Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tumor necrosis factor-&agr; and interleukin-1&bgr; mediate endothelial permeability induced by lipopolysaccharide-stimulated whole blood

Objective To investigate the role of endotoxin-induced inflammatory mediators in blood on the permeability of endothelial monolayers. Design Whole blood of healthy volunteers was treated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (Escherichia coli, B55:05), and the resultant plasma was added to human umbilical venular endothelial cells (HUVEC) cultured on semipermeable membrane inserts (Transwells). Setting University hospital laboratory. Subjects Whole blood of healthy volunteers. Interventions Donor plasma was treated with excess antibodies against either tumor necrosis factor-&agr;, interleukin-1&bgr;, or both, before the incubation on HUVEC. Measurements and Main Results The permeability of HUVEC monolayers to fluorescent-labeled albumin and dextran was measured over a 6-hr period, after removal of the stimulus. The production of tumor necrosis factor-&agr; and interleukin-1&bgr; in lipopolysaccharide-treated whole blood was determined by radioimmunoassay. Individually, lipopolysaccharide (10 &mgr;g/mL), tumor necrosis factor-&agr; (10 ng/mL), and interleukin-1&bgr; (50 ng/mL) all increased endothelial permeability by about 2.5-fold. A much larger increase could be achieved by preincubation of lipopolysaccharide (10 &mgr;g/mL) in whole blood: the resultant plasma induced a ten-fold increase of the permeability. The permeability response after preincubation of lipopolysaccharide in whole blood was time- and dose-dependent. Moreover, this treatment increased the sensitivity of endothelial monolayers to lipopolysaccharide by a factor of several thousand-fold: Whereas high doses of lipopolysaccharide were required for direct stimulation of the permeability, picomolar amounts of lipopolysaccharide in whole blood induced a similar increase. Significant amounts of tumor necrosis factor-&agr; and interleukin-1&bgr; were produced in blood at similar doses of lipopolysaccharide. The addition of antibodies against tumor necrosis factor-&agr; or interleukin-1&bgr; to plasma partially but significantly abrogated the permeability increase. However, a complete inhibition could be achieved by the simultaneous addition of anti-tumor necrosis factor-&agr; and anti-interleukin-1&bgr; to plasma. Conclusions Although lipopolysaccharide is capable of directly inducing endothelial permeability, blood-borne tumor necrosis factor-&agr; and interleukin-1&bgr; mediate lipopolysaccharide-induced endothelial permeability at low endotoxin concentrations. These findings support the idea that multifactorial inhibition of inflammatory mediators may improve survival in septic patients.
Lowering Bile Acid Pool Size with a Synthetic Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) Agonist Induces Obesity and Diabetes through Reduced Energy Expenditure*

We evaluated the metabolic impact of farnesoid X receptor (FXR) activation by administering a synthetic FXR agonist (GW4064) to mice in which obesity was induced by a high fat diet. Administration of GW4064 accentuated body weight gain and glucose intolerance induced by the high fat diet and led to a pronounced worsening of the changes in liver and adipose tissue. Mechanistically, treatment with GW4064 decreased bile acid (BA) biosynthesis, BA pool size, and energy expenditure, whereas reconstitution of the BA pool in these GW4064-treated animals by BA administration dose-dependently reverted the metabolic abnormalities. Our data therefore suggest that activation of FXR with synthetic agonists is not useful for long term management of the metabolic syndrome, as it reduces the BA pool size and subsequently decreases energy expenditure, translating as weight gain and insulin resistance. In contrast, expansion of the BA pool size, which can be achieved by BA administration, could be an interesting strategy to manage the metabolic syndrome.
Characterization of Globally Spread Escherichia coli ST131 Isolates (1991 to 2010)

ABSTRACT The characterization of a broad representative sample of ST131 Escherichia coli isolates from different origins and settings (1991 to 2010) revealed that this clonal group has likely diversified recently and that the expansion of particular variants has probably been favored by the capture of diverse, multidrug-resistant IncFII plasmids (pC15-1a, pEK499, pKF3-140-like). The low ability to adhere and to grow as biofilm that was detected in this study suggests unknown mechanisms for the persistence of this clonal group which need to be further explored.
Applying time series analysis to supply response and risk

Of the many themes in production economics perhaps the most important is that of supply response. The significance of agricultural incentives in economic development stems from three main reasons: First, agriculture is the dominant production and employment sector in developing countries. Second, it has a significant linkages with the rest of the economy. Third, to a large extent, resource allocation within the sector is strongly influenced by government intervention. These reasons underlie the importance of farmer response to economic incentives for policy-maker, and is the focus of this thesis. The main purpose of this thesis is to both review the existing econometric evidence and to provide further empirical evidence on supply response to prices and risk in order to asses the quantitative significance of price variables in the agricultural sector. Empirical results presented in this thesis are based on state and province level estimates from Turkish agriculture for the time period of 1950-90. Estimates of short-run elasticities of area planted with respect to the ratio of own-price and cross-price to fertiliser price are (0.183) and (-0.270), respectively. The corresponding long-run estimates are (0.230) and (-0.297). By convention an elasticity less than 1% is considered inelastic. In terms of the size of the estimated elasticities following points should be made: Firstly, the short-run response in agriculture is very low, because the main inputs such as land, labour and capital, are fixed. Secondly, the size of shortand long-run elasticities are close to each other. This could be explained by the low elasticity of supply response of the fixed factors. The elasticity of supply response increases with time as desired factor reallocation becomes more complete and as factors which are fixed in the short-run can become variable. Thirdly, the introduction of new varieties provides a significant and positive acreage response (0.637), while the stabilisation policies decrease (-0.293) area planted for wheat in the province. In the light of such evidence, the case for a positive price policy for agricultural development is strong indeed. However, instead of the price mechanism regarded as being the sole instrument to promote agricultural growth and a reasonably efficient role in resource allocation, it is also concluded that further provision of technological change will stimulate agricultural growth. This issue is also addressed by several researchers who argue that to get a good response requires more resources and/or better technology and infrastructure investments in areas such as roads, markets, irrigation and education.
Angiopoietin 2 Is a Partial Agonist/Antagonist of Tie2 Signaling in the Endothelium

ABSTRACT Angiopoietin 2 (Ang2) was originally shown to be a competitive antagonist for Ang1 of the receptor tyrosine kinase Tie2 in endothelial cells (ECs). Since then, reports have conflicted on whether Ang2 is an agonist or antagonist of Tie2. Here we show that Ang2 functions as an agonist when Ang1 is absent but as a dose-dependent antagonist when Ang1 is present. Exogenous Ang2 activates Tie2 and the promigratory, prosurvival PI3K/Akt pathway in ECs but with less potency and lower affinity than exogenous Ang1. ECs produce Ang2 but not Ang1. This endogenous Ang2 maintains Tie2, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, and Akt activities, and it promotes EC survival, migration, and tube formation. However, when ECs are stimulated with Ang1 and Ang2, Ang2 dose-dependently inhibits Ang1-induced Tie2 phosphorylation, Akt activation, and EC survival. We conclude that Ang2 is both an agonist and an antagonist of Tie2. Although Ang2 is a weaker agonist than Ang1, endogenous Ang2 maintains a level of Tie2 activation that is critical to a spectrum of EC functions. These findings may reconcile disparate reports of Ang2's effect on Tie2, impact our understanding of endogenous receptor tyrosine kinase signal transduction mechanisms, and affect how Ang2 and Tie2 are targeted under conditions such as sepsis and cancer.
Specificity and biological distribution of coenzyme M (2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid)

The specificity of the growth requirement of Methanobacterium ruminantium strain M1 for a new coenzyme, 2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid (HS--CoM), was examined. A variety of derivatives, analogs, and potential biosynthetic precursors of coenzyme M were tested; only a restricted range of thioether, thioester, and thiocarbonate derivatives of the cofactor were found to replace the HS--CoM requirement. Bromoethanesulfonic acid (BrCH2CH2SO3-), a halogenated analog of HS--CoM, potently inhibited the growth response. No coenzyme was detectable in a wide range of nonmethanogenic eucaryotic tissues and procaryotic organisms. However, all methanogens available in pure culture exhibited high levels of coenzyme M which ranged from 0.3 to 16 nmol/mg of dry weight.
Ontogeny of Osmoregulation in the Crayfish Astacus leptodactylus

Osmoregulation was studied during the postembryonic development of Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz 1823 in juvenile stages 1–8 and in adults. Juveniles hatch and later stages develop in freshwater or in moderately saline waters. The time of acclimation from freshwater to a saline medium increased from early juveniles to adults. At all stages, it was longer than in comparable stages of marine crustaceans, reflecting the high impermeability of the teguments to water and ions. All stages were able to hyperisoosmoregulate. In freshwater, the ability to hyperosmoregulate was established at hatching and increased during development. The hemolymph osmolality increased from 286 mosm kg−1 in stage 1 juveniles to 419 mosm kg−1 in adults. All stages also hyperregulated at low salinities (7‰ and 13‰ salinity) and were osmoconformers at higher salinities up to 21‰ salinity. The lowest isosmotic salinity tended to increase with the developmental stages. The ability to osmoregulate at hatch and throughout postembryonic development is probably a key physiological adaptation in this and other freshwater crayfish.
Do Multinational Companies Shift Profits Out of Developing Countries? New Evidence

Despite recent news and initial non-causal empirical evidence on multinational companies (MNCs) shifting profits out of developing countries, this study is unable to provide significant causal evidence on shifting out of developing countries to any affiliates located in lower taxed, better credit rated, less corrupt, developed countries or tax havens. Methodology wise this study however improves on previous ones, by expanding the geographic focus worldwide, shifting patterns, incentivizing factors and using more realistic effective rather than statutory tax rates. Moreover, it identifies profit-shifting through earnings shocks relative to comparable firms that are only passed on to other MNC affiliates located in lower taxed countries. The study can thereby control for country-pair-year fixed effects instead of relying on infrequent potentially endogenous changes in tax rates. Rather than rejecting the existence of profit-shifting, these results raise concern about time and sample robustness of studies using the Orbis database and urge for better data. Besides, the findings suggest that profit-shifting strategies have become more complex and likely not incorporating shifting opportunities arising from windfall profits.
Risk factors involved in the development of pneumothorax during radiofrequency ablation of lung neoplasms.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the risk factors involved in the development of pneumothorax during radiofrequency ablation of lung tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective study covered 124 ablation sessions for lung tumors (10 primary lesions, 114 metastatic lesions) in 82 patients (46 men, 36 women; mean age, 64.0 years) treated between December 2005 and January 2008. The exclusion criteria for ablation therapy were lesions with a maximal diameter greater than 5 cm and the presence of more than five lesions. A bipolar electrode needle was used under CT guidance. Four patients were treated with two ablation electrodes simultaneously. RESULTS The incidence of pneumothorax (detected with CT) was 11.3% (14 of 124 sessions). Pneumothorax was graded mild (lung surface retraction, < or = 2 cm), moderate (lung surface retraction, 2-4 cm), or severe (lung surface retraction, > or = 4 cm). Significant risk factors encountered in the development of pneumothorax were age greater than 60 years (p = 0.046), emphysema (p = 0.02), tumor diameter < or = 1.5 cm (p = 0.0008), lesions in lower part of lung, (p = 0.027), aerated lung parenchyma traversed by the needle track for a distance > or = 2.6 cm (p = 0.0017), and traversal of a major pulmonary fissure (p = 0.0004). Pneumothorax developed in one of the four patients in whom multiple electrodes were used. The mean depth of lung lesions complicated by pneumothorax was 2.9 +/- 1.55 cm (range, 0-5.5 cm). Conservative treatment was performed in four of the 14 pneumothorax sessions (28.6%). In six of the 14 sessions (42.9%), immediate complete evacuation was achieved with an intercostal catheter and manual evacuation; chest tube placement was indicated in four sessions (28.6%). Two patients were treated with manual evacuation because evidence of a progressive increase in pneumothorax on the 24-hour follow-up CT scan indicated failure of conservative treatment. CONCLUSION The development of pneumothorax complicating radiofrequency ablation can be unpredictable, but the many risk factors involved can make the incidence higher among some patients than others. Some of these risk factors are technically avoidable and have to be ruled out.
T‐Cell Regulation of Immunoglobulin Synthesis and Proliferation in Pokeweed (Pa‐1)‐Stimulated Human Lymphocyte Cultures

In pokeweed (Pa‐1)‐stimulated human lymphocyte cultures, T cells are essential for the survival, proliferation, plasma‐cell development, and high‐rate Ig secretion of B cells. Their effects are T‐cell‐specific in the sense that B‐Cell stimulation does not take place in the absence of T cells even when fibroblasts or monocytes are provided. The experimental system is the most effective model for activation of human B lymphocytes so far described. Plasmablast development requires approximately 7 days in culture. In T + B‐cell cultures established at 1 × 106/ml (1 × 104/mm2) initial cell density, plasma cells can secrete, on the average, as much as 40–70 pg IgM or IgG per cell per day. When the initial T‐cell density is increased well above 1.0 × 106/ml, a T‐cell‐mediated depression of Ig synthesis becomes predominant. Thus, in the pokeweed model T‐cell effects represent a balance of helper and suppressor influences. The study also shows that B cells are heterogeneous. A non‐adherent IgG‐committed (smIg−? ) tonsil B‐cell population seems to be less susceptible to T suppressor effects than normal tonsil B cells. This subset proliferates particularly well and synthesizes large quantities of IgG in the presence of large initial proportions of T cells.
Old issues and new directions

This article describes and discusses 27 interviews that explored perceptions of the effectiveness of advocacy services for people with learning disabilities in the UK.The views of stakeholders on the current position of advocacy services, how services are evaluated and recommendations for change are central themes in the analysis of the interviews.The discussion suggests that although evaluation of effectiveness is increasingly important in the light of policy change and funding constraints, it is not universally in place and available tools are considered to be inadequate for the task.The explanation of this may lie in the continuing debates over the meaning and purpose of evaluation and fears that it is one-dimensional. Future investment and commitment to advocacy schemes will need to address these issues.
The Impact of Momentum Factors on Multi Asset Portfolio

This article examines a global momentum-based allocation strategy across a broad range of asset classes. It is necessary to break away from a fixed asset allocation because of these unusual and unforeseen market movements, like the tech bubble during the late 1990s and the financial market crisis in 2008. With the dramatic decline in value across all asset classes, the neoclassical capital market theory lost its reputation. This research shows that a dynamic asset allocation process offers an attractive risk-return profile. Furthermore, this work seeks to demonstrate that the classical diversification is not appropriate and in a multi-asset portfolio, asset classes should be managed dynamically. The predictive power of the factors, absolute and relative momentum, is evaluated and analysed in a multi asset context. The data history ranges from 1992 to 2015. The calculations are based on the momentum of various equity markets (World, Emerging Markets, REIT`s), government bonds (US- Treasuries), foreign currencies (JPY/USD, EUR/USD) and commodities (energy, industrial metals, precious metals, agricultural commodities and livestock). Absolute and relative momentum portfolios are constructed using those three asset classes (? ) that present the highest relative or absolute monthly ex-post return within th entire investment universe (? ). The research indicates that both absolute and relative momentum strategies are suitable approaches for constructing and managing high performing multi-asset portfolios, especially it was proved by the outperformance of the portfolios during “dot com” bubble, financial crises of 2008.
Italy’s “Five Stars” movement and the role of a leader: Or, how charismatic power can resurface through the web

By focusing on the case of the Italian political movement “Five Stars”, founded in 2009 by former comedian Beppe Grillo, this article will analyze the resurfacing of a particular kind of power – charismatic authority – through a platform such as Web 2.0 that was expected to promote more rational consensus strategies. Although the political action of the Five Stars movement pretends to be inspired by a participative culture, it is in fact directly ruled by the founder via his blog, with a little space allowed for discussions. In this sense, the rise of Grillo as a political leader seems to both retrieve and renew an old form of authority grounded in a very traditional legitimacy – the charismatic and undisputed leadership of the boss – while at the same time being able to spread through the network. This article will offer an overview of events and also provide a theoretical interpretation.
Should your company embrace coworking

Some people try working out of a home office but end up feeling too lonely. Others experiment with coffee shops or hotel lobbies but find too many distractions. Now many people are turning toward coworking spaces shared open office facilities where they hope to find the right balance of community and autonomy. Traditional companies are adopting certain aspects of coworking as part of their overall workplace strategies. Three trends in particular stand out. 1. Companies see sharing space as a way to tap into new ideas. 2. Employees value the flexibility and autonomy of coworking. 3. Coworking can reduce real estate costs and provide employees with more workspace options. One of the key benefits cited by people using coworking spaces is the opportunity for serendipitous encounters with people from outside their own team or organization. A survey the authors conducted found that the most common reasons people seek out coworking space have to do with belonging to a community. Flexible space design is a prerequisite of many coworking spaces, since the spaces are intended to align with the various work styles of the individuals using them.
Self-reported chronic diseases and associated sociodemographic status and lifestyle risk factors among rural Vietnamese adults.

AIMS The fact that chronic diseases are leading causes of mortality and morbidity in hospitals in Vietnam was certified by yearly statistical information. However, population-based knowledge of chronic diseases is still largely lacking. This article examines the prevalence of major chronic diseases and their relationships with sociodemographic status and selected lifestyle risk factors among the adult population in a rural community in the north of Vietnam. METHODS A representative sample comprising 2500 adults aged 25-74 years was surveyed in 2005 using a structured questionnaire. Both descriptive and analytical statistical analyses were applied. RESULTS Thirty-nine per cent of the respondents had at least one of the studied chronic diseases. The prevalence of current smoking was 59% among men and 0.7% among women. The prevalence of at-risk alcohol drinking was 67% among men and 3% among women. Increasing age, low education and doing other jobs (small traders, temporary workers, housekeepers, handicraft makers and jobless), as well as tobacco use and at-risk alcohol drinking, were found to be associated with a higher probability of having at least one chronic disease of interest. Economic status was found to be inversely correlated with the probability of having at least one chronic disease among women only. CONCLUSIONS The findings from this study indicated that chronic conditions and lifestyle risk factors were very common among the adult population in rural Vietnam. There is an association between chronic diseases and lower socioeconomic status and unhealthy lifestyle risk factors.
Positional and Positioning Nystagmus in Healthy Subjects under Videonystagmoscopy

Objective The eye-focused video camera as sensitive to infrared light is very useful for detecting nystagmus with open eyes in the dark. The existence of physiological nystagmus has been reported. We investigated how frequently physiological positional and positioning nystagmus is seen in healthy individuals under infrared video goggles. Materials and methods Eighty-nine healthy individuals were examined in this study. Positional and positioning nystagmus was examined with infrared video goggles. Results Positional nystagmus could be detected in 65 of the 89 subjects under infrared video goggles. The majority of nystagmus was horizontal nystagmus, and vertical nystagmus was also seen in four subjects. Nystagmus was most frequently recognized in right or left shoulder down position. Positioning nystagmus was detected in 40 subjects. Conclusions Positional and positioning nystagmus frequently exist in healthy subjects. This finding means that the existence of physiological nystagmus must be considered when diagnosing dizzy patients using this equipment.