Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Compensated Cell Enlargement in fugu5 is Specifically Triggered by Lowered Sucrose Production from Seed Storage Lipids

To reveal the logic of size regulation in multicellular organisms, we have used Arabidopsis thaliana as a model organism and its leaves as a model organ. We discovered the existence of a compensatory system, whereby a decrease in leaf cell number often triggers unusual cell enlargement. However, despite the large number of compensation-exhibiting mutants analyzed to date, we have only a limited understanding of the detailed molecular mechanisms triggering the decrease in cell number and subsequent compensated cell enlargement (CCE). CCE in fugu5, the vacuolar type H+-pyrophosphatase loss-of-function mutant, is specific to cotyledons and completely suppressed when sucrose (Suc) is supplied or cytosolic pyrophosphate (PPi) is specifically removed. In addition, several lines of evidence suggest that excess cytosolic PPi in fugu5 impairs gluconeogenesis from triacylglycerol (TAG) to Suc. Here, detailed cellular phenotyping revealed that the loss-of-function mutants icl-2, mls-2 and pck1-2 triggered CCE in cotyledons. All double mutant combinations between fugu5-1 and the above three mutants exhibited compensation, but did not display a further increase in cell size. Importantly, similar phenotypes were observed in icl-2 mls-2, icl-2 pck1-2 and mls-2 pck1-2. Quantification of TAG breakdown and Suc contents further supported our findings. Taken together, we demonstrate that de novo Suc synthesis from TAG is fundamentally important for proper resumption of post-germinative cotyledon development. Moreover, provided that icl-2, mls-2 and pck1-2 are only compromised in Suc biosynthesis de novo from TAG, our findings clearly indicate that lowered Suc production in fugu5, rather than excess cytosolic PPi, is the direct trigger of CCE.
K-ras oncogene mutation as a prognostic marker in non-small cell lung cancer: a combined analysis of 881 cases.

The treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unsatisfactory, with most patients succumbing to metastatic disease within 5 years of diagnosis. Improved selection of patients for aggressive adjuvant therapy may contribute to improved survival. Mutation of the k-ras oncogene is considered a potentially clinically useful prognostic biomarker for this purpose. This report presents the results of a meta-analysis performed to determine whether the existing data support such a role for k-ras mutations in NSCLC. Two year survival data derived from 881 NSCLC patients in eight published studies were analyzed using a general variance-based meta-analytical method employing confidence intervals. The outcome of interest was a summary relative risk (RR(s)) reflecting the risk of death at 2 years associated with k-ras mutation-positive versus k-ras mutation-negative disease. Prior to calculation of RR(s), analysis for heterogeneity showed Q to equal 15.52 (7 df, P = 0.03). This indicated heterogeneity across the analyzed studies in terms of their estimate of effect. Possible sources of heterogeneity were identified and included selection bias and various other sources of uncontrolled confounding. Although a RR(s) of 2.35 (95% CI = 1.61-3. 22) was found when all eight studies were combined (favoring a negative prognostic role for k-ras mutation), it is unclear whether the magnitude of the RR(s) would persist after adjusting for other well-established prognostic indicators (e.g. stage). The existing data suggest that k-ras mutation may be associated with shortened survival in NSCLC, although this finding awaits confirmation in well-designed multivariate analyses which adjust for the effect of known prognostic indicators.
The long-term effect of AHSCT on MRI measures of MS evolution: a five-year follow-up study

Using MRI, we measured disease activity and brain atrophy in nine multiple sclerosis patients treated with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) for a mean follow up of 63 months. We show that AHSCT is associated to a longlasting suppression of inflammation and to a marked decrease of the rate of brain atrophy after the second year following treatment. Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13 : 1068—1070. http://msj.sagepub. com
Trust Building Mechanisms for Electronic Business Networks and Their Relation to eSkills

— Globalization, supported by information and communication technologies, changes the rules of competitiveness and increases the significance of information, knowledge and network cooperation. In line with this trend, the need for efficient trust-building tools has emerged. The absence of trust building mechanisms and strategies was identified within several studies. Through trust development, participation on e-business network and usage of network services will increase and provide to SMEs new economic benefits. This work is focused on effective trust building strategies development for electronic business network platforms. Based on trust building mechanism identification, the questionnaire-based analysis of its significance and minimum level of requirements was conducted. In the paper, we are confirming the trust dependency on e-Skills which play crucial role in higher level of trust into the more sophisticated and complex trust building ICT solutions.
Evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in a Chesapeake Bay wetland under carbon dioxide enrichment

Wetlands evapotranspire more water than other ecosystems, including agricultural, forest and grassland ecosystems. However, the effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration (Ca) on wetland evapotranspiration (ET) are largely unknown. Here, we present data on 12 years of measurements of ET, net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE), and ecosystem water use efficiency (EWUE, i.e. NEE/ET) at 13:00–15:00 hours in July and August for a Scirpus olneyi (C3 sedge) community and a Spartina patens (C4 grass) community exposed to ambient and elevated (ambient+340 μmol mol−1) Ca in a Chesapeake Bay wetland. Although a decrease in stomatal conductance at elevated Ca in the S. olneyi community was counteracted by an increase in leaf area index (LAI) to some extend, ET was still reduced by 19% on average over 12 years. In the S. patens community, LAI was not affected by elevated Ca and the reduction of ET was 34%, larger than in the S. olneyi community. For both communities, the relative reduction in ET by elevated Ca was directly proportional to precipitation due to a larger reduction in stomatal conductance in the control plants as precipitation decreased. NEE was stimulated about 36% at elevated Ca in the S. olneyi community but was not significantly affected by elevated Ca in S. patens community. A negative correlation between salinity and precipitation observed in the field indicated that precipitation affected ET through altered salinity and interacted with growth Ca. This proposed mechanism was supported by a greenhouse study that showed a greater Ca effect on ET in controlled low salinity conditions compared with high salinity. In spite of the differences between the two communities in their responses to elevated Ca, EWUE was increased about 83% by elevated Ca in both the S. olneyi and S. patens communities. These findings suggest that rising Ca could have significant impacts on the hydrologic cycles of coastal wetlands.
Socioeconomic burden of hand, foot and mouth disease in children in Shanghai, China

SUMMARY In the near future, the inactivated enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine is expected to become available on the market in China. Since EV71 is a major cause of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), the vaccine is expected to significantly reduce the number of cases, as well as the detrimental economic effect of the disease. However, for a national vaccination strategy to be developed, policy-makers need more information on the socioeconomic burden of EV71 HFMD infection. Based on the 2011 population data, we estimated the clinical and economic effect of EV71 HFMD infection in children aged 0–9 years in Shanghai, China. The annual cost related to HFMD is >US$7.66 million for a population of 1·42 million children aged 0–9 years with an average cost of US$208.2/case. The extrapolated cost for EV71 HFMD infection was US$3.53 million, comprising 46·1% of the overall cost associated with HFMD. Around 97% of all of the HFMD-related expenses were paid for by the families creating a considerable economic burden. Our findings could provide the necessary recommendations on the most effective national EV71 vaccine implementation, as well as a baseline data for assessing the cost-effectiveness of the vaccine in China.
Minimum Payment Warnings and Information Disclosure Effects on Consumer Debt Repayment Decisions

Public policy makers encourage lenders to disclose loan cost information as a way of enabling borrowers to make more-informed debt repayment decisions. For example, current regulation requires credit card lenders to include a “minimum payment warning” on borrowers' monthly statements, with the goal of encouraging borrowers to make larger monthly repayments each month and, consequently, decrease their debt levels. This research examines the effect of disclosing such information about future interest costs and time to pay off debt on consumers' repayment decisions. The results indicate that disclosing information about the effects of repaying the minimum has little impact on repayment decisions. However, disclosing information about the effect of choosing an alternative course of action (i.e., a larger repayment amount) yielded a robust effect on repayment decisions. The findings suggest that cost information increases repayment amount for some borrowers, whereas time information may decrease repayment for others, especially those with little knowledge of interest compounding. This research provides some initial evidence of the impact of the CARD Act as well as that of similar regulations in Australia and Canada.
Dissecting negative symptoms in schizophrenia: Opportunities for translation into new treatments

Among the constellation of symptoms that characterize schizophrenia, negative symptoms have emerged as a critical feature linked to the functional impairment experienced by affected individuals. Despite advances in our understanding of the role of negative symptoms in the illness, effective treatments for these debilitating symptoms have remained elusive. In this review we explore the contemporary conceptualization of negative symptoms in schizophrenia, including the identification of two key subdomains of diminished expression and amotivation, and clarifications around hedonic capacity. We then explore strategies for clinical assessments of negative symptoms, followed by findings using objective paradigms for evaluating discrete aspects of these negative symptoms in clinical populations and animal models, both for symptoms of diminished expression and within the multifaceted motivation system. We conclude with a consideration of current strategies for drug development for these negative symptoms, the role of heterogeneity in the clinical presentation of symptoms in schizophrenia and opportunities for personalized assessment and treatment approaches, as well as a commentary on current clinical drug trial design and the role of environmental opportunities for novel treatments to effect change and improve outcomes for affected individuals.
Essays on Empirical Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance

In three self-contained essays, this dissertation deals with the impact of board structure on firm performance and with determinants of executive compensation, director compensation, and payout policy. Each of the three chapters is based on panel data sets of German firms. Distinguishing features of the institutional environment of German firms lead to new and interesting insights compared to the evidence for the US market. Chapter 2 explores the impact of former CEOs on the supervisory board on firm value, operating performance and executive as well as director compensation. The strict institutional separation of managers with leadership/advisory and managers with monitoring tasks within the two-tiered board system also enables the investigation of their absolute and relative importance in explaining firm performance in Chapter 3. Using different Lintner-type partial adjustment models competing theories regarding the choice of dividends and stock repurchases as payout methods are tested in Chapter 4.
Insulin-induced proteolysis of the insulin receptor alpha-subunit from rat liver does not occur in vivo but is prevented in vitro by blood serum proteinase inhibitors.

Insulin binding to rat liver plasma membranes promotes the action of a plasma membrane proteinase that degrades the 135-kDa alpha-subunit of the insulin receptor to a 120kDa product. It has been proposed that this proteolysis may be the initial step leading to down-regulation of the hepatic insulin receptor [Lipson, K. E. , Kolhatkar, A. A. & Donner, D. B. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 10495-10501]. Our results confirm that liver plasma membrane fractions from intact or perfused rat liver and from isolated rat hepatocytes do have a proteinase that degrades the alpha-subunit of the insulin receptor, whose activity increases significantly in the presence of insulin. In contrast to these in vitro results, plasma membranes and Golgi fractions isolated from liver at different times after a single intravenous injection of insulin to rats only contained intact alpha-subunits of the insulin receptor. Insulin administration was associated with a rapid and reversible translocation of insulin receptors from the plasma membranes to Golgi fractions but did not affect their total numbers or the receptor half-life. Incubation of rat liver plasma membranes with human, bovine or rat blood sera totally blocked alpha-subunit proteolysis both in the absence or presence of insulin. The three major serum proteinase inhibitors, alpha 1-antitrypsin, alpha 2-macroglobulin and antithrombin III, blocked alpha-subunit proteolysis of the insulin receptor to a varying extent. alpha 1-antitrypsin exhibited the highest potency, decreasing the amount of 120-kDa product by 70%. When both alpha 1-antitrypsin and antithrombin III were present, inhibition increased to 85%. Thus, the absence of proteolysis of the hepatic insulin receptor in vivo could be mostly accounted for by the antiproteolytic activity of blood serum. These findings suggest that insulin receptor alpha-subunit proteolysis does not represent a mechanism involved in the down-regulation of the insulin receptor in liver.
Willingness to pay for conservation of Asian Elephants in Sri Lanka

The combination of rapid population growth and several decades of violent conflict has exacerbated one of Sri Lanka’s major poverty-related rural problems: human-elephant conflict. Elephants consume 150kg of food daily. For this reason, crop raiding is a serious problem. Defense strategies (such as watchtowers and firecrackers) in densely populated areas have not, to date, presented viable long-term solutions. According to many studies, the total economic value of crop and property damage caused by elephants (for the entire elephant range in Sri Lanka) is Rs. 561 million per cropping season and Rs. 1121 million per annum. Every year, approximately 150 elephants and 50-70 humans die because of this conflict (Oswin Perera, 2009) and farmers with few resources often turn to poison, traps, guns and live electric wires to hinder elephant destruction.
Human Facial Expression: An Evolutionary View

Pre-Darwinian Views on Facial Expression. Darwin's Anti-Darwinism in Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Facial Expression and the Methods of Contemporary Evolutionary Research. Mechanisms for the Evolution of Facial Expressions. Facial Hardware: The Nerves and Muscles of the Face. Facial Reflexes and the Ontogeny of Facial Displays. Emotions Versus Behavioural Ecology Views of Facial Expression: Theory and Concepts. Emotions Versus Behavioural Ecology Views of Facial Expreesion: The State of the Evidence. Introduction: Cross Cultural Studies of Facial Expressions of Emotion. Is There Universal Recognition of Emotion from Facial Expression? A Review of Cross-Cultural Studiew, By James A. Russell. How Do We Account for Both Universal and Regional Variations in Facial Expressions of Emotion? Facial Paralanguage and Gesture. Conclusion: The Study of Facial Displays-Where Do We Go from Here? References. Index.
Comparing the Decision Styles of American, Chinese and Japanese Business Leaders

The globalization of industry and commerce creates an imperative to understand how business leaders from different parts of the world make decisions. A recent study used the Decision Styles Inventory to compare the decision making of American business leaders with those of counterparts from Asia's two largest economies - Japan and the People's Republic of China. American, Chinese and Japanese business leaders were each found to have a distinctive decision making style that reflects differing needs for achievement, affiliation, and power. The implications for further research and international business practice are considered.
Chronic illness and health-seeking information on the Internet

ABSRACT By using the theories of help-seeking behavior and health-information seeking, this article demonstrates the relationship between chronic illness, retrieving health information from the Internet and changing health behavior. Research on the impact of health information on the Internet and changing health behavior is fairly new, given the growth of the Internet in recent years. Using US data on Internet use within the US population, multiple regression analysis was performed to explore the relationships between chronic medical conditions and frequency of Internet use, as well as changes in health behavior due to frequency of Internet use. The findings suggest that it is not merely the presence of a particular chronic illness, but rather the total number of chronic conditions that determine Internet use. Also, the more frequently a person uses the Internet as a source of health information, the more likely they are to change their health behavior.
Papillomavirus-Like Particles Are an Effective Platform for Amyloid-β Immunization in Rabbits and Transgenic Mice1

Immunization with amyloid-β (Aβ) prevents the deposition of Aβ in the brain and memory deficits in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), opening the possibility for immunotherapy of AD in humans. Unfortunately, the first human trial of Aβ vaccination was complicated, in a small number of vaccinees, by cell-mediated meningoencephalitis. To develop an Aβ vaccine that lacks the potential to induce autoimmune encephalitis, we have generated papillomavirus-like particles (VLP) that display 1–9 aa of Aβ protein repetitively on the viral capsid surface (Aβ-VLP). This Aβ peptide was chosen because it contains a functional B cell epitope, but lacks known T cell epitopes. Rabbit and mouse vaccinations with Aβ-VLP were well tolerated and induced high-titer autoAb against Aβ, that inhibited effectively assembly of Aβ1–42 peptides into neurotoxic fibrils in vitro. Following Aβ-VLP immunizations of APP/presenilin 1 transgenic mice, a model for human AD, we observed trends for reduced Aβ deposits in the brain and increased numbers of activated microglia. Furthermore, Aβ-VLP vaccinated mice also showed increased levels of Aβ in plasma, suggesting efflux from the brain into the vascular compartment. These results indicate that the Aβ-VLP vaccine induces an effective humoral immune response to Aβ and may thus form a basis to develop a safe and efficient immunotherapy for human AD.
Growth Interactions during Bacterial Colonization of Seedling Rootlets

ABSTRACT Rootlet elongation and bacterial growth on rootlets were determined after inoculation of cucumber and spinach seedlings withPseudomonas strains differing in production of siderophores and HCN. Siderophore producers grew more profusely than nonproducers on both species and promoted rootlet elongation on cucumber. Coinoculation of siderophore producers and nonproducers resulted in restricted growth of the latter. The total populations of nonproducers of HCN in the presence of HCN producers were not decreased, but the tenacity of their association with the rootlet surface was altered.
Effective Teaching Strategies That Accommodate Diverse Learners

Thank you for downloading effective teaching strategies that accommodate diverse learners. As you may know, people have search hundreds times for their chosen novels like this effective teaching strategies that accommodate diverse learners, but end up in infectious downloads. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they are facing with some harmful bugs inside their laptop.
Isolation Frequency and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bloodstream Infections in Neutropenic Patients with Acute Leukemia

Nosocomial infections continue to be a major threat to neutropenic patients. Although in the past two decades most centers have reported a relative increase in the number of bacteremias caused by Gram-positive microorganisms and fungi,1,2 infections caused by Gram-negative bacilli (GNB), particularly by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, are still responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates in cancer patients, mainly in acute leukemic patients 3,4,5. Moreover, extensive use of empiric combination antibiotic therapy often exerts a selection pressure and consequently many nosocomial pathogens have acquired multidrug resistance 6,7. In order to assess the current impact of P. aeruginosa infections in febrile patients with acute leukemia and antimicrobial suceptibility of blood isolates, a survey was undertaken at our hematology-oncology unit from June 1995 to June 1998. All patients presenting fever (axillary temperature >38°C) during neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count <1000/mL) were treated empirically with a betalactam agent (mainly Journal of Chemotherapy Vol. 13 n. 2 (213-215) 2001
Corporate Sponsorships in Schools: Altruism and Ethical Judgments

Abstract Over the last several years corporate sponsorships have become prevalent within the U.S. K–12 school system. For corporations, sponsorships can be an effective method for targeting young consumers. For schools, corporate sponsorships are an opportunity to replace state funding that has been lost since the 2007 financial crisis. However, many people have voiced concerns about the ethicality of corporate involvement in schools. Accordingly, the purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine parents’ views of corporate-school sponsorships. Results indicate that altruism is a key factor; that is, sponsorships that provide direct benefits to students are viewed more favorably, and that parents who are critical of children's advertising tend to view corporate-school sponsorships less favorably.