Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Bureau of Agricultural Economics' Outlook Program in the 1920s as Pedagogical Device

In his encyclopedic history of United States farm policy, Murray R. Benedict devoted approximately one page to the Bureau of Agricultural Economics' (BAE) outlook program during the 1 920s. Through the dissemination of forecasts of agricultural supply and demand so farmers could make more informed production decisions, the ultimate goal of this program was to lessen the burden of agricultural surpluses. Benedict stated that the outlook program was "not notably successful in accomplishing that purpose. "' Any student of American agriculture during the 1920s would have to concur that this is quite an understatement. In spite of this apparent lack of success, the BAE's outlook program proved successful in another manner due to what Benedict termed "important collateral effects. " He asserted that the outlook work "was the most effective method of teaching agricultural economics to farmers that had yet been devised. "2 Verifying whether it was "the most effective method" is, obviously, impossible. Reaching the goal of reducing surpluses and farm losses via the outlook program did, however, depend entirely on the economic education of farmers, and this pedagogical role was, therefore, the crucial element of this work. Those whose job it was to implement this program viewed the pedagogical aspect as the program's most vital and
Adaptation of the “Conconi Test” to Children and Adolescents*

A field test for the determination of anaerobic threshold (AT) based on the relationship between work intensity and heart rate was previously developed in adult runners (4) and then applied in various sports activities (3, 5, 9). In the current study the same relationship between running speed (S) and heart rate (HR) was determined in 274 healthy children and adolescents (169 males and 105 females). All tests were performed either outdoors on a 400-m track (n = 159, 110 males and 49 females) or indoors in a gymnasium (n = 115, 59 males and 56 females). The subjects increased their work intensity progressively from low to submaximal speeds. HR was determined by a heart rate monitor (Sport Tester TM PE 3000, Polar Electro, Kempele, Finland). In every subject examined, the linearity of the S-HR relationship was lost at a speed, called deflection speed (Sd), above which the increase in S exceeded the increase in HR. HR at Sd was defined as HRd. The respective test-retest correlation coefficients for Sd, HRd, and slope of the linear part of the graph were 0.990, 0.824, and 0.953 when determined outdoors and 0.996, 0.840, and 0.932 when determined indoors. The outdoor-indoor correlation coefficients were 0.934, 0.855, and 0.282, respectively, for Sd, HRd, and slope. The results suggest that application of this test to children and adolescents in running may prove useful in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of the development of aerobic power during growth.
Differential regulation of CaMKII inhibitor β protein expression after exposure to a novel context and during contextual fear memory formation

Understanding of the molecular basis of long‐term fear memory (fear LTM) formation provides targets in the treatment of emotional disorders. Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is one of the key synaptic molecules involved in fear LTM formation. There are two endogenous inhibitor proteins of CaMKII, CaMKII Nα and Nβ, which can regulate CaMKII activity in vitro. However, the physiological role of these endogenous inhibitors is not known. Here, we have investigated whether CaMKII Nβ protein expression is regulated after contextual fear conditioning or exposure to a novel context. Using a novel CaMKII Nβ‐specific antibody, CaMKII Nβ expression was analysed in the naïve mouse brain as well as in the amygdala and hippocampus after conditioning and context exposure. We show that in naïve mouse forebrain CaMKII Nβ protein is expressed at its highest levels in olfactory bulb, prefrontal and piriform cortices, amygdala and thalamus. The protein is expressed both in dendrites and cell bodies. CaMKII Nβ expression is rapidly and transiently up‐regulated in the hippocampus after context exposure. In the amygdala, its expression is regulated only by contextual fear conditioning and not by exposure to a novel context. In conclusion, we show that CaMKII Nβ expression is differentially regulated by novelty and contextual fear conditioning, providing further insight into molecular basis of fear LTM.
Neue Governance und die Öffentlichkeit der Hochschulen

Ein prägendes Element der wissenschaftspolitischen Reformbemühungen in den letzten beiden Jahrzehnten ist der Rückzug des Staates aus der Detailsteuerung von Hochschulen. Daraus ergeben sich vielfältige Konsequenzen, nicht zuletzt ein verändertes Verhältnis von wissenschaftlichen Hochschulen und interessierter Öffentlichkeit. Waren es die Hochschulen über Jahrzehnte gewohnt, dass die Wissenschaftsministerien der Länder gleichsam als institutioneller Puffer zwischen ihnen und den Interessen der gesellschaftlichen Leistungsabnehmer vermittelten, sind sie im neuen Steuerungsmodell nun häufiger und unmittelbarer als jemals zuvor mit den Ansprüchen ihrer gesellschaftlichen Stakeholder konfrontiert. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit einer Reihe von Fragen, die sich aus dieser gewandelten Konstellation von Politik, Öffentlichkeit und Hochschulen ergeben. Wie gestalten die Hochschulen ihr Verhältnis zur Öffentlichkeit? Welche Auswirkungen hat das für die innerorganisatorische Struktur und Kultur von Universitäten und Fachhochschulen? Und welche Rolle verbleibt dem Staat innerhalb der ›New Governance of Science‹? Auf der Basis einer bundesweiten Befragung von Entscheidungsträgern an deutschen Hochschulen lassen sich zwei Trends konstatieren: zum Ersten eine verkappte Politisierung der Hochschulen, die das wissenschaftspolitische Zustimmungsmanagement weitgehend selbst in die Hand nehmen, und zum Zweiten eine sekundäre Medialisierung wissenschaftlicher Organisationen, weil die verantwortlichen Entscheidungsträger zu diesem Zweck das Rollenmodell staatlicher Politik kopieren.
Activities of SYK and PLCγ2 Predict Apoptotic Response of CLL Cells to SRC Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Dasatinib

Purpose: B-cell receptor signaling plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). However, blocking B-cell receptor signaling with dasatinib, an inhibitor of SRC kinase, produced variable results in preclinical and clinical studies. We aim to define the molecular mechanisms underlying the differential dasatinib sensitivity and to uncover more effective therapeutic targets in CLL. Experimental Design: Fresh CLL B cells were treated with dasatinib, and cell viability was followed. The CLL cases were then divided into good and poor responders. The cellular response was correlated with the activities of B-cell receptor signaling molecules, as well as with molecular and cytogenetic prognostic factors. Results: Among 50 CLL cases, dasatinib treatment reduced cell viability by 2% to 90%, with an average reduction of 47% on day 4 of culture. The drug induced CLL cell death through the intrinsic apoptotic pathway mediated by reactive oxygen species. Unexpectedly, phosphorylation of SRC family kinases was inhibited by dasatinib in good, as well as poor, responders. As opposed to SRC family kinases, activities of two downstream molecules, SYK and phospholipase Cγ2, correlate well with the apoptotic response of CLL cells to dasatinib. Conclusions: Thus, SYK inhibition predicts cellular response to dasatinib. SYK, together with phospholipase Cγ2, may serve as potential biomarkers to predict dasatinib therapeutic response in patients. From the pathogenic perspective, our study suggests the existence of alternative mechanisms or pathways that activate SYK, independent of SRC kinase activities. The study further implicates that SYK might serve as a more effective therapeutic target in CLL treatment. Clin Cancer Res; 16(2); 587–99
, Heinrich aortic valvular interstitial cells Metabolic regulation of collagen gel contraction by porcine

References http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing. org/content/11/101/20140852.full. html#ref-list-1 This article cites 43 articles, 14 of which can be accessed free Subject collections (195 articles) bioengineering  (55 articles) biochemistry  Articles on similar topics can be found in the following collections Email alerting service here right-hand corner of the article or click Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article sign up in the box at the top
Pathophysiology of Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis Revisited: The Use of Isotonic Fluid for Preoperative Infusion Therapy Is Supported

Background: The aim of this study was to elucidate the preoperative clinical and biochemical profile of infants with IHPS to optimize infusion therapy. Patients and Method: We retrospectively analyzed data from 56 infants who were operated for IHPS. Our study includes growth and laboratory data prior to the initiation of therapy. Results: Median duration of propulsive vomiting was 4 d; the median age was 37 d (18 - 108), and the median body weight was 3840 g (2760 -5900). Metabolic alkalosis (MAlk) with a pH of 7.45 ± 0.06 and an stHCO3- of 28.7 ± 4.5 mmol/l was found. In a subgroup of the infants, negative base excess (BE) was observed. The sodium concentration was normal or reduced (mean/median of 137 mmol/l). There was a strong negative correlation between stHCO3- and K+. The carbon dioxide partial pressure tended to increase (5.72 ± 0.84 kPa). Calculations of osmolality revealed a normal osmolarity. Hypoglycemia did not occur. The creatinine clearance according to the Schwartz formula remained at a normal level (85.3 ± 24.3 ml/min/1.73 m2). Discussion: The presented case series is characterized by a short duration of preoperative vomiting. MAlk can be classified as a chloride deficiency syndrome. It is accompanied by normo- or hyponatremic dehydration with normal osmolality. Partial respiratory compensation occurred. A normal creatinine clearance indicated good glomerular renal function. Conclusion: The presented study supports the use of an isotonic infusion fluid with a low glucose concentration for preoperative infusion therapy.
Separation and characterization of plasma lipoproteins of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

A group of 14 adult male rhesus monkeys was maintained on a low cholesterol-high fat diet. Periodically, animals were fasted and blood samples were taken for characterization of the plasma lipoproteins. Complete separation of individual plasma lipoprotein classes was not achieved by traditional sequential ultracentrifugation techniques. Rather, initial separation of lipoprotein classes according to size was effected and density centrifugation was used subsequently for further separation. At least six lipoprotein fractions were identified, each of which was unique as defined by the properties of size, density (d), and electrophoretic mobility. These lipoprotein fractions were characterized by determination of chemical compositions and apoprotein patterns. The lipoproteins present in highest concentration in these monkeys were designated as region IV lipoproteins. This fraction had alpha-migration on agarose electrophoresis, 1.063 < d < 1.225, and the size, composition, and apoprotein pattern characteristic of HDL. No fewer than three fractions were identified with densities that overlapped the 1.019 < d < 1.063 range. Of these, the fraction designated as region III lipoproteins was present in highest concentration, had beta-migration by agarose electrophoresis, a predominant B apoprotein, and a chemical composition and size characteristic of LDL. Two larger subfractions, identified as region II lipoproteins, were separated from each other at a density of 1.050 g/ml. Agarose electrophoresis showed that the fraction with d < 1.050 had a migration intermediate between beta and pre-beta. The chemical composition and apoprotein pattern were consistent with the possibility that these lipoproteins were remnants of VLDL catabolism. The fraction with d > 1.050, had pre-beta mobility and a size and composition similar to the Lp(a) lipoprotein in plasma of human beings. At least two VLDL subfractions, identified as region I and IIa lipoproteins, were found although both were present in very low concentrations. Region I lipoproteins were larger and contained relatively more cholesteryl ester and more of the apoproteins that migrated with the mobility of apo-B and arg-rich apoprotein in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Some of the region I lipoproteins were beta-migrating by agarose electrophoresis. These results suggested the possibility that a beta-migrating VLDL was present in these normal animals.
Advance Directives and Powers of Attorney in Intensive Care Patients.

BACKGROUND Advance directives and powers of attorney are increasingly common, yet data on their use in clinical situations remain sparse. METHODS In this single center cross-sectional study, we collected data by questionnaire from 1004 intensive care patients in a university hospital. The frequencies of advance directives and powers of attorney were determined, and the factors affecting them were studied with multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Usable data were obtained from 998 patients. 51.3% stated that they had prepared a document of at least one of these two kinds. Among them, 39.6% stated that they had given the relevant document(s) to the hospital, yet such documents were present in the patient's hospital record for only 23%. 508 patients stated their reasons for preparing an advance directive or a power of attorney: the most common reason (48%) was the fear of being at other people's mercy, of the lack of self-determination, or of medical overtreatment. The most important factors associated with a patient's statement that he/she had prepared such a document were advanced age (advance directive: 1.022 [1.009; 1.036], p = 0.001; power of attorney: 1.027 [1.014; 1.040], p<0.001) and elective admission to the hospital (advance directive: 1.622 [1.138; 2.311], p<0.007; power of attorney: 1.459 [1.049; 2.030], p = 0.025). 39.8% of the advance directives and 44.1% of the powers of attorney that were present in the hospital records were poorly interpretable because of the incomplete filling-out of preprinted forms. Half of the patients who did not have such a document had already thought of preparing one, but had not yet done so. CONCLUSION For patients hospitalized in intensive care units, there should be early discussion about the presence or absence of documents of these kinds and early evaluation of the patient's concrete wishes in critical situations. Future studies are needed to determine how best to assure that these documents will be correctly prepared and then given over to hospital staff so that they can take their place in the patient's record.
Asymmetries on Closed End Country Funds Premium and Monetary Policy Announcements: An Approach Trough the Perspective of Foreign Countries

In this paper we examine how monetary announcements can explain US country funds premiums in international markets, taking into account monetary asymmetries relating to information news and directional actions of monetary policy. The monetary determinants which we have used to explore the closed-end fund puzzle emanate from the announcements of official rates of the countries of origin of NAVs. Our conclusions which reflect the investor sentiment as it varies in developing and emerged markets are supported by appropriate monetary assumptions concerning the role of monetary announcements. We find out that neither the expected nor the unexpected component of the monetary rate retains a dominant role in interpreting the fund premiums. In the case of developing funds the age has a negative influence on premium, while in developed funds the main fund’s benchmark index has a positive correlation with the fund premium. Moreover, the foreign exchange rate plays a significantly negative role in the CEFCs of developed countries and a positive role in those of developing markets. But the proxy for the US equity market seems to positively influence the whole range of funds. By examining the possible asymmetries we can see that premiums are negatively affected by unfavorable monetary news.We have also considered the case in which asymmetries on the funds premiums are based on the direction of the monetary policy, as shaped by the decisions of central banks in foreign countries.
On the Global Geometry of Sphere-Constrained Sparse Blind Deconvolution

Blind deconvolution is the problem of recovering a convolutional kernel <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol{a}_0$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi mathvariant="bold">a</mml:mi><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="zhang-ieq1-2939237.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> and an activation signal <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol{x}_0$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi mathvariant="bold">x</mml:mi><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="zhang-ieq2-2939237.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> from their convolution <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\boldsymbol{y} = \boldsymbol{a}_0 \circledast \boldsymbol{x}_0$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="bold">y</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:msub><mml:mi mathvariant="bold">a</mml:mi><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:msub><mml:mo>⊛</mml:mo><mml:msub><mml:mi mathvariant="bold">x</mml:mi><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:mrow></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="zhang-ieq3-2939237.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>. This problem is ill-posed without further constraints or priors. This paper studies the situation where the nonzero entries in the activation signal are sparsely and randomly populated. We normalize the convolution kernel to have unit Frobenius norm and cast the sparse blind deconvolution problem as a nonconvex optimization problem over the sphere. With this spherical constraint, every spurious local minimum turns out to be close to some signed shift truncation of the ground truth, under certain hypotheses. This benign property motivates an effective two stage algorithm that recovers the ground truth from the partial information offered by a suboptimal local minimum. This geometry-inspired algorithm recovers the ground truth for certain microscopy problems, also exhibits promising performance in the more challenging image deblurring problem. Our insights into the global geometry and the two stage algorithm extend to the convolutional dictionary learning problem, where a superposition of multiple convolution signals is observed.
Coordinated resource allocation in centralized radio access networks with dynamic downlink/uplink reconfiguration

We propose and evaluate a novel coordinated resource allocation scheme in Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems where the downlink/uplink (DL/UL) resources are allocated dynamically for asymmetric traffic adaptation. To eliminate the cross-subframe co-channel interference (CCI), we first formulate the dynamic reconfiguration problem as the cooperative control that operates on disjoint cell clusters. With this setup, the DL/UL configurations are no longer determined with respect to an individual cell, but are chosen in form of the cluster-specific configuration patterns (CPs) with optimized performance metrics. Additionally, a novel CCI cancellation (CCIC) method, termed cross-subframe coordinated scheduling/beamforming (CCS/CCB) is incorporated in the proposed reconfiguration approach. By jointly designing and optimizing the beamforming vectors and the traffic scheduling, the residual intra-cluster CCI can be mitigated.
Systematics and biology of Cotesia typhae sp. n. (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae), a potential biological control agent against the noctuid Mediterranean corn borer, Sesamia nonagrioides

Abstract Many parasitoid species are subjected to strong selective pressures from their host, and their adaptive response may result in the formation of genetically differentiated populations, called host races. When environmental factors and reproduction traits prevent gene flow, host races become distinct species. Such a process has recently been documented within the Cotesia flavipes species complex, all of which are larval parasitoids of moth species whose larvae are stem borers of Poales. A previous study on the African species C. sesamiae, incorporating molecular, ecological and biological data on various samples, showed that a particular population could be considered as a distinct species, because it was specialized at both host (Sesamia nonagrioides) and plant (Typha domingensis) levels, and reproductively isolated from other C. sesamiae. Due to its potential for the biological control of S. nonagrioides, a serious corn pest in Mediterranean countries and even in Iran, we describe here Cotesia typhae Fernandez-Triana sp. n. The new species is characterized on the basis of morphological, molecular, ecological and geographical data, which proved to be useful for future collection and rapid identification of the species within the species complex. Fecundity traits and parasitism success on African and European S. nonagrioides populations, estimated by laboratory studies, are also included.
Glenohumeral Internal Rotation Deficits in Baseball Players with Ulnar Collateral Ligament Insufficiency

Background The kinetic chain of the throwing motion functions to optimize efficiency of proximal segments to decrease force loads seen at smaller, distal segments such as the ulnar collateral ligament. Several studies have shown that shoulder internal rotation forms the physiologic counter to the valgus torque generated during the late cocking phase of throwing. Previous studies have implicated decreased glenohumeral internal rotation as a cause of shoulder internal impingement. To date, an association between pathologic glenohumeral internal rotation deficit and elbow injury has not been exhibited. Hypothesis Throwers with ulnar collateral ligament insufficiency will exhibit significantly increased glenohumeral internal rotation deficit. Study Design Case control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods Twenty-nine baseball players with ulnar collateral ligament insufficiency were demographically matched with 29 control baseball players who had no history of shoulder, elbow, or cervical spine injury. The investigators measured passive glenohumeral internal and external rotation, elbow flexion and extension, and forearm pronation and supination. The Mann-Whitney test was used to analyze continuous variables. Results There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of demographics. There was a significant difference in dominant arm internal rotation, with injured players having significantly less (P <. 004), and in glenohumeral internal rotation deficit between players with ulnar collateral ligament insufficiency and those who were asymptomatic (28.5° vs 12.7°; P <. 001). Also, total range of motion was significantly decreased in the injured group. There were no significant differences in elbow or forearm range of motion between the groups. Conclusion Our results indicate that pathologic glenohumeral internal rotation deficit may be associated with elbow valgus instability. This has important clinical implications both in terms of preventing ulnar collateral ligament injury and with regard to rehabilitating throwers after ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction.