Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
P2X7 in normal and cystic kidney development

P2X7 is a unique member of the P2X family of membrane receptors for extracellular ATP. As well as being a non-selective cation channel, this membrane receptor is implicated in several biological functions, including cell death and proliferation. P2X7 expression, initially thought restricted to immune cells, also occurs in epithelial and other cell types. I hypothesised that P2X7 is functionally expressed in the renal tract, particularly in situations in which cell turnover is prominent. I have demonstrated expression of P2X7 in both mouse and human kidney. During mouse nephrogenesis P2X7 was detected in the condensing mesenchyme in early metanephrogenesis and was subsequently restricted to derivatives of the ureteric bud i.e. collecting duct and ureter. P2X7 was immunolocalised in regions of cell turnover, consistent with a role for the nucleotide receptor in nephrogenesis. P2X7 was also detected in cystic collecting ducts of both the cpk/cpk mouse model of autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) and human ARPKD. Next I investigated the potential function of P2X7 in cystogenesis using a 3D suspension culture model from the cpk/cpk mouse. Exposure to agonists of the P2X7 receptor caused a significant reduction in numbers of cysts forming in vitro. This was inhibited by P2X7 antagonists, and was greater than the response to other nucleotides, supporting a specific mediation by the P2X7 receptor. My study did not demonstrate a significant effect on markers of cell proliferation, apoptosis or necrosis correlating with P2X7-mediated reduction in cyst numbers, suggesting an alternative function for the receptor in cyst formation. To further understand the molecular mechanisms by which P2X7 mediates its functions, particularly apoptosis, I have developed an in vitro expression system. Stable transfection of a chicken lymphocytes with rat P2X7 enabled characterisation of the receptor's membrane properties, both ion fluxes and pore potential, and established a novel tool with which to further examine the mechanisms by which P2X7 mediates cell death. Further understanding of the molecular mechanisms of this unique nucleotide receptor, and its functional roles in the kidney, particularly in the setting of polycystic kidney disease may in the future lead to a novel therapeutic target for the manipulation of progression of renal injury, via its apoptotic pathways, or other as yet undefined pathways.
Physico-chemical properties of breast muscle in broiler chickens fed probiotics, antibiotics or antibiotic–probiotic mix

ABSTRACT This study investigated the efficacy of antibiotics, probiotics and their combination on meat quality of breast muscle in broilers. A total of 480 male one-day-old Cobb chicks were randomly assigned to control (without additive), antibiotic growth promoter (AGP), Bioplus® (probiotics), or AGP + Bioplus® and raised for 42 d. Each treatment was replicated six times with 20 birds per replicate. At the end of rearing period, 10 birds were randomly selected from each treatment, slaughtered and the breast muscles were excised for meat quality analyses. The results showed that all additives influenced drip and cooking loses, pH, fat content and colour attributes of breast muscle but did not affect tenderness, muscle glycogen, moisture, crude protein and ash content of breast muscle. Both drip and cooking losses were lower in treatment groups than those in the control group. Birds fed sole probiotics had the least pH, drip loss and cooking loss compared with the other treatments. Sole probiotics-fed birds had higher lightness, redness and yellowness values and lower fat value than the other treatments on day 1 post-mortem. The results indicate that probiotics are good substitutes for antibiotics in the diet of broiler chickens for the enhancement of meat quality.
An assessment of current preliminary cost estimating practice in Nigeria

The study assessed the preliminary cost estimating practice in Nigeria with a view to determining the methods in use, the level of accuracy of preliminary cost estimates and the factors influencing their accuracy. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from 60 randomly selected qualified Quantity Surveyors in the 156 consulting firms in Lagos State. The data collected were analysed using mean scores, percentages and Factor Analysis. The results indicated that the predominant methods of preparing preliminary cost estimates by consulting Quantity Surveyors were approximate quantities and superficial (floor area) methods. The study also showed that while low rise buildings were under estimated by 8.87%, high rise buildings were over estimated by 23.43%. On overall, building projects were overestimated by 14.36% of their actual costs with project team factors, tendering-related factors, contractor organizational factors, competence-related factors, and project information factors mostly responsible for inaccuracy of preliminary cost estimates.
Organ-Specific Analysis of the Time Course of Covalent Modification of Pyruvate Kinase during Anaerobiosis in a Marine Whelk

The progress of anoxia-inducedphosphorylation of pyruvate kinase (PK) was monitored in four organs of the whelk Busycotypus canaliculatum over the course of 21 h of exposure to N2-bubbled seawater. In all cases, PK modification resulted in a decrease in affinity for phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) (the substrate affinity constant, Sos, rose by 3–6-fold) and a strong increase in inhibition by alanine (the inhibitor constant, I50, decreased to 0.1%–13% of the aerobic value). However, the time course of kinetic changes was distinctly different for each of the three isozymic forms tested (ventricle, foot, and hepatopancreas/kidney), and, in all cases, anoxia-induced modification of the I50(Ala) occurred much more rapidly than did changes in S0.5(PEP). Enzyme modification occurred most rapidly in hepatopancreas and kidney with half-times for the decrease in I50(Ala) of 20–25 min and for the increase in S0.5(PEP) of 100 min. Comparable valuesfor ventricle were 110 and 210 min and for foot were 225 and 550 min for I50(Ala) and S.5(PEP), respectively. With two phosphorylation sitesper subunit, these data suggest that anoxia-induced enzyme phosphorylation occurs first at a site that influences I50(Ala). The initial response to anoxia exposure by PK in both ventricle and foot included a change in kinetic properties that was opposite to the final result after long-term anoxia. In ventricle, for example, S0.5(PEP) decreased and I50(Ala) increased within the first 30 min; by 2 h, however, these changes had reversed and kinetic parameters were progressing toward the anoxic endpoints. These data are consistent with a biphasic response by metabolism over the aerobic-anaerobic transition in ventricle and foot: an initial activation of PK (and ofglycolytic rate) as conditions become increasingly hypoxic, followed by PK inactivation (and glycolytic rate depression) to permit longterm anaerobiosis.
Revisiting Economic Costs of Arsenicosis

The present paper uses the propensity score matching (PSM) method to calculate the economic loss of arsenicosis-affected households. In contrast to prior studies, whose estimates of income loss were limited to labour-market sources, the PSM method controls for labour market and other sources of income, as well as demographic and educational factors, to identify losses from social discrimination. It first establishes that arsenicosis-affected households are subject to social discrimination, and then shows that this leads to a significant loss of expenditure. Second, it proves that overlooking social discrimination leads to an underestimation of income loss. The results have important implications, both for understanding the plight of arsenicosis-affected households and for cost–benefit calculations in the adoption of policies for fighting arsenic contamination.
Otter diet and prey selection in a recently recolonized area assessed using microscope analysis and DNA barcoding

Acknowledgements We thank Marco Pavanello, Luca Dorigo, Marco Bertoli and Federica Fonda for their helpful suggestions during study design and precious help during the fieldwork and the Regional Environmental Agency of the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia (ARPA FVG), which provided some data about fish composition and density in the study area. We thank Federico De Pascalis for his friendly suggestions over the manuscript. Finally, we thank the two anonymous reviewers who, with their helpful comments, helped us to improve the quality of this manuscript. Dedicated to Maurizio Marcolin and Giovanna Cal that inspired the continuation of this work even in the most struggling moments. Abstract
MORPHOLOGICAL AND ANATOMICAL STUDIES ON TWO ENDEMIC CROCUS SPECIES OF TURKEY AREA

Morphological and anatomical characteristics of Crocus danfordiae Maw and C. fleischeri Gay which are endemic to small areas of Turkey were investigated. C. fleischeri has flowers with stained purple at base and on tube, C. danfordiae has anthers with black basal lobes at it’s base. These properties are characteristics for the investigated species. In anatomical studies, cross section of C. danfordiae and C. fleischeri root, stem and leaf parts were examined and demonstrated.
Negative effect of gardening damselfish Stegastes planifrons on coral health depend on predator abundance

On Bonaire, we studied the effects of predator abundance and habitat availability on the abundance of the threespot damselfish Stegastes planifrons, a species that creates algal gardens at the expense of live coral cover. Across 21 sites, predator biomass ranged from 12 to 193 g m-2 (mean = 55.1; SD = 49.1) and benthic cover of S. planifrons’ preferred habitat (corals of the Orbicella species complex) ranged from 2.2 to 38.0% (mean = 14.3; SD = 9.6). Across these gradients, the local abundance of S. planifrons was significantly and negatively related to predator biomass, but not to habitat availability. Increased local abundance of S. planifrons corresponded to an increasingly larger proportion of coral colonies affected by its ‘farming behavior’, resulting in an increased prevalence of coral disease. Thus, predators indirectly affected the composition of reef communities around Bonaire by controlling damselfish abundance. Furthermore, the abundance of S. planifrons could not be correlated with its preferred habitat, despite such correlations having been observed elsewhere in the Caribbean.
Middle School Students’ Engagement in Mathematics Ortaokul Öğrencilerinin Matematik Dersine Bağlılıkları

This research was conducted with students attending middle schools in Istanbul province to examine middle school students’ engagement in mathematics course. Research data was collected using “Student Engagement in Mathematics Scale” and “Personal Information Form” prepared by the researcher. This study was conducted in survey model and research data was analyzed using SPSS 16 software. It was concluded that middle school students’ engagement in mathematics was at a high level; their engagement scores did not differ according to gender; engagement scores in mathematics among fifth grade and sixth grade students were higher than those of eighth grade students; and engagement scores in mathematics among students loving mathematics and considering themselves successful in mathematics were higher than scores of those who did not consider themselves successful. At the same time, one of the findings obtained was the positive-oriented significant relationship between students’ mathematics grades and their engagement in mathematics.
ADBI Working Paper Series HOUSEHOLD ECONOMIC PRUDENCE IN THAILAND

The countercyclical pattern of saving in Thailand in the 1990s and 2000s challenged the prediction of permanent income theory and raised questions about household saving behaviors in the country. Using constructed pseudo-panel data sets from the Thai Household Socioeconomic Surveys from 1992 to 2011, this paper estimates the intensity of the precautionary saving motive, measured by the coefficient of relative prudence of households in Thailand. By using a dynamic pseudo-panel approach to address concerns with regard to individual heterogeneity causing bias in estimation, the estimated relative prudence of Thai households is around 2, which shows a low precautionary saving motive among these households compared to other countries. Estimates based on disaggregation by demographic characteristics show that as a result of the government-assistance policy, older cohorts and those who live in the rural areas show lower prudence. However, female heads of households and those with a high education level exhibit high prudence, indicating the high income uncertainty faced by these groups in the economy.
Expression and Purification of Active Human Kinases Using Pichia pastoris as A General-Purpose Host.

BACKGROUND The heterologous expression of human kinases in good purity and in a monomeric, soluble and active form can be challenging. Most of the reported successful attempts are carried out in insect cells as a host. The use of E. coli for expression is limited to a few kinases and usually is facilitated by large solubility tags that can limit biophysical studies and affect protein-protein interactions. In this report, we evaluate the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) as a general-purpose host for expression of human kinases. METHODS Six diverse kinases were chosen due to their therapeutic importance in human cancers. Tested proteins include serine/threonine kinases cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4 and 6) and aurora kinase A (AurKA), receptor tyrosine kinase erbB-2 (HER2), and dual specificity kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (MKK3b). Noting that positively charged kinases expressed with higher yield, we sought to improve expression of two challenging targets, CDK6 and HER2, by fusing the highly basic, N-terminal domain of the secreted tyrosine-protein kinase VLK. The standard expression procedure for P. pastoris was adopted, followed by purification using affinity chromatography. Purity and activity of the proteins were confirmed and compared to published values. RESULTS Some kinases were purified with good yield and purity and with comparable activity to commercially available versions. Addition of the VLK domain improved expression and decreased aggregation of CDK6 and HER2.
UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE MARINGÁ CENTRO DE CIENCIAS DA SAÚDE DEPARTAMENTO DE EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO ASSOCIADO EM EDUCAÇÃO FÍSICA – UEM/UEL

The present study had the objective to test if a moderate intensity physical training, performed three times to week for four weeks, may induces a long-term protection against food behavior deregulation and cardiometabolic deregulation, induces by hypercaloric intake after physical training cessation. For this, we used male Wistar rats with 60 and 90 days, who performed treadmill exercise training with moderate intensity, 3 times a week, for 30 days. After this, animals with 90 and 120 days-old were fed with hypercaloric diet (HD) or commercial diet until 120 and 150 days-old. The evaluation consisted in verifying: body weight gain, food intake pattern, satiety, lipid and glycemic profile, serial levels of triiodothyronine (T3), free thyroxine (T4), blood pressure and pulse interval. Additionally was performed a spectral evaluation of blood pressure and pulse interval variability and cardiac baroreflex sensitivity. To complement the results, were evaluated in vitro the dopamine receptor expression (D1) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) on striatum nucleus and the SOCS 3 receptor expression on hypothalamus. Results showed that physical training developed a stimulus that lasted after the training cessation in which we observed a decreased in food intake during the light period and animals that consumed HD showed total food intake decreased. The animals (DH) had a decrease in SOCS 3, which corroborates with decrease in total food intake. Physical training developed stimulus to increase satiety and TH expression and decreased D1 receptor expression. When evaluating the other cardiometabolic parameters we observed that DH consumption was responsible for develop increase of blood pressure, pulse pressure, vascular sympathetic activity, body weight gain, adipose tissue gain and deregulate the lipid metabolism. Interestingly, the physical training developed longlasting stimuli to improve some of these parameters, such as blood pressure, LDL cholesterol and body fat. Thus, we conclude that moderate intensity physical training, performed three times to week, protected against cardiometabolic alterations induced by hypercaloric diet in adult rats. It was noted a food rhythm modulation, that may are associated with the dopaminergic system control on striatum nucleus; it was also observed that previous trained animals shows a protector effect of the training in which we observed a resistance to alterations development induced by hypercaloric diet.
Role of Self-Directed Learning Readiness in Developing Entrepreneurial Behaviors

Aims: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of self-directed learning readiness on developing entrepreneurial behaviors through social learning in the context of entrepreneurship education programs offered by state sector universities of Sri Lanka. Study Design: Correlational research design. Place and Duration of the Study: University of Colombo, University of Sri Jayewardenepura and University of Moratuwa during August 2018 to March 2019. Methodology: Collected primary data from the participants of entrepreneurship education programs conducted by three major state sector universities in Sri Lanka to reveal their level of selfdirected learning readiness, availability of social learning opportunities in the programs and consequent development in their entrepreneurial behaviors after enrolling the programs. Stratified random sampling is used in selecting respondents for the sample of this quantitative study and selfadministered questionnaires are used as the method of data collection. SPSS is used to carry out different kinds of statistical analysis such as Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity, factor analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation and hierarchical regression analysis. Results: The results show that self-directed learning readiness moderates the positive association of the development in entrepreneurial behaviors and social learning in the context of Original Research Article Nishantha and Fernando; AJEBA, 16(4): 28-38, 2020; Article no.AJEBA. 59604 29 entrepreneurship education. Further, the paper provides an important analysis of the state of entrepreneurship education in Sri Lanka to enable further research to be taken in the area of entrepreneurship education. The findings provide valuable insight on sustaining the unique pedagogy of entrepreneurship education by restructuring the selection process to assess the level of self-directed learning readiness of applicants. Conclusion: The paper affirms the framework of Bandura to provide a basis to improve the effectiveness of entrepreneurship education in Sri Lanka. However, the paper only concerns students’ perceptions towards the tripartite relationship between self-directed learning readiness, social learning and development of entrepreneurial behaviors
Metaphysical Explanations for Modal Normativists

I expand modal normativism, a theory of metaphysical modality, to give a normativist account of metaphysical explanation. According to modal normativism, basic modal claims do not have a descriptive function, but instead have the normative function of enabling language users to express semantic rules that govern the use of ordinary non-modal vocabulary. However, a worry for modal normativism is that it doesn’t keep up with all of the important and interesting metaphysics we can do by giving and evaluating metaphysical explanations. So, I advance modal normativism by arguing that metaphysical explanations also have a normative rather than descriptive function. In particular, non-causal explanatory claims have formal and semantic properties that make them expressively stricter than basic modal claims and so are better suited to express fine-grained aspects of semantic rules. A major payoff of my normativist account of metaphysical explanations is that it yields a plausible story about how we come to evaluate and know metaphysical explanations—we do this primarily by conceptual analysis. I also respond to a number of objections, including the objection that the epistemic payoffs of my view are not worth the metaphysical costs.
On the locus of visual selection: evidence from focused attention tasks

Early and late selection models of attention disagree about whether visual objects are identified before or after selection, with recent evidence of interference from to-be-ignored stimuli favoring late selection over early selection accounts. However, these tests may not have permitted optimal attentional focusing. In 4 experiments subjects identified an attentionally cued target letter embedded among distractors. Only minimal effects of information appearing in to-be-ignored locations were observed. This striking efficiency of selection provides support for early selection theories and calls into question some late selection theories holding that stimuli throughout the display are immediately and fully identified prior to attentional selection. In order to explain the larger pattern of results across a variety of focused- and divided-attention paradigms, a hybrid model is advanced with a flexible locus for visual selection.
The Effect of R&D intensity, intellectual capital and managerial ability on firm’s performance with political connection as a moderatingriable

* Corresponding author, email address: inthan.denni@gmail.com ABSTRACT This study aims to examine and analyze the effect of Research and Development (R&D) intensity, intellectual capital, and managerial ability on firm’s performance both directly and indirectly moderated by political connection. This study uses manufacturing sector firms listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange which were selected using a purposive sampling method, with a total of 119 data observations (2013 2017) and using a quantitative approach. This study uses multiple linear regression analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. The results of the study prove empirically that the firm’s performance can be improved by increasing the intensity of R&D and intellectual capital. The existence of political connections can strengthen the influence of the relationship of R&D intensity on a firm’s performance. The firm’s performance is not related to managerial ability and political connection cannot strengthen or weaken the influence of intellectual capital on managerial performance and ability.