Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Is a Normal Physiological Response to Mechanical Loading in Bone*

A preliminary expression profiling analysis of osteoblasts derived from tibia explants of the high bone mass LRP5 G171V transgenic mice demonstrated increased expression of canonical Wnt pathway and Wnt/β-catenin target genes compared with non-transgenic explant derived osteoblasts. Therefore, expression of Wnt/β-catenin target genes were monitored after in vivo loading of the tibia of LRP5 G171V transgenic mice compared with non-transgenic mice. Loading resulted in the increased expression of Wnt pathway and Wnt/β-catenin target genes including Wnt10B, SFRP1, cyclin D1, FzD2, WISP2, and connexin 43 in both genotypes; however, there was a further increased in transcriptional response with the LRP5 G171V transgenic mice. Similar increases in the expression of these genes (except cyclin D1) were observed when non-transgenic mice were pharmacologically treated with a canonical Wnt pathway activator, glycogen synthase kinase 3β inhibitor and then subjected to load. These in vivo results were further corroborated by in vitro mechanical loading experiments in which MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells were subjected to 3400 microstrain alone for 5 h, which increased the expression of Wnt10B, SFRP1, cyclin D1, FzD2, WISP2, and connexin 43. Furthermore, when MC3T3-E1 cells were treated with either glycogen synthase kinase 3β inhibitor or Wnt3A to activate Wnt signaling and then subjected to load, a synergistic up-regulation of these genes was observed compared with vehicle-treated cells. Collectively, the in vivo and in vitro mechanical loading results support that Wnt/β-catenin signaling is a normal physiological response to load and that activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway enhances the sensitivity of osteoblasts/osteocytes to mechanical loading.
Livelihood diversification strategies among men and women rural households: Evidence from two watersheds of Northern Ethiopia

This study was conducted to examine livelihood diversification strategies among men and women farm households in Begasheka and Debrekidan watersheds of Northern Ethiopia. The essential data were collected from 182 farm households. Descriptive statistics and Binary Logistic Regression Model (BLGM) were deployed to analyse the data. Three groups of livelihood strategies with eight sublivelihood strategies were identified in the study areas including farming, off-farm and non-farm. The result of the study revealed that gender affects diversification options, the choice of income-generating activities due to culturally defined roles, social mobility limitations and differential ownership of working capital and access to assets. Based on the present study, it was possible to infer that the constraints of the rural households in choosing livelihood strategies that will lead them to achieve food security goal should not be put aside since food security problem cannot be overcome by simply concentrating on the farm sector alone; inter-sectorial issues, farm and non-farm linkages need to be addressed as well. Moreover, the contribution made by off-farm and non-agricultural sector to rural households is significant; obviously these activities are targeted for survival. In addition, the significance of gender issue indicates the decision to livelihood choices and as such public policy should be informed by analyses of how different livelihood choices are conditioned by gender issue. Thus the next interesting research question would be to analyze how gender issues affect the amount of income generation implications of different livelihood choices’ practices.
Deriving a Market-Based Measure of Interest Rate Expectations

Forward rates are perhaps the most common measure of expected future interest rates. But the existence of a risk premium can drive a wedge between forward rates and what the market expects future rates to be. In this article we use survey data to derive an estimate of the risk premium. We find that the survey-based risk premium implies a significant and time-varying difference between forward rates and expected future interest rates. Consequently, this article sets out a simple model of the survey-based risk premium that can be used to generate a path for expected future interest rates on any particular day.
Operating Performance Following Corporate Acquisitions: Does the Organisational Form of the Target Matter?

We compare the long-run operating performance of private target acquirers and public target acquirers using a sample of Australian acquisitions. While private target acquirers realise significantly higher abnormal returns during the announcement period of acquisitions than public target acquirers, there is no significant difference in their operating performance during the post-acquisition period. Relative size has differential effects on the performance of two types of acquirers. Significant performance improvements are possible when private target acquirers make relatively large acquisitions and when public target acquirers acquire relatively small acquisitions. Acquisitions of private targets are also associated with significant performance improvements if they are undertaken by experienced acquirers.
Side-Stream Cigarette Smoke Induces Dose–Response in Systemic Inflammatory Cytokine Production and Oxidative Stress

Side-stream cigarette smoke (SSCS), a major component of secondhand smoke, induces reactive oxygen species, which promote oxidative damage in tissues and organs. Inflammatory cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and heart failure. The present 4-month study examined the effect of various chronic SSCS exposure levels on splenic inflammatory cytokine secretion, heart contractile function, and pathology at 60- and 120-min per day, 5 days per week, for a total of 16 weeks. Tissue vitamin E level and lipid peroxide production also were tested to estimate the oxidative stress. The study found that the pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and IL-1β, significantly increased in 120-min SSCS-exposed mice. Decreased stroke volume and increased peripheral arterial resistance were observed in mice exposed to 120-min SSCS per day. Heart pathology was only found in 120-min SSCS-exposed mice. Cardiac and hepatic antioxidant vitamin E levels were decreased as a result of oxidative stress. Hepatic lipid peroxides were Increased upon 60-min SSCS exposure. The data also demonstrated that the cardiac α-tocopherol level has a strong correlation with stroke volume; splenic IL-1β has a strong negative correlation with stroke volume; splenic TNF-α has a very strong negative correlation with stroke volume. In conclusion, SSCS exposure induced systemic inflammatory responses. SSCS exposure also accentuated systemic lipid peroxidation with depletion of cardiac and hepatic antioxidant vitamin E level. Finally, SSCS exposure at 120 min per day decreased stroke volume and increased vascular resistance. Systemic IL-1 β and TNF-α production are responsible for heart contractile dysfunction. Free radicals may be responsible for the progression to heart contractile dysfunction induced, in part, by SSCS. Oxidized lipoprotein could contribute to the vascular functional changes. Exploring the mechanism of vascular dysfunction in mice is warranted. A more precise quantification of the smoking exposure dose in mice needs to be determined as well.
Gender Differences in Ventricular Repolarization:

NAKAGAWA, M. , et al. : Gender Difference in Ventricular Repolarization: Terminal T Wave Interval was Shorter in Woman than in Men. The incidence of sudden death is lower in women than in men, although women have a longer QT interval and are more prone to develop torsades de points than men. It has been recently proposed that the time interval between the apex and end of the T wave (Ta‐e) represents the transmural dispersion of ventricular repolarization. Gender and age differences in Ta‐e interval have not been fully assessed previously. Standard surface 12‐lead ECGs recorded in 760 healthy subjects (382 women, 0–88 years of age) were studied. The intervals from j‐point to the apex of the T wave (JaT) and to the end of the T wave (JeT) were measured in lead V5 in each ECG and corrected by preceding RR intervals using the formula of Bazett (JaTc and JeTc). The Ta‐e and Ta‐e/JeT ratio were also evaluated. Both JaTc and JeTc intervals were significantly longer in women aged > 20 years than in men of the same age(P < 0.0001). The difference was due to shortening of these intervals after puberty in men. However, the Ta‐e interval was significantly shorter in women than in men(P < 0.05)and subsequently the Ta‐e/JeT ratio was significantly smaller in women than in men (P < 0.0001). The results showed gender differences in the Ta‐e interval and JaTc and JeTc intervals in healthy adults, and suggest that the small transmural dispersion of repolarization in women, in spite of the long JaTc and JeTc intervals, might be a beneficial antiarrhythmic property. (PACE 2003; 26[Pt. I]:59–64)
A Drosophila metainflammation-blood tumor model links aspirin-triggered eicosanoid-like mediators to immune signaling

Accumulating data from epidemiologic studies are linking aspirin’s use to a decline in chronic and metabolic inflammation that underlies many human diseases including some cancers. Aspirin reduces cyclooxygenase-mediated pro-inflammatory prostaglandins and promotes the production of pro-resolution molecules. Aspirin also triggers the production of anti-inflammatory electrophilic mono-oxygenated lipid mediators implicated in human pathologies. With the goal of developing a model system for studying the mechanisms of aspirin in reducing inflammation, we investigated aspirin’s effects in fruit fly models of chronic inflammation. Ectopic Toll/NF-κB and JAK/STAT signaling in D. melanogaster results in an overproliferation of hematopoietic blood progenitors coupled with metabolic inflammation in adipocytes. We report that, like mammals, flies are sensitive to aspirin treatment and it modulates the Toll-NF-κB axis. Aspirin-treated mutants simultaneously experience reduction in metabolic inflammation, mitosis, ectopic immune signaling, and macrophage infiltration. Moreover, flies synthesize 13-HODE, and aspirin triggers 13-EFOX-L2 production in mutants. In such flies with ectopic immune signaling, providing 13-HODE’s precursor linoleic acid or performing targeted knockdown of transcription factor STAT in inflammatory blood cells boosts 13-EFOX-L2 levels while decreasing metabolic inflammation. Thus, hematopoietic cells regulate metabolic inflammation in flies, and their effects can be reversed by pharmaceutical or dietary intervention, suggesting deep phylogenetic conservation in animals’ ability to resolve systemic inflammation and repair tissue damage. This model system brings the power of Drosophila genetics to bear on immuno-metabolic mechanisms that boost systemic health and healing, with the potential to identify new targets for the treatment of chronic diseases in humans.
Ethanolamine Utilization Contributes to Proliferation of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium in Food and in Nematodes

ABSTRACT Only three pathogenic bacterial species, Salmonella enterica, Clostridium perfringens, and Listeria monocytogenes, are able to utilize both ethanolamine and 1,2-propanediol as a sole carbon source. Degradation of these substrates, abundant in food and the gut, depends on cobalamin, which is synthesized de novo only under anaerobic conditions. Although the eut, pdu, and cob-cbi gene clusters comprise 40 kb, the conditions under which they confer a selection advantage on these food-borne pathogens remain largely unknown. Here we used the luciferase reporter system to determine the response of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium promoters P eutS , P pocR , P pduF , and P pduA to a set of carbon sources, to egg yolk, to whole milk, and to milk protein or fat fractions. Depending on the supplements, specific inductions up to 3 orders of magnitude were observed for P eutS and P pduA , which drive the expression of most eut and pdu genes. To correlate these significant expression data with growth properties, nonpolar deletions of pocR, regulating the pdu and cob-cbi genes, and of eutR, involved in eut gene activation, were constructed in S. Typhimurium strain 14028. During exponential growth of the mutants 14028ΔpocR and 14028ΔeutR, 2- to 3-fold-reduced proliferation in milk and egg yolk was observed. Using the Caenorhabditis elegans infection model, we could also demonstrate that the proliferation of S. Typhimurium in the nematode is supported by an active ethanolamine degradation pathway. Taking these findings together, this study quantifies the differential expression of eut and pdu genes under distinct conditions and provides experimental evidence that the ethanolamine utilization pathway allows salmonellae to occupy specific metabolic niches within food environments and within their host organisms.
The Role of the FRE Family of Plasma Membrane Reductases in the Uptake of Siderophore-Iron in Saccharomyces cerevisiae *

Saccharomyces cerevisiae takes up siderophore-bound iron through two distinct systems, one that requires siderophore transporters of the ARN family and one that requires the high affinity ferrous iron transporter on the plasma membrane. Uptake through the plasma membrane ferrous iron transporter requires that the iron first must dissociate from the siderophore and undergo reduction to the ferrous form. FRE1 and FRE2 encode cell surface metalloreductases that are required for reduction and uptake of free ferric iron. The yeast genome contains five additionalFRE1 and FRE2 homologues, four of which are regulated by iron and the major iron-dependent transcription factor, Aft1p, but whose function remains unknown. Fre3p was required for the reduction and uptake of ferrioxamine B-iron and for growth on ferrioxamine B, ferrichrome, triacetylfusarinine C, and rhodotorulic acid in the absence of Fre1p and Fre2p. By indirect immunofluorescence, Fre3p was expressed on the plasma membrane in a pattern similar to that of Fet3p, a component of the high affinity ferrous transporter. Enterobactin, a catecholate siderophore, was not a substrate for Fre3p, and reductive uptake required either Fre1p or Fre2p. Fre4p could facilitate utilization of rhodotorulic acid-iron when the siderophore was present in higher concentrations. We propose that Fre3p and Fre4p are siderophore-iron reductases and that the apparent redundancy of the FRE genes confers the capacity to utilize iron from a variety of siderophore sources.
MicroRNA-26a Regulates Pathological and Physiological Angiogenesis by Targeting BMP/SMAD1 Signaling

Rationale: The rapid induction and orchestration of new blood vessels are critical for tissue repair in response to injury, such as myocardial infarction, and for physiological angiogenic responses, such as embryonic development and exercise. Objective: We aimed to identify and characterize microRNAs (miR) that regulate pathological and physiological angiogenesis. Methods and Results: We show that miR-26a regulates pathological and physiological angiogenesis by targeting endothelial cell (EC) bone morphogenic protein/SMAD1 signaling in vitro and in vivo. MiR-26a expression is increased in a model of acute myocardial infarction in mice and in human subjects with acute coronary syndromes. Ectopic expression of miR-26a markedly induced EC cycle arrest and inhibited EC migration, sprouting angiogenesis, and network tube formation in matrigel, whereas blockade of miR-26a had the opposite effects. Mechanistic studies demonstrate that miR-26a inhibits the bone morphogenic protein/SMAD1 signaling pathway in ECs by binding to the SMAD1 3′-untranslated region, an effect that decreased expression of Id1 and increased p21WAF/CIP and p27. In zebrafish, miR-26a overexpression inhibited formation of the caudal vein plexus, a bone morphogenic protein-responsive process, an effect rescued by ectopic SMAD1 expression. In mice, miR-26a overexpression inhibited EC SMAD1 expression and exercise-induced angiogenesis. Furthermore, systemic intravenous administration of an miR-26a inhibitor, locked nucleic acid-anti–miR-26a, increased SMAD1 expression and rapidly induced robust angiogenesis within 2 days, an effect associated with reduced myocardial infarct size and improved heart function. Conclusions: These findings establish miR-26a as a regulator of bone morphogenic protein/SMAD1-mediated EC angiogenic responses, and that manipulating miR-26a expression could provide a new target for rapid angiogenic therapy in ischemic disease states.
Memory processes and motor control in extreme environments

Cognitive-performance and motor-performance activities in multi-task, high-workload environments were assessed during astronaut performance in space flight and in isolation. Data was collected in microgravity on the International Micro-gravity Laboratory (IML) space shuttle mission (STS-42), and the Canadian Astronaut Program Space Unit Life Simulation (CAPSULS) mission offered an ideal opportunity to collect data for individuals in extreme isolation to complement the space flight data using similar hardware, software, and experimental protocols. The mental workload and performance experiment (MWPE) was performed during the IML-1 space flight mission, and the memory processes and motor control (MEMO) experiment was performed during the CAPSULS isolation mission. In both experiments, short-term exhaustive memory and fine motor control associated with human-computer interaction was studied. Memory processes were assessed using a Sternberg-like exhaustive memory search containing 1, 2, 4, or 7 letters. Fine motor control was assessed using velocity-controlled (joystick) and position-controlled (trackball) computer input devices to acquire targets as displayed on a computer screen. Subjects repeated the tasks under two conditions that tested perceptual motor adaptation strategies: 1) During adaptation to the microgravity environment; and 2) While wearing left-right reversing prism goggles during the CAPSULS mission. Both conditions significantly degraded motor performance but not cognitive performance. The data collected during both the MEMO experiment and the MWPE experiments enhance the knowledge base of human interface technology for human performance in extreme environments.
Auditory Implicit Memory and Context Effect in Early EFL Learners by 1

Adopting the priming paradigm, the present study examined the impact of mode of presentation, either in isolation of in a coherent text on the auditory implicit memory of early EFL learners in China. The results showed that previous encounters with the English words sped up later processing in both groups. However, compared with listening to words presented in the context, listening to words presented in isolation contributed more to the implicit memory. The result confirmed the existence of auditory priming and context effect in early L2 vocabulary learning. Finally, the reasons why priming occurred and why context reduced the auditory priming effects were discussed in terms of the Logogen Model and Transfer-appropriate processing. In addition, teaching strategies for enhancing the auditory implicit memory of words presented in context were suggested.
Economics of professional team sports.

1:Introduction Section A: The Market, Industry and Firm Professional Team Sports 2: The Market Structure of Professional Sports Leagues: General Themes 3: The Market Struture of Professional Sport Leagues: The Firm in Professional Team Sports 4:Cross-Subsidisation in Professional Team Sports Leagues Section B: The Demand for Professional Team Sports 5: The Demand for Professional Team Sports: Theoretical and Empirical Issues 6: The Demand for Professional Team Sports: Traditional findings and new Developments 7: The Demand for Professional Team Sports and the Uncertainty of Outcome Hypothesis: Theoretical and Empirical Issues 8: Broadcast Demand and the Impact of Television on Professional Team Sports Section C: The Labour Market in Professional Team Sports 9: The Traditional view of Sports Labour Markets: Theory and Evidence 10: Recent Developments in Sporting Labour Markets: Theory and Evidence 11: Conclusions.
Standards of Excellence: U. S. Residents' Evaluations of Local Government Services

Nevertheless, theirfindings can prove useful in providing city and county practitioners some comparative benchmarks for assessing service delivery in their jurisdictions. Nothing appeals more surprising to those who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few. W1ien we inquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find that.the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is, therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments as well as the mostfree andpopular (David Hume, 1711, as quoted in Neumann-Noell, 1979, p. 145).
Purification of plasmid DNA by an integrated operation comprising tangential flow filtration and nitrocellulose adsorption.

There is an increasing interest in the development of scaleable and reproducible plasmid DNA purification protocols for vaccine and gene therapy. The use of an integrated unit operation, comprising tangential flow microfiltration coupled with the adsorption of contaminants onto nitrocellulose membranes as a single processing step was examined in this work. Experiments were performed using a custom-built tangential flow microfiltration rig (membrane area=12.5 cm(2)). Tangential flow filtration-adsorption of E. coli lysates containing a plasmid product removed most solids (>75%) and decreased chromosomal DNA contamination by 75% w/w. Total plasmid DNA concentration and supercoiled content of the permeate were virtually identical to those of the feed, indicating a recovery yield of 100% (transmission equal to 1). Results were similar for E. coli lysates containing either a 6.9 kb or a 20 kb plasmid. Significant reductions in RNA, endotoxin, and protein levels were also observed. The reproducibility and potential for scale up of this integrated filtration-adsorption operation makes it at attractive option for intermediate- to large-scale pharmaceutical-grade plasmid processing.
Maternal worries about child underweight mediate and moderate the relationship between child feeding disorders and mother-child feeding interactions.

OBJECTIVE To examine the role of maternal worries about child underweight and undereating in mother-child feeding interactions with children having a feeding disorder (FD). METHOD Participants were 27 children diagnosed with nonorganic-based FD and 28 children without FD. Mothers were interviewed about their worries about child underweight and undereating. Mother-child interactions were videotaped during feeding. RESULTS Maternal child weight-related worries acted as both a mediator and a moderator. The more negative mother-child interactions found in the FD group, compared to the control group, were explained by greater maternal worry regarding child underweight. Furthermore, mother-child interactions within the FD group were not at risk per se, but only when coupled with high maternal worries about children's underweight. CONCLUSION Worry about child underweight partially explains the development of negative feeding interactions when having children with FD, signifying clinical implications for the treatment of FD.