Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reversal of 2-bromoethanesulfonate inhibition of methanogenesis in Methanosarcina sp

2-Bromoethanesulfonate (BES) inhibition of methanogenesis from methanol by resting-cell suspensions or cell extracts of Methanosarcina was reversed by coenzyme M. BES inhibition of methylcoenzyme M methylreductase activity in cell-free extracts was reversed by methylcoenzyme M but not by coenzyme M. Methanol/coenzyme M methyltransferase activity was not inhibited by 10 microM BES. Inhibition of methylreductase by BES and 3-bromopropionate was competitive with methylcoenzyme M, but inhibition by 2-bromoethanol exhibited mixed kinetics. The Ki values for the inhibitors in cell-free extracts were similar to the concentrations which inhibited intact cells. BES-resistant mutants of strain 227 were apparently permeability mutants because in vitro assays showed that mutant and parent strain methylreductases were equally sensitive to BES.
Outpatient management practices associated with reduced risk of pediatric asthma hospitalization and emergency department visits.

OBJECTIVES Effective outpatient care is believed to prevent hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits resulting from childhood asthma. The aim of this study was to suggest priority areas for intervention by identifying outpatient management practices associated with the risk of these adverse outcomes in a large population. METHODS This case-control study included children aged 0 to 14 years with asthma who were members of a regional health maintenance organization. Cases were children undergoing either a hospitalization or an ED visit for asthma during the study period. Control subjects were children with asthma without a hospitalization or an ED visit during the study period who were matched to patients on age, gender, and number of asthma-related hospitalizations in the past 24 months. Data on provider and parent asthma management practices were collected using chart review, closed-ended telephone interviews with parents, and computerized use databases. Multivariate analyses were conducted using conditional logistic regression models. RESULTS Data were collected on 508 cases and 990 control subjects. A total of 43% of cases were reported by their parents to have moderately severe or severe asthma, compared with 20% of control subjects. Parents of cases with hospitalization were less likely than control subjects to have a written asthma management plan (44% vs 51%) and to report washing bedsheets in hot water at least twice a month (77% vs 86%). Cases with hospitalization were more likely to have a nebulizer (74% vs 56%). In the final multivariate model, race/ethnicity was not associated with having had either a hospitalization or an ED visit, as was lower socioeconomic status. Having a written asthma management plan [odds ratio (OR): 0.54; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.30, 0.99] and washing bedsheets in hot water at least twice a month (OR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.94) were associated with reduced odds of hospitalization. Having a written asthma management plan (OR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.27, 0.76) and starting or increasing medications at the onset of a cold or flu were associated with reduced odds of making an ED visit. CONCLUSIONS Practices that support early intervention for asthma flare-ups by parents at home, particularly written management plans, are strongly associated with reduced risk of adverse outcomes among children with asthma.
Prescription of Chinese herbal products is associated with a decreased risk of invasive breast cancer

Abstract The finding of a decrease in endometrial cancer incidence among breast cancer survivors following the use of Chinese herbal products (CHPs) has led to speculation that CHPs might play a role in breast cancer prevention. This study provides an overview of breast cancer incidence, comparing CHP users with those who do not use traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), referred to as non-TCM users. The results can provide information to clinicians for counseling women about the preventive use of TCM. A total of 184,386 women (20–79 years of age) were recruited from a nationwide 1-million-person representative sample of those covered by National Health Insurance in Taiwan and were followed from 1999 to 2012. A total of 1853 incidents of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed. The person-year approach with the Poisson assumption was used to estimate the incidence density rate. The age-specific hazard ratios of breast cancer in relation to either CHP or siwutang (SWT) use were calculated with multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression. More than 78% of patients had used a CHP at some point previously. The overall incidence density rate of breast cancer for non-TCM users was estimated at 1.73 per 10,000 patient-years. The corresponding values for CHP and SWT users were lower than those of the non-TCM group (CHP group = 0.85; SWT group = 0.63 per 10,000 patient-years). The covariate adjusted HRs for breast cancer were 0.57 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.50–0.65) and 0.36 (95% CI 0.28–0.46) in women using CHPs and SWT, respectively. The findings were confirmed using propensity score matching. Consumption of CHPs reduces the incidence of invasive breast cancer. Although the mechanism of action of these products is unclear, their use as a preventive agent for breast cancer is appropriate for many women at an increased risk of breast cancer.
Title Effects of absorption and inhibition during grating formation inphotopolymer materials

Publisher's statement This paper was published in Journal of the Optical Society of America B and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://www.opticsinfobase. org/abstract.cfm? URI=josab-23-102079. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.
Imaging Reporters for Proteasome Activity Identify Tumor- and Metastasis-Initiating Cells

Tumor-initiating cells, also designated as cancer stem cells, are proposed to constitute a subpopulation of malignant cells central to tumorigenesis, metastasis, and treatment resistance. We analyzed the activity of the proteasome, the primary organelle for targeted protein degradation, as a marker of tumor- and metastasis-initiating cells. Using human and mouse breast cancer cells expressing a validated fluorescent reporter, we found a small subpopulation of cells with low proteasome activity that divided asymmetrically to produce daughter cells with low or high proteasome activity. Breast cancer cells with low proteasome activity had greater local tumor formation and metastasis in immunocompromised and immunocompetent mice. To allow flexible labeling of cells, we also developed a new proteasome substrate based on HaloTag technology. Patient-derived glioblastoma cells with low proteasome activity measured by the HaloTag reporter show key phenotypes associated with tumor-initiating cells, including expression of a stem cell transcription factor, reconstitution of the original starting population, and enhanced neurosphere formation. We also show that patient-derived glioblastoma cells with low proteasome activity have higher frequency of tumor formation in mouse xenografts. These studies support proteasome function as a tool to investigate tumor- and metastasis-initiating cancer cells and a potential biomarker for outcomes in patients with several different cancers.
A Suppressive Effect of Cyclosporine A on Replication and Noncoding Control Region Activation of Polyomavirus BK Virus

Background. The effect of cyclosporine A (CsA) on polyomavirus BK virus (BKV) replication remains unclear. The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the effect of CsA on BKV replication in human uroepithelial cells. Methods. After infection of a human renal proximal tubular cell line, HK-2 with BKV, BKV viral load in the presence of CsA was assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The BKV large T-antigen (LTag) expression was measured by Western blot analysis. The BKV early promoter activity was determined by measuring luciferase activity of the BKV noncoding control region luciferase reporter. The BKV LTag expression in a human bladder carcinoma cell line, T24, was assessed by immunofluorescence. Results. The results demonstrated that the increased levels of BKV LTag and viral protein 1 transcripts measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction were suppressed by CsA in a dose-dependent manner (0.5–4 &mgr;g/mL). Western blot analysis also showed that CsA inhibited BKV LTag expression. In addition, the activity of the BKV early promoter, which was enhanced by BKV LTag overexpression, was abrogated by CsA. Finally, the suppressive effect of CsA on BKV replication was also shown in T24 cells as CsA reduced immunofluorescent staining of BKV LTag in these cells. Conclusion. This in vitro study indicates that CsA suppresses BKV replication in human proximal renal tubular cells and uroepithelial cells of the urinary bladder and inhibits the BKV-LTag-regulated increase in early promoter activity.
In utero ethanol exposure elicits oxidative stress in the rat fetus.

Prior studies in our laboratory have shown that exposure of cultured fetal rat hepatocytes to ethanol (E) blocks epidermal growth factor-dependent replication and that this is paralleled by cell membrane damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, membrane lipid peroxidation (LP), and enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species. These measures of E-mediated oxidative stress (OS) were mitigated by treatment with antioxidants, and cell replication could be normalized by maintaining cell glutathione (GSH) pools. We have now extended these studies to an in vivo model. Rats were administered E (4 g/kg, po) at 12-hr intervals on days 17 and 18 of gestation and killed on day 19, 1 hr following a final dose of E (a total of 5 doses). Fetal and maternal brain and liver were assayed for signs of OS. The 2-day in utero E exposure increased membrane LP in fetal brain as evidenced by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels from 1.76 +/- 0.12 SE (nMol/mg protein) to 2.00 +/- 0.08 (p < 0.05) and conjugated dienes from 0.230 +/- 0.006 SE (OD223/mg lipid) to 0.282 +/- 0.006 (p < 0.05). In fetal liver, MDA levels increased from 2.39 +/- 0.08 SE (nMol/mg protein) to 2.87 +/- 0.08 (p < 0.05), whereas dienes differed significantly only between ad libitum controls and the E and pair-fed control groups (p < 0.05). E decreased GSH levels in fetal brain by 19%, from 19.88 +/- 0.72 to 16.13 +/- 1.06 (nMol/mg protein) (p < 0.05). A 10% decrease in GSH was seen in fetal liver (p < 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Subcortical connections of inferior temporal areas TE and TEO in macaque monkeys

To investigate the subcortical connections of inferior temporal cortex, we injected its anterior and posterior portions (Bonin and Bailey's cytoarchitectonic areas TE and TEO, respectively) in 6 rhesus monkeys with retrograde and anterograde tracers. The results indicate that both areas TE and TEO receive nonreciprocal inputs from several thalarnic nuclei, including paracentralis, ventralis anterior, centralis, and limitans, and that TE also receives input from reuniens. Additional nonreciprocal inputs to both areas arise from the hypothalamus, basal nucleus of Meynert, dorsal and median raphe, loeus coeruleus, and reticular formation. TE and TEO are reciprocally connected with the lateral, medial, and inferior nuclei of the pulvinar and with the ventral portion of the claustrum. The main subcortical nonreciprocal Output from TE and TEO is to the striatum and from TEO to the superior colliculus. TE also sends a vcry limited projection to nucleus medialis dorsalis magnocellularis of the thalamus. AK‐huugh the connections of areas TE and TEO are overlapping in most subcortical structures, they are partially segregated in the pulvinar, the reticular nucleus of the thalamus, and the striatum. Specifically, relative to those of TE, the projections of TEO are located more laterally in the medial, lateral, and inferior nuclei of the pulvinar, more ventrally in the reticular nucleus, and more caudally in both the ventral putamen and tail and head of the caudate nucleus. e 1993 Wile.v‐Liss. Inc. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United State of America.
The Less-Known History of the Voluntary Sector in an East Asian Welfare Regime: A South Korean Case

Abstract Although the voluntary sector is internationally valued as an integral component of the welfare mix, studies on East Asian welfare regimes have primarily focused on state-market-family interactions, paying scant attention to the long-standing and pivotal role of voluntary agencies in their construction. This case study illuminates this less-known aspect of modern welfare history in the context of South Korea, with a particular focus on the activities of voluntary organizations. The study categorizes South Korean voluntary associations into four types and examines their different contributions in shaping South Korea’s welfare regime, by applying Young’s framework on government–voluntary organizations relations. This historical exploration on the South Korean voluntary sector aims to deepen understanding of an East Asian welfare state regime. It further suggests that current welfare mix debates, focusing on the service delivery role of voluntary organizations within Western European welfare states, should be broadened.
Listing Price and Non-Price-Taking behavior in market mechanisms with differential information

Abstract 1 This work investigates the optimal initial public offering mechanism (IPO) comparing the book-building, the fixed price offer and the auction to understand if the supremacy of the first mechanism is economically justified or if there are other motivations behind. In the first chapter, a survey of the theories concerning the underpricing and a general overview of the market evolution are presented. Later, let us present a theoretical model in which the listing methods are compared basis on the firm’s profit. It examines what are the key variables studied by the issuer to decide the mechanism maximizing its revenue. The information cost and the reservation utility of the investors turn out the most significant variables. Abstract 2 This work considers an exchange economy with a finite number of agents and a finite number of goods where the agents are arbitragers. The general equilibrium theory borrows the notion of arbitrage to the finance for showing how the consumers move in an economy closer to the real world with uncertainty and differential information. The first chapter describes the notion of arbitrage, its evolution during the years through the eyes of several authors. The second chapter analyses the main aspects of a differential information economy, studying the concept of core and competitive equilibrium in the ex-ante, in the interim and in the ex-post stage. In the last chapter, the arbitrage condition becomes the guideline for defining new notions of competitive equilibrium when the economy is characterized by uncertainty and differential information.
Antagonistic Role of H-NS and GadX in the Regulation of the Glutamate Decarboxylase-dependent Acid Resistance System in Escherichia coli*

One of the most efficient systems of acid resistance in Escherichia coli, the gad system, is based on the coordinated action of two isoforms of glutamate decarboxylase (GadA and GadB) and of a specific glutamate/γ-aminobutyrate antiporter (GadC). The gadA/BC genes, activated in response to acid stress and in stationary phase cells, are subjected to complex circuits of regulation involving σ70, σS, cAMP receptor protein, H-NS, EvgAS, TorRS, GadE, GadX, GadW, and YdeO. Herein, we provide evidence that the nucleoid-associated protein H-NS directly functions as repressor of gadA, one of the structural genes, and gadX, a regulatory gene encoding one of the primary activators of the gad system. Band shift and DNase I footprints reveal that H-NS indeed binds to specific sites in the promoter regions of gadA and gadX and represses the transcription of these genes both in an in vitro system and in vivo. Moreover, we show that a maltose-binding protein MalE-GadX fusion is able to stimulate the promoter activity of gadA/BC, thus indicating that GadX is by itself able to up-regulate the gad genes and that a functional competition between H-NS and GadX takes place at the gadA promoter. Altogether, our results indicate that H-NS directly inhibits gadA and gadX transcription and, by controlling the intracellular level of the activator GadX, indirectly affects the expression of the whole gad system.
A Tightly Integrated Multilayer Battery Antenna for RFID Epidermal Applications

For the acceptance of biointegrated devices in daily life, radio systems must be developed, which are minimally invasive to the skin, and they must have ultralow-profile local power sources to support data-logging functionality without compromising shape conformability. This contribution proposes a tightly integrated multilayer battery-antenna system (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$65 \times 23$ </tex-math></inline-formula> mm<sup>2</sup>), that is, ultrathin (just <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$200~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), flexible, and lighter than 1 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$g$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, making it suitable for epidermal applications. The negative electrode (anode) current collector of the battery is a radio frequency identification tag antenna coated by a conductive polymer (Pedot:PSS) working as anode material. Since the battery is a dynamic device, subjected to discharging, the antenna design must include the variable dielectric properties of the conductive polymer which are here first characterized in the UHF band for real charge/discharge battery conditions. The communication performance of the prototype composite device is hence evaluated through the measurement of the realized gain of the tag antenna (−19.6 dBi at 870 MHz) when it is placed directly onto a volunteer’s forearm. The read range of 1.3–3 m is suitable for occasional data download from the epidermal data logger when the user comes close to a reader-equipped gate.
Investor sentiment and stock return volatility: Evidence from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

Abstract Volatility is an important component of asset pricing; an increase in volatility on markets can trigger changes in the risk distribution of financial assets. In conventional financial theory, investors are considered to be rational and any changes in relevant risk are assumed to be a result of the movement in fundamental factors. However, herein this study, it is hypothesized that there are movements in risk that are driven by volatility linked to sentiment-driven noise trader activity whose patterns are irreconcilable with changes in fundamental factors. This assertion is tested using a daily sentiment composite index constructed from a set of proxies and Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity models on the South African market over a period spanning July 2002 to June 2018. The results show that there is a significant connection between investor sentiment and stock return volatility which shows that behavioural finance can significantly explain the behaviour of stock returns on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. It is, thus, recommended that due to the inadequacies of popular asset pricing models such as the Capital Asset Pricing Model, consideration should be made towards augmenting these asset pricing models with a sentiment risk factor.
DAG1 mutations associated with asymptomatic hyperCKemia and hypoglycosylation of α-dystroglycan

Objectives: To identify gene mutations in patients with dystroglycanopathy and prove pathogenicity of those mutations using an in vitro cell assay. Methods: We performed whole-exome sequencing on 20 patients, who were previously diagnosed with dystroglycanopathy by immunohistochemistry and/or Western blot analysis. We also evaluated pathogenicity of identified mutations for phenotypic recovery in a DAG1-knockout haploid human cell line transfected with mutated DAG1 complementary DNA. Results: Using exome sequencing, we identified compound heterozygous missense mutations in DAG1 in a patient with asymptomatic hyperCKemia and pathologically mild muscular dystrophy. Both mutations were in the N-terminal region of α-dystroglycan and affected its glycosylation. Mutated DAG1 complementary DNAs failed to rescue the phenotype in DAG1-knockout cells, suggesting that these are pathogenic mutations. Conclusion: Novel mutations in DAG1 are associated with asymptomatic hyperCKemia with hypoglycosylation of α-dystroglycan. The combination of exome sequencing and a phenotype-rescue experiment on a gene-knockout haploid cell line represents a powerful tool for evaluation of these pathogenic mutations.
DCT Type-III for multicarrier modulation

In this paper we propose the use of Discrete Cosine Transform Type-III (DCT3) for multicarrier modulation. There are two DCT3 (even and odd) and, for each of them, we derive the expressions for both prefix and suffix to be appended into each data symbol to be transmitted. Moreover, DCT3 are closely related to the corresponding inverse DCT Type-II even and odd. Furthermore, we give explicit expressions for the 1-tap per subcarrier equalizers that must be implemented at the receiver to perform the channel equalization in the frequency-domain. As a result, the proposed DCT3-based multicarrier modulator can be used as an alternative to DFT-based systems to perform Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing or Discrete Multitone Modulation.
Phosphopeptide Enrichment by Aliphatic Hydroxy Acid-modified Metal Oxide Chromatography for Nano-LC-MS/MS in Proteomics Applications*S

We developed novel methods for phosphopeptide enrichment using aliphatic hydroxy acid-modified metal oxide chromatography (MOC). Titania and zirconia were successfully applied to enrich phosphopeptides with the aid of aliphatic hydroxy acids, such as lactic acid and β-hydroxypropanoic acid, to reduce the interaction between acidic non-phosphopeptides and the metal oxides. These methods removed the vast majority of non-phosphopeptides from phosphoprotein standard digests, and large numbers of phosphopeptides could be readily identified. The methods were coupled with nano-LC-MS/MS systems without difficulty. Recovery of phosphopeptides in MOC varied greatly from peptide to peptide, ranging from a few percent to 100%, and the average was almost 50%. Repeatability and linearity were satisfactory. In an examination of the cytoplasmic fraction of HeLa cells, more than 1000 phosphopeptides were identified using lactic acid-modified titania MOC and β-hydroxypropanoic acid-modified zirconia MOC, respectively. The overlap between phosphopeptides enriched by these two methods was 40%, and the combined results provided 1646 unique phosphopeptides. To our knowledge, this is the first successful application of a single MOC-based approach to phosphopeptide enrichment from complex biological samples such as cell lysates.
The Unfaithful Champion: The Plaintiff as Monitor in Shareholder Litigation

When the legal history of the 1970's is written, it will note a significant shift in the way courts perceived shareholder litigation. Only a generation ago, the Supreme Court described the derivative action as "the chief regulator of corporate management. "' Even into the 1960's, those issues involving shareholder litigation that percolated up to the Supreme Court were typically resolved so as to extend the availability of a litigation remedy by removing arbitrary or overbroad barriers to the plaintiff. 2 During the 1970's, the pendulum swung sharply in the other direction. In particular, the Supreme Court tilted the balance of advantage against the plaintiff in securities litigation by (1) declining repeatedly to imply private causes of action under the federal securities laws, at least absent a clear