Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Time indices of multiphasic development in genotypes of sweet cherry are similar from dormancy to cessation of pit growth

Background and Aims The archetypical double sigmoid-shaped growth curve of the sweet cherry drupe (Prunus avium) does not address critical development from eco-dormancy to anthesis and has not been correlated to reproductive bud development. Accurate representation of the growth and development of post-anthesis ovaries is confounded by anthesis timing, fruiting-density and the presence of unfertilized and defective ovaries whose growth differs from those that persist to maturation. These factors were addressed to assess pre-anthesis and full-season growth and development of three sweet cherry cultivars, ‘Chelan’, ‘Bing’ and ‘Sweetheart’, differing primarily in seasonal duration and fruit size. Methods Volume was calculated from photographic measurements of reproductive buds, ovaries and pits at all phases of development. A population of unfertilized ovaries was produced using bee-exclusion netting to enable a statistical comparison with an open pollinated population to detect differences in size and shape between successful and failing fruit growth. Anthesis timing and fruiting-density were manipulated by floral extinction at the spur and whole-tree scales. Developmental time indices were analysed using polynomial curve fitting of log-transformed data supported by Richards and logistic functions of asymptotic growth of the pit and maturing fruit, respectively. Key Results Pre-anthesis growth began at the completion of eco-dormancy. A slight decline in relative growth rate (RGR) was observed during bud scale separation approx. −16 d from anthesis (DFA) before resumption of exponential growth to a maximum about 14 DFA. After anthesis, reduced growth of unfertilized or defective ovaries was partly discriminated from successful fruit at 5 DFA and completely at 25 DFA. Time indices of RGR inflections were similar among cultivars when adjusted for anthesis date alone, until the end of pit growth. Asymptotic growth of the pit underpinned the declining growth rate of fruit at the end of the first exponential growth phase. Duration of the subsequent expansive growth phase accounted for genotypic differences in seasonal duration and final size. Pit size and final fruit size were inversely related to fruiting-density. Conclusions Developmental differences among early, mid and late maturing cultivars were not detected until the final growth period.
Business Loans and the Transmission of Monetary Policy

We study the transmission mechanism of monetary policy through business loans and illustrate subtle aspects of its functioning that relate to the contractual characteristics and the borrower–lender types of loans. We show that the puzzling increase in business loans in response to monetary tightening, documented before the Great Recession, is largely driven by drawdowns from existing commitments at large banks. Spot loans also rise and take a considerable amount of time to adjust. Banks, nonetheless, do curtail credit supply by shortening maturities of new loans. Following the Great Recession, the mechanism has worked differently, with loan responses to monetary tightening displaying a significant downward shift.
Screening for Germline EGFR T790M Mutations Through Lung Cancer Genotyping

Introduction: The study of patients carrying germline endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, which have been found in cases of familial lung adenocarcinoma, could provide unique insight into lung cancer risk and carcinogenesis in never-smokers. However, investigations into the biology of germline EGFR mutations have been hampered by the lack of an effective strategy for screening for carriers. We hypothesized that patients with lung cancers found to harbor the EGFR T790M resistance mutation before treatment, an uncommon occurrence, would be likely to carry underlying germline T790M mutations. Methods: Eleven unrelated patients with lung cancer, harboring an EGFR T790M mutation, were identified from a 7-year institutional experience with tumor genotyping. Ten patients had benign tissue available, which was anonymously tested for the presence of germline EGFR mutations. Results: Five of 10 cases carried a germline T790M mutation (50%, confidence interval 27%–73%). One patient’s cancer exhibited a distinctive indolent growth, which has also been described in preclinical studies of T790M-mutant cancers. A second patient underwent resection of six separate primary lung adenocarcinomas, each carrying different sensitizing EGFR mutations and T790M. Conclusions: Genotyping of lung cancers, now commonly performed to predict benefit from treatment with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, can also be used as a screening tool to identify patients at risk of carrying germline EGFR mutations. Once identified, these patients and their families can be studied prospectively to explore appropriate lung cancer screening strategies. Further studies using existing oncogenomic data to provide insight into underlying germline genetics are warranted.
The Effects of Competition and Monitoring on R&D Investment: A Dynamic Approach

We examine a dynamic model of R&D investment by competing firms with an uncertain payout and uncertain time to development success. The effect of competition on R&D investment depends critically on whether firms are able to monitor, and react to, each other's actions. In the absence of monitoring, competition speeds up investment and erodes option values. When monitoring is allowed, the Pareto-dominant closed-loop equilibrium is identical to the first-best cooperative equilibrium, with investment that is increasingly postponed as more firms enter the market. A novel approach, solving a sequence of pure-jump equilibria, is used to obtain the equilibrium in the Brownian limit.
Improvement of Myocardial Performance (Tei) Index Closely Reflects Intrinsic Improvement of Cardiac Function: Assessment in Revascularized Hibernating Myocardium

Background: Myocardial performance index (MPI), or Tei index, is an indicator of systolic and diastolic myocardial function. MPI increases in case of cardiac dysfunction; however, whether reversal of left ventricular dysfunction is also reflected by concomitant improvement (i.e., decrease) of MPI is unknown. Methods: Fifty‐two patients with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy and viable myocardium by dobutamine stress echocardiography were studied by echocardiography before and more than 4 months after cardiac revascularization. Patients were in optimal medical therapy, which remained unchanged following revascularization. Results: At baseline, ejection fraction (EF: 32 ± 6%) and wall motion score index (WMSI: 2.37 ± 0.32) were impaired, and MPI averaged 0.71 ± 0.19. Revascularization markedly improved EF (44 ± 10%, P < 0.0001) and WMSI (1.77 ± 0.44, P < 0.0001). MPI also improved (0.59 ± 0.26, P < 0.0001), and its decrease was significantly correlated with the improvement in EF (r =−0.68, P < 0.0001) and to the extent of viable myocardium (r =−0.45, P = 0.0007). Responders to revascularization (≥5% increase in EF at follow‐up, n = 40% and 77%) achieved a significant improvement in MPI at follow‐up in contrast with nonresponders (−23 ± 25% vs. 0.02 ± 0.18%, P = 0.001). Improvement in MPI was largely driven by a significant reduction in isovolumic contraction time (P < 0.001) with consequent prolongation of the ejection phase. Conclusion: In patients with chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy, MPI improves along with recovery of function, reflecting the intrinsic improvement of viable segments induced by revascularization. (Echocardiography 2012;29:298‐306)
Choline Deficiency, Partial Hepatectomy, and Liver Tumors in Rats and Mice

Choline deficiency (CD) increases susceptability of (he rat liver to a number of hepatocellular carcinogens with a wide diversity of structure and potency. While severe CD results in micronodular cirrhosis and enhanced tumor induction, even a mild deficiency, without cirrhosis is sufficient to result in the increased carcinogenic response. The effects of CD are in part mediated via modulation of microsomal and, possibly, cytosolic enzymes responsible for activation/deactivation of carcinogens. The B6C3F1 hybrid mouse is remarkably sensitive to initiation/promotion of liver tumors by many substances or conditions. Choline deficiency or partial hepatectomy alone, or in concert, markedly enhances liver tumor induction in the absence of any known carcinogen. These data indicate that the liver of this strain of mouse is “initiated” at or shortly after birth and can be promoted by non-carcinogenic substances or conditions.
Regulatory T cells and tolerance induction

Abstract: Transplantation tolerance is the ultimate goal of organ transplantation. Natural regulatory T cells (Treg) have been expected to reach clinical applications for tolerance induction because their initial description. More than ten yr later, Treg have started moving from experimental animal models into clinical applications. Although the molecular mechanism of contact‐dependent inhibition remains to be unraveled, alterations of Treg numbers have been shown in several human diseases: Whereas several autoimmune diseases have been reported to be associated with decreased Treg numbers, Treg are frequently accumulated in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Monitoring of Treg numbers could be instrumental in identifying patients with risk of graft failure and might help minimizing immunosuppressive therapy in transplant recipients. Molecular mechanisms of Treg proliferation and Treg elimination such as CD95 ligand (CD95L)‐mediated apoptosis are currently explored for their clinical usability as therapeutical targets. Immunosuppressive drugs might modulate the number of Tregs. Expansion of the Treg numbers in vivo or in vitro resembles a novel therapeutical strategy to reach partial or even operational tolerance after organ transplantation.
Cobalt-Base High-Temperature Alloys

We have identified cobalt-base superalloys showing a high-temperature strength greater than those of conventional nickel-base superalloys. The cobalt-base alloys are strengthened by a ternary compound with the L12 structure, \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \({\gamma}^{{^\prime}}\) \end{document} Co3(Al,W), which precipitates in the disordered γ face-centered cubic cobalt matrix with high coherency and with high melting points. We also identified a ternary compound, \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \({\gamma}^{{^\prime}}\) \end{document} Ir3(Al,W), with the L12 structure, which suggests that the Co-Ir-Al-W–base systems with \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \({\gamma}+{\gamma}^{{^\prime}}\) \end{document} (Co,Ir)3(Al,W) structures offer great promise as candidates for next-generation high-temperature materials.
Spontaneous in vitro immortalization of breast epithelial cells from a patient with Li-Fraumeni syndrome

Individuals with germ line mutations in the p53 gene, such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), have an increased occurrence of many types of cancer, including an unusually high incidence of breast cancer. This report documents that normal breast epithelial cells obtained from a patient with LFS (with a mutation at codon 133 of the p53 gene) spontaneously immortalized in cell culture while the breast stromal fibroblasts from this same patient did not. Spontaneous immortalization of human cells in vitro is an extremely rare event. This is the first documented case of the spontaneous immortalization of breast epithelial cells from a patient with LFS in culture. LFS patient breast stromal fibroblasts infected with a retroviral vector containing human papillomavirus type 16 E7 alone were able to immortalize, whereas stromal cells obtained from patients with wild-type p53, similarly infected with human papillomavirus type 16 E7, did not. The present results indicate a protective role of normal pRb-like functions in breast stromal fibroblasts but not in breast epithelial cells and reinforces an important role of wild-type p53 in the regulation of the normal growth and development of breast epithelial tissue.
Diagnostic value of immunostaining for tryptase in patients with mastocytosis.

The term "mastocytosis" is used to describe a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormal growth and accumulation of mast cells (MCs). Cutaneous and systemic variants exist. Systemic mastocytosis may show an indolent or malignant clinical course. In malignant mastocytosis (MM), the diagnosis often is missed because the MCs are morphologically abnormal and lack metachromatic granules or the underlying histologic picture is complex. The cytoplasmic serine protease tryptase is produced by MCs and is thought to be expressed at all stages of MC maturation. To assess the diagnostic value of tryptase staining in mastocytosis, tissue sections from 93 patients with mastocytosis, including MM (n = 37), systemic indolent mastocytosis (n = 47), urticaria pigmentosa (n = 5), MC leukemia (n = 2), and solitary skin mastocytoma (n = 2) were stained with the antitryptase antibody G3. The results were compared with those of Giemsa and chloroacetate esterase (CAE) staining. Using antitryptase antibody G3, MC infiltrates were identified in all patients examined, including those with MM (37 of 37), and virtually all the neoplastic MCs (> 95%) appeared to react with G3. In MM, significantly fewer MCs were positive in Giemsa (54.5%; p < 0.05) and CAE (78.8%; p < 0.05). Moreover, G3 produced clear diagnostic staining in all cases of MM, but the proportion of cases with clear diagnostic results (> 10% of neoplastic cells positive) was considerably lower with Giemsa (48.6%; p < 0.05) and CAE (75.7%; p < 0.05) staining. By contrast, tryptase, Giemsa, and CAE produced diagnostic staining of MCs in virtually all cases of systemic indolent mastocytosis, urticaria pigmentosa, and solitary skin mastocytoma. In systemic mastocytosis, survival was significantly reduced in cases with Giemsa-/tryptase+ or CAE-/tryptase+ tumor cells compared to those cases with Giemsa+ or CAE+ MC infiltrates (p < 0.001).
Features of Human CD3+CD20+ T Cells

Monoclonal Abs against CD20 reduce the number of relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS); commonly this effect is solely attributed to depletion of B cells. Recently, however, a subset of CD3+CD20+ T cells has been described that is also targeted by the anti-CD20 mAb rituximab. Because the existence of cells coexpressing CD3 and CD20 is controversial and features of this subpopulation are poorly understood, we studied this issue in detail. In this study, we confirm that 3–5% of circulating human T cells display CD20 on their surface and transcribe both CD3 and CD20. We report that these CD3+CD20+ T cells pervade thymus, bone marrow, and secondary lymphatic organs. They are found in the cerebrospinal fluid even in the absence of inflammation; in the cerebrospinal fluid of MS patients they occur at a frequency similar to B cells. Phenotypically, these T cells are enriched in CD8+ and CD45RO+ memory cells and in CCR7− cells. Functionally, they show a higher frequency of IL-4–, IL-17–, IFN-γ–, and TNF-α–producing cells compared with T cells lacking CD20. CD20-expressing T cells respond variably to immunomodulatory treatments given to MS patients: they are reduced by fingolimod, alemtuzumab, and dimethyl fumarate, whereas natalizumab disproportionally increases them in the blood. After depletion by rituximab, they show earlier and higher repopulation than CD20+ B cells. Taken together, human CD3+CD20+ T cells pervade lymphatic organs and the cerebrospinal fluid, have a strong ability to produce different cytokines, and respond to MS disease modifying drugs.
Drifting between Counting Atoms and Telling Stories: Quantitative and Qualitative Ambient OOH Media Planning Guidelines for Emerging Economies

ABSTRACT Currently, no guidelines exist to plan ambient out-of-home media in emerging economies. This study is one of the first to explore ambient out-of-home media from a media professional viewpoint. The findings revealed that practitioners in South Africa design campaigns to tell engaging stories in a social context that allows consumers to engage with the medium and the message, rather than just delivering mass media exposure and maximum audience reach. By reviewing the literature, illustrative cases, and obtaining insight from 20 experienced media professionals, this study offers guidelines on the qualitative and quantitative values when using ambient out-of-home media. The results of the research can be used to both appreciate and plan consumer-centered ambient out-of-home media in emerging economies.
Wavefront technology in cataract surgery

Purpose of review As advances in technology allow cataract surgeons to address higher order optical aberrations, the measurement of functional vision becomes increasingly critical. Contrast sensitivity testing is assuming a prominent place in our evaluation of surgical modalities because it reflects functional vision and correlates with visual performance. The Tecnis Z9000 intraocular lens (IOL) (Pfizer, New York) is the first foldable IOL designed to correct higher order optical aberrations and represents a first step toward the integration of wavefront technology and cataract surgery. Recent findings Contrast sensitivity declines with age, even in the absence of ocular pathology. Wavefront science demonstrates that the youthful crystalline lens compensates for aberrations in the cornea. The aging lens loses its balance with the cornea, as both the magnitude and the sign of its spherical aberration change. Older pseudophakic patients have generally the same contrast sensitivity as their age-matched counterparts without cataract. The Tecnis Z9000 IOL (Pfizer, New York) has been designed with a modified prolate anterior surface to compensate for the spherical aberration of the cornea, thus eliminating total ocular spherical aberration. Clinical data demonstrate that this modified prolate IOL provides superior functional vision, similar to that of younger people, and hence improves visual performance when compared with conventional spherical IOLs. It appears likely that the decline in functional vision with age involves changes in the spherical aberration of the crystalline lens. Summary The integration of wave-front technology and lens-based surgery represents a step toward improving functional vision and quality of life for cataract patients.
Effects of red, far-red and blue light in maintaining growth in latitudinal populations of Norway spruce (Picea abies).

Seedlings of trees with a free growth pattern cease growth when night-lengths become shorter than a critical value, and this critical night-length (CNL) decreases with increasing latitude of origin. In northern populations, the light quality also appears to play an important role and a clinal variation in requirement for far-red (FR) light has been documented. In this study we dissected the light quality requirements for maintaining growth in different latitudinal populations of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. ) using light emitting diodes for red (R), FR and blue (B) light, as 12 h day extension to provide 24 h photoperiod. At equal spectral photon flux, FR light was more effective than R light in maintaining growth, and the requirement of both R and FR increased with northern latitude of origin. One-to-one mixtures of R and FR light were more effective in maintaining growth than either FR or R light alone, indicating a possible interaction between R and FR light maintaining growth. Using the blue light as day extension could not prevent growth cessation in any of the populations, but delayed the bud set slightly in all populations. Our results suggest that phytochrome(s) are the primary photoreceptors in high irradiance responses maintaining growth in Norway spruce seedlings.
Cholinergic neurons in the brain of a teleost fish (Porichthys notatus) located with a monoclonal antibody to choline acetyltransferase

A monoclonal antibody (Ab8) to choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) was used to locate structures showing ChAT‐like immunoreactivity (ChAT‐IR) in the brain of a teleost fish, the midshipman (Porichthys notatus). ChAT is the synthetic enzyme for acetylcholine found in neurons using that neurotransmitter; thus ChAT‐IR may be interpreted as indicating putative cholinergic activity. Robust staining is seen in all cranial nerve motor nuclei. In addition, the brainstem of Porichthys is distinguished by two other expansive ChAT‐IR zones: a sonic motor nucleus, which innervates swimbladder “drum” muscles, and an octavolateralis efferent nucleus, which innervates acoustic, vestibular, and lateral line end organs. Scattered labeled cells are found in several cranial sensory nuclei–the vagal lobe, and the main and descending trigeminal nuclei. ChAT‐IR cells form restricted subpopulations in other noncranial nerve nuclei, including the granule cell layer of the cerebellum; superior, medial, and inferior divisions of the reticular formation; the stratum periventriculare of the midbrain's optic tectum; and the nucleus isthmi in the midbrain tegmentum. In the telencephalon, a dense population of ChAT‐IR cells is found in the ventral nucleus of area ventralis; terminals and fine fibers are found in the dorsal, medial, and central nuclei of area dorsalis. Together, the data represent the first complete report of ChAT‐IR cell bodies in the brain of any nonmammal with the monoclonal antibody Ab8, which has already been extensively used on a variety of vertebrate brains. The results are thus discussed from a comparative viewpoint, considering reports of ChAT‐IR in different taxa.
Revisions in Granular Repeat Sales Indices

Price indices based on repeat sales are the most widely used type of real estate index based on asset transaction prices. But such indices are particularly prone to revision. When a new period of transaction data becomes available and is used to update the repeat sales model, all past index values can potentially be revised. These revisions are especially problematical for commercial real estate (as compared to housing), because commercial transactions are relatively scarce and properties are heterogeneous, reducing estimation precision. From a methodological perspective, the magnitude of expected revisions is a particularly useful measure of the quality of the empirical index, as it directly reflects both the precision of the index and its practical usefulness in economic and business applications, since revisions themselves are problematical in practice. This paper focuses on random revisions for indexes in thin, commercial property markets, the type of market that is most challenging for empirical price indexing. We present multiple specifications of the repeat sales model, seeking to reduce revisions. With the objective of minimizing the expected magnitude of revisions, among the specifications we explore, the best result obtains from an index methodology that specifies the periodic returns as a first order autoregressive process, that also uses the periodic returns of an aggregate index as an explanatory variable for more granular indices, and that allows the variance parameters of the signal and the noise to be time-varying. In our small-sample test cases, this model reduces overall index revisions by more than 50%.