Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ecological modulation of plant defense via phytochrome control of jasmonate sensitivity

For plants, the tradeoff between resource investment in defense and increased growth to out-compete neighbors creates an allocation dilemma. How plants resolve this dilemma, at the mechanistic level, is unclear. We found that Arabidopsis plants produced an attenuated defense phenotype under conditions of crowding and when exposed to far-red (FR) radiation, a light signal that plants use to detect the proximity of neighbors via the photoreceptor phytochrome. This phenotype was detectable through standard bioassays that measured the growth of Spodoptera frugiperda caterpillars. Two possible explanations for the effect of FR are: (i) a simple by-product of the diversion of resources to competition, and (ii) a specific effect of phytochrome on defense signaling. The first possibility was ruled out by the fact that the auxin-deficient sav3 mutant, which fails to induce growth responses to FR, still responded to FR with an attenuated defense phenotype. In support of the second hypothesis, we found that phytochrome inactivation by FR caused a strong reduction of plant sensitivity to jasmonates, which are key regulators of plant immunity. The effects of FR on jasmonate sensitivity were restricted to certain elements of the pathway. Supporting the idea that the FR effects on jasmonate signaling are functionally significant, we found that FR failed to increase tissue quality in jar1, a mutant impaired in jasmonate response. We conclude that the plant modulates its investment in defense as a function of the perceived risk of competition, and that this modulation is effected by phytochrome via selective desensitization to jasmonates.
Amelioration of glycerol‐induced acute renal failure in the rat with 8‐cyclopentyl‐1,3‐dipropylxanthine

1 Previous studies have shown that 8‐phenyltheophylline (8‐PT), a non‐selective antagonist at adenosine A1‐ and A2‐receptors, can ameliorate the severity of glycerol‐induced acute renal failure (ARF) in the rat. In the present study we have examined the effects of an antagonist with selectivity for adenosine A1‐receptors (8‐cyclopentyl‐1,3‐dipropylxanthine, CPX) on the development of ARF. 2 In the anaesthetised rat 8‐PT (4 mg kg−1, i.v.) and CPX (0.1 mg kg−1, i.v.) antagonised adenosine‐evoked responses which are thought to be mediated via A1‐receptors (bradycardia and decrease in renal blood flow). The agonist dose‐ratio produced by CPX was equal to or greater than that found with 8‐PT (heart rate and renal blood flow respectively). The hypotensive response to adenosine which is predominantly due to A2‐receptor activation was also antagonised by 8‐PT, whereas CPX was a much less effective antagonist of this response. 3 Administration of CPX (0.1 mg kg−1, i.v.; twice daily for two days) significantly attenuated the increase in plasma levels of urea and creatinine, the increased kidney weight and the renal tubule damage observed in rats 2 days following induction of ARF with intramuscular glycerol injection. In addition treatment with CPX significantly enhanced the clearances of inulin and p‐aminohippurate. 4 After glycerol injection, the mortality rate over 7 days in untreated and vehicle‐treated rats was 43% and 21% respectively. In contrast, all animals treated with CPX survived over the 7 day observation period. 5 These results support the suggestion that adenosine is an important factor in the development of ARF and indicate that this effect of the purine is likely to be mediated via an adenosine A1‐receptor.
Characteristics of Agraphia in Chinese Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Background:Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) manifest progressive decline in writing abilities. Most studies on agraphia in AD have been performed in the alphabetic system, such as English. However, these findings may not be applicable to other written language systems. The unique features of the Chinese written script could affect the patterns of agraphia in Chinese AD patients. The aim of this study was to explore the features of writing errors in Chinese patients with AD and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI), as well as to study the relationship between their writing errors and neuropsychological functions. Methods:In this study, we performed an observational study in a group of subjects including 17 AD patients, 14 patients with a-MCI, and 16 elderly healthy controls. We analyzed the writing errors in these subjects and also studied the relationship between their writing errors and neuropsychological functions. Results:Our study showed that in patients whose mother tongue is Chinese, writing ability was comparatively well preserved in the MCI phase but significantly impaired when the disease progressed to the stage of AD. The writing errors showed corresponding increase with the severity of cognition decline, both in the types of errors and rate of occurrence. Analysis of the writing errors showed that word substitution and unintelligible words were the most frequent error types that occurred in all the three study groups. The occurrence rate of unintelligible words was significantly higher in the AD group compared with the a-MCI group (P = 0.024) and control group (P = 0.018). In addition, the occurrence rates of word substitution were also significantly higher in AD (P = 0.013) and a-MCI groups (P = 0.037) than that of control group. However, errors such as totally no response, visuospatial impairment, paragraph agraphia, ideograph, and perseverative writing errors were only seen in AD group. Besides, we also found a high occurrence rate of visuoconstructional errors (13.3%) in our AD group. Conclusions:Our study confirmed that agraphia is an important feature in patients with AD. The writing error profile in patients whose native language is Chinese was unique compared to patients using the alphabetic language system.
Global Financial Crisis and Price Risk Management in Gold Futures Market- Evidences from Indian & US Markets

Over the globe, gold is one of the most traded commodities. Due to its gobal demand, gold is traded in both spot and futures market. Price risk management is a fundamental but vital function of futures market. To effectively discharge this function, futures market has to be efficient. Thus, it is important to analyze efficiency of futures market. None of the studies in literature analyses price risk management role of gold futures in India and US with reference to global financial crisis of 2008-09. Thus, this study aims at investigating the gold futures role in managing price risk related to gold spot market before and after the crisis in Indian and US markets. The results of Johansenâ€™s cointegration test indicate that the gold spot and futures markets are cointegrated in both the sub-periods in both India and US. Granger causality test results signifies that gold futures play an important role in price discovery in both Indian and US markets, with some feedback from spot market at Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), India . However, the price discovery role of gold futures markets has strengthened after the crisis in both the markets. Thus, we conclude that gold futures market performs price risk management function in the pre and the postâ€“crisis periods at Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), India and New York Merchantile Exchange (NYMEX) Comex, US.
[13N]Ammonia Positron Emission Tomographic/Computed Tomographic Imaging Targeting Glutamine Synthetase Expression in Prostate Cancer

The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of glutamine synthetase (GS) in prostate cancer (PCa) and the utility of [13N]ammonia positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the imaging of PCa. The uptake ratio of [13N]ammonia and the expression of GS in PC3 and DU145 cells was measured. Thirty-four patients with suspected PCa underwent [13N]ammonia PET/CT imaging, and immunohistochemistry staining of GS was performed. The uptake of [13N]ammonia in PC3 and DU145 cells elevated along with the decrease in glutamine in medium. The expression of GS messenger ribonucleic acid and protein also increased when glutamine was deprived. In biopsy samples, the GS expression scores were significantly higher in PCa tissue than in benign tissues (p < .001), and there was a positive correlation between the maximum GS expression scores and Gleason scores (Spearman r = .52). In 34 patients, [13N]ammonia uptake in PCa segments was significantly higher than that in benign segments (p ≤ .01), and there was a weak correlation between GS expression scores and the uptake of [13N]ammonia (Spearman r = .47). The expression of GS in PCa cells upregulated along with the deprivation of glutamine. GS is the main reason for the uptake of [13N]ammonia, and [13N]ammonia is a useful tracer for PCa imaging.
How Investors Perceive Mandatory Audit Firm Rotation in Korea

Credible audit quality is a precondition for a firm’s sustainability. External auditors offer assurance with regard to the uncertain factors that can jeopardize a firm’s sustainability and provide audit opinions that help investors assess risk. After the global crisis and accounting scandals, mandatory audit firm rotation has been implemented globally. However, few studies have investigated either the cost or the benefit of mandatory audit firm rotation. Prior studies provide only indirect evidence on the effects of audit firm tenure on audit quality/perceived audit quality. By discussing prior arguments, we examine how investors perceive the implementation of mandatory audit firm rotation in Korea. Using a unique and direct setting to examine our research question, we analyze the relationship between firms with mandatorily switched audit firms and the cost of equity capital from 2006 to 2008. We find that the mandatory change in the auditors has a negative association with the cost of equity capital. The results are robust to using the arithmetic mean of the cost of equity capital, lagged control variables, and the manufacturing industry effect. The results indicate that investors perceive that mandatory audit firm rotation provides an environment for qualified audits by enhancing auditor independence and skepticism, and thus decreases the cost of equity capital. This study helps to improve our understanding of the impact of mandatory audit firm rotation the information risk evaluations and provides political implications for policy makers by showing the benefit of mandatory audit firm rotation.
Comparison of a new ELISA‐based with the flow cytometric assay for vasodilator‐associated stimulated phosphoprotein phosphorylation to assess P2Y12‐inhibition after ticagrelor intake

Ticagrelor is a P2Y12 receptor antagonist, with superior effects but also ensuing enhanced bleeding risk as compared to clopidogrel. Determination of platelet inhibition may be useful to confirm efficient platelet inhibition on an individual patient level and to identify patients at risk for bleeding. The vasodilator‐associated stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) phosphorylation assay specifically measures platelet P2Y12 inhibition, but has so far required individual sample processing. A new ELISA‐based VASP assay has been developed, which allows batch analysis after initial platelet activation. Because of the reversible binding of ticagrelor it is unclear if the ELISA and flow cytometric assays provide comparable results; several washing steps of the ELISA may potentially result in false low results through dilution.
Keratinocyte Growth Factor Administration Attenuates Murine Pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection through Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-stimulating Factor (GM-CSF)-dependent Macrophage Activation and Phagolysosome Fusion*

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and chemotherapeutic treatments are not always effective. Results: Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) administration results in an epithelium-dependent, GM-CSF-mediated induction of microbicidal programs in alveolar macrophages. Conclusion: KGF induces GM-CSF and enhances clearance of M. tuberculosis from the lungs of mice. Significance: KGF may be a useful adjunctive strategy for treatment of infection with M. tuberculosis. Augmentation of innate immune defenses is an appealing adjunctive strategy for treatment of pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections, especially those caused by drug-resistant strains. The effect of intranasal administration of keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), an epithelial mitogen and differentiation factor, on M. tuberculosis infection in mice was tested in prophylaxis, treatment, and rescue scenarios. Infection of C57BL6 mice with M. tuberculosis resulted in inoculum size-dependent weight loss and mortality. A single dose of KGF given 1 day prior to infection with 105 M. tuberculosis bacilli prevented weight loss and enhanced pulmonary mycobacterial clearance (compared with saline-pretreated mice) for up to 28 days. Similar effects were seen when KGF was delivered intranasally every third day for 15 days, but weight loss and bacillary growth resumed when KGF was withdrawn. For mice with a well established M. tuberculosis infection, KGF given every 3 days beginning on day 15 postinoculation was associated with reversal of weight loss and an increase in M. tuberculosis clearance. In in vitro co-culture experiments, M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages exposed to conditioned medium from KGF-treated alveolar type II cell (MLE-15) monolayers exhibited enhanced GM-CSF-dependent killing through mechanisms that included promotion of phagolysosome fusion and induction of nitric oxide. Alveolar macrophages from KGF-treated mice also exhibited enhanced GM-CSF-dependent phagolysosomal fusion. These results provide evidence that administration of KGF promotes M. tuberculosis clearance through GM-CSF-dependent mechanisms and enhances host defense against M. tuberculosis infection.
Cutting Edge: A Major Fraction of Human Bone Marrow Lymphocytes Are Th2-Like CD1d-Reactive T Cells That Can Suppress Mixed Lymphocyte Responses1

Murine bone marrow (BM) NK T cells can suppress graft-vs-host disease, transplant rejection, and MLRs. Human BM contains T cells with similar potential. Human BM was enriched for NK T cells, ∼50% of which recognized the nonpolymorphic CD1d molecule. In contrast to the well-characterized blood-derived CD1d-reactive invariant NK T cells, the majority of human BM CD1d-reactive T cells used diverse TCR. Healthy donor invariant NK T cells rapidly produce large amounts of IL-4 and IFN-γ and can influence Th1/Th2 decision-making. Healthy donor BM CD1d-reactive T cells were Th2-biased and suppressed MLR and, unlike the former, responded preferentially to CD1d+ lymphoid cells. These results identify a novel population of human T cells which may contribute to B cell development and/or maintain Th2 bias against autoimmune T cell responses against new B cell Ag receptors. Distinct CD1d-reactive T cell populations have the potential to suppress graft-vs-host disease and stimulate antitumor responses.
Outage Performance of Two-Way Fixed Gain Amplify-and-Forward Relaying Systems with Asymmetric Traffic Requirements

In this letter, we investigate the outage performance of two-way relaying system based on the fixed gain amplify-and-forward protocol and asymmetric traffic requirements. At first, we propose a three-step scheme to obtain the channel state information with a low-complexity relay. Then, the exact expression of system outage performance is derived and we further investigate the asymptotic performance at high signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, numerical results are given to verify the analytical results.
Head and neck basal cell carcinoma prevalence in individuals submitted to childhood X-ray epilation for tinea capitis treatment.

BACKGROUND A higher prevalence for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) has been associated with radiation, namely with tinea capitis epilation treatment. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of head and neck basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and to identify the major risk factors for BCC in individuals irradiated in childhood for tinea capitis treatment. METHODS We clinically observed 1,308 individuals from an original cohort of 5,356 irradiated between 1950 and 1963, registering previous skin lesions excisions and proposing for surgery all the suspicious lesions detected. In 585 participants, 47 with BCC, the skin pigmentation was measured. RESULTS The overall prevalence of BCC was 8.0% and of multiple BCC was 2.4%. Both total (14.7%) and multiple BCC (6.6%) were significantly more common in the individuals who had received a higher radiation dose. Multiple BCC was more prevalent (3.7%) in younger irradiated individuals and total BCC (9.4%) in women. Participants with BCC and without BCC presented similar skin pigmentation. CONCLUSION Younger age at irradiation, higher dose and female gender increased the risk of developing BCC in these irradiated individuals.
Assessing the relationship between work-family conflict and smoking.

OBJECTIVES We examined the relationship between smoking and work-family conflict among a sample of New England long-term-care facility workers. METHODS To collect data, we conducted in-person, structured interviews with workers in 4 extended-care facilities. RESULTS There was a strong association between smoking likelihood and work-family conflict. Workers who experienced both stress at home from work issues (i.e., work-to-home conflict) and stress at work from personal issues (i.e., home-to-work conflict) had 3.1 times higher odds of smoking than those who did not experience these types of conflict. Workers who experienced home-to-work conflict had an odds of 2.3 compared with those who did not experience this type of conflict, and workers who experienced work-to-home conflict had an odds of 1.6 compared with workers who did not experience this type of conflict. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that there is a robust relationship between work-family conflict and smoking, but that this relationship is dependent upon the total amount of conflict experienced and the direction of the conflict.
Quantifying the Impact of Participation in Local Tobacco Control Groups on the Psychological Empowerment of Involved Youth

A core component of Legacy’s Statewide Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use is the ability of state and local initiatives to empower youth to effect change in their communities. The authors’ conceptual framework proposes that youth empowerment is an outcome of the process by which youths become active participants in local efforts. Youths are proposed to attain specific skills (e.g., assertiveness, advocacy), attitudes (e.g., domain-specific self-efficacy, perceived sociopolitical control, participatory competence), and knowledge of relevant resources. All are proposed outcomes of their individual participation in these local efforts. Data collected in fall 2002 through a tested survey instrument designed to obtain data on key components of empowerment are presented. Regression modeling was used to examine the extent to which characteristics of empowerment are an outcome of individual participation in these groups. A summary of lessons learned pertaining to effectively measuring empowerment and enhancing the empowerment process through local initiatives is provided.
Intracerebral hemorrhage survival French register data

Abstract Cerebral hemorrhages are subject to a heavy short- and long-term case fatality. A study of prognostic factors and of relative survival based on the data of a population registry is of great value to study patients having a hematoma of all ages, irrespective of the method of care. We have listed 183 patients having a cerebral hemorrhage between 1 January 1985 and 31 December 1996 and living in the city of Dijon, France. Eighteen clinical and CT-scanning variables have been studied. We have found four predictive factors of death at one month from cerebral hemorrhages. These are, in decreasing order: the existence of consciousness disorders at the initial clinical examination (OR = 5.80, p < 0.0001); an intraventricular hemorrhage (OR = 5.60, p < 0.0001); a hematoma volume over 11 cubic centimeters (OR = 3.53, p = 0.027); lastly, in male patients an age over 70 years (OR = 4.90, p = 0.039). With regard to long-term survival, the existence of consciousness disorders remains the principal predictive factor of case fatality in both crude and relative survival (OR = 5.52, p < 0.0001, in crude survival versus OR = 22.2 in relative survival, p < 0.0001), followed by age over 70 years (OR = 3.71, p < 0.0001 in crude survival and OR = 2.41 in relative survival, p = 0.086). The existence of consciousness disorders at the initial examination following a cerebral hemorrhage would seem to be the principal worst prognostic factor of short- and long-term survival and of relative survival, age and sex having less- importance. Moreover, intraventricular hemorrhage and hematoma volume are short-term, pejorative factors. These data, based on a population-based registry, are an important consideration in the acute management of hemorrhagic therapy, and for the design of further therapeutic trials on this severe pathology. : [Neurol Res 2000; 22: 791-796]
The NMR structure of the activation domain isolated from porcine procarboxypeptidase B.

The three‐dimensional structure of the activation domain isolated from porcine pancreatic procarboxypeptidase B was determined using 1H NMR spectroscopy. A group of 20 conformers is used to describe the solution structure of this 81 residue polypeptide chain, which has a well‐defined backbone fold from residues 11–76 with an average root mean square distance for the backbone atoms of 1.0 +/‐ 0.1 A relative to the mean of the 20 conformers. The molecular architecture contains a four‐stranded beta‐sheet with the polypeptide segments 11–17, 36–39, 50–56 and 75–76, two well defined alpha‐helices from residues 20–30 and 60–70, and a 3(10) helix from residues 43–46. The three helices are oriented almost exactly antiparallel to each other, are all on the same side of the beta‐sheet, and the helix axes from an angle of approximately 45 degrees relative to the direction of the beta‐strands. Three segments linking beta‐strands and helical secondary structures, with residues 32–35, 39–43 and 56–61, are significantly less well ordered than the rest of the molecule. In the three‐dimensional structure two of these loops (residues 32–35 and 56–61) are located close to each other near the protein surface, forming a continuous region of increased mobility, and the third disordered loop is separated from this region only by the peripheral beta‐strand 36–39 and precedes the short 3(10) helix.