Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Suppression by glutamate of proliferative activity through glutathione depletion mediated by the cystine/glutamate antiporter in mesenchymal C3H10T1/2 stem cells

Although previous studies including ours have demonstrated the functional expression of different glutamate (Glu) signaling machineries such as Glu receptors (GluRs) and transporters in osteoblasts and chondrocytes, little attention has been paid to the role of Glu in their ancestral mesenchymal stem cells to date. In the present study, we have evaluated the possible functionality of Glu in cultured mouse mesenchymal stem cell line C3H10T1/2 cells endowed to proliferate for the self‐renewal and to differentiate toward osteoblast, chondrocyte, adipocyte, and myocyte lineages. Expression of mRNA was for the first time shown with the cystine/Glu antiporter composed of xCT and 4F2hc subunits, in addition to particular excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAT) isoforms and ionotropic GluRs, in undifferentiated C3H10T1/2 cells. Glu significantly suppressed the proliferation activity at a concentration over 500 µM without inducing cell death or differentiation, while the suppression occurred in a manner sensitive to the prevention by cystine and reduced glutathione (GSH), but not by EAAT inhibitors. A significant decrease was seen in intracellular GSH levels in C3H10T1/2 cells cultured with Glu, whereas the cellular proliferation activity was drastically decreased by the addition of the GSH depleter cyclohexene‐1‐one and the GSH biosynthesis inhibitor L‐buthionine‐[S,R]‐sulfoximine, respectively. Transient overexpression of both xCT and 4F2hc subunits led to an increased basal proliferative activity in C3H10T1/2 cells. These results suggest that Glu could suppress the cellular proliferation toward self‐renewal through a mechanism associated with the depletion of intracellular GSH after promoting the retrograde operation of the cystine/Glu antiporter in C3H10T1/2 cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 213:721–729. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Categorization of an emerging discipline in the world publication system (SCOPUS): E-learning

E-learning has been continuously present in current educational discourse, thanks to technological advances, learning methodologies and public or organizational policies, among other factors. However, despite its boom and dominance in various subject areas, this thematic does not yet exist in the world system of publications. Therefore, works in this thematic end up being published under related categories, particularly Education or categories within subject area Computer Science, thus fragmenting and make invisible the existing knowledge. This work is based on the hypothesis that the scientific communication of e-learning has a sufficient degree of cohesion to be considered as a thematic category in itself. From a bibliometric approach, its scientific production was analyzed, obtaining the bibliographic data of SCOPUS and SCImago, selecting its main descriptors and generating visualizations through VOSViewer with the mapping overlay technique, to represent its set and proximity. As a result, it was determined that a set of 219 publications show a high bibliometric interrelation among its articles and these are presented transversely between the social sciences, computer science and health. This set serves as a channel of scientific communication and structure of knowledge on the thematic and can therefore be considered as the basis for establishing the "e-learning" thematic category in the world system of scientific publications, contributing to the consolidation of the discipline, to its access and development by researchers.
Derepression of ethylene-stabilized transcription factors (EIN3/EIL1) mediates jasmonate and ethylene signaling synergy in Arabidopsis

Jasmonate (JA) and ethylene (ET) are two major plant hormones that synergistically regulate plant development and tolerance to necrotrophic fungi. Both JA and ET induce the expression of several pathogenesis-related genes, while blocking either signaling pathway abolishes the induction of these genes by JA and ET alone or in combination. However, the molecular basis of JA/ET coaction and signaling interdependency is largely unknown. Here, we report that two Arabidopsis ET-stabilized transcription factors (EIN3 and EIL1) integrate ET and JA signaling in the regulation of gene expression, root development, and necrotrophic pathogen defense. Further studies reveal that JA enhances the transcriptional activity of EIN3/EIL1 by removal of JA-Zim domain (JAZ) proteins, which physically interact with and repress EIN3/EIL1. In addition, we find that JAZ proteins recruit an RPD3-type histone deacetylase (HDA6) as a corepressor that modulates histone acetylation, represses EIN3/EIL1-dependent transcription, and inhibits JA signaling. Our studies identify EIN3/EIL1 as a key integration node whose activation requires both JA and ET signaling, and illustrate transcriptional derepression as a common mechanism to integrate diverse signaling pathways in the regulation of plant development and defense.
From Conflict to Shared Development: Social Capital in a Tayloristic Environment

The Danish slaughterhouse industry is known for its Tayloristic organization of work, poor industrial relations with frequent wild cat strikes, and a hazardous work environment. However, a few slaughterhouses show big differences in sickness absenteeism, labour turnover and frequency of strikes. These slaughterhouses were studied in order to understand the latitude for cooperation and improvement of the psychosocial work environment. The results revealed that three out of four slaughterhouses studied have moved from a culture based on conflicts and opposing interests to a culture based on mutual trust and respect, thus developing social capital. Developing trust between production managers and shop stewards was the key to the new situation. This happened without jeopardizing the traditional roles of management representatives and shop stewards. The study indicates that there are possibilities of improvement of working conditions under a Taylorized regime based on collaboration between local management and workers. An important factor explaining the results is the strong position of the workers and their unions in the slaughterhouse sector and the general acceptance of unions in the Danish society.
Gender Issues in Microfinance and Repayment Performance: The Case of a Nicaraguan Microfinance Institution.

Conventional wisdom and increasing empirical evidence in microfinance hold that women are better risks than men. In the present work, a logit model controlling for a range of borrower and loan characteristics was carried out to assess the validity of this statement by comparing repayment rates. The study includes a sample of loans disbursed by a Nicaraguan microfinance institution during the years 2003-2004, a period characterized by high oil prices. A dichotomous dependent variable is created, taking the value of 1 if the credit turned out to be of the best quality i.e. an “A” credit by Nicaraguan regulations, and 0 otherwise. The dependent variable is regressed on variables summarizing the characteristics of the borrower and the loan to investigate the impact of gender on repayment performance. The results provide significant evidence that female client’s repayment performance is in fact better than that of male’s at the conventional levels of statistical significance. However, the results also show that the perceived difference in gender risk is lower than what popular wisdom would suggest when borrower characteristics and other exogenous economic variables are taken into account. With the present sample, we conclude that other characteristics of the borrower as well as changes in the economic environment can have a similar or larger impact on risk than gender when it comes to repayment performance
Influence of storage conditions and extraction methods on the quantity and quality of circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA): the SPIDIA-DNAplas External Quality Assessment experience

Abstract Background: Circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA) has been confirmed as a useful biomarker in cancer and pre-natal clinical practice. One of the main critical points in using ccfDNA is a lack of standardisation for sample processing methods, storage conditions, procedures for extraction, and quantification that can affect ccfDNA quality and quantity. We report the results obtained from the SPIDIA-DNAplas, one of the EU SPIDIA (Standardisation and improvement of generic pre-analytical tools and procedures for in vitro diagnostics) subprojects based on the implementation of an External Quality Assessment scheme for the evaluation of the influence of the pre-analytical phase on ccfDNA. This is the first reported quality control scheme targeting ccfDNA for pre-analytical phase studies. Methods: Fifty-six laboratories throughout Europe were recruited. The participating laboratories received the same plasma sample and extracted ccfDNA by using their own procedures, at defined plasma storage conditions, and sent the isolated ccfDNA to the SPIDIA facility for analyses. Laboratory performance was evaluated by using specific quality parameters such as ccfDNA integrity (by multiplex PCR) and yield (by qPCR). Results: The analysis of the ccfDNA extracted by the laboratories showed that most of them (53 of 56) were able to recover ccfDNA but only 12.5% recovered non-fragmented ccfDNA. Extraction methods specifically designed for ccfDNA preserved the integrity profile. Conclusions: The evidence-based results of the SPIDIA-DNAplas EQA have been proposed as a basis for the development of a Technical Specification by the European Committee for standardisation (CEN).
Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Finnish Energy System, 1900–2003

In producing power, humans move the nutrients nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from their long‐term geological and biological stocks and release or emit them in soil, water, and the atmosphere. In Finland, peat combustion is an important driver of N and P fluxes from the environment to human economy. The flows of N and P in the Finnish energy system were quantified with partial substance flow analysis, and the driving forces of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) were analyzed using the ImPACT model.
Estimation of the Instantaneously Dissipated Hysteresis Losses in Superconductors

Cables in superconducting magnets are subjected to field-dependent losses, i.e., induced interstrand and interfilament coupling losses, and superconductor hysteresis losses. For the two kinds of induced eddy currents, analytical and numerical models are available, allowing calculating the dissipated power under various operating conditions. For the losses stemming from the superconductor magnetization, the literature only gives formulas for the dissipated energy over closed excitation cycles. We derive an expression for the instantaneously dissipated hysteresis losses during an arbitrary ramp profile using a simplified geometry and hysteresis model. This allows estimating the losses dissipated in nonclosed excitation loops.
Optimal investment in an automatic milking system: an application of real options

Automatic milking systems (AMSs) are a relatively new technology characterized by uncertainty and irreversibility. The choice to invest in such a system is analyzed in a real options framework. Alternative financing arrangements, depreciation methods, and other factors are investigated to determine their influence on the optimal investment decision. The results suggest that farm capital structure, loan term, and depreciation method have little impact on the investment decision. The primary determinant in the AMS technology adoption decision appears to be whether the AMS will last longer than the existing parlor.
Swiss worlds of welfare

Are there different worlds of welfare in Swiss cantons, analogous to different national welfare state regimes? Are the welfare regimes made up of functionally related sub-regimes in the field of employment, education, taxation and social security, as argued in recent analyses of ‘varieties of capitalism’? And can the variations between such cantonal welfare regimes be explained by the same politico-institutional variables that account for the development of national welfare states? These are the guiding questions of this article. We find strong empirical evidence for large inter-cantonal variation in welfare state policies. The sub-regimes are not functionally connected, however. Their variation is related to different sets of variables, indicating a weak functional link between them. Developments and causal structures are specific to the various subregimes. In addition, it is socio-economic and not politicoinstitutional variables that have had the strongest imprint on the overall structure of cantonal welfare regimes.
Transmission network of the 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone

Understanding the growth and spatial expansion of (re)emerging infectious disease outbreaks, such as Ebola and avian influenza, is critical for the effective planning of control measures; however, such efforts are often compromised by data insufficiencies and observational errors. Here, we develop a spatial–temporal inference methodology using a modified network model in conjunction with the ensemble adjustment Kalman filter, a Bayesian inference method equipped to handle observational errors. The combined method is capable of revealing the spatial–temporal progression of infectious disease, while requiring only limited, readily compiled data. We use this method to reconstruct the transmission network of the 2014–2015 Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone and identify source and sink regions. Our inference suggests that, in Sierra Leone, transmission within the network introduced Ebola to neighbouring districts and initiated self-sustaining local epidemics; two of the more populous and connected districts, Kenema and Port Loko, facilitated two independent transmission pathways. Epidemic intensity differed by district, was highly correlated with population size (r = 0.76, p = 0.0015) and a critical window of opportunity for containing local Ebola epidemics at the source (ca one month) existed. This novel methodology can be used to help identify and contain the spatial expansion of future (re)emerging infectious disease outbreaks.
Evictions and housing management: Toward more effective strategies

The study found that many tenants were effectively evicted or left prior to any formal action being taken by landlords. The majority of evictees do not appear to contest their eviction, reporting a sense of helplessness/ powerlessness. The respondents often see eviction as regrettable but unavoidable. In many instances these tenancies may have been retained if the tenant had engaged with the appropriate processes – a Tribunal or the Magistrates Court. Private tenants facing eviction were more likely to leave early than public tenants. This may reflect the fact that the public sector is seen as much less likely to see an eviction process through to completion, or it could reflect the higher value attached to public rental housing by low income groups. Further, approximately 70 per cent of the evictees interviewed were on a government provided statutory income prior to eviction and this rose to 90 per cent after eviction. There was also a noticeable tendency for evicted persons to move from private rental housing and seek assistance from the public rental sector after eviction.
An Ordinal Regression Model Using Dealer Satisfaction Data

This article analyses dealer satisfaction data in the agricultural technology market in Germany. The dealers could rate their suppliers in the ’overall satisfaction’ and in 38 questions which can be summarized in 8 dimensions. An ordinal regression model which is also known as the proportional odds model is used to analyse the ordinal scaled rating of the dealers. The ordinal regression model is a well examined method in econometric theory, but many authors prefer using a linear regression model due to better interpretation, even the assumptions of a linear regression do not fit the data. Since the estimated coefficients of an ordinal regression model can not be properly interpreted we show other methods for a better insight of the relationship of the dealer satisfaction and the influencing variables. These methods are easy to use and it is recommended to list some of them in empirical papers.
Effects of positive end-expiratory pressure and body position on pulmonary blood flow redistribution in mechanically ventilated normal pigs.

STUDY OBJECTIVES To assess the respective effects of position and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on the distribution of regional pulmonary blood flow (PBF). DESIGN Prospective randomized animal study. SETTING Animal research facility in a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS Normal pigs that were tracheostomized, anesthetized, and mechanically ventilated. INTERVENTIONS PBF was measured in seven pigs in the supine position (SP) and the prone position (PP) at both zero end-expiratory pressure (ZEEP) and 10 cm H(2)O of PEEP. The regional PBF was assessed by the radioactive microsphere method. The lungs from each pig were sliced into 90 samples. The heterogeneity of PBF was estimated from its coefficient of variation. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS The lung samples had a mean (+/- SD) weight of 1.60 +/- 0.39 g. Changing position from SP to PP at ZEEP redistributed PBF toward the anterior, superior, and peripheral regions and did not significantly reduce the coefficient of variation for regional PBF (reduction, 44.7 +/- 7% to 42.2 +/- 8%). Changing from the SP to PP position at PEEP induced a similar, but more marked, redistribution of PBF and a significant reduction in the coefficient of variation from 53 +/- 13% to 30.4 +/- 7% (p < 0.001). In the SP, PEEP redistributed PBF toward the posterior, inferior, and central regions without changing the heterogeneity of PBF. In the PP, PEEP had little effect on the PBF redistribution but significantly reduced the coefficient of variation of PBF from 42.2 +/- 8% to 30.4 +/- 7% (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Pigs in the PP had altered gravitational dependence of PBF compared to that observed when pigs were in the SP. This effect was enhanced by using a PEEP of 10 cm H(2)O.
The MID3 Data Set, 1993—2001: Procedures, Coding Rules, and Description

Dealing with questions of war and peace and understanding the causes of interstate conflict is a primary goal of the field of international relations. In order to study interstate conflict in a rigorous manner, scholars have relied on established rules and procedures for gathering information into coherent data sets. Among those data sets is the Militarized Interstate Dispute (MID) data. In this paper we first outline the data-collection process for the MID3 data. Second, we introduce two new data sets emerging from the project, “MID-I” and “MID-IP. ” Third, we present relatively small changes in coding rules for the new MID3 data and some descriptive statistics. The statistics indicate that the MID3 data are remarkably similar to the MID2.1 version, varying in some minor and predictable ways.
Diffusing the Marketing Concept in a Transforming Economy: Class Consultancies for State-Owned Enterprises in Vietnam

ABSTRACT Modern business education in transitional economies such as Vietnam must provide students with a strong conceptual base, but also give them practical experience in application of concepts. Local companies, used to central planning, likewise badly need marketing know-how to become more competitive. However, relying on new hires from among recent graduates is not going to help companies upgrade very quickly. Building marketing research (MR) courses around consulting projects for local companies helps bring real world marketing into the classroom, upgrading experience for both students and teachers.
Handling Valuation Models

Valuation models are useful tools, but they need to be handled with care. When taking the form of mathematical formulas, they can easily be made to convey a false sense of precision. In particular, selective choice of long-term growth rates and discount rates can be used to justify almost any desired valuation. 2006 Morgan Stanley.
Comparison of Disc Analysis Algorithms Provided by Cirrus OCT and Stereo Optic-disc Photography in Normal and Open Angle Glaucoma Patients

Abstract Purpose: To compare optic nerve head (ONH) parameters obtained by semi-automated disc analysis of stereo optic-disc photography (ODP) with those by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) regarding their reproducibility, agreement and relationship with the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. Patients and methods: In this cross-sectional retrospective study, 91 eyes (50 normal and 41 with open angle glaucoma) from 47 patients were examined. ONH parameters were obtained by ODP and SD-OCT. Agreement and reproducibility were assessed by intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). Inter-device agreement and precision were also evaluated. The structural factors related to the ONH measurements by both instruments and the disparity between the measurements were evaluated by the generalized estimating equation model. Results: ODP showed good intra-reader and inter-reader reproducibility, comparable to that of SD-OCT (ICC: >0.970). Disc area (DA) (ICC: 0.950) showed better inter-device agreement than rim area (RA) (ICC: 0.859). RNFL thickness was correlated with RA, but not with DA, for both devices. SD-OCT RA showed significant correlation with RNFL thickness in both the normal and glaucoma groups, whereas ODP RA correlated with RNFL only in the glaucoma group. The measurement disparity between the devices was influenced by the DA in both groups. The inter-device difference in RA was not correlated with RA, but instead with the RNFL thickness in the glaucoma group. Conclusion: ONH parameters obtained by semi-automated algorithms of ODP showed excellent reproducibility and good agreement with those measured by SD-OCT. SD-OCT RA was a better indicator of RNFL thickness, compared with ODP RA for both normal patients and glaucoma patients; however, the inter-device disparity of the RA was less in glaucoma patients who had a thinner RNFL.
Radiolabeled Antibody Imaging in the Management of Colorectal Cancer Results of a Multicenter Clinical Study

Presurgical colorectal cancer patients (n = 116) received single intravenous infusions of 1 mg of CYT-103 (OncoScint CR103), an immunoconjugate of monoclonal antibody B72.3, radiolabeled with 111In. Following gamma camera imaging, 103 patients underwent an operative procedure: 92 had primary or recurrent colorectal carcinoma, 1 patient evaluated for recurrence of colorectal cancer had a second primary malignancy (small cell lung), and 10 patients had no demonstrable evidence of malignancy. 111In-CYT-103 immunoscintigraphic findings were consistent with the pathologic diagnoses for 70% of patients with colorectal cancer and 90% of disease-free patients. Antibody imaging contributed to surgical decision making through the detection of occult disease (12% of patients) and the confirmation of localized, potentially resectable disease without regional or metastatic spread. Seven patients (6%) experienced adverse effects, primarily fevers and itching, and 33% of patients developed antibodies to murine immunoglobulin after administration of 111In-CYT-103. The results of this study suggest that 111In-CYT-103 is a useful diagnostic tool for the presurgical evaluation of colorectal cancer patients.
A 66-400 MHz, adaptive-lock-mode DLL circuit with duty-cycle error correction [for SDRAMs]

A DLL circuit featuring variable "lock mode" and correction of duty-cycle error is described. The DLL circuit has a wide locking range from under 66 MHz to 400 MHz. The chip area and power consumption at 400 MHz are 0.33 mm/sup 2/ and 24 mW, respectively.