Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Malignant transformation of immortalized HaCaT keratinocytes through deregulated nuclear factor κB signaling

Previous studies addressing functional aspects of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation in normal and transformed keratinocytes revealed complex and seemingly contradictory roles of this transcription factor in this cell type. In normal skin, NF-κB signaling seems to inhibit squamous cell carcinoma development whereas, in squamous cell carcinoma themselves, deregulated NF-κB expression and/or signaling is frequently observed. To further investigate this paradox, we focused on NF-κB activation as it relates to the transformed phenotype of immortalized but nontumorigenic human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells). We observed that NF-κB activity contributed to survival and growth of cultured HaCaT keratinocytes as shown by use of pharmacologic NF-κB inhibitors, RNA interference, and inducible overexpression of a dominant interfering IκB construct. NF-κB activation was largely provided through interaction with extracellular matrix components because preventing cell attachment by forced suspension culture markedly reduced NFκB signaling associated with cell death (anoikis); conversely, anoikis was partially reversed by NF-κB activation induced either by tumor necrosis factor-α treatment or by overexpressing the NF-κB p65 subunit in HaCaT cells. Furthermore, overexpression of NF-κBp65 in HaCaT cells induced colony formation in soft agar and tumorigenicity in nude mice. In summary, as opposed to normal keratinocytes, immortalized HaCaT keratinocytes provide a cellular context in which deregulated NF-κB signaling supports multiple malignant traits in vitro and in vivo . (Cancer Res 2006; 66(10): 5209-15)
Air wars : television advertising in election campaigns, 1952-2008

In his newly revised and updated fifth edition, West continues his in-depth examination of political advertising in election campaigns. Following advertising's evolution from 1952 to its use in contemporary races, West reveals how candidates plan advertising campaigns, how the media covers those campaigns, and, ultimately, how voters are influenced by them. Taking into account new data and the 2008 campaigns, every chapter has been thoroughly revised and updated. Placing the use of advertising and mass media in historical context, West offers significant updates, including: the face-off between Obama and McCain in the general election; case studies of ad appeals during presidential and Senate campaigns; advertising strategies from the dramatic nomination fight between Clinton and Obama; advertising in congressional elections; material on ad buys, issue-advocacy advertising, and content analyses of campaign ads; and, ad stills aired during the 2008 elections.
Decision-making of Prefrontal Patients with the Iowa Gambling Task: Unexpected Spared Performances and Preliminary Evidence for the Need of Alternative Measures

Objective. Human decision-making is a growing area of research most commonly associated with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), which was first developed to assess patients with prefrontal cortex (PFC) damage. The IGT is now considered an appropriate task to predict behavioral disorders in various clinical populations. However, several studies have questioned the validity and reliability of the task, arguing that its particular payoff scheme may influence the decision-making process in terms of sensitivity to gain-loss frequency (GLF) rather than long-term outcome (the basic assumption of IGT). Despite the potential significance of this assertion for the diagnosis of decision-making deficits, few studies have addressed the influence of GLF on IGT performances in clinical populations, and there is no study to date that involves patients with prefrontal lobe damage. Method. We tested 17 patients with PFC damage and 17 matched healthy controls with the IGT to analyze influence in choice behavior of both long-term outcomes and GLF. Results. There was a difference between groups in the GLF score, but none between groups in the long-term outcome variable (the traditional measure). Our findings demonstrate that only control subjects seemed able to consider both long-term outcome and GLF. Conclusions. The discussion focuses on the contribution of empirical data, which may have implications for the clinical assessment of decision-making ability with the IGT.
Improving waterborne disease outbreak investigations

This article is a summary of discussions held and recommendations made at a workshop for the investigation of waterborne disease outbreaks in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, December 7‐8, 1998. Suspected waterborne outbreaks in the United States are primarily investigated by state and local public health officials who may infrequently conduct enteric disease outbreak investigations. Thus, it is important that officials have a formal plan to ensure that epidemiological studies are methodologically sound and that effective collaboration occurs among the epidemiologists, scientists, and engineers who will conduct the investigations. Laboratory support to analyze water samples and clinical specimens should be arranged well in advance of when services may be needed. Enhanced surveillance activities can help officials recognize additional outbreaks and initiate investigations in a timely manner. Epidemiologists should pay more attention early in the investigation to study design, questionnaire development, and sources of bias, especially recall bias, that may affect the interpretation of observed associations. Improved investigations can increase our knowledge about important etiological agents, water systems deficiencies, and sources of water contamination so that waterborne outbreaks can be more effectively prevented.
The Labor Share, Capital-Labor Substitution, and Factor Augmenting Technologies

In this paper, we analyze the dynamics of the labor share in the United States and Japan using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. For this purpose, we develop a model employing a constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production function with capital- and labor- augmenting technologies and investment specific technology. Our findings are as follows. First, comparing two different specifications of our model - one with a CES production function and one with a Cobb-Douglas production function - using marginal data densities indicates that the former provides a better fit for both the U.S. and Japanese data. Second, our estimates suggest that the elasticity of substitution is larger than one in the United States but less than one in Japan. Third, while capital-augmenting technology shocks have contributed to the decline of the labor share in the United States, they have exerted upward pressure on the labor share in Japan. The difference in the effects of capital-augmenting technology shocks on the labor share is due to the difference in the elasticity of substitution in the United States and Japan. Finally, the estimated models for the United States and Japan successfully replicate the observed relationship between the labor share and inflation.
Familial Impediments to Women Political Status in Pukhtun Society

The major objective of the present study was to examine familial impediments to women political status in District Dir Lower Khyber pukhtoonkhwa Pakistan. A sample size of 186 (Political office bearers) of different political organization was randomly selected from total population 714. Out of total 7 tehsils three tehsils were selected namely “Adenzii, Samarbagh and Timergara” as universe of the study. A conceptual frame work comprises of dependent variable “women political status” and independent variable’s “familial impediments”. The data were analyzed through frequency and percentage distribution. Moreover, dependent variable was indexed and cross tabulated with independent variable. Chi-square test statistics was applied to ascertain the relationship between dependent and independent variable respectively. Similarly, in Bi-variate analysis, a highly significant (p=0.000) association was found between dependent variable (women political status) and independent variable indicators; family socializes people for power as a masculine trait in our culture; patriarchal family system do not allow women political mainstreaming; women involvement in politics is considered detrimental to family structure; women restrictionto politics in family is done to male hegemony; and people impede women not to participate as to ensure continuity of centuries old traditions. The study concluded that family as an institution is responsible for role allocation. However, restricting this role for women is centermost to revising the process of growth and development at micro and macro level. Exposure of women to mainstreaming in politics could take uncap their potential to decline were extended some of the recommendations in the light of study.
Biological Effects of Radiofrequency Fields: Does Modulation Matter?

Abstract Foster, K. R. and Repacholi, M. H. Biological Effects of Radiofrequency Fields: Does Modulation Matter? Radiat. Res. 162, 219–225 (2004). This commentary considers modulation as a factor of potential biological importance in assessment of risk of radiofrequency (RF) energy emitted by communications systems and other technologies. Modulation introduces a spread of frequencies into a carrier waveform, but in nearly all cases this spread is small compared to the frequency of the carrier. Consequently, any nonthermal (field-dependent) biological effects related to modulation must result from interaction mechanisms that are fast enough to produce a response at radiofrequencies. Despite considerable speculation, no such mechanisms have been established. While a variety of modulation-dependent biological effects of RF energy have been reported, few such effects have been independently confirmed. Some widely discussed effects, for example a reported modulation-dependent effect of RF fields on the efflux of calcium from brain tissue, remain controversial with no established biological significance. The lack of understanding of the mechanisms underlying such effects prevents any assessment of their significance for communications signals with complex modulation characteristics. Future research should be directed at confirmation and mechanistic understanding of reported biological effects related to modulation. While modulation should be considered in the design of risk studies involving communications-type signals, it should not compromise other aspects of good study design, such as maintaining adequate statistical power and identifying dose–response relationships.
Homeobox genes Gsx1 and Gsx2 differentially regulate telencephalic progenitor maturation

Homeobox genes Gsx1 and Gsx2 (formerly Gsh1 and Gsh2) are among the earliest transcription factors expressed in neuronal progenitors of the lateral ganglionic eminence (LGE) in the ventral telencephalon. Gsx2 is required for the early specification of LGE progenitor cells and recently has been shown to specify different LGE neuronal subtypes at distinct time points. In Gsx2 mutants, Gsx1 compensates, at least in part, for the loss of Gsx2 in the specification of LGE neuronal subtypes. Because no specific phenotype has been described in Gsx1 mutants, it is unclear what role this factor plays in the development of the ventral telencephalon. Here, we used a gain-of-function approach to express either Gsx1 or Gsx2 throughout the telencephalon and found that Gsx1 functions similarly to Gsx2 in the specification of LGE identity. However, our results show that Gsx1 and Gsx2 differentially regulate the maturation of LGE progenitors. Specifically, Gsx2 maintains LGE progenitors in an undifferentiated state, whereas Gsx1 promotes progenitor maturation and the acquisition of neuronal phenotypes, at least in part, through the down-regulation of Gsx2. These unique results indicate that the two closely related Gsx genes similarly regulate LGE patterning but oppositely control the balance between proliferation and differentiation in the neuronal progenitor pool.
The potential of African trade integration – Panel data evidence for the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite

ABSTRACT The COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite FTA, formed in 2011, is supposed to be a milestone towards Africa's continental trade integration. This study analyzes the impact of regional integration among the Tripartite countries on their bilateral imports before that date to evaluate the latest integration efforts. We estimate an extended gravity model on a large panel of 51 African countries using yearly observations from 1995 to 2010. We proxy existing formal trade barriers by sample average tariff data on imports from the world as well as indicator variables for the membership in regional FTAs. We consider different estimation techniques and discuss distinct sets of fixed effects. The PPML regression results indicate that remaining tariffs are significantly negatively correlated with imports throughout the preferred multiplicative models. An FTA status does not show a clear-cut import enhancing effect. In the specifications that control for country-year effects, the EAC coefficient is positively correlated with imports, and the COMESA and SADC FTA membership show a positive relation to imports within some reduced-sample robustness checks.
Impact of Ethanolic Lamiaceae Extracts on Herpesvirus Infectivity in Cell Culture

Background: Extracts of medicinal plants are increasingly of interest as novel drugs for antimicrobial and antiviral agents, since microorganisms might develop resistance to commonly used antimicrobial or antiviral agents. Materials and Methods: Ethanolic extracts from Lamiaceae plants prunella, peppermint, rosemary and thyme were phytochemically characterised. The inhibitory activity of four 20% ethanolic plant extracts and four 80% ethanolic extracts against herpes simplex virus (HSV) strains was tested in cell culture. Results: Rosmarinic acid, a typical compound in Lamiaceae species, was identified in the extracts except for thyme 20% ethanolic extract. In addition, some other phenolic compounds such as apigenin- and luteolin-derivatives were identified in different amounts. All extracts exhibited high and concentration-dependent levels of antiviral activity against free acyclovir-sensitive and acyclovir-resistant HSV-1 strains with 50% inhibitory concentrations of 0.05–0.82 μg/ml. Mechanistically, exposure of free virions as well as host cells to prunella and peppermint 80% ethanolic extracts at maximum non-cytotoxic concentrations prior to infection reduced plaque formation drastically. Thus, both extracts revealed a dual mode of action similar to aqueous lemon balm extracts. Conclusions: Since infectivity of acyclovir-susceptible and acyclovir-resistant HSV strains was significantly reduced with Lamiaceae extracts, the results obtained indicate that ethanolic plant extracts affected herpesvirus prior to and during adsorption and in a different way than acyclovir. Based on its dual mode of action, e.g. antiviral effect against free virions and blocking virus attachment to host cells, prunella and peppermint 80% ethanolic extracts are promising antiviral agents in recurrent herpes labialis for topical therapeutic applications.
A systematic review of the incidence of biological and technical complications in implant dentistry reported in prospective longitudinal studies of at least 5 years.

OBJECTIVE To systematically review the incidence of biological and technical complications in implant therapy reported in prospective longitudinal studies of at least 5 years. METHODS A MEDLINE search was conducted for prospective longitudinal studies with follow-up periods of at least 5 years. Screening and data abstraction were performed independently by multiple reviewers. The types of complications assessed were as follows: implant loss, sensory disturbance, soft tissue complications, peri-implantitis, bone loss >or=2.5 mm, implant fracture and technical complications related to implant components and suprastructures. RESULTS The search provided 1310 titles and abstracts, out of which 159 were selected for full-text analysis. Finally, 51 studies were included. Meta analysis of these studies indicated that implant loss prior to functional loading is to be expected to occur in about 2.5% of all implants placed in implant therapy including more than one implant and when routine procedures are used. Implant loss during function occurs in about 2-3% of implants supporting fixed reconstructions, while in overdenture therapy >5% of the implants can be expected to be lost during a 5-year period. Few studies (41% of those included) reported data on the incidence of persisting sensory disturbance >1 year following implant surgery. Most of the studies that provided such data reported on the absence or a low incidence (1-2%) of this complication beyond this interval. A higher incidence of soft tissue complications was reported for patients treated with implants supporting overdentures. There is limited information regarding the occurrence of peri-implantitis and implants exhibiting bone loss >or=2.5 mm. Implant fracture is a rare complication and occurs in <1% of all implants during a 5-year period. The incidence of technical complications related to implant components and suprastructures was higher in overdentures than in fixed reconstructions. CONCLUSION Implant loss was most frequently described (reported in about 100% of studies), while biological complications were considered in only 40-60% and technical complications in only 60-80% of the studies. This observation indicates that data on the incidence of biological and technical complications may be underestimated and should be interpreted with caution.
Eco-Friendly Policies and Financial Performance: Was the Financial Crisis a Game Changer for Large US Companies?

Whether companies implementing eco-friendly policies are better immune to negative shocks in financial performance during crisis times and perform differently after the shocks remains an open question. We gather information on firms' CSR performance from the Bloomberg ESG Database, which contains environmental, social, and governance measures for thousands of companies. We build a panel dataset of large US caps included in the S&P 500 index between fiscal year 2005 and 2017. Controlling for financial health, social and governance performance, we employ seven proxies for environmental performance and look at both accounting- and market-based financial performance. We find that the existence of emission reduction or climate change policies in large US companies does not seem to be broadly associated with financial performance. Whether or not we condition the analysis on the occurrence of the 2008–2009 financial crisis, we do not observe clear-cut changes over time. Overall, we find weak evidence supporting the hypothesis that the relation between financial performance and environmental performance is specific to periods of low trust.
The Distributional Effects of Minimum Wages: Evidence from Linked Survey and Administrative Data

States and localities are increasingly experimenting with higher minimum wages in response to rising income inequality and stagnant economic mobility, but commonly used public datasets offer limited opportunities to evaluate the extent to which such changes affect earnings growth. We use administrative earnings data from the Social Security Administration linked to the Current Population Survey to overcome important limitations of public data and estimate effects of the minimum wage on growth incidence curves and income mobility profiles, providing insight into how cross-sectional effects of the minimum wage on earnings persist over time. Under both approaches, we find that raising the minimum wage increases earnings growth at the bottom of the distribution, and those effects persist and indeed grow in magnitude over several years. This finding is robust to a variety of specifications, including alternatives commonly used in the literature on employment effects of the minimum wage. Instrumental variables and subsample analyses indicate that geographic mobility likely contributes to the effects we identify. Extrapolating from our estimates suggests that a minimum wage increase comparable in magnitude to the increase experienced in Seattle between 2013 and 2016 would have blunted some, but not nearly all, of the worst income losses suffered at the bottom of the income distribution during the Great Recession.
Regional endemism and cryptic species revealed by molecular and morphological analysis of a widespread species of Neotropical catfish

The lower Central American landscape was fully emergent approximately three million years ago, an event which marked the beginning of the Great American biotic interchange. Freshwater fishes participated in the biotic interchange. Because primary freshwater fishes are restricted to freshwater, they provide an excellent system for investigating the interplay of historical and recent processes on the assembly, structure and diversity of the region's aquatic ecosystems. We focused on examining the history of diversification for a species of catfish (Pimelodella chagresi) whose distribution spans multiple, isolated drainage basins across the Isthmian landscape and into north–western South America. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes and morphological traits indicated that P . chagresi, as currently recognized, comprises a species complex. In addition, along the Pacific slope of Panama, repeated dispersion, diversification, extinction and possibly hybridization are thought to underlie a complex distribution of haplotypes. Overall, the results underscore the tremendous importance of historical processes on regional biodiversity.
Comparison of the effects of four i.v. anaesthetic agents on polymorphonuclear leucocyte function.

Initial resistance of bacterial infection is mediated primarily by polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMN). Anaesthetic agents have been reported to impair various aspects of PMN function. It is possible that the use of these agents to sedate critically ill patients may further compromise an already depressed host defence mechanism. A flow cytometric technique with fresh whole blood from 10 healthy volunteers was used. Phagocytic and respiratory burst activity of PMN incubated for 1 h with either propofol, thiopentone, midazolam or ketamine at both clinical plasma concentrations and 100 times this concentration were determined. Thiopentone at the higher concentration reduced both respiratory burst activity (mean peak channel 50.7 compared with control value of 77.6 (P < 0.0001)) and phagocytosis (mean peak channel 47.5 compared with 79.9 (P < 0.0001)). Ketamine at 100 times the clinical plasma concentration also reduced respiratory burst and phagocytosis, but this failed to reach statistical significance (P = 0.10 and P = 0.053, respectively). No significant depression occurred in the other groups. The results suggest that these i.v. anaesthetic agents, at clinically relevant concentrations, have minimal effects on PMN phagocytosis and oxygen free radical production. At higher concentrations thiopentone and ketamine may affect phagocytic function and thiopentone may impair intracellular cytolysis.