Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
State public-private partnership (P3) legislation and P3 project implementation

Purpose This exploratory study aims to look at the policy and public-procurement requirements set forth in state public-private partnership (P3) legislation and their relationship to P3 project implementation. Design/methodology/approach The research uses both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches. The paper begins by defining P3s and discussing their increasing importance as a form of private-sector delivery of public facilities and infrastructure. The major policy and procurement requirements of state P3 legislation are then identified. Using the public works financing database of 301 P3 project closures between 1996 and 2016, the relationships between state P3 legislative policy and procurement requirements and P3 project implementation are explored. Findings The study finds positive associations between 15 of 16 state P3 legislative policy and procurement requirements. Originality/value This is the first study of its kinds to explore the relationships between state P3 policy and procurement requirements and P3 project implementation (project closures).
Muscle architecture of biceps brachii, triceps brachii and supraspinatus in the horse

Three muscles from the proximal equine forelimb were dissected in order to investigate their potential to contribute to proximal limb mechanics. Muscle mass, fibre length, tendon mass and tendon length were measured from biceps brachii, triceps brachii, supraspinatus and lacertus fibrosus (biceps lateral head mass 171–343.4 g and fibre length 0.5–0.8 cm; biceps medial head mass 283–500 g and fibre length 2.2–4 cm; biceps tendon mass 121.8–260 g and tendon length 35–44 cm; triceps long head mass 3200–6663 g and fibre length 19–26.3 cm; triceps lateral head mass 513.8–1240 g and fibre length 17.5–24 cm; triceps medial head mass 85.2–270.6 g and fibre length 9–16.8 cm; supraspinatus mass 793–1546 g and fibre length 4.7–12.4 cm; lacertus fibrosus mass 4.6–12.4 g and length 10–16 cm). Physiological cross‐sectional area (PCSA) and maximum isometric force were estimated for each muscle, and moment arm measurements were taken at the shoulder and elbow joints. Biceps has a greater isometric force‐generating capacity than supraspinatus. It also appears to have a larger shoulder moment arm, so could therefore have the potential to make a greater contribution to the shoulder moment than supraspinatus. Supraspinatus is likely to function primarily as a shoulder stabilizer rather than a shoulder extensor. Biceps also functions as an elbow flexor and data here indicate that it has a greater PCSA and isometric force‐generating capacity than its antagonist triceps brachii. Calculation of tendon forces showed that the biceps tendon can withstand much greater forces than lacertus fibrosus. This study will enable further investigation into the interaction between energy recycling in elastic tissues and the generation and absorption of mechanical work by adjacent muscle groups in the equine forelimb.
Delayed Mortality and Attenuated Thrombocytopenia Associated with Severe Malaria in Urokinase- and Urokinase Receptor-Deficient Mice

ABSTRACT We explored the role of urokinase and tissue-type plasminogen activators (uPA and tPA), as well as the uPA receptor (uPAR; CD87) in mouse severe malaria (SM), using genetically deficient (−/−) mice. The mortality resulting from Plasmodium berghei ANKA infection was delayed in uPA−/− and uPAR−/−mice but was similar to that of the wild type (+/+) in tPA−/− mice. Parasitemia levels were similar in uPA−/−, uPAR−/−, and +/+ mice. Production of tumor necrosis factor, as judged from the plasma level and the mRNA levels in brain and lung, was markedly increased by infection in both +/+ and uPAR−/− mice. Breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, as evidenced by the leakage of Evans Blue, was similar in +/+ and uPAR−/− mice. SM was associated with a profound thrombocytopenia, which was attenuated in uPA−/− and uPAR−/− mice. Administration of aprotinin, a plasmin antagonist, also delayed mortality and attenuated thrombocytopenia. Platelet trapping in cerebral venules or alveolar capillaries was evident in +/+ mice but absent in uPAR−/− mice. In contrast, macrophage sequestration in cerebral venules or alveolar capillaries was evident in both +/+ and uPAR−/− mice. Polymorphonuclear leukocyte sequestration in alveolar capillaries was similar in +/+ and uPAR−/− mice. These results demonstrate that the uPAR deficiency attenuates the severity of SM, probably by its important role in platelet kinetics and trapping. These results therefore suggest that platelet sequestration contributes to the pathogenesis of SM.
Two extended haplotype blocks are associated with adaptation to high altitude habitats in East African honey bees

Understanding the genetic basis of adaption is a central task in biology. Populations of the honey bee Apis mellifera that inhabit the mountain forests of East Africa differ in behavior and morphology from those inhabiting the surrounding lowland savannahs, which likely reflects adaptation to these habitats. We performed whole genome sequencing on 39 samples of highland and lowland bees from two pairs of populations to determine their evolutionary affinities and identify the genetic basis of these putative adaptations. We find that in general, levels of genetic differentiation between highland and lowland populations are very low, consistent with them being a single panmictic population. However, we identify two loci on chromosomes 7 and 9, each several hundred kilobases in length, which exhibit near fixation for different haplotypes between highland and lowland populations. The highland haplotypes at these loci are extremely rare in samples from the rest of the world. Patterns of segregation of genetic variants suggest that recombination between haplotypes at each locus is suppressed, indicating that they comprise independent structural variants. The haplotype on chromosome 7 harbors nearly all octopamine receptor genes in the honey bee genome. These have a role in learning and foraging behavior in honey bees and are strong candidates for adaptation to highland habitats. Molecular analysis of a putative breakpoint indicates that it may disrupt the coding sequence of one of these genes. Divergence between the highland and lowland haplotypes at both loci is extremely high suggesting that they are ancient balanced polymorphisms that greatly predate divergence between the extant honey bee subspecies.
Industry Consolidation and Price : Evidence from the U . S . Linerboard Industry

Starting from the 1980’s, the U.S. paper and paperboard industry has recorded an increasing degree of consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. This strategy, combined with voluntary downtime, is adopted by producers as a mean to tackle excess capacity and to reduce costs in order to improve profitability. However, it is unclear whether the rising market concentration resulted in market power. In this study, we investigate the impact of industry consolidation on price in the linerboard industry. We estimate a dynamic demand/supply system model that explicitly incorporates market structure, using monthly data from January 1982 to December 1999. As shown in our results, the price is mainly influenced by consumption and material cost. We also find that operating rate has positive and statistically significant impacts on price. However, market concentration does not show any statistically significant effects on price.
Soluble Methane Monooxygenase Production and Trichloroethylene Degradation by a Type I Methanotroph, Methylomonas methanica 68-1

A methanotroph (strain 68-1), originally isolated from a trichloroethylene (TCE)-contaminated aquifer, was identified as the type I methanotroph Methylomonas methanica on the basis of intracytoplasmic membrane ultrastructure, phospholipid fatty acid profile, and 16S rRNA signature probe hybridization. Strain 68-1 was found to oxidize naphthalene and TCE via a soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) and thus becomes the first type I methanotroph known to be able to produce this enzyme. The specific whole-cell sMMO activity of 68-1, as measured by the naphthalene oxidation assay and by TCE biodegradation, was comparatively higher than sMMO activity levels in Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b grown in the same copper-free conditions. The maximal naphthalene oxidation rates of Methylomonas methanica 68-1 and Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b were 551 ± 27 and 321 ± 16 nmol h-1 mg of protein -1, respectively. The maximal TCE degradation rates of Methylomonas methanica 68-1 and Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b were 2,325 ± 260 and 995 ± 160 nmol h-1 mg of protein-1, respectively. The substrate affinity of 68-1 sMMO to naphthalene (Km, 70 ± 4 μM) and TCE (Km, 225 ± 13 μM), however, was comparatively lower than that of the sMMO of OB3b, which had affinities of 40 ± 3 and 126 ± 8 μM, respectively. Genomic DNA slot and Southern blot analyses with an sMMO gene probe from Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b showed that the sMMO genes of 68-1 have little genetic homology to those of OB3b. This result may indicate the evolutionary diversification of the sMMOs.
Rho/ROCK Pathway Contributes to the Activation of Extracellular Signal-regulated Kinase/GATA-4 during Myocardial Cell Hypertrophy*

The low molecular weight GTPase Rho mediates a variety of cytoskeleton-dependent cell functions and stretch- and Gq protein-induced hypertrophic responses in cardiac myocytes. Although ROCK, one of Rho's effectors, has been suggested to mediate hypertrophic signals, the relationship of Rho/ROCK with downstream signals is unknown. A zinc finger transcription factor, GATA-4, is activated by extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and is required for the up-regulation of the endothelin-1 gene during myocardial cell hypertrophy. However, it is unknown whether Rho/ROCK signals are linked to downstream GATA-4. By transient transfection assays using a dominant-negative mutant and an activated derivative of ROCK-I, we showed that ROCK-I participates in GATA-4-dependent endothelin-1 transcription. Inhibition of the Rho/ROCK pathway by Y-27632, a selective inhibitor of ROCK, suppressed phenylephrine-stimulated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 and increased the DNA binding activity of cardiac GATA-4. Interestingly, latrunculin B, which inhibits actin polymerization, also prevents phenylephrine-induced responses. These findings demonstrate that the Rho/ROCK pathway is linked to downstream GATA-4 via the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases during myocardial cell hypertrophy. The results also suggest that changes in actin dynamics provide a convergence point for Rho/ROCK to the downstream signals during this process.
An incentive-based source separation model for sustainable municipal solid waste management in China

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management (MSWM) is most important and challenging in large urban communities. Sound community-based waste management systems normally include waste reduction and material recycling elements, often entailing the separation of recyclable materials by the residents. To increase the efficiency of source separation and recycling, an incentive-based source separation model was designed and this model was tested in 76 households in Guiyang, a city of almost three million people in southwest China. This model embraced the concepts of rewarding households for sorting organic waste, government funds for waste reduction, and introducing small recycling enterprises for promoting source separation. Results show that after one year of operation, the waste reduction rate was 87.3%, and the comprehensive net benefit under the incentive-based source separation model increased by 18.3 CNY tonne-1 (2.4 Euros tonne-1), compared to that under the normal model. The stakeholder analysis (SA) shows that the centralized MSW disposal enterprises had minimum interest and may oppose the start-up of a new recycling system, while small recycling enterprises had a primary interest in promoting the incentive-based source separation model, but they had the least ability to make any change to the current recycling system. The strategies for promoting this incentive-based source separation model are also discussed in this study.
Inhibition of P-glycoprotein in Caco-2 cells: Effects of herbal remedies frequently used by cancer patients

1. The herbal products Natto K2, Agaricus, mistletoe, noni juice, green tea and garlic were investigated for in vitro inhibitory potential on P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated transport of digoxin (30 nM) in differentiated and polarized Caco-2 cells. 2. Satisfactory cell functionality was demonstrated through measurements of assay linearity, transepithelial electric resistance (TEER), cytotoxicity, mannitol permeability, and inclusion of the positive inhibition control verapamil. 3. The most potent inhibitors of the net digoxin flux (IC50) were mistletoe > Natto K2 > Agaricus > green tea (0.022, 0.62, 3.81, >4.5 mg ml−1, respectively). Mistletoe also showed the lowest IC25 value, close to that obtained by verapamil (1.0 and 0.5 µg ml−1, respectively). The IC50/IC25 ratio was found to be a good parameter for the determination of inhibition profiles. Garlic and noni juice were classified as non-inhibitors. 4. This study shows that mistletoe, Natto K2, Agaricus and green tea inhibit P-gp in vitro. Special attention should be paid to mistletoe due to very low IC50 and IC25 values and to Natto K2 due to a low IC50 value and a low IC50/IC25 ratio.
What do general practitioners and community mental health teams talk about? Descriptive analysis of liaison meetings in general practice.

BACKGROUND Liaison meetings between psychiatrists and general practitioners are now well established. Much has been written about their purpose and structure but little about their content. AIM A study aimed to describe the clinical focus of meetings between a community mental health team and general practitioners and the nature of the professionals' interactions. METHOD Audiotapes of six consecutive monthly meetings between a community mental health team and general practitioners in two general practices were analysed. RESULTS Attendance rates among professionals were over 70%. Over 90% of discussion time was focused on patient-centred clinical matters. Almost two thirds of interactions were focused on patients receiving ongoing joint care; few interactions were devoted to new referrals or to patients who had not been assessed. Psychotic patients, although accounting for 15% of referrals, occupied 54% of patient-centred discussion time. Most interactions consisted of reciprocal information exchange between members of the community mental health team and general practitioners. CONCLUSION The high attendance rates indicate that both general practitioners and community mental health team members considered these meetings as high priority. The steady move towards management of severely ill psychiatric patients in the community rather than in hospital requires close collaboration between primary and secondary care teams. The meetings described in this paper appear to be a simple, manageable and sustainable response to this need.
Realtime motion compensation for ROV-based tele-operated underwater manipulators

This paper presents a novel underwater movement compensation algorithm for stabilization of manipulator position utilizing not ROV movements for disturbance comensation, but overlaid manipulator movements. A model based estimator is used to predict vehicle movement and provide the manipulation system with the necessary time to compensate for the estimated motion. It describes the conceptual benefits of this approach compared with common station-keeping algorithms, and shows how previous methods can be combined with the new approach in order to further improve manipulator position accuracy. The method is validated in a number of experiments, which show its feasability and outstanding performance.
[Reproducibility of measurement of ocular pulse amplitude and intraocular pressure using Smartlens].

BACKGROUND SmartLens (ODC Ophthalmic Development Company AG, Zürich) is a contact lens tonometer, which allows continuous registration of intraocular pressure (IOP) and ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) and simultaneous ophthalmoscopy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the intra- and interobserver variability and reliability of intraocular pressure and ocular pulse amplitude measurements using SmartLens. METHODS To evaluate the intraobserver variability, intraocular pressure (IOP) and ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) were both measured 5 times in 10 healthy eyes by one observer. To evaluate the interobserver variability, intraocular pressure and ocular pulse amplitude were measured by 3 different observers in 10 healthy eyes. Data description is based on coefficients of variation (SD/mean in %), statistical inference on ANOVA-based reliability estimation. RESULTS The coefficient of the intraobserver variation was 9.57% for the IOP and 14.5% for the OPA (SD IOP: +/- 1.64 mmHg, SD OPA: +/- 0.39 mmHg). The coefficient of the interobserver variation with 5 replicate measurements was 10.16% for the IOP and 14% for the OPA (SD IOP: +/- 1.83 mmHg, SD OPA: +/- 0.4 mmHg). The interobserver reliability was 87% for the IOP and 86% for the OPA. One of the three observers obtained significantly higher IOP and OPA values. CONCLUSIONS SmartLens is a reasonably precise and reliable device for IOP as well as OPA measurements but the results were not found to be observer independent.
Conditioned increase of natural killer cell activity (NKCA) in humans.

&NA; Cumulating evidence suggests that immune parameters can be modified by behavioral conditioning processes in animals. The present results suggest that this also holds true for a human immune parameter. Healthy subjects were exposed to a conditioning procedure in which a neutral sherbet sweet (conditioned stimulus) was repeatedly paired with a subcutaneous injection of 0.2 mg epinephrine (unconditioned stimulus). After epinephrine administration an increase of natural killer (NK) cell activity could be observed (unconditioned response). On the conditioning test day the conditioned group showed increased NK cell activity after reexposure of the sherbet sweet combined with saline injection. No increase was found in control groups that previously received the sherbet sweet in combination with saline (saline control) or with epinephrine in an unpaired manner (unpaired control). This study supports previous findings of conditioned modulation of immune responses and represents a model to investigate conditioning processes of a human immune function.
Circular permutation within the coenzyme binding domain of the tetrameric glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase from Bacillus stearothermophilus

A circularly permuted (cp) variant of the phosphorylating NAD‐dependent glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from Bacillus stearothermophilus has been constructed with N‐ and C‐termini created within the coenzyme binding domain. The cp variant has a kcat value equal to 40% of the wild‐type value, whereas Km and KD values for NAD show a threefold decrease compared to wild type. These results indicate that the folding process and the conformational changes that accompany NAD binding during the catalytic event occur efficiently in the permuted variant and that NAD binding is tighter. Reversible denaturation experiments show that the stability of the variant is only reduced by 0.7 kcal/mol compared to the wild‐type enzyme. These experiments confirm and extend results obtained recently on other permuted proteins. For multimeric proteins, such as GAPDH, which harbor subunits with two structural domains, the natural location of the N‐ and C‐termini is not a prerequisite for optimal folding and biological activity.
Neuroprotective effect of guanosine against glutamate‐induced cell death in rat hippocampal slices is mediated by the phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase/Akt/ glycogen synthase kinase 3β pathway activation and inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibition

Excitotoxicity and cell death induced by glutamate are involved in many neurodegenerative disorders. We have previously demonstrated that excitotoxicity induced by millimolar concentrations of glutamate in hippocampal slices involves apoptotic features and glutamate‐induced glutamate release. Guanosine, an endogenous guanine nucleoside, prevents excitotoxicty by its ability to modulate glutamate transport. In this study, we have evaluated the neuroprotective effect of guanosine against glutamate‐induced toxicity in hippocampal slices and the mechanism involved in such an effect. We have found that guanosine (100 μM) was neuroprotective against 1 mM glutamate‐induced cell death through the inhibition of glutamate release induced by glutamate. Guanosine also induced the phosphorylation and, thus, activation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt), a downstream target of phosphatidylinositol‐3 kinase (PI3K), as well as phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β, which has been reported to be inactivated by Akt after phosphorylation at Ser9. Glutamate treated hippocampal slices showed increased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression that was prevented by guanosine. Slices preincubated with SNAP (an NO donor), inhibited the protective effect of guanosine. LY294002 (30 μM), a PI3K inhibitor, attenuated guanosine‐induced neuroprotection, guanosine prevention of glutamate release, and guanosine‐induced GSK3βSer9 phosphorylation but not guanosine reduction of glutamate‐induced iNOS expression. Taken together, the results of this study show that guanosine protects hippocampal slices by a mechanism that involves the PI3K/Akt/GSK3βSer9 pathway and prevention of glutamate‐induced glutamate release. Furthermore, guanosine also reduces glutamate‐induced iNOS by a PI3K/Akt‐independent mechanism. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Expression of angiogenesis‐related factors and inflammatory cytokines in placenta and umbilical vessels in pregnancies with preeclampsia and chorioamnionitis/funisitis

We hypothesized that gene expression in placenta and umbilical vessels are affected by intrauterine environment and some of the expression in umbilical vessels originating from the fetus could reflect fetal condition of these complicated pregnancies. Expression of angiogenesis‐related factors and inflammatory cytokines were examined in placenta and umbilical vessels to clarify the effects of intrauterine environment of pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and chorioamnionitis/funisitis. Forty‐six preterm cesarean section deliveries were classified into three groups based on maternal condition during prenatal monitoring: preeclampsia (PE) (n = 11), chorioamnionitis/funisitis (CAM) (n = 8), and preterm control (PC) (n = 27). Angiogenesis‐related factors and inflammatory cytokines in placentas, umbilical arteries and umbilical veins were analyzed by RT‐PCR and immunohistochemistry. We demonstrated that Ang‐2, Tie‐2, and Dll4 increase in the placentas of PE compared to PC for the first time, and we confirmed the findings of previous reports showing the high expression of HIF‐1α, sFlt‐1, endoglin, leptin, and AT1R. Expression of angiogenesis‐related factors, including HIF‐1α, VEGF, angiopoietin, and TGF‐β systems, and inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF‐α and IL‐6, increased in umbilical vessels of PE. Umbilical veins of CAM showed a higher Dll4 level than did PC. In preeclampsia, abnormal expressions of angiogenesis‐related factors related to lifestyle diseases in adulthood were seen in the placenta and umbilical vessels as compared to PC. Chorioamnionitis/funisitis showed only upregulation of DII4 in umbilical veins.