different regions of the CNS after the initial neurogenesis can be expanded in culture and used as a source of donor tissue for grafting in neurodegenerative diseases. However, the proliferation and differentiation characteristics of residual neural progenitor cells from distinct regions of the CNS are mostly unknown. This study elucidated the characteristics of progenitor cells that endure in the CA3 region of the hippocampus after neurogenesis, by in vitro analyses of cells that are responsive to epidermal growth factor (EGF) or fibroblast growth factor‐2 (FGF‐2) in the embryonic day 19 (E19) rat hippocampus. Isolated cells from the E19 CA3 region formed neurospheres in the presence of either EGF or FGF‐2, but the yield of neurospheres was greater with FGF‐2 exposure. Differentiation cultures revealed a greater yield of neurons from FGF‐2 neurospheres (60%) than from EGF neurospheres (35%). Exposure to brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) enhanced the yield of neurons from EGF neurospheres but had no consequence on FGF‐2 neurospheres. A large number of neurons from EGF/FGF‐2 neurospheres demonstrated clearly palpable morphological features of CA3 pyramidal neurons and lacked γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) expression. However, a fraction of neurons (17–20%) from EGF/FGF‐2 neurospheres expressed GABA, and exposure to BDNF increased the number of GABAergic neurons (30%) from EGF neurospheres. Neurons from EGF/FGF‐2 neurospheres also contained smaller populations of calbindin‐ and calretinin‐positive interneuron‐like cells. Thus, progenitor cells responsive to FGF‐2 are prevalent in the CA3 region of the E19 rat hippocampus and give rise to a greater number of neurons than progenitor cells responsive to EGF. However, both FGF‐2‐ and EGF‐responsive progenitor cells from E19 CA3 region are capable of giving rise to CA3 field‐specific phenotypic neurons. These results imply that progenitor cells that persist in the hippocampus after neurogenesis remain regionally restricted and hence retain their ability to give rise to region‐specific phenotypic neurons even after isolation and expansion in vitro. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Noninvasive Assessment of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy for Congestive Heart Failure Using Myocardial Strain and Left Ventricular Peak Power as Parameters of Myocardial Synchrony and Function

Resynchronization Therapy for Heart Failure. Introduction: Although invasive studies have shown that cardiac resynchronization therapy by biventricular pacing improves left ventricular (LV) function in selected heart failure patients, it is impractical to apply such techniques in the clinical setting. The aim of this study was to assess the acute effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy by noninvasive techniques.
A Unique Carbohydrate Binding Domain Targets the Lafora Disease Phosphatase to Glycogen*

Lafora disease (progressive myoclonus epilepsy of Lafora type) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder resulting from defects in the EPM2A gene. EPM2Aencodes a 331-amino acid protein containing a carboxyl-terminal phosphatase catalytic domain. We demonstrate that the EPM2Agene product also contains an amino-terminal carbohydrate binding domain (CBD) and that the CBD is critical for association with glycogen both in vitro and in vivo. The CBD domain localizes the phosphatase to specific subcellular compartments that correspond to the expression pattern of glycogen processing enzyme, glycogen synthase. Mutations in the CBD result in mis-localization of the phosphatase and thereby suggest that the CBD targets laforin to intracellular glycogen particles where it is likely to function. Thus naturally occurring mutations within the CBD of laforin likely result in progressive myoclonus epilepsy due to mis-localization of phosphatase expression.
Assessment of antiangiogenic effect of imatinib mesylate on vestibular schwannoma tumors using in vivo corneal angiogenesis assay.

OBJECT Angiogenesis and the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) pathway are active in the pathogenesis of vestibular schwannomas (VSs). The purpose of this study was to test whether imatinib mesylate (Gleevec), a PDGF receptor (PDGFR) blocker, reduces angiogenic capacity in sporadic VS and in VS associated with neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) using a corneal angiogenesis assay. METHODS From 121 VS tissue samples stored in the tumor bank at the Marmara University Institute of Neurological Sciences, 10 samples (6 from sporadic cases, 4 from NF2-associated cases) were selected at random for use in this study. Expression of PDGF-A and PDGF-B and their receptors was evaluated in sporadic and NF2-associated VS as well as in glioblastoma (GBM) and normal brain tissue by means of immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Corneal angiogenesis assay was then used to evaluate the angiogenic capacity of tissue specimens from sporadic and NF2-associated VS with and without imatinib treatment as well as positive and negative controls (GBM and normal brain tissue). RESULTS The angiogenic potential of the sporadic and NF2-associated VS tumor tissue differed significantly from that of the positive and negative control tissues (p <0.05). Furthermore, NF2-associated VS showed significantly lower angiogenic potential than sporadic VS (p <0.05). Imatinib treatment significantly reduced the angiogenic potential in both the sporadic VS and the NF2-associated VS groups. The level of PDGF-A and PDGFR-α as well as PDGF-B and PDGFR-β expression in sporadic VS and NF2-associated VS also differed significantly (p <0.05) from the levels in controls. Additionally the level of PDGFR-β was significantly higher in sporadic VS than in NF2-associated VS (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study indicate that NF2-associated VS has significantly more angiogenic potential than sporadic VS and normal brain tissue. Additionally, imatinib reduces the angiogenic activity of both sporadic and NF2-associated VS. The authors conclude that imatinib may be a potential treatment for VS, especially for NF2-associated lesions that cannot be cured with resection or radiosurgery.
Benefit of independent double reading in a population-based mammography screening program.

PURPOSE To evaluate independent double reading in mammography screening and, specifically, the effect on breast cancer detection. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mammographic studies of 11,343 women, aged 41-75 years, who participated in a population-based screening program were independently screened by two experienced radiologists. A retrospective analysis also was performed from notations made for patient recalls. RESULTS Including follow-up of recalled women, 131 surgical biopsies were performed, which resulted in 76 histologically proved breast cancers. Fifty-six cancerous lesions were detected by both screeners. One screener detected 14 cancerous lesions alone, and the other detected six alone. Of the cancerous lesions detected by only one screener, 85% were stage 0 or 1, compared with 59% of those detected by both screeners. Double reading detected 15% (95% confidence interval, +/- 7%) more cancer cases with an almost unchanged positive predictive value of 0.6. CONCLUSION Independent double reading does significantly increase sensitivity of mammography screening.
Nerve‐Dependent Plasticity of the Golgi Complex in Skeletal Muscle Fibres: Compartmentalization Within the Subneural Sarcoplasm

Several recent reports have highlighted the plasticity of the Golgi apparatus during myogenesis, yet the organization of this specialized organelle in innervated skeletal muscle fibres remains poorly understood. Using four bona fide anti‐Golgi antibodies, directed against a 210 kDa protein, a 160 kDa sialoglycoprotein, the small GTP‐binding protein rabop, and TGN38, the localization of which covers the various compartments of the Golgi complex, we show by immunofluorescence microscopy that the Golgi complex undergoes considerable reorganization in the course of myogenic differentiation and motor endplate formation in the rat. Unlike the typical perinuclear distribution of the Golgi stacks associated with every nucleus in myotubes, a striking subneural compartmentalization is observed in adult innervated myofibres. In short‐term denervated adult muscle fibres, we noticed the presence of the perinuclear Golgi apparatus in extrajunctional regions, a pattern reminiscent of that of developing myotubes. At variance with anti‐Golgi antibodies, antibodies to the rough endoplasmic reticulum label structures dispersed throughout the entire sarcoplasm, hence suggesting that it is not the entire membrane/secretory protein synthesis machinery which is compartmentalized, but only the Golgi apparatus. Also, an unexpected lack of immunoreactivity with the TGN38 and α‐mannosidase II antibodies points to biochemical differentiation of the subneural Golgi apparatus at the adult motor endplate. These new data extend our previous observations on the compartmentalization of the Golgi apparatus in the postsynaptic sarcoplasm of chick muscle fibres, and further illustrate the plasticity of the Golgi apparatus in muscle cells. The specialization of the Golgi apparatus within the subneural compartment provides this particular region with a compartmentalized secretory pathway, and these observations highlight the notion that the level of differentiation of this domain is not only maintained via transcriptional regulation but also by post‐translational control mechanisms