Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of TGFbeta2 on Wild-Type and Tgfbr3 Knockout Mouse Fetal Testis1

ABSTRACT TGFBR3 (betaglycan), a TGFbeta superfamily coreceptor, is essential for normal seminiferous cord and Leydig cell development in the fetal mouse testis and has been associated with testicular dysgenesis syndrome in men. However, the mechanisms underlying TGFBR3-regulated testis development are unclear. We tested the hypothesis that loss of Tgfbr3 compromises the functions of TGFbeta2 in the differentiating fetal testis. Analysis of expression of transcripts encoding the TGFbeta superfamily members showed a predominance of TGFbeta mRNAs during the critical window of development when testis structure is established (11.5–14.5 days postcoitum [dpc]). When cultured under basal conditions for 2 days, explants of 13.5 dpc wild-type fetal testis/mesonephros complexes exhibited structure and gene expression profiles resembling those observed in vivo between 13.5–15.5 dpc. Similarly, development of Tgfbr3 knockout testis explants recapitulated the dysgenesis and decreased somatic cell marker expression previously observed in vivo. TGFbeta2 treatment partially rescued cord development in 11.5–13.5 dpc Tgfbr3 knockout explants but did not significantly alter somatic or germ cell gene expression. In contrast, TGFbeta2 treatment of wild-type explants disrupted cord structure and significantly downregulated the somatic and steroidogenic cell markers Amh, Sf1, Star, Cyp11a, Hsd3b1, and Cyp17a1. We conclude that 1) the compromised cord development in Tgfbr3 null fetal testis is due to, at least in part, disrupted TGFbeta2 function; 2) the reduction in steroidogenesis observed in the Tgfbr3 null testis may be regulated by additional TGFBR3 ligands, rather than TGFbeta2; and 3) both cord maintenance and somatic cell development are highly sensitive to the levels of TGFbeta2.
Vedolizumab for the Treatment of Active Ulcerative Colitis: A Randomized Controlled Phase 2 Dose‐ranging Study

Background: Vedolizumab is a gut‐selective biologic that has shown efficacy in ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). We studied the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, tolerability, and efficacy of a new formulation of vedolizumab produced by an improved manufacturing process. Methods: UC patients were randomized to receive vedolizumab (2, 6, or 10 mg/kg) or placebo on days 1, 15, 29, and 85. Safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and immunogenicity evaluations were performed at multiple timepoints through day 253. Partial Mayo Scores and fecal calprotectin levels were used to assess efficacy. Results: In all, 46 patients (9 placebo, 37 vedolizumab) received at least one dose of study medication. The vedolizumab serum concentration declined monoexponentially until concentrations reached 1–10 &mgr;g/mL, and then fell nonlinearly. Vedolizumab maximum serum concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC) increased approximately proportionally as a function of dose. Vedolizumab maximally saturated &agr;4&bgr;7 receptors on peripheral serum lymphocytes at all measurable serum concentrations. Vedolizumab was well tolerated, with no deaths and no adverse events leading to discontinuation. At every assessment from day 29 through day 253, over 50% of vedolizumab‐treated patients were in clinical response, while placebo response rates generally ranged between 22% and 33%. Vedolizumab treatment reduced fecal calprotectin levels compared with placebo. Conclusions: Vedolizumab demonstrated dose‐proportional pharmacokinetics and maximally saturated &agr;4&bgr;7 receptors over the tested dose range. Multiple dosing up to 10 mg/kg was well tolerated. Over the course of follow‐up a greater proportion of patients treated with vedolizumab were in clinical response than those who were assigned to placebo. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2012)
Roughness characterization for interconnect analysis

A novel method for practical prediction of interconnect conductor surface roughness effect on multi-gigabit digital signals is proposed. A differential impedance operator of a conductor is constructed with Trefftz finite elements and locally adjusted with a correction coefficient to account for the roughness effect. Any correction coefficient derived for the additional power loss due to roughness can be used with the proposed method. Modified Hammerstad's correction coefficient is proposed and used here as an example. A test board is manufactured and investigated up to 50 GHz. Parameters of the conductor roughness model are identified with generalized modal S-parameters. An increase of effective dielectric constant due to conductor surface roughness is observed and explained by capacitive effect of spikes on the surface of conductor. It is shown that the constructed interconnect models are consistent with the measured data.
Financial Performance of Private Sector Banks in India - An Evaluation

Private sector banks play an important role in development of Indian economy. After liberalization the banking industry under went major changes. The economic reforms totally have changed the banking sector. RBI permitted new banks to be started in the private sector as per the recommendation of Narashiman committee. The Indian banking industry was dominated by public sector banks. But now the situations have changed new generation banks with used of technology and professional management has gained a reasonable position in the banking industry. The main idea of this article is to make an evaluation of the financial performance of Indian private sector banks.
A controlled trial of general practitioners' attitudes to patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE To examine general practitioners' attitudes to patients with schizophrenia. DESIGN A random sample of primary care physicians were alternately sent a case vignette of a patient with or without schizophrenia, in an otherwise identical clinical abstract, and asked to indicate their level of agreement with fifteen statements based on it. SUBJECTS AND SETTING A one-in-five sample of general practitioners who were identified from the Primary Care Services Register of Lothian Health Board. RESULTS The median score for each statement was compared by the two-tailed Wilcoxon rank sum test. Doctors responding to the vignette of the patient with schizophrenia were significantly less willing to have the patient on their practice list, more likely to refer them to a specialist and more likely to think that they would be violent; whereas they did not think that they would take up any more time than the other patient. These impressions were no different between those who had or had not received work training in psychiatry. CONCLUSIONS This controlled trial of primary care physicians' attitudes towards patients with schizophrenia amounts to an empirical demonstration of medical discrimination against the sufferers of this and potentially of other long term psychiatric disorders. Psychiatrists and general practitioners should share care in the management of schizophrenia and try to overcome the prejudices against such patients in an attempt to improve their overall clinical care.
Smoking Restrictions Among Households of Childhood and Young Adult Cancer Survivors: Implications for Tobacco Control Efforts.

PURPOSE This study assessed the prevalence of smoking restrictions among households of survivors of childhood and young adult cancer who smoke. It also examined the relationship between home smoking restrictions and motivation to quit smoking, as well as other smoking, psychosocial, and environmental factors. METHODS Participants included 374 smokers who were childhood or young adult cancer survivors (between the ages of 18 and 55 years) recruited from five cancer centers to participate in a randomized smoking cessation trial. Survivors completed baseline measures about the smoking restrictions in their households, their smoking behavior, and related psychological and environmental factors, which are the focus of the current manuscript. RESULTS Almost 54% of survivors reported that smoking was prohibited in their households. Living with a nonsmoking partner, having a strict smoking policy at work, and not being nicotine dependent all increased the likelihood of having a total home smoking ban. Participants who were older, smoked more cigarettes per day over the prior week, and received prior chemotherapy were less likely to reside in households that adopted total bans. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that socio-environmental factors and current smoking behaviors are associated with complete smoking restrictions in the homes of survivors. These factors should be considered when communicating with survivors about the importance of establishing strict smoking policies in their private residences.
Hot-electron-induced traps studied through the random telegraph noise

Random telegraph signal (RTS) measurements have been used to study individual hot-carrier-induced traps in nMOSFETs. It is shown that single filling and emptying can cause 0.1% step noise in channel current. Trap location (3-10 A from interface), time constant ( approximately 10 ms), and energy are found to be quite different from those of prestress (process-induced) traps. The type (acceptor or donor) of the traps can also be identified by RTS measurements; both the process and stress-induced traps with energies near the conduction band edge are found to be of the acceptor type for nMOSFETs and trap levels near the valence band edge are found to be of the donor type for pMOSFETs. Using RTS as a characterization tool, it is found that the stress-induced interface traps are located closer to the interface, resulting in shorter time constants and a stronger influence on the surface mobility than the process-induced traps. <<ETX>>
Is corporate fraud risk correctly priced by the market

The answer is: No. Stocks with predictably higher fraud risk earn significantly lower stock market returns going forward. Based on an out-of-sample estimation of individual firms' fraud risk, we find a significantly negative return premium for firms with the highest fraud propensity. A portfolio investing in firms with the lowest fraud probability and shorting firms with the highest fraud probability yields abnormal returns of more than 10 percent per year. This result is robust to various asset pricing models that control for differences in firms' quality, liquidity, downside risk, or investor preferences. Our results suggest that the market does not efficiently price corporate fraud risk. This finding is puzzling, because limits of arbitrage do not seem to explain our results. Furthermore, abnormal returns are higher after periods of high sentiment, suggesting that the return patterns documented here constitute an anomaly.
Diversity of the Abundant pKLC102/PAGI-2 Family of Genomic Islands in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACT The known genomic islands of Pseudomonas aeruginosa clone C strains are integrated into tRNALys (pKLC102) or tRNAGly (PAGI-2 and PAGI-3) genes and differ from their core genomes by distinctive tetranucleotide usage patterns. pKLC102 and the related island PAPI-1 from P. aeruginosa PA14 were spontaneously mobilized from their host chromosomes at frequencies of 10% and 0.3%, making pKLC102 the most mobile genomic island known with a copy number of 30 episomal circular pKLC102 molecules per cell. The incidence of islands of the pKLC102/PAGI-2 type was investigated in 71 unrelated P. aeruginosa strains from diverse habitats and geographic origins. pKLC102- and PAGI-2-like islands were identified in 50 and 31 strains, respectively, and 15 and 10 subtypes were differentiated by hybridization on pKLC102 and PAGI-2 macroarrays. The diversity of PAGI-2-type islands was mainly caused by one large block of strain-specific genes, whereas the diversity of pKLC102-type islands was primarily generated by subtype-specific combination of gene cassettes. Chromosomal loss of PAGI-2 could be documented in sequential P. aeruginosa isolates from individuals with cystic fibrosis. PAGI-2 was present in most tested Cupriavidus metallidurans and Cupriavidus campinensis isolates from polluted environments, demonstrating the spread of PAGI-2 across habitats and species barriers. The pKLC102/PAGI-2 family is prevalent in numerous beta- and gammaproteobacteria and is characterized by high asymmetry of the cDNA strands. This evolutionarily ancient family of genomic islands retained its oligonucleotide signature during horizontal spread within and among taxa.
Comprehensive Income: Who's Afraid of Performance Reporting?

ABSTRACT: Firms can report comprehensive income in either an income-statement-like performance statement or the statement of equity. Traditional theories of contracting incentives cannot explain this reporting location choice that only affects where comprehensive income data appear, because the contractible values of net income, other comprehensive income items, and comprehensive income are exactly the same regardless of the location where the firm reports comprehensive income. Drawing on theory, analysis of comment letters, and results of survey-based and behavioral research, we identify two factors—equity-based incentives and concerns over job security—that help explain why most firms do not follow policymakers' preference to report comprehensive income in a performance statement. Our empirical evidence on a broad cross-section of firms shows that managers with stronger equity-based incentives and less job security are significantly less likely to use performance reporting. Overall, our study suggests that even though the reporting location choice is inconsequential in a traditional rational markets view, managers act as if they believe that comprehensive income reporting location matters.
Phase I/II clinical evaluation of StrataGraft: a consistent, pathogen-free human skin substitute.

BACKGROUND Large wounds often require temporary allograft placement to optimize the wound bed and prevent infection until permanent closure is feasible. We developed and clinically tested a second-generation living human skin substitute (StrataGraft). StrataGraft provides both a dermis and a fully-stratified, biologically-functional epidermis generated from a pathogen-free, long-lived human keratinocyte progenitor cell line, Neonatal Immortalized KeratinocyteS (NIKS). METHODS Histology, electron microscopy, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and bacterial growth in vitro were used to analyze human skin substitutes generated from primary human keratinocytes or NIKS cells. A phase I/II, National Institute of Health-funded, randomized, safety, and dose escalation trial was performed to assess autograft take in 15 patients 2 weeks after coverage with StrataGraft skin substitute or cryopreserved cadaver allograft. RESULTS StrataGraft skin substitute exhibited a fully stratified epidermis with multilamellar lipid sheets and barrier function as well as robust human beta defensin-3 mRNA levels. Analysis of the primary endpoint in the clinical study revealed no differences in autograft take between wound sites pretreated with StrataGraft skin substitute or cadaver allograft. No StrataGraft-related adverse events or serious adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS The major finding of this phase I/II clinical study is that performance of StrataGraft skin substitute was comparable to cadaver allograft for the temporary management of complex skin defects. StrataGraft skin substitute may also eliminate the risk for disease transmission associated with allograft tissue and offer additional protection to the wound bed through inherent antimicrobial properties. StrataGraft is a pathogen-free human skin substitute that is ideal for the management of severe skin wounds before autografting.
p38delta/MAPK13 as a diagnostic marker for cholangiocarcinoma and its involvement in cell motility and invasion

Cholangiocarcinoma (CC) and hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC) are two main forms of liver malignancies, which exhibit differences in drug response and prognosis. Immunohistotochemical staining for cytokeratin markers has been used to some success in the differential diagnosis of CC from HCC. However, there remains a need for additional markers for increased sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis. In this study, we have identified a p38 MAP kinase, p38δ (also known as MAPK13 or SAPK4) as a protein that is upregulated in CC relative to HCC and to normal biliary tract tissues. We performed microarray gene expression profiling on 17 cases of CC, 12 cases of adjacent normal liver tissue, and three case of normal bile duct tissue. p38δ was upregulated in 16 out of 17 cases of CC relative to normal tissue. We subsequently performed immunohistochemical staining of p38δ in 54 cases of CC and 54 cases of HCC. p38δ staining distinguished CC from HCC with a sensitivity of 92.6% and a specificity of 90.7%. To explore the possible functional significance of p38δ expression in CC, we examined the effects of overexpression and knockdown of p38δ expression in human CC cell lines. Our results indicate that p38δ is important for motility and invasion of CC cells, suggesting that p38δ may play an important role in CC metastasis. In summary, p38δ may serve as a novel diagnostic marker for CC and may also serve as a new target for molecular based therapy of this disease.
Assessing High Schools Students’ Perceptions of Sales as an Area to Study in College, and as a Career to Pursue after College

The Department of Education’s latest data (2011 – 2012) indicates just over 20% (370,000) of 1.79 million bachelor’s degrees conferred in the U.S. are in business. The next highest major (social sciences and history) accounted for about 10% of the total. More recent data suggests business degrees continue to be the most popular among college students. According to a 2014 USATODAY study, business is the most popular major among the nearly 21 million college students in the U.S. (Stockwell 2014).
Industrial clusters, asymmetric information and industrial policy

A market economy allocates too little resources to an industry with increasing returns to scale such as an agglomerated cluster. A subsidy to the cluster is therefore welfare improving. But often the government does not know which industries have increasing returns to scale. The problem is to identify the true clusters from the ordinary industries. This paper attempts to shed some light on the problem of industrial policy and industrial clusters when there is asymmetric information between the government and the industry. We show that a subsidy contingent of a certain activity level will create a separating equilibrium. JEL: D82, F12, L52, R12
On Cognitive Process-Based Instruction

The purpose of this special issue is twofold. First, it is intended to inform learning disabilities (LD) professionals of the relevance, the possibilities, and the difficulties in applying an increasingly popularized/ advocated mode of instruction with students with LD. This instructional mode is one of the direct influences of cognitive psychology and has been in use in science and engineering for some time in several university programs (see Lochhead, 1979). Its use has also been promoted in reading instruction. Second, this special issue aims to explicate and clarify for readers the vast, fundamental differences between cognitive process-based instruction developed by cognitive psychologists and process training a la Kirk. As explained below, these two instructional approaches differ in important ways, and readers should not be misled into equating the two, simply because the word "process" overlaps.
The interaction effect of job redesign and job satisfaction on employee performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of job redesign as well as that of the interaction effect of job redesign and job satisfaction on employee performance. Design/methodology/approach – The qualitative research method is used, i.e., in-depth interviews, to validate the questionnaire which is modified based on the well-established Job Diagnostic Survey instrument. A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted in 2012 taking the hotel and resort industry and the banking industry in Thailand as its research sites. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the survey data obtained from 295 sample respondent managers. Findings – It is found that job redesign is significantly and inversely related to employee performance. Meanwhile job satisfaction is found to be positively and significantly related to employee performance. Moreover, the interaction effect between job redesign and job satisfaction is found to be positively and significantly related to employee performance. Fur.
Prevalence of the fsr Locus in Enterococcus faecalis Infections

ABSTRACT The fsr locus of Enterococcus faecalis confers virulence in animal models. A retrospective analysis of fsr prevalence in diverse E. faecalis clinical isolates demonstrated fsr in all endocarditis isolates versus 53% of stool isolates (P = 0.005). This supports a role for fsr-mediated virulence in the pathogenesis of enterococcal infections in humans.
Selective Activation of Nuclear Phospholipase D-1 by G Protein–Coupled Receptor Agonists in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Recent studies highlight the existence of an autonomous nuclear lipid metabolism related to cellular proliferation. However, the importance of nuclear phosphatidylcholine (PC) metabolism is poorly understood. Therefore, we were interested in nuclear PCs as a source of second messengers and, particularly, nuclear phospholipase D (PLD) identification in membrane-free nuclei isolated from pig aorta vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Using immunoblot experiment, in vitro PLD assay with fluorescent substrate and confocal microscopy analysis, we demonstrated that only PLD1 is expressed in VSMC nucleus, whereas PLD1 and PLD2 are present in VSMC. Inhibition of RhoA and protein kinase C&zgr; (PKC&zgr;) by C3-exoenzyme and PKC&zgr; pseudosubstrate inhibitor, respectively, conducted a decrease of phosphatidylethanol production. On the other hand, treatment of intact VSMCs, but not nuclei, with phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors prevented partially nuclear PLD1 activity, indicating for the first time that PI3K may have a role in nuclear PLD regulation. In addition, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) or angiotensin II treatment of VSMCs resulted in an increase of intranuclear PLD activity, whereas platelet-derived growth factor and epidermal growth factor have no significant effect. Moreover, pertussis toxin induced a decrease of LPA-stimulated nuclear PLD1 activity, suggesting that heterotrimeric Gi/G0 protein involvement in intranuclear PLD1 regulation. We also show that LPA-induced nuclear PLD1 activation implied PI3K/PKC&zgr; pathway activation and PKC&zgr; nuclear translocation as well as nuclear RhoA activation. Thus, the characterization of an endogenous PLD1 that could regulate PC metabolism inside VSMC nucleus provides a new role for this enzyme in control of vascular fibroproliferative disorders.
Woodchip humidity measurements using EM pulse propagation time

In this paper, a system for measuring moisture content of wood-chip samples is presented, based on propagation time measurements of electromagnetic pulses in a two wire probe. Both simulation and experimental results are reported, validated by concurrently performed TGA measurements. It is shown that the proposed approach may be advantageous, since it features a good sensitivity and a very high measurement speed.