Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Voluntary exercise partially reverses neonatal alcohol‐induced deficits in mPFC layer II/III dendritic morphology of male adolescent rats

Developmental alcohol exposure in humans can produce a wide range of deficits collectively referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). FASD‐related impairments in executive functioning later in life suggest long‐term damage to the prefrontal cortex (PFC). In rodent neonates, moderate to high levels of alcohol exposure decreased frontal lobe brain size and altered medial PFC pyramidal neuron dendritic morphology. Previous research in our lab demonstrated that neonatal alcohol exposure decreased basilar dendritic complexity but did not affect spine density in Layer II/III pyramidal neurons in 26‐ to 30‐day‐old rats. The current study adds to the literature by evaluating the effect of neonatal alcohol exposure on mPFC Layer II/III basilar dendritic morphology in adolescent male rats. Additionally, it examines the potential for voluntary exercise to mitigate alcohol‐induced deficits on mPFC dendritic complexity. An animal model of binge drinking during the third trimester of pregnancy was used. Rats were intubated with alcohol (alcohol‐exposed, AE; 5.25 g kg−1 day−1) on postnatal days (PD) 4‐9; two control groups were included (suckle control and sham‐intubated). Rats were anesthetized and perfused with heparinized saline solution on PD 42, and brains were processed for Golgi‐Cox staining. Developmental alcohol exposure decreased spine density and dendritic complexity of basilar dendrites of Layer II/III neurons in the medial PFC (mPFC) compared to dendrites of control animals. Voluntary exercise increased spine density and dendritic length in AE animals resulting in elimination of the differences between AE and SH rats. Thus, voluntary exercise during early adolescence selectively rescued alcohol‐induced morphological deficits in the mPFC. Synapse 69:405–415, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The prognostic value of substaging colorectal carcinoma. A prospective study of 1117 cases with standardized pathology

This study further assesses a previously reported clinicopathologic staging system for colorectal carcinoma. By using carefully defined anatomic criteria, various substages of tumor spread have been examined prospectively for their prognostic significance in a group of 1117 patients accessioned over 14 years and documented by the same pathologist. Spread from the muscularis propria into surrounding tissues was not associated with a significant deterioration in prognosis if the lines of resection were clear of tumor and there were no known metastases or free mesothelial surface invasion. Free mesothelial surface invasion by potentially curable tumors was associated with a significant reduction in patient survival. Patients with potentially curable tumors but with lymph node metastases had a significantly poorer probability of survival if the apical lymph node was involved. Among those with incurable tumors, there was no significant difference in survival depending on whether incurability was due to distant metastases or surgical transection of tumor. Substaging offers a means of refining the ability to predict tumor behavior.
Common and distinct features of cytokine effects on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells revealed by dose–response surface analysis

Recent studies have identified thrombopoietin (TPO), flt‐3 ligand (FL), Steel factor (SF), and interleukin‐11 (IL‐11) as cytokines able to stimulate amplification of the most primitive murine hematopoietic cells in vitro. However, dose–response and interaction parameters that predict how to optimize mixtures of these cytokines have not been previously defined. To obtain this information, Sca‐1+lin− and c‐kit+Sca‐1+lin− adult mouse bone marrow cells were cultured for 10 and 14 days, respectively, in serum‐free medium with varying concentrations of these cytokines. Quantitative assays were performed to determine the influences of the cytokine combinations tested on changes in long‐term repopulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), in vitro colony‐forming cells (CFCs), and total cell numbers. A two‐level factorial design was first used to screen the effects of TPO, SF, FL, and IL‐11 as well as two different incubation temperatures. IL‐11 and SF were found to be the most significant stimulators of murine HSC expansion. More detailed analyses of the effects on c‐kit+Sca‐1+lin− cells of IL‐11, SF, and FL concentrations and their interactions using response surface methodology showed IL‐11 to have a maximal stimulatory effect on HSC expansion at 20 ng/mL with higher concentrations being inhibitory. In contrast, not even high concentration saturation of the effects of either SF or FL was observed as the stimulatory effect of both SF and FL increased beyond 300 ng/mL. A negative interaction between SF and FL on HSCs was discovered. Interestingly, a generally similar pattern of cytokine effects was found to influence the 14‐day output of CFCs and total cells from the same c‐kit+Sca‐1+lin− starting cell population. However, compared with HSCs, the cytokine requirements for maximizing the generation of CFCs and total cells were at much lower cytokine doses. From the information provided by the factorial analysis, mathematical models based on Monod kinetics for inhibitory substrates were developed that allow total cell, CFC, and HSC expansion to be predicted as a function of the IL‐11, SF, and FL concentrations in terms of more widely recognized parameters. Overall, these methods should also serve as a guide for the future design and testing of other ex vivo stem cell expansion systems. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 80: 393–404, 2002.
Investment decision making among gulf investors: Behavioural finance perspective

The rationality hypothesis has been a very popular topic among the academics. Being a widely accepted hypothesis as part of the traditional finance theories, an investor is deemed a rational agent and makes rational decisions by exhausting all available alternatives.However, recently, new behavioural finance theories have been gaining ground as many empirical findings, which have been left unanswered by the traditional theories, can be explained by these behavioural-approach based theories. This research examined the impact of psychological factors on risk-taking behaviour in investment decisions. In particular, this research considered the possible effects of psychological factors, namely herding, heuristics, prospect, market, self-attribution bias, and familiarity bias, in making investment decisions. The findings in this paper declared that risk-taking behaviour in investment is affected by herding factors, heuristics factors, prospect factors, market factors and self-attribution bias factors. The familiarity bias factors do not significantly affect risk-taking behaviour in financial investment.
Flat-Panel Volume Computed Tomography for Cochlear Implant Electrode Array Examination in Isolated Temporal Bone Specimens

Hypothesis: Flat-panel based volume computed tomography could improve cochlear implant electrode evaluation in comparison with multislice computed tomography. Background: Flat-panel based volume computed tomography offers higher spatial resolution and less metal artifacts than multislice computed tomography. Both characteristics could improve the evaluation of challenging but important questions in cochlear implantation assessment, such as an exact imaging of cochlea, osseous spiral lamina, electrode array position, and single electrode contacts. These questions are not currently fully answered by multislice computed tomography. Methods: Four isolated temporal bone specimens were scanned in a current multislice computed tomography scanner and in two experimental flat-panel based volume computed tomography scanners before and after cochlea implantation. To compare flat-panel based volume computed tomography and multislice computed tomography, four features were rated according to the following criteria: 1) visibility of the cochlea; 2) visibility of the osseous spiral lamina; 3) discernibility of individual electrode contacts; and 4) the ability to determine the electrode array position relative to scala tympani and scala vestibuli. Layer-by-layer microgrinding pictures were used as the ground truth for verification of imaging findings. Results: Flat-panel based volume computed tomography was superior to multislice computed tomography in all four features rated. The cochlea and facial nerve canal were much better delineated in flat-panel based volume computed tomography. The osseous spiral lamina and single electrode contacts were only visible in flat-panel based volume computed tomography. Assessment of implant position with regard to the cochlear spaces was considerably improved by flat-panel based volume computed tomography. Conclusion: Cochlear implantation assessment could be improved by flat-panel based volume computed tomography and, therefore, would be highly beneficial for cochlea implantation research and for clinical evaluation. However, these first results were shown by scanning isolated temporal bone specimens; scanning whole human skull bases might be more challenging.
Intellectual Property Regimes and Firm Structure

We use The Patents (Amendment) Act, 2002 in India as a quasi-natural experiment to identify the causal eÂ¤ect of higher incentives for innovation on firm organizational features. We find that stronger intellectual property (IP) protection has a sharper impact on technologically advanced firms, i.e., firms that were a-priori above the industry median in terms of technology adoption. While there is an overall increase in managers' share of compensation, this increase is about 1.6-1.7% more for high-tech firms. This difference can be attributed to a larger increase in performance pay for high-tech firms. The reform also leads to a significant increase in number of managerial layers and number of divisions for high-tech firms relative to low-tech firms, but only the latter effect is correlated with the differential change in managerial compensation. Broadly, we demonstrate that stronger IP protection leads to an increase in both within-firm and between-firm wage inequality, with more robust evidence for between-firm inequality.
Bacteria Possessing Two RelA/SpoT-Like Proteins Have Evolved a Specific Stringent Response Involving the Acyl Carrier Protein-SpoT Interaction

ABSTRACT Bacteria respond to nutritional stress by producing (p)ppGpp, which triggers a stringent response resulting in growth arrest and expression of resistance genes. In Escherichia coli, RelA produces (p)ppGpp upon amino acid starvation by detecting stalled ribosomes. The SpoT enzyme responds to various other types of starvation by unknown mechanisms. We previously described an interaction between SpoT and the central cofactor of lipid synthesis, acyl carrier protein (ACP), which is involved in detecting starvation signals in lipid metabolism and triggering SpoT-dependent (p)ppGpp accumulation. However, most bacteria possess a unique protein homologous to RelA/SpoT (Rsh) that is able to synthesize and degrade (p)ppGpp and is therefore more closely related to SpoT function. In this study, we asked if the ACP-SpoT interaction is specific for bacteria containing two RelA and SpoT enzymes or if it is a general feature that is conserved in Rsh enzymes. By testing various combinations of SpoT, RelA, and Rsh enzymes and ACPs of E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus pneumoniae, we found that the interaction between (p)ppGpp synthases and ACP seemed to be restricted to SpoT proteins of bacteria containing the two RelA and SpoT proteins and to ACP proteins encoded by genes located in fatty acid synthesis operons. When Rsh enzymes from B. subtilis and S. pneumoniae are produced in E. coli, the behavior of these enzymes is different from the behavior of both RelA and SpoT proteins with respect to (p)ppGpp synthesis. This suggests that bacteria have evolved several different modes of (p)ppGpp regulation in order to respond to nutrient starvation.
Laparoscopic Approach to Retrorectal Tumors: Review of the Literature and Report of 4 Cases

Background Retrorectal or presacral tumors are extremely rare and their histologic origin varies greatly. Surgical excision is indicated to prevent complications or to rule out malignancy. A laparoscopic approach has been infrequently reported to date. The aim of this article is to report our experience in 4 cases, and to review the current world experience on laparoscopic approach to retrorectal tumors. Methods Between 1998 and 2009, we operated 4 cases in which a presacral tumor was diagnosed. A pure laparoscopic procedure was performed in 3 cases and a combined laparoscopic/transacral approach in a fourth. In addition, a systematic literature review and relevant reports on laparoscopic approach of these tumors were analyzed. Results All patients underwent laparoscopic dissection of the tumor with extraction through a Phannestiel incision except in 1 case that was performed transsacrally. Simultaneously, the literature review showed 11 articles with a total number of 18 patients approached by laparoscopy. Conclusions The laparoscopic approach of retrorectal tumors is feasible. The advantages are an enhanced access and visualization of the pelvic structures and a more controlled preservation of nerve and vascular integrity. It seems to be a safe procedure and can be combined with a posterior approach if needed.
Changing Landscapes: New Roles for Academic Librarians

Both sides of the Atlantic forecast new roles for librarians in response to changes affecting research and scholarship in higher education1. They share observations that academic librarians are positioning themselves to advance the mission of their institution in new ways. Changing landscapes bring new challenges for librarians to address, such as requiring data to be curated and shared, teaching digital literacy, and leveraging technologies and organizational structures to improve researcher productivity. In response, librarians are redefining their roles as leaders and partners with faculty, administrators, and students. This paper will focus on the evolving role of the academic librarian in the research life cycle to illustrate how U.S. academic institutions embrace these changes. The experiences of one mid-size U.S. university will highlight how becoming effective leaders and true partners require librarians to understand the changing requirements and practices facing researchers and students throughout the research lifecycle. Librarians are bringing their information expertise, organization skills, and professional values to innovative organizational settings that strengthen campus research infrastructures. The presenters will explore how the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), a national library organization, leverages the effort of the professional community to offer education and support for these transitions. The paper will conclude with ACRL’s strategies to prepare librarians to demonstrate its vision that “academic and research library workforce effectively navigates change in higher education environments. ”
What is the role of bariatric surgery in the management of obesity?

Abstract Diet, exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy are some of the means of assisting patients to lose weight, with bariatric surgery being the most effective. Over the last two decades, the increased awareness of the systemic benefits of bariatric surgery, as well as the improved safety and the wider use of the laparoscopic approach, has made bariatric surgery flourish. In the United Kingdom, the adjustable gastric band (10%), vertical sleeve gastrectomy (37%) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (45%) are the three most common procedures. Obesity-associated mortality and co-morbidities such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea, renal dysfunction and depression improve significantly with bariatric surgery. The mechanisms of weight loss extend beyond restriction and malabsorption and include changes in hunger and satiety, food preferences, and possibly energy expenditure. Despite its safety and efficacy, bariatric surgery is underutilized as less than 1% of adults with obesity receive it. In view of the evolution of obesity into a global threat, access to bariatric surgery should be increased, whilst developing safer and less invasive weight loss treatments.
Graft-versus-Host Disease Impairs Vaccine Responses through Decreased CD4+ and CD8+ T Cell Proliferation and Increased Perforin-Mediated CD8+ T Cell Apoptosis

Tumor-targeted vaccines represent a strategy to enhance the graft-versus-leukemia effect after allogeneic blood and marrow transplantation (BMT). We have previously shown that graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) can negatively impact quantitative responses to vaccines. Using a minor histocompatibility Ag–mismatched BMT (B6→B6 × C3H.SW) followed by adoptive transfer of HY-specific T cells and HY-expressing dendritic cells, we assessed whether GVHD induced by donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) affects the persistence, proliferation, and survival of vaccine-responding, nonalloantigen reactive T cells. Both CD8+ and CD4+ HY-specific T cells undergo less vaccine-driven proliferation in allogeneic recipients with GVHD. Although vaccine-responding CD8+ T cells show decreased IFN-γ and CD107a production, CD4+ T cells exhibit increased programmed death 1 and T cell Ig mucin-like domain 3 expression. In addition, the degree of apoptosis in vaccine-responding CD8+ T cells was higher in the presence of GVHD, but there was no difference in CD4+ T cell apoptosis. Using Fas ligand–deficient or TRAIL-deficient DLI had no impact on apoptosis of HY-specific T cells. However, perforin-deficient alloreactive DLI induced significantly less apoptosis of vaccine-responding CD8+ T cells and resulted in enhanced tumor protection. Thus, diminished vaccine responses during GVHD result from impaired proliferation of CD8+ and CD4+ T cells responding to vaccination, with an additional contribution from perforin-mediated CD8+ T cell apoptosis. These results provide important insights toward optimizing vaccine responses after allogeneic BMT.
Female labor force behavior and fertility in the United States.

This article critically reviews the literature on fertility and female labor force behavior in the US, with particular emphasis on recent quantitative research by economists, demographers, and sociologists. It examines the empirical evidence regarding the influence on fertility and female employment of certain key variables, i.e., the value of female time, husband's income, and relative economic status; addresses the issue of whether there is direct causality between fertility and female labor supply; reviews simultaneous equations models and a new approach to the study of causality; discusses decisionmaking models; considers factors that may mediate the fertility-labor nexus, including child care arrangements, husband's income, wife's education, and the convenience of employment; and concludes with consideration of changes over time in the association between fertility and female employment. Economic theory suggests that an increase in the opportunity cost of children should be associated with a decrease in family size. For the US, the fact that the mother's education and other measures of the value of female time have a negative impact on fertility has been interpreted in this was and confirmed with many bodies of data. Most studies find also that indicators of the value of female time affect employment positively. Coefficients associated with measures of husband's income on female employment. In sum, the evidence suggests that at least part of the negative relationship between fertility and female employment may be traced to the fact that that these variables are influenced in opposite directions by changes in the value of female time and relative economic status. Whether changes in husband's income contribute to the negative association is less clear at this time. In 1950, the labor force participation rate for married women with children under 6 years of age was 11.9%; it was 28.3% for those with children 6-17 years of age. By 1960, the figures had risen respectively to 18.6% and 39.0% and by 1983 to 49.9% and 63.8%. The traditional pattern of post-school work, interruption of employment; and possibly a subsequent return to the labor force has been eroding, with women remaining more closely attached to the labor force during the childrearing years. If, as is likely, this trend continues, one may expect a move toward convergence in the male and female occupational distributions and a narrowing in the wage differential between the sexes. The implications that women's increased commitment to market activities may have in terms of income distribution among families and the quantity and quality of time spent on child care are less clear at the present time and require close attention. As Ryder (1980) documents, changes in the timing of births have come to be the primary driving force behind movements of period fertility in the US.
MAPK Kinase 3 Specifically Regulates FcεRI-Mediated IL-4 Production by Mast Cells

Mast cells play a central role in allergic inflammation and are activated through cross-linking of FcεRI receptor-bound IgE, initiating a signaling cascade resulting in production of biologically potent mediators. Signaling pathways in the regulation of specific mediators remain incompletely defined. In this study, we examined the role of MAPK kinase 3 (MKK3) in IgE-dependent mast cell activation. In an in vivo model of passive cutaneous anaphylaxis, MKK3-deficient mice showed a deficit in late-phase IgE-dependent inflammation. To characterize the mechanism of this deficiency, we cultured bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) from wild-type and MKK3-deficient mice. We found that FcεRI-mediated mast cell activation induced rapid MKK3 phosphorylation by 5 min, diminishing slowly after 6 h. In MKK3-deficient BMMCs, phosphorylation of p38 was reduced at early and later time points. Among 40 cytokines tested using a protein array, IL-4 was the only cytokine specifically downregulated in MKK3-deficient BMMCs. Reduced IL-4 expression was seen in the local skin of MKK3-deficient mice following passive cutaneous allergic reaction. Furthermore, early growth response-1 (Egr1) bound to the promoter of IL-4 in FcεRI-activated mast cells, and Egr1 transcription factor activity was diminished in MKK3-deficient BMMCs. Finally, mast cell-deficient mice reconstituted with MKK3-deficient BMMCs displayed a significantly impaired late-phase allergic inflammatory response. Thus, mast cell MKK3 signaling contributes to IgE-dependent allergic inflammation and is a specific regulator of FcεRI-induced IL-4 production.