Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asymmetrical seeding of MSCs into fibrin–poly(ester‐urethane) scaffolds and its effect on mechanically induced chondrogenesis

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are currently being investigated as candidate cells for regenerative medicine approaches for the repair of damaged articular cartilage. For these cells to be used clinically, it is important to understand how they will react to the complex loading environment of a joint in vivo. In addition to investigating alternative cell sources, it is also important for the structure of tissue‐engineered constructs and the organization of cells within them to be developed and, if possible, improved. A custom built bioreactor was used to expose human MSCs to a combination of shear and compression loading. The MSCs were either evenly distributed throughout fibrin‐poly(ester‐urethane) scaffolds or asymmetrically seeded with a small proportion seeded on the surface of the scaffold. The effect of cell distribution on the production and deposition of cartilage‐like matrix in response to mechanical load mimicking in vivo joint loading was then investigated. The results show that asymmetrically seeding the scaffold led to markedly improved tissue development based on histologically detectable matrix deposition. Consideration of cell location, therefore, is an important aspect in the development of regenerative medicine approaches for cartilage repair. This is particularly relevant when considering the natural biomechanical environment of the joint in vivo and patient rehabilitation protocols. © 2016 The Authors Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Inflammation and bone resorption as independent factors of accelerated arterial wall thickening in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE We recently reported that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients had increased intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery (CCA). The present longitudinal study was performed to determine whether the change in arterial thickness was accelerated in RA patients and to determine which factor was important in the progression of arterial wall changes. METHODS We studied 62 female RA patients with stable disease activity and 63 healthy female controls. IMT of the CCA was measured twice by high-resolution B-mode ultrasonography. The second examination was performed 18-36 months after the first, and changes were expressed as millimeters of increase per year. Baseline examinations included blood markers of inflammation and urinary calcium excretion (expressed as the calcium-to-creatinine ratio). RESULTS RA patients showed a significantly greater increase in IMT of the CCA compared with controls. In univariate analyses of the RA patient data, the C-reactive protein (CRP) level correlated with the increase in CCA IMT. Other markers of inflammation (the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and white blood cell and platelet counts) also showed significant positive associations with the annual increase in CCA IMT in multiple regression models when adjusted for age, smoking status, blood pressure, and serum cholesterol level. The urinary calcium-to-creatinine ratio was also significantly associated with an increase in CCA IMT. Moreover, both the CRP level and the urinary calcium-to-creatinine ratio were significantly and independently associated with the increase in IMT of the CCA. CONCLUSION Patients with RA have a higher rate of increase in thickening of the arterial wall. Inflammation and calcium mobilization are factors closely associated with the accelerated arterial wall changes.
IL-3 Maintains Activation of the p90S6K/RPS6 Pathway and Increases Translation in Human Eosinophils

IL-5 is a major therapeutic target to reduce eosinophilia. However, all of the eosinophil-activating cytokines, such as IL-5, IL-3, and GM-CSF, are typically present in atopic diseases, including allergic asthma. As a result of the functional redundancy of these three cytokines on eosinophils and the loss of IL-5R on airway eosinophils, it is important to take IL-3 and GM-CSF into account to efficiently reduce tissue eosinophil functions. Moreover, these three cytokines signal through a common β-chain receptor but yet differentially affect protein production in eosinophils. Notably, the increased ability of IL-3 to induce the production of proteins, such as semaphorin-7A, without affecting mRNA levels suggests a unique influence of IL-3 on translation. The purpose of this study was to identify the mechanisms by which IL-3 distinctively affects eosinophil function compared with IL-5 and GM-CSF, with a focus on protein translation. Peripheral blood eosinophils were used to study intracellular signaling and protein translation in cells activated with IL-3, GM-CSF, or IL-5. We establish that, unlike GM-CSF or IL-5, IL-3 triggers prolonged signaling through activation of ribosomal protein S6 (RPS6) and the upstream kinase 90-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase (p90S6K). Blockade of p90S6K activation inhibited phosphorylation of RPS6 and IL-3–enhanced semaphorin-7A translation. Furthermore, in an allergen-challenged environment, in vivo phosphorylation of RPS6 and p90S6K was enhanced in human airway compared with circulating eosinophils. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying differential activation of eosinophils by IL-3, GM-CSF, and IL-5. These observations identify IL-3 and its downstream intracellular signals as novel targets that should be considered to modulate eosinophil functions.
Pyruvate Modulates Cardiac Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+ Release in Rats Via Mitochondria‐Dependent and ‐Independent Mechanisms

The glycolytic product pyruvate has beneficial effects on cardiac contractile function. The postulated cellular mechanisms underlying the positive inotropic effect of pyruvate, however, are contradictory or have remained elusive. Therefore, we studied the effects of pyruvate on cardiac Ca2+ regulation, intracellular pH (pHi) and flavoprotein oxidation using fluorescence confocal microscopy in intact and permeabilized rat ventricular myocytes and single channel recordings from rat cardiac ryanodine receptors (RyRs) incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. In intact cells extracellular pyruvate (10 mm) elevated diastolic [Ca2+]i, which was due, at least in part, to a concomitant acidification of the cytosol. Furthermore, pyruvate increased the amplitude and slowed the kinetics of the electrically evoked [Ca2+]i transient, and augmented sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ content. Recording of flavoprotein (FAD) fluorescence indicated that pyruvate caused a reduction of mitochondrial redox potential, which is proportional to an increase of the rate of ATP synthesis. Inhibitors of mitochondrial monocarboxylate transport (α‐cyano‐4‐hydroxycinnamate, 0.5 mm), adenine nucleotide translocation (atractyloside, 0.3 mm) and the electron transport chain (cyanide, 4 mm) abolished or attenuated the pyruvate‐mediated increase of the amplitude of the [Ca2+]i transient, but did not change the effect of pyruvate on diastolic [Ca2+]i. Results from experiments with permeabilized myocytes indicated a direct correlation between ATP/ADP ratio and SR Ca2+ content. Furthermore, pyruvate (4 mm) reduced the frequency of spontaneous Ca2+ sparks by ≈50 %. Single RyR channel recordings revealed a ≈60 % reduction of the open probability of the channel by pyruvate (1 mm), but no change in conductance. This effect of pyruvate on RyR channel activity was neither Ca2+ nor ATP dependent. Taken together, these findings suggest that, in cardiac tissue, pyruvate has a dual effect on SR Ca2+ release consisting of a direct inhibition of RyR channel activity and elevation of SR Ca2+ content. The latter effect was most probably mediated by an enhanced SR Ca2+ uptake due to an augmentation of mitochondria‐dependent ATP synthesis.
Fluid support worsens outcome and negates the benefit of protective antigen-directed monoclonal antibody in a lethal toxin-infused rat Bacillus anthracis shock model*

Objective:The aim of this study was to test the effects of normal saline treatment either alone or in combination with protective antigen-directed monoclonal antibody in a lethal toxin-infused rat model of anthrax sepsis. Design:Prospective controlled animal study. Setting:Animal research laboratory. Subjects:Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 539). Interventions:We initially tested the efficacy of three normal saline doses (5, 10, or 20 mL/kg/hr intravenously for 24 hrs) or none (controls) started when rats were treated with either lethal toxin (24-hr infusion) or, for comparison, lipopolysaccharide (24-hr infusion) or Escherichia coli (intravenous bolus). We then investigated delaying normal saline for 6 hrs or combining it with protective antigen-directed monoclonal antibody following lethal toxin challenge. Measurements and Main Results:Dose did not alter the effects of normal saline with any challenge (p not significant for all) or when combined with protective antigen-directed monoclonal antibody, so this variable was averaged in analysis. In initial studies, normal saline decreased mortality (mean hazards ratio of survival ± se) significantly with E. coli challenge (−0.66 ± 0.25, p = .009 averaged over normal saline dose) but not lipopolysaccharide (−0.17 ± 0.20). In contrast, normal saline increased mortality significantly with lethal toxin (0.69 ± 0.20, p = .001) in a pattern different from E. coli and lipopolysaccharide (p ≤ .002 for each). In subsequent studies, normal saline alone once again increased mortality (0.8 ± 0.3, p = .006), protective antigen-directed monoclonal antibody alone reduced it (−1.7 ± 0.8, p = .03), and the combination had intermediate effects that were not significant (0.04 ± 0.3). Conclusions:These findings raise the possibility that normal saline treatment may actually worsen outcome with anthrax lethal toxin. Furthermore, lethal toxin-directed therapies may not be as beneficial when used in combination with this type of fluid support.
Quadrature detection in the laboratory frame

A theory of quadrature detection in the laboratory frame is developed. It is shown that the geometry of the two orthogonal coil systems needed for quadrature detection is radically different from that used with saddle‐shaped coils, and that the homogeneity of the B1 field produced upon transmission is marginally better. The opposing quadrature phase shifts needed for transmission and reception are emphasized, and the use of a quadrature hybrid is advocated as a simple and inexpensive means of interfacing the transmitter, probes, and preamplifier. Experimental results are presented which confirm the theoretical predictions, and show that up to a 40% improvement in sensitivity and a twofold reduction in transmitter power are possible, particularly in those instances where the sample is conductive—namely, imaging of humans and in vivo spectroscopy.
Rattled: Analysis of Facial Trauma Among Toddlers.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine the national incidence of facial trauma among toddlers and delineate patterns of injury and their causes. METHODS A retrospective review was designed to explore patterns of maxillofacial trauma within toddler-aged children using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The database was searched for emergency department visits involving facial trauma sustained by children 12 months through 3 years of age from 2010 through 2014 and analyzed for patient demographics, primary diagnosis, and associated products/activities. Subset analyses were performed between age groups to determine the relationship between causes of injury and age using extrapolated national incidences. RESULTS A sample of 45,249 patients extrapolated to an estimated 1.3 million emergency department visits for facial trauma in toddlers from 2010 to 2014, averaging 260,000 annually. Injuries involving foreign bodies and fractures had a higher incidence in toddlers 2 years or older, and fractures comprised fewer than 1% of facial injuries in any age group. Furniture was the most common source of trauma overall, with a higher frequency among toddlers aged 12 to 17 months. Trauma in the setting of sports was more common in toddlers aged 3 years. CONCLUSIONS The low incidence of facial fractures further supports recommendations against routine imaging in toddler facial trauma and suggests that more focus should be placed on investigating for concurrent traumas and soft tissue injuries where fractures are involved. Our findings highlight prevention opportunities, particularly in furniture-related injuries for toddlers aged 12 to 17 months and sports-related traumas in toddlers aged 3 years. Our study also suggests restricting certain toys from 3-year-old toddlers to decrease the risk of aspiration.
The complete mitochondrial genome of Peripolus nepalensis Uvarov, 1942 (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Catantopidae)

Abstract The complete mitochondrial genome of Peripolus nepalensis, which was collected from the Tibetan Plateau, is reported here. It is 15,858 bp in length and contains 74.3% AT. All P. nepalensis protein-coding sequences start with a typical ATN codon. The usual termination codons (TAA or TAG) and incomplete stop codons (T or TA) were found from 13 protein-coding genes. All tRNA genes could be folded into the typical clover-leaf secondary structure, excluding trnS(AGN) which forms another structure. The sizes of the large and small ribosomal RNA genes were 1324 and 862 bp, respectively. The AT content of the A + T-rich region was 83.8%.
Beneath the Finance–Growth Nexus: The Case of Japan’s Post-World War II Commercial Banking

ABSTRACT For most of the post-World War II period, Japan’s finance–growth nexus did not benefit greatly from the information-producing and monitoring activities of commercial banks. This contradicts the famous Main Bank thesis. Regulations on direct finance and competitive restrictions on banking effectively liberated the banks from having to develop their informational activities. These institutional factors also enabled the banks to extract regulatory and informational rents from client companies. Bank regulators were motivated to stick to the status quo without reforming such commercial banks. On an aggregate basis over the period 1965–96, corporate profitability negatively correlated with bank loan dependency, and liquidity constraints impacted on corporate finance.
Essays in economics of education

This thesis studies aspects related to the role of schools characteristics and their governance on students’ learning outcomes. The thesis contains three chapters. The first chapter explores the effect of exposing students to more science in high school on their enrolment and persistence in STEM majors at university. It exploits the different timing in the implementation of a reform that induced high schools in the UK to offer more science to high ability 14 year-old children. The findings show that a stronger science curriculum at high school increases the probability of enrolling and of graduating in a STEM major at university. Moreover, the effect masks substantial gender heterogeneity. It is indeed mostly concentrated on boys. Girls tend to choose more scientific subjects, but still the most female-dominated ones: they choose medicine, not engineering. The second chapter of this thesis analyses the effects of providing strong research incentives to university professors on the way they allocate effort between teaching and research and on the way they select into different types of universities. I find evidence that teaching and research efforts are substitute in the professors’ cost function: the impact of research incentives is positive on research activity and negative on teaching performance. Effects are stronger for young faculty members, who are exposed not only to monetary incentives but also to career concerns. Moreover, I find that less skilled researchers tend to leave the university under stronger research incentives. Since I estimate that teaching and research skills are positively correlated, this implies that also bad teachers tend to leave the university. The overall impact of stronger research incentives on the university teaching quality is therefore ambiguous: the negative effect on teaching performance for incumbent professors is compensated by the positive sorting effect, given by changes in the composition of teachers. The third chapter explores where do the large cross-country differences in students’ performances in international standardized tests come from. This chapter argues that, while most of the debate concentrates on country differences in the school systems, differences in cultural environments and parental inputs are instead of great importance. I show indeed that the school performance of second generation immigrants is closely related to the average one of native students who still study in their parents’ countries of origin. This holds true even after accounting for different family background characteristics, different schools attended and different patterns of selection into immigration. This pattern questions whether PISA scores should be interpreted only as a quality measure for a country’s educational system. They actually contain an important intergenerational and cultural component. Parental inputs are found indeed to explain a large part of the cross country variation in school performance, for instance they account for more than one third of the gap between East Asia and other regions.
The alterations in SATB1 and nuclear F-actin expression affect apoptotic response of the MCF-7 cells to geldanamycin.

INTRODUCTION The function and localization of actin in the nucleus have not yet been fully described. However, actin seems to be a key protein in nuclear processes interacting with chromatin and matrix proteins. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of controlled expression of nuclear pool of F-actin and special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 (SATB1) on the in vitro induction of active cell death by geldanamycin (GA). MATERIAL AND METHODS The expression of SATB1 was regulated by the transfection of non-aggressive breast cancer MCF-7 cells with siRNA against SATB1 or expression plasmid with cloned cDNA of SATB1. The altered expression of cofilin-1 in these cells was used to regulate the nuclear expression and localization of F-actin. The effect of GA was analyzed in the context of cell death induction and cell cycle alterations. RESULTS Our studies revealed that the targeted regulation of SATB1 and cofilin-1 expression changed the apoptotic response of the MCF-7 cells to GA. The overexpression of these proteins potentiated GA-induced arrest of the cells in the G1 phase of cell cycle and increased the population of the hypodiploid cells. CONCLUSION The alterations in the nuclear expression of SATB1 and F-actin in MCF-7 cells may affect their active cell death in response to GA.
Systematic Behavior in Real Estate Investment Risk: Performance Persistence in NCREIF Returns

Serial dependence of total annual returns in the NCREIF database is shown to be statistically significant in the first and fourth quartiles of disaggregated data between 1978 and 1994. More precisely, superior performance is generally followed by continued superior performance, and inferior performance is generally followed by continued inferior performance. In contrast, there is virtually no evidence to support serial dependence in the second or third quartiles, whether combined or taken separately. The empirical rejection of serial independence among real estate returns calls into question the conclusions of research based upon models that incorporate the assumption of serial independence.
Remote Sensing of Terrestrial Rainfall From Ku-Band Scatterometers

Rainfall is the most fundamental variable of the terrestrial hydrological cycle. However, in many regions of the world, ground observations are still very scarce or even missing. Recently, a bottom-up approach, named SM2RAIN, for terrestrial rainfall estimation from satellite soil moisture (SM) products was proposed and successfully applied to Cand L-band products from scatterometers and radiometers. Thanks to the multiple Ku-band scatterometers launched in the recent years and a number of new sensors expected in the near future, accurate rainfall estimation at subdaily time scale could be obtained. We present here a first attempt to estimate terrestrial rainfall from Ku-band scatterometers using SM2RAIN. To this end, backscattering data (sigma-0) collected in central Italy from the RapidScat instrument on board the International Space Station are compared with the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT, C-band) SM product and in situ observations for assessing its sensitivity to SM variations. Then, RapidScat sigma-0 is used for rainfall retrieval and compared with ground observations over a regular grid of 15-km spacing. The 8-month period from Nov 2014 to Jun 2015 is considered. Results show a very good agreement between ASCAT SM and RapidScat SM index with a median temporal correlation coefficient R of ~0.9 and a reasonable performance (R > 0.52) against in situ data. More interestingly, the performance of RapidScat in 1-day rainfall estimation is found to be satisfactory with median R-values equal to ~0.6. These promising results highlight the large potential of using the constellation of scatterometers for providing an accurate rainfall product with high spatial-temporal resolution.
Effects of stimulation of the chorda tympani in bursts on submaxillary responses in the cat

1. The effects of continuous preganglionic stimulation of the chorda tympani at 2 Hz for 10 min were compared with those of stimulation at 20 Hz in 1 sec bursts at 10 sec intervals for the same period in cats treated with atropine (0·5 mg/kg). Both the fall in mean submaxillary vascular resistance (s.v.r.) and the rise in mean vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) output from the gland were increased significantly (P < 0·01; P < 0·02) when the same total number of impulses were delivered in the form of bursts at the higher frequency.
Apert's syndrome: differential in vitro production of matrix macromolecules and its regulation by interleukins

During embryonic development, variations in the composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) macromolecules influence bone tissue differentiation. We present novel findings on the in vitro phenotypic expression of periosteal fibroblasts obtained from patients affected by Apert’s syndrome, a rare craniofacial malformation, and the effects that interleukins (ILs) induce on the phenotype. Apert fibroblasts synthesized greater quantities of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and intracellular type I collagen, and also produced more type III collagen and fibronectin. The amount of hyaluronic acid (HA) secreted by Apert fibroblasts was much higher than that secreted by normal fibroblasts, but, as the absolute values of heparan sulphate (HS), chondroitin sulphate (CS) and dermatan sulphate (DS) also rose in Apert media, the HA–sulphated GAG ratio was similar in the media obtained from both populations. Both ILs triggered elevations of HA in normal cells, although relative percentage secretion remained unaltered, but significantly reduced HA secretion by Apert cells. IL‐1 significantly increased CS in normal and Apert media, whereas IL‐6 enhanced HS and DS in media of both populations. HA–sulphated GAG ratio decreased in Apert media after IL treatment. Both ILs boosted fibronectin production by Apert fibroblasts, whereas IL‐1 increased type III but not type I collagen. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the synthesis and secretion of ECM macromolecules are markedly altered in Apert fibroblasts. The fact that treatment with ILs further modifies the Apert phenotype suggests that ILs may be implicated in the pathophysiology of the malformations during skull morphogenesis.