Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ADAM 12 Cleaves Extracellular Matrix Proteins and Correlates with Cancer Status and Stage*

ADAM 12 is a member of a family of disintegrin-containing metalloproteases that have been implicated in a variety of diseases including Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, and cancer. We purified ADAM 12 from the urine of breast cancer patients via Q-Sepharose anion exchange and gelatin-Sepharose affinity chromatography followed by protein identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Four peptides were identified that spanned the amino acid sequence of ADAM 12. Immunoblot analysis using ADAM 12-specific antibodies detected an ∼68-kDa band identified as the mature form of ADAM 12. To characterize catalytic properties of ADAM 12, full-length ADAM 12-S was expressed in COS-7 cells and purified. Substrate specificity studies demonstrated that ADAM 12-S degrades gelatin, type IV collagen, and fibronectin but not type I collagen or casein. Gelatinase activity of ADAM 12 was completely abrogated by zinc chelators 1,10-phenanthroline and EDTA and was partially inhibited by the hydroxamate inhibitor Marimastat. Endogenous matrix metalloprotease inhibitor TIMP-3 inhibited activity. To validate our initial identification of this enzyme in human urine, 117 urine samples from breast cancer patients and controls were analyzed by immunoblot. The majority of samples from cancer patients were positive for ADAM 12 (67 of 71, sensitivity 0.94) compared with urine from controls in which ADAM 12 was detected with significantly lower frequency. Densitometric analyses of immunoblots demonstrated that ADAM 12 protein levels were higher in urine from breast cancer patients than in control urine. In addition, median levels of ADAM 12 in urine significantly increased with disease progression. These data demonstrate for the first time that ADAM 12 is a gelatinase, that it can be detected in breast cancer patient urine, and that increased urinary levels of this protein correlate with breast cancer progression. They further support the possibility that detection of urinary ADAM 12 may prove useful in the development of noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic tests for breast and perhaps other cancers.
Photonic Generation of Microwave Signals Based on Pulse Shaping

A novel approach to generating microwave signals based on optical pulse shaping is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The proposed system consists of a femtosecond pulse laser source, a Sagnac-loop filter (SLF), a dispersive element, and a photodetector. The spectrum of the femtosecond pulse is shaped by the SLF that has a sinusoidal spectral response. Thanks to the frequency-to-time conversion in the dispersive element, time-domain pulse exhibiting the shape of the optical power spectrum is obtained. Depending on the free-spectral range of the SLF and the total dispersion of the dispersive element, signals with frequencies up to terahertz can be generated. A model to describe the signal generation is developed. Experimental results agree well with the theoretical analysis
How Information Asymmetry Affects Contract Design: Evidence from Seller-Financed Acquisitions

This paper uses a proprietary transaction database to provide evidence about how information asymmetries and capital constraints affect deal structures in the sale of privately held firms. The evidence indicates that sellers of firms with greater levels of private information are more likely to receive seller financing as a form of contingent payment to help mitigate information asymmetry concerns. The evidence also suggests that seller financing helps alleviate buyer capital constraints in the financing of the transaction. Seller financing is more common in geographic areas where private equity capital commitments are lower.The online appendix for this paper is available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2853687.
On the Stock Markets’ Reactions to Taxation and Public Expenditure

In this paper a panel analysis is employed to investigate the effects of governments’ expenditure and taxation on stock market indexes in 11 members of the Eurozone. A significant number of studies have focused on the effects of monetary policy on the Eurozone stock markets, while only a limited number of papers have investigated the effects of fiscal policy on the stock markets. Therefore, we know little, if anything, on the sign and the stability of the stock markets’ reaction to taxation and public expenditure. Our results show that fiscal maneuvers influence stock markets and that, following an increase (decrease) in public deficit, stock markets indexes go down (up). Nevertheless, further analysis shows that the signs of the estimated stock markets’ reactions are not constant over time and that they can change according to the surrounding macroeconomic scenario.
Land Communes and Factor Market Imperfections: Micro-Evidence from Late 19th-Century Russia

Why was the Russian economy relatively backward before the Revolution? Alexander Gerschenkron and others have argued that the peasant land commune’s system of collective property rights and control over household resource decisions introduced frictions into factor markets. These features of the commune reduced the ability of households to exit agriculture, thus lowering the supply of labor to industry and economic growth. I employ newly collected archival data from a survey of rural households in 1899 to evaluate this argument. I show that households used a variety of factor adjustment mechanisms. These included the hiring of labor and the allocation of household labor to
Association between atopy and recurrent vaginal candidiasis

To determine whether there is an association between atopy and recurrent vaginal candidiasis (RVC) and to evaluate the type‐2 immune response in patients with RVC. Evaluation of immediate hypersensitivity skin tests to aeroallergens, measurement of total IgE and Candida albicans specific IgE and levels of IL‐5 in 44 women with RVC and 26 with sporadic vaginal candidiasis (SVC). Statistical analyses were performed by Mann–Whitney test and χ2 test with Yates correction. History of atopy (68%) and positive skin test (42%) were higher (P < 0·05) in RVC than in patients with SVC. No significant difference was found in total IgE, C. albicans specific IgE and IL‐5 levels. There was a strong association between atopy and RVC, but type‐2 immune response to C. albicans antigen was absent or similar in the two groups of patients.
Changes in eating attitudes, eating disorders and body weight in Chinese medical university students

Background: Eating disorders is a particular problem for university students. However, little is known about this problem among medical students who often have high stress. Aims: The aims of this study were to describe the changes in eating attitudes and eating disorders from 2006 to 2008 in a medical student sample, and to compare the gender differences of eating attitudes and body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) with this sample. Methods: This study was conducted in Changsha city, Mainland China. Self-reported questionnaires, including the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) and Eating Disorders Assessment Questionnaire (CETCA), were employed to examine the changes in eating attitudes and eating disorders from 2006 to 2008 in a medical student sample (N = 500). Results: Self-reported findings suggest that tentative eating disorders prevalence was 0.90% (anorexia nervosa (AN): 0; bulimia nervosa (BN): 4 females) in 2006 and 1.44% (AN: 1 male; BN: 1 male and 3 females) in 2008 of the full sample. The present data showed that 2.26% (2 males and 9 females) in 2006 and 2.47% (4 males and 6 females) in 2008 of all students obtained scores greater than 20 on the EAT-26 indicative of distorted eating attitudes and behaviour. Male students kept lower distorted eating attitudes and behaviours than female students, while female students kept a lower BMI than male students in both 2006 and 2008. However, there were no statistically significant changes in eating attitudes, distorted eating attitudes and CETCA in either male or female students from 2006 to 2008. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that there were no statistically significant changes from 2006 to 2008 in eating attitudes, distorted eating attitudes and CETCA. However, females showed significantly higher eating disorders and distorted eating attitudes compared to males in both 2006 and 2008. This study is furthering our understanding of eating disorders in a Chinese cultural context.
Divisible Good Auctions with Asymmetric Information: An Experimental Examination

Abstract An experimental approach is used to compare bidding behavior and auction performance in uniform-price and discriminatory auctions when there is incomplete information concerning the common value of the auctioned good. In a symmetric information environment, the different auction formats provide the same average revenue. However, when information is asymmetric the discriminatory auction results in higher average revenue than the uniform-price auction. The volatility of revenue is higher in the uniform-price auctions in all treatments. The results, therefore, provide support for the use of the discriminatory format. Subject characteristics and measures of experience in recent auctions are found to be useful in explaining bidding behavior.
Essentials Of Skilled Helping Managing Problems Developing Opportunities

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Characterisation of myocardial bridges in pigs: a comparative anatomical analysis with the human heart.

BACKGROUND Few studies have been conducted in pigs concerning the presence of myocardial bridges (MB) on the coronary arteries and their branches, and some of them have evaluated small samples. The objective of this study was to characterise MB in pigs of commercial breeds. MATERIALS AND METHODS One hundred and fifty eight hearts of pigs destined to the slaughterhouse with stunning method were studied. The coronary arteries were perfused with polyester resin (palatal 85% and styrene 15%) and then subjected to potassium hydroxide infusion to remove the subepicardial fat. RESULTS Ninety three MB were found in 67 (42.4%) specimens, 43 (46%) of which were located on branches of the right coronary artery, 38 (41%) on branches of the left coronary artery and 12 (13%) on both vessels. The MB occurred in 26 (38.8%) females and 41 (61.2%) males, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.23). Single MB were most common (70%), followed by the presence of 2 (21%) MB in different vessels. the subsinusal interventricular artery was the vascular structure with the largest number of MB (46.2%), with its middle third being the most compromised segment (79%). The mean length of the MB was 11.23 ± 5.67 mm and the thickness of the suprapontine myocardium was 1.13 ± 0.48 mm. CONCLUSIONS The frequency, localisation, and length of the MB reported in pigs are consistent with the findings of the present study, whereas in humans the MB involve mainly the anterior interventricular artery and are longer.
Market orientation, learning orientation and business performance: The mediating role of innovation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between market orientation, learning orientation and innovation; and second, assesses the role of innovation, market orientation and learning orientation on firms’ business performance using a developing country (i.e. the Ghanaian banking domain) as a study context. Design/methodology/approach – Following a nation-wide survey among senior managers of 28 banks in Ghana, five research propositions were tested using multiple linear regression analysis. Findings – Results demonstrate that market orientation has significant association with innovation while learning orientation has significant impact on innovation. Moreover, innovation mediates the relationship between market orientation and business performance. Research limitations/implications – This study adopt the cross-sectional research design and as such acknowledge the same limitations as other cross-sectional studies. Practical implications – The research will help bank executives esp.
The Pricing of Sovereign Risk Under Costly Information

We explore the consequences of costly information acquisition on the pricing of sovereign risk. In particular, we consider an environment in which lenders’ information acquisition and the sovereign’s default decision are jointly endogenous. We ﬁnd that the model generates state-dependent allocation of investor attention, which has a number of interesting implications: First, it serves as a microfoundation for time-varying volatility in the country-risk spread; second, it implies that model-based estimates of default risk from spread data will be systematically and negatively biased during crisis periods if they fail to account for costly information acquisition; and third, it suggests that sovereign welfare is maximized at an intermediate level of transparency, as opposed to either full or no transparency
An assessment of compensation determinants and its impact on employee commitment in private tertiary institutions in Ghana

The main aim of the study was to identify compensation determinants and how rewards can be made meaningful so as to increase employees’ organisational commitment. The objectives of the study were to determine whether entitlement-orientation to rewards influences organisational commitment; and to ascertain whether financial rewards increase organisational commitment of academic staff. The study employed descriptive survey design in gathering data from 157 academic staff, from a total number of seven private tertiary institutions which were selected through stratified sampling. Respondents from these seven private tertiary institutions were conveniently and purposively selected. The study observed that compensation was determined by both internal and external factors; tenure and job position positively influenced the maintenance of organisational membership. It was also realised that, financial rewards only increased continuance commitment but not affective commitment. This study creates awareness and sensitises stakeholders about the impact of ineffective compensation on employees’ and institutional performance and how compensation can be tailored to individual needs and wants in achieving both individual and organisational goals.
A placebo controlled, dose-ranging, safety study of allogenic mesenchymal stem cells injected by endomyocardial delivery after an acute myocardial infarction.

AIMS Although mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) show promising signs in reducing myocardial infarct (MI) size, the safety of endomyocardial delivery and the most efficacious dose is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS Three days after MI, female Yorkshire swine (25-32 kg, age 2 months, n = 32) were randomized to endomyocardial delivery of one of three MSC doses (2.4 x 10(7), 2.4 x 10(8), 4.4 x 10(8) cells) or vehicle control. Animals were sacrificed at 12 weeks. There were no safety issues related to cell delivery and all animals tolerated the procedure. By magnetic resonance imaging infarct size (g) was decreased in the experimental groups and increased in the control group; 2.4 x 10(7): Delta -2.5 +/- 2.5 g, 2.4 x 10(8): -0.9 +/- 2.71 g, 4.4 x 10(8): -1.6 +/- 5.8 g, and control +3.6 +/- 3.4 g (P = 0.002, P = 0.016, and P = 0.055 compared with control, respectively). There was no effect on ejection fraction or left ventricular volumes. By histology there were no toxic effects of MSC delivery, however, few engrafted MSCs were observed. CONCLUSION Direct MSC delivery into infarcted myocardium was safe and produced a local but not a functional effect. There was no dose-dependent effect. The effect of MSCs on infarct reduction may result from transient residence and subsequent paracrine effects.
Voice and data transmission over an 802.11 wireless network

This paper analyzes the transmission of voice and data over an 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN). The data is transmitted in a contention based access period, while the voice samples are transmitted during a contention free period, based on a polling scheme. Because statistical multiplexing can be utilized, speech may be outdated when a poll arrives. The portion of outdated speech is then clipped to decrease the load on the channel. We analyze the quality of the voice conversations in terms of the percentage of bits clipped as well as the throughput of the data for various parameters. We show the boundary conditions involved in the transmission of voice over the WLAN and demonstrate the impact of a time-bounded service on the throughput during the contention period. The results show that the high overhead introduced by the 802.11 WLAN standard results in a low number of possible voice conversations. It can also be concluded that the cooperation of the contention based and contention free periods results in a poor performance. Further, variation of the maximum payload size reveals that the largest possible maximum payload size must be selected to minimize the percentage of clipped bits and maximize the throughput. Finally, we show that a larger superframe length provides the opportunity for more voice conversations or a higher data throughput, but requires increasing the time to live for the speech bits to retain an acceptable quality.
De novo donor‐specific anti‐HLA antibodies after kidney transplantation are associated with impaired graft outcome independently of their C1q‐binding ability

Many aspects of post‐transplant monitoring of donor‐specific (DSA) and non‐donor‐specific (nDSA) anti‐HLA antibodies on renal allograft survival are still unclear. Differentiating them by their ability to bind C1q may offer a better risk assessment. We retrospectively investigated the clinical relevance of de novo C1q‐binding anti‐HLA antibodies on graft outcome in 611 renal transplant recipients. Acute rejection (AR), renal function, and graft survival were assessed within a mean follow‐up of 6.66 years. Post‐transplant 6.5% patients developed de novo DSA and 11.5% de novo nDSA. DSA (60.0%; P < 0.0001) but not nDSA (34.1%, P = 0.4788) increased rate of AR as compared with controls (27.4%). C1q‐binding anti‐HLA antibodies did not alter rate of AR in both groups. Renal function was only significantly diminished in patients with DSAC1q+. However, DSA significantly impaired 5‐year graft survival (65.2%; P < 0.0001) in comparison with nDSA (86.7%; P = 0.0054) and controls (90.7%). While graft survival did not differ between DSAC1q− and DSAC1q+ recipients, 5‐year allograft survival was reduced in nDSAC1q+ (80.9%) versus nDSAC1q− (90.7%, P = 0.0251). De novo DSA independently of their ability to bind C1q are associated with diminished graft survival.
Isolation of Bifidobacteria from feces of chimpanzees in the wild.

Intestinal bacteria in wild animals have not been thoroughly studied due to technical problems such as poor laboratory equipment in fi eld conditions. The lack of electricity, clean water, and availability of CO2 gas makes work with anaerobic cultures diffi cult. In the case of wild apes in Africa, even buildings are often lacking. However, these constraints can be overcome by the use of molecular-based techniques. Indeed, bacteriological surveys based on the 16S rRNA gene can be conducted in all research fi elds of wild apes if fresh feces are available. In a previous study, fresh feces were collected aseptically in ethanol to fi x bacteria for DNA preservation. After transportation to our laboratory in Kyoto, we successfully analyzed the bacterial 16S rRNA gene in the feces of chimpanzees in the wild (Fujita and Kageyama, 2007; Uenishi et al., 2007; Ushida, 2008). However, 16S rDNA-basis phylogenetic analyses of bacteria provide poor information on their functions in the intestine. Live bacterial cultures are essential to estimate their function in the physiology, particularly the nutrition, of the host (Gibson and Macfarlane, 1995). In this report, we show the successful isolation of bifi dobacteria from the feces of wild chimpanzees living in the tropical forest of Bossou, Guinea (Matsuzawa, 2006), though the identifi cation of the isolates remains incomplete. In this experiment, all equipment, anaerobic media in particular, was prepared in Kyoto and transported to Bossou. TOS-propionate agar plates (Yakult, Tokyo) and LBS agar plates (Becton Dickinson and Company, Cockeysville, MD, USA) were prepared according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Plates were placed in plastic bags (Techbarrier®, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Tokyo) with Anaeropack® (Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals, Tokyo). Plastic bags were closed by heat-sealing. TOS-propionate stubs and LBS stubs were also prepared under O2-free CO2 using Hungate-type tubes (Bellco, Vineland, NJ, USA). Transportation to the research fi eld took 1 week after preparation. Fresh feces of 10 chimpanzees were successfully collected at the end of the rainy season of 2007 and rapidly transported (within ca. 30 min of defecation) to a house in Bossou Village as indicated in a previous study (Ushida et al., 2006). If chimpanzees were located at a distant location from the village, sampling was abandoned. Collected feces were mixed with 9 volumes of a phosphate buffer (pH 6.5, 0.05 M) within a sterile 50-ml J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol. , 56, 57‒60 (2010)
Haemodialysis

Although Abel, Rowntree and Turner (I913) devised an artificial kidney, Kolff and Berk (I943) designed the first practical machine. Kolff used heparin as an anticoagulent and blood circulated through a cellophane tube, which was wound round a drum rotating in a dialysing fluid. The Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (Murphy et al., 1952) improved this machine by making it of stainless steel and introducing non-wettable plastic surfaces for carrying the blood to and from the cellophane tube which enabled the dose of anticoagulent to be reduced to safe levels. Since I943 other types of artificial kidney have been introduced and in some the blood circulates under pressure so that ultrafiltration as well as dialysis occurs (Alwall, 1947; Skeggs and Leonards, 1948; and the twin-coil of Kolff and Watschinger, 1956). The present day machine is quite safe and little, if any, haemolysis occurs.
Col2‐GFP reporter marks chondrocyte lineage and chondrogenesis during mouse skeletal development

Mice were generated in which a Col2‐GFP transgene serves as a reporter for the chondrocyte lineage and for chondrogenesis in live embryos and newborn pups. Cells actively engaged in chondrogenesis were identified by confocal optical sectioning within their native environments in embryos and in thick tissue slices. Chondrocytes exhibiting GFP fluorescence were purified from rib cages by high‐speed cell sorting of crude cell suspensions. Intensity of fluorescence correlated with biosynthesis of procollagen II in these cells. The use of these mice and their cells provides a novel approach for studying chondrocyte differentiation and chondrogenesis during skeletal development. Dev Dyn;218:394–400. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.