Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Economic self-interest, information, and trade policy preferences: evidence from an experiment in Tunisia

Abstract We address a central question about the integration of developing countries into the global economy: what factors affect public support for such globalization. Do public preferences toward trade correlate with its economic consequences or sociocultural resonances? Using a nationally representative survey experiment in Tunisia, a majority Muslim, developing country, we investigate whether providing information about trade’s distributional consequences causes respondents to connect their economic self-interest to their trade policy preferences. Respondents seem to understand their economic self-interest, and information provision enhances this. Information about the likely benefits of trade causes people in the export-oriented sector to respond more positively to trade liberalization, as economic theory predicts. Information about its costs has confounding effects on those in import-competing sectors; those involved in global value chains maintain support for trade more than those outside such production chains who become protectionist. We find scant evidence that sociotropic, political, or cultural variables influence trade attitudes. Contributing to the recent debates over trade policy preferences, we show that public preferences align most strongly with their economic self-interest as derived from recent trade theories.
GERp95 Belongs to a Family of Signal-transducing Proteins and Requires Hsp90 Activity for Stability and Golgi Localization*

GERp95 (Golgi-endoplasmicreticulum protein 95 kDa) is part of a large family of highly conserved proteins found in all metazoans and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Genetic studies suggest that homologs of GERp95 are components of signaling pathways that regulate cellular differentiation, development, and RNA interference. However, the precise molecular functions of these proteins remain unknown. Genetic analysis of GERp95 homologs has been complicated by the presence of multiple genes with overlapping functions in most organisms. Binding partners for members of this protein family have not been identified. The purpose of this study was to identify proteins that associate with GERp95. GlutathioneS-transferase-GERp95 fusions were expressed in transfected cells, and proteins that bound to GERp95 were co-purified using glutathione-agarose beads. The amino-terminal region of GERp95 was found to interact with the specialized chaperone Hsp90 and a number of its cognate binding proteins. Inhibition of Hsp90 activity with geldanamycin or radicicol resulted in rapid degradation of newly synthesized GERp95. The membrane-associated pool of GERp95 was not bound to Hsp90, although activity of this chaperone was required for stable association of GERp95 with the Golgi in normal rat kidney cells. These results indicate that GERp95 engages an Hsp90 chaperone complex prior to association with intracellular membranes.
Hypoxia-inducible factors are required for chemotherapy resistance of breast cancer stem cells

Significance Breast cancer stem cells play essential roles in tumor growth, maintenance, and recurrence after chemotherapy. We report that treatment of human breast cancer cells with chemotherapy results in an enrichment of breast cancer stem cells among the surviving cells, which is dependent upon the activity of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). Studies in mouse tumor models suggest that combining chemotherapy with drugs that block HIF activity may improve the survival of breast cancer patients. Triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) are defined by the lack of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expression, and are treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy such as paclitaxel or gemcitabine, with a durable response rate of less than 20%. TNBCs are enriched for the basal subtype gene expression profile and the presence of breast cancer stem cells, which are endowed with self-renewing and tumor-initiating properties and resistance to chemotherapy. Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) and their target gene products are highly active in TNBCs. Here, we demonstrate that HIF expression and transcriptional activity are induced by treatment of MDA-MB-231, SUM-149, and SUM-159, which are human TNBC cell lines, as well as MCF-7, which is an ER+/PR+ breast cancer line, with paclitaxel or gemcitabine. Chemotherapy-induced HIF activity enriched the breast cancer stem cell population through interleukin-6 and interleukin-8 signaling and increased expression of multidrug resistance 1. Coadministration of HIF inhibitors overcame the resistance of breast cancer stem cells to paclitaxel or gemcitabine, both in vitro and in vivo, leading to tumor eradication. Increased expression of HIF-1α or HIF target genes in breast cancer biopsies was associated with decreased overall survival, particularly in patients with basal subtype tumors and those treated with chemotherapy alone. Based on these results, clinical trials are warranted to test whether treatment of patients with TNBC with a combination of cytotoxic chemotherapy and HIF inhibitors will improve patient survival.
On Expressibility of Non-Monotone Operators in SPARQL

SPARQL, a query language for RDF graphs, is one of the key technologies for the Semantic Web. The expressivity and complexity of various fragments of SPARQL have been studied extensively. It is usually assumed that the optional matching operator OPTIONAL has only two graph patterns as arguments. The specification of SPARQL, however, defines it as a ternary operator, with an additional filter condition. We address the problem of expressibility of the full ternary OPTIONAL via the simplified binary version and show that it is possible, but only with an exponential blowup in the size of the query (under common complexity-theoretic assumptions). We also study expressibility of other non-monotone SPARQL operators via optional matching and each other.
Cellular Morphology-Mediated Proliferation and Drug Sensitivity of Breast Cancer Cells

The interpretation of the local microenvironment of the extracellular matrix for malignant tumor cells is in intimate relation with metastatic spread of cancer cells involving the associated issues of cellular proliferation and drug responsiveness. This study was aimed to assess the combination of both surface topographies (fiber alignments) and different stiffness of the polymeric substrates (poly(l-lactic acid) and poly(ε-caprolactone), PLLA and PCL, respectively) as well as collagen substrates (coat and gel) to elucidate the effect of the cellular morphology on cellular proliferation and drug sensitivities of two different types of breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7). The morphological spreading parameter (nucleus/cytoplasm area ratio) induced by the anthropogenic substrates has correlated intimately with the cellular proliferation and the drug sensitivity the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of cancer cells. This study demonstrated the promising results of the parameter for the evaluation of cancer cell malignancy.
PATRONES DE DISTRIBUCIÓN Y ACUMULACIÓN LARVAL EN TORNO DE LAS ISLAS OCEÁNICAS:

We document the horizontal distribution of the ichthyoplankton collected around the oceanic Easter Island and the Salas y Gómez Island, during the Cimar-Islas 5 Cruise, in November 1999. A total of 1522 eggs and 1320 lar vae, from 46 fish families (Myctophidae and Scombridae excluded), were analyzed. The highest fish egg abundance along with the highest island and oceanic lar val fish density were collected around Easter Island, followed by Salas y Gómez Island and, finally the transect. Around Easter Island, the highest ichthyoplankton concentrations and the highest number of island species occurred at the southern side of the island, where the island shelf is broader. The number of oceanic taxa followed the opposite trend: the highest number occurred at the nor th-east side, the followed by the nor thwest side and finally the southern side of the island. Our results suggest that: (i) Easter Island and Salas y Gómez Island are utilized as spawning and nursery areas by both island and oceanic fishes, and ii) eggs and larvae of island fishes and a fraction of the oceanic species are probably affected by the same oceanographic processes as they tend to aggregate at the same side of the island (south side), where the geostrophic current is usually islandwards. Finally, the ichthyoplankton samples collected in this cruise have allowed us to extend southward, the distribution of perciform fishes Schindleria praematura (Schindleriidae), and Dactylopsaron dimorphicum (Percophidae) through Easter Island.
Bidirectional Delay Test of FPGA Routing Networks

This paper documents a novel test method for detection of small delay faults in FPGA routing networks. Such delays may be caused by resistive open defects, which are considered to be major contributions to test escapes. According to previous research the form of a test path affects the capability of fault detection. In this work, detection accuracy is defined, calculated and measured in SPICE for test paths with different lengths and number of fan-outs. It is shown that the accuracy of detection depends on the defect site relative to the point of test pattern application. Based on the results of the evaluation, test configurations are developed that exercise the routing network of FPGA by short branched test paths, and a test procedure is proposed where test patterns are applied to both ends of all bidirectional segments. Comparison with previous test methods shows that the proposed method is more accurate, while keeping the number of test configurations. More test configurations yield improved detection accuracy.
Prediction of protein accessible surface areas by support vector regression

A novel support vector regression (SVR) approach is proposed to predict protein accessible surface areas (ASAs) from their primary structures. In this work, we predict the real values of ASA in squared angstroms for residues instead of relative solvent accessibility. Based on protein residues, the mean and median absolute errors are 26.0 Å2 and 18.87 Å2, respectively. The correlation coefficient between the predicted and observed ASAs is 0.66. Cysteine is the best predicted amino acid (mean absolute error is 13.8 Å2 and median absolute error is 8.37 Å2), while arginine is the least predicted amino acid (mean absolute error is 42.7 Å2 and median absolute error is 36.31 Å2). Our work suggests that the SVR approach can be directly applied to the ASA prediction where data preclassification has been used. Proteins 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
PLASTIC-DAMAGE ANALYSIS OF RCC DAMS STRENGTHENED WITH STEEL FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE IN MONOLITH FOR SEISMIC RESISTANCE

ABSTRACT: In the paper, damage failure in the water-retaining monolith of Jin’an Qiao RCC dam subjected to strong ground motion is simulated by a concrete damaged plasticity model based on damage index variables of tensile stress. The effects of steel fiber reinforced concrete(SFRC) to strengthen the dam are studied by using three different dimensions of SFRC zones and three volume ratios of SFRC. According to the above combination of SFRC’s applied zones and volume ratios, the variable rules of equivalent crack width , crack expansion depth, displacement response and starting crack acceleration are analyzed respectively. The comparison of calculation results shows the measure can remarkably reduce the damage zone, significantly control the extension of damage zone and effectively improve the aseismic performance of the dam.
Cell fate in the shoot apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana

Seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana, heterozygous for the alb1 mutation were treated with X-rays to generate sectors of albino tissue in the mature plants. Sectors were observed in tissues derived from L2 and L3 layers of the shoot meristem. Altogether 324 sectors were obtained affecting 512 leaves or the inflorescence. The majority of sectors affected only one or other of the first leaf pair. In later leaves, sectors were less frequent, and often affected more than one leaf. Sectors seen in the flowers almost invariably included some of the cauline leaves. Sectors in any region of the plant were of variable length and width. The axillary meristems of Arabidopsis were found to be clonally related to two or more cells near the centre of the subtending leaf. Overall the data are compatible with the idea that there are few, if any, restrictions on cell fate within the cell layers of the dry seed meristem. As in other higher plants, developmental fate could only be predicted in a general and probabilistic way. Such a pattern might be generated if the acquisition of cell fate occurred continuously as the plant grows, in a position-dependent, lineage-independent fashion. A general model of the meristem has been produced to accommodate the observations concerning the great majority of the sectors.
A STRENGTH CRITERION FOR THE FLEXURAL BEHAVIOUR OF SPANDRELS IN UNREINFORCED MASONRY WALLS

With reference to the in-plane behaviour of masonry walls, it is possible to recognize basically two structural components: piers and spandrels. Piers are the main vertical resistant elements for both dead and seismic loads. Spandrels are usually classified as secondary elements: although hardly investigated at all in literature (unlike piers), they significantly affect the seismic capacity of the structure. Firstly, a considerable energy dissipation is related to their damage. Moreover, the coupling effectiveness associated with these elements significantly influences the boundary conditions of piers (i.e. fixed-fixed or cantilever) with remarkable repercussions on the global response of the structure. In the case of existing buildings, common practice (explained by the frequent lack of other tensile resistant elements coupled) is to neglect masonry spandrels in the model leading to a large number of historical buildings being assessed as “unsafe” according to current seismic codes. It is clearly evident that such a result is not plausible: the adopted hypothesis is too severe and masonry spandrels supply unknown resources to the structure. Thus reliable predictive models are needed. In the paper a resistance criterion finalized to interpretation of their flexural behaviour is proposed. It has basically been founded on the interlocking phenomena which can be originated at the interface between the end-sections of the spandrel and the contiguous masonry. A set of parametrical non linear analyses has been performed in order to validate the proposal. Finally some applications to complex masonry walls are presented in order to assess the effects on the global response.
Leisure activity and risk of cognitive impairment: The Chongqing aging study

The authors followed 5,437 people aged 55 years and older with normal baseline Mini-Mental State Examination score annually for 5 years. The mean incidence of cognitive impairment was 2.3% per year. Cognitive activities in both the individual item (playing board games and reading) and the composite measure were associated with the reduced risk of cognitive impairment, while watching television was associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment.
Comparison of Three Timing Systems: Reliability and Best Practice Recommendations in Timing Short-Duration Sprints

Abstract Bond, CW, Willaert, EM, and Noonan, BC. Comparison of three timing systems: reliability and best practice recommendations in timing short-duration sprints. J Strength Cond Res 31(4): 1062–1071, 2017—With the importance placed on athletic speed, it is important to use a valid and reliable timing system, particularly in sprints of short duration. Unfortunately, many of the commonly used timing systems have not been rigorously evaluated. This study aimed to compare results from a single-beam infrared photocell (PC), single-beam laser with a microprocessor (LA), and a previously validated video camera (VC) sacrum-based timing system; and in doing so, determine these systems' reliabilities, and establish best practices for increasing reliability. It was hypothesized that PC and LA times would be different from VC times and show reduced reliability compared with VC. Fifteen athletes performed 5 repetitions of a 60-foot maximal effort sprint with split times recorded for the first and second half. Photocell and LA full-time and first-half split times were significantly slower than VC (p < 0.001), but almost identical for the second half split (p = 0.08). Repeated sprint analysis showed that VC tended to have smaller SD compared with PC and LA for first-half split (0.05 vs. 0.08 vs. 0.09 seconds, respectively) and total time (0.09 vs. 0.10 vs. 0.11 seconds, respectively). Time differences were more dependent on initial forward lean and varying body segments triggering the beam, than on a systematic instrument error. The increased variability of PC and LA systems dampen the ability to determine whether meaningful change has occurred. The VC system allows for very valid and reliable measurements of an athlete's sprint time, especially in distances <30 feet.
Comparison of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors between Older and Younger Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objectives Despite the fact that it is widely acknowledged that immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) rely on the presence of immune response to take their antitumor effect, little is known whether there is an influence exerted on the efficacy of ICIs based on patients' age. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the efficacy of ICIs between younger and older patients. Materials and Methods We searched online database and major conference proceedings for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published of ICIs and included RCTs that conducted subgroup comparisons of age with available combination of hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Subsequently, we figured out the pooled HR and 95%CI in younger and older patients with a random-effects model and evaluated the within-study heterogeneity by using subgroup, sensitivity, and meta-regression analysis. Results and Conclusion A total of 12 eligible RCTs included in our study, which reported OS according to patients' age. The overall estimated random-effects for HR was 0.75 with 95% CI of 0.65-0.87 in younger arm versus 0.81 with 95% CI of 0.72-0.92 in older arm. ICIs can improve OS for patients with advanced or metastatic lung cancer when compared to controls, especially for those patients with NSCLC, anti-PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, non-squamous, Pembrolizumab or Atezolizumab used as well as subsequent-line setting, and the magnitude of benefit in OS had comparable efficacy in both younger and older arms using a cut-off of 65 yr. Conversely, we also drew a statically significant conclusion that older patients failed to acquire benefit from ICIs when subdivided with a further cut-off of 75 yr.
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND ASSESSMENT A Model for Self-Directed Problem-Based Learning for Renal Therapeutics

Objective. To introduce a new approach to problem-based learning (PBL) for self-directed learning in renal therapeutics. Design. This 5-week course, designed for large student cohorts using minimal teaching resources, was based on a series of case studies and subsequent pharmaceutical care plans, followed by intensive and regular feedback from the instructor. Assessment. Assessment of achievement of the learning outcomes was based on weekly-graded care plans and peer review assessment, allowing each student to judge the contributions of each group member and their own, along with a written case-study based examination. The pharmaceutical care plan template, designed using a ‘‘tick-box’’ system, significantly reduced staff time for feedback and scoring. Conclusion. The proposed instructional model achieved the desired learning outcomes with appropriate student feedback, while promoting skills that are essential for the students’ future careers as health care professionals.
Same Efficacies of Ipratropium and Salbutamol in Reversing Methacholine-Induced Bronchoconstriction

Efficacy of salbutamol (S) was compared to that of ipratropium (I) or to their association, after methacholine challenge testing (MCT). MCT was performed in 4 groups of 10 patients suspected to suffer from asthma; mean changes in FEV1, maximal midexpiratory flow rate (MMFR), and airway resistance (Raw) were the same in all groups. After MCT, the group 1 patients inhaled S and then I, 10 min later; both drugs were given in the reverse order to the group 2 patients. The group 3 patients inhaled a mixture of both drugs just after MCT; the group 4 patients were not given any bronchodilator till the 20th min after MCT, when they inhaled S. Short-term (10 min) bronchodilator effects of S, I or S + I on spirometric variables were of the same magnitude and Raw returned to its baseline value. Further improvement (10–20 min) in FEV1 was mainly due to spontaneous recovery, whereas further increase in MMFR was due also to bronchodilator actions of drugs. It is concluded that ipratropium could be proposed as an alternative bronchodilator to salbutamol after MCT.
A Validation Study of a Noninvasive Lactate Threshold Device

The lactate threshold is considered a key marker of endurance exercise performance and identification of this threshold is important in writing an exercise training program. Unfortunately, assessment of the lactate threshold has traditionally required venous or capillary blood samples and a specialized meter to assess blood lactate concentrations. Recently, a consumer grade, non-invasive device was developed to determine muscle oxygenation and estimate the lactate threshold. Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the validity of a noninvasive lactate threshold device (NID) to determine lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR). Methods Twenty-one recreational athletes (14 females, 39 ± 7 years, 29.1 ± 5.2% fat, 37.8 ± 6.0 ml·kg−1·min−1; 7 males, 42 ± 9 years, 16.8 ± 2.2% fat, 45.9 ± 6.4 ml·kg−1·min−1) completed a personalized graded exercise test on a treadmill. All participants wore the NID and blood lactate samples were taken at the end of 3-minute stages. LTHR was then calculated using two traditional methods (4 mmol/L and >1 mmol/L increase) and compared against the same heart rate values calculated by the NID. Results No significant differences (p = .87) were found in LTHR between the NID and the traditional lactate methods (NID: 167 ± 9 bpm, 4 mmol/L: 167 ± 12 bpm, >1 mmol/L: 167 ± 12 bpm). Conclusions This study provides preliminary support for the validity of the NID for estimation of LTHR.