Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A method for lipase co‐precipitation in a biodegradable protein matrix

This article presents a novel method for immobilization of active ingredients. The method is based on CO2 aided active ingredient co‐precipitation with glycinin, a biodegradable protein matrix from edible soybean protein. Glycinin precipitates abundantly under isoelectric conditions and serves as the matrix within which the active substance is trapped during the precipitation process. The enzyme lipase from Candida rugosa was successfully co‐precipitated into the protein pellet to prove the principle. It was shown that the lipase within the co‐precipitate retained lipase and esterase activity under different pH conditions. In some cases the activity was even higher than the activity of crude lipase, possibly due to the protective role of the matrix protein. Due to the retained lipase activity and food‐grade quality of the binary precipitate, it has potential of being used in the food or pharmaceutical industry. Additional quality of the binary precipitate is the potentially significantly reduced downstream processing due to the fact that no organic solvents or precipitants were used in the precipitation process. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007;98: 1209–1218. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Apoptosis in retinal degeneration involves cross-talk between apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and caspase-12 and is blocked by calpain inhibitors

Molecular mechanisms underlying apoptosis in retinitis pigmentosa, as in other neurodegenerative diseases, are still elusive, and this fact hampers the development of a cure for this blinding disease. We show that two apoptotic pathways, one from the mitochondrion and one from the endoplasmic reticulum, are coactivated during the degenerative process in an animal model of retinitis pigmentosa, the rd1 mouse. We found that both AIF and caspase-12 translocate to the nucleus of dying photoreceptors in vivo and in an in vitro cellular model. Translocation of both apoptotic factors depends on changes in intracellular calcium homeostasis and on calpain activity. Knockdown experiments defined that AIF plays the major role in this apoptotic event, whereas caspase-12 has a reinforcing effect. This study provides a link between two executor caspase-independent apoptotic pathways involving mitochondrion and endoplasmic reticulum in a degenerating neuron.
Biweight Correlation as a Measure of Distance between Genes on a Microarray

Motivation: The underlying goal of microarray experiments is to identify genetic patterns across different experimental conditions. Genes that are contained in a particular pathway or that respond similarly to experimental conditions should be co-expressed and show similar patterns of expression on a microarray. Using any of a variety of clustering methods or gene network analyses we can partition genes of interest into groups, clusters, or modules based on measures of similarity. Typically, Pearson correlation is used to measure distance (or similarity) before implementing a clustering algorithm. Pearson correlation is quite susceptible to outliers, however, an unfortunate characteristic when dealing with microarray data (well known to be typically quite noisy.) Results: We propose a resistant similarity metric based on Tukey’s biweight estimate of multivariate scale and location. The resistant metric is simply the correlation obtained from a resistant covariance matrix of scale. We give results which demonstrate that our correlation metric is much more resistant than the Pearson correlation while being more efficient than other nonparametric measures of correlation (e.g., Spearman correlation.) Additionally, our method gives a systematic gene flagging procedure which is useful when dealing with large amounts of noisy data. Availability: R code is available from the authors. Contact:
Inter-Industry Wage Differences and Theories of Wage Determination

Numerous studies have shown large differences in wages for apparently similar workers across industries. These findings pose a challenge to standard model s of labor market behavior. A problem with past studies of industry wage differences is that they have failed to distinguish between union and nonunion workers. Many economists may expect union workers wages to be set in a noncompetitive fashion but would be surprised if nonunion wages were. We examine the differences in wages across industries for both union and nonunion workers. We find that even after controlling for a wide range of personal characteristics and geographic location large wage differences persist for both union and nonunion workers. Furthermore the premiums of union and nonunion workers are highly correlated. We review past studies which demonstrate that industry wage premiums are also highly correlated across countries and have been very similar over many decades. We present new evidence that the wages of different occupations are highly correlated across industries -- that is if any occupation in an industry is highly paid all occupations are. We also review the evidence which suggests that people who move from low to high paying industries receive a large fraction of the industry wage premium and that those who move from high to low paying industries lose the premium. Finally, we review the evidence on the correlates of industry wage differences. Quit rates, human capital variables, capital labor ratios and market power measures are all positively correlated with industry wage differences individually though the data are not adequate to determine their independent contributions in multiple regression. On the basis of all the evidence we conclude that standard labor market clearing models can not easily explain all the facts. Several alternative models are discussed including efficiency wage and collective action threat mode1 s. These are found to be more consistent with the facts though some troubling problems remain.
Extended family obligations and education: A study of an aspect of demographic transition amongst Ghanaian University students

Abstract In order to provide supplementary information for an investigation of population attitudes in the higher socio-economic stratum of Ghana's urban population, a survey was undertaken of students at the University of Ghana. The 300 students, who formed a sample of three-elevenths of the student body, were asked questions about the financing of their education, financial obligations to relatives and their attitudes to these obligations. Other questions sought to determine the effect of the pattern of obligations upon desire to restrict family size, and the likely effect of changes in the national social welfare system upon such desires. The students were mostly males and nearly all over 20 years of age. Two-fifths had previously worked for their living. Almost nine-tenths has received considerable private financial assistance in the course of their education and 60% of those receiving money regarded it as a specific debt to be repaid. Five-sixths expected to help support relatives beyond their own sp.
How robust is majority voting as a social choice rule

This article strengthens existing analysis concerning the effectiveness of majority rule. It demonstrates a one-to-one equivalence between the basic issue of social choice theory (the problem of selection of a well-functioning social choice rule [SCR]) and the problems that majority rule faces (it fails decisiveness in certain preference profiles). It is shown that whenever an SCR works well, majority rule works well, and in these circumstances, the SCR yields the same outcome as majority rule. So whenever majority rule works we can never do better by choosing an alternative SCR. When majority rule does not work well, then any other SCR will face a serious problem, too. The article defines the conditions underlying the concept of an SCR working well that enables these results to be established.
Recent Trends in Modeling Spatio-Temporal Data S

This articles provides a review of recent advances in modeling spatio-temporal data. In an attempt to unify the modeling strategies we describe the primary spatio-temporal data types. We then discuss general models for point reference data only. Spatial-temporal modeling has largely been developed through applications in environmental, geostatistics, hydrology and meteorology. We review current methods for many such application areas.
Improving Spatial Saliency Using Affinity Model and Temporal Motion

Saliency map has been applied in diverse fields such as image segmentation, object detection, image scaling and so forth. Over the past decades, a variety of spatial saliency generation methods for still images have been introduced. Recently, motion saliency has gained much interest where motion data estimated from an image sequence are utilized. In this paper, we propose the saliency generation method that enhances the spatial saliency based on the combination of spatial and motion saliencies without the consideration of motion classification. Further, an affinity model is integrated for the purpose of connecting close-by pixels with different colors and obtaining a similar saliency. In experiment, we performed the proposed method on seven image sequence sets. Our saliency map is compared with Zhai’s method for evaluating the saliency improvement. Further, from the objective performance evaluation, we validated that the saliency value increases by +41 per a pixel over the spatial saliency on the average.
On regression-based tests for persistence in logarithmic volatility models

Building on the work of Pantula (1986), this paper discusses how the hypothesis of conditional variance nonstationarity in the logarithmic family of generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and stochastic volatility processes may be tested using regression-based tests. The latter are easy to implement, have well-defined large-sample distributions, and are less sensitive to structural changes than tests based on the quasimaximum likelihood estimator.
Cotranslational folding of membrane proteins probed by arrest-peptide–mediated force measurements

Polytopic membrane proteins are inserted cotranslationally into target membranes by ribosome–translocon complexes. It is, however, unclear when during the insertion process specific interactions between the transmembrane helices start to form. Here, we use a recently developed in vivo technique to measure pulling forces acting on transmembrane helices during their cotranslational insertion into the inner membrane of Escherichia coli to study the earliest steps of tertiary folding of five polytopic membrane proteins. We find that interactions between residues in a C-terminally located transmembrane helix and in more N-terminally located helices can be detected already at the point when the C-terminal helix partitions from the translocon into the membrane. Our findings pinpoint the earliest steps of tertiary structure formation and open up possibilities to study the cotranslational folding of polytopic membrane proteins.
Comparison of Two Commercially AvailableAmylaseKIts:Amylotube and Amylochrome

1854 CLINICAL CHEMISTRY, Vol. 21, No. 12, 1975 basic, and neutral drugs to anion and cation exchange resins and charcoal in vitro. Med. J. Aust. 1,534 (1967). 5. Pranitis, P. A. F. , Milzoff, J. R. , and Stolman, A. , Extraction of drugs from biofluids and tissues with XAD-2 resin. J. Forensic Sci. 19,917 (1974). 6. Kullberg, M. P., and Gorodetzky, C. W. , Studies on the use of XAD-2 resin for detection of abused drugs in urine. Clin. Chem. 20, 177 (1974).
Voltage inactivation of Ca2+ entry and secretion associated with N‐ and P/Q‐type but not L‐type Ca2+ channels of bovine chromaffin cells

1 In this study we pose the question of why the bovine adrenal medullary chromaffin cell needs various subtypes (L, N, P, Q) of the neuronal high‐voltage activated Ca2+ channels to control a given physiological function, i.e. the exocytotic release of catecholamines. One plausible hypothesis is that Ca2+ channel subtypes undergo different patterns of inactivation during cell depolarization. 2 The net Ca2+ uptake (measured using 45Ca2+) into hyperpolarized cells (bathed in a nominally Ca2+‐free solution containing 1·2 mM K+) after application of a Ca2+ pulse (5 s exposure to 100 mM K+ and 2 mM Ca2+), amounted to 0·65 ± 0·02 fmol cell−1; in depolarized cells (bathed in nominally Ca2+‐free solution containing 100 mM K+) the net Ca2+ uptake was 0·16 ± 0·01 fmol cell−1. 3 This was paralleled by a dramatic reduction of the increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]i, caused by Ca2+ pulses applied to fura‐2‐loaded single cells, from 1181 ± 104 nM in hyperpolarized cells to 115 ± 9 nM in depolarized cells. 4 A similar decrease was observed when studying catecholamine release. Secretion was decreased when K+ concentration was increased from 1·2 to 100 mM; the Ca2+ pulse caused, when comparing the extreme conditions, the secretion of 807 ± 35 nA of catecholamines in hyperpolarized cells and 220 ± 19 nA in depolarized cells. 5 The inactivation by depolarization of Ca2+ entry and secretion occluded the blocking effects of combined ω‐conotoxin GVIA (1 μM) and ω‐agatoxin IVA (2 μM), thus suggesting that depolarization caused a selective inactivation of the N‐ and P/Q‐type Ca2+ channels. 6 This was strengthened by two additional findings: (i) nifedipine (3 μM), an L‐type Ca2+ channel blocker, suppressed the fraction of Ca2+ entry (24 %) and secretion (27 %) left unblocked by depolarization; (ii) FPL64176 (3 μM), an L‐type Ca2+ channel ‘activator’, dramatically enhanced the entry of Ca2+ and the secretory response in depolarized cells. 7 In voltage‐clamped cells, switching the holding potential from ‐80 to ‐40 mV promoted the loss of 80 % of the whole‐cell inward Ca2+ channel current carried by 10 mM Ba2+ (IBa). The residual current was blocked by 80 % upon addition of 3 μM nifedipine and dramatically enhanced by 3 μM FPL64176. 8 Thus, it seems that the N‐ and P/Q‐subtypes of calcium channels are more prone to inactivation at depolarizing voltages than the L‐subtype. We propose that this different inactivation might occur physiologically during different patterns of action potential firing, triggered by endogenously released acetylcholine under various stressful conditions.
Glucose-Induced Protein Kinase C Activation Regulates Vascular Permeability Factor mRNA Expression and Peptide Production by Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells In Vitro

Hyperglycemia is an independent risk factor for the development of diabetic microvascular disease. Vascular permeability factor (VPF)/vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent cytokine family that induces angiogenesis and markedly increases endothelial permeability. VPF is produced by many cell types, including vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells, and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neovascularization and endothelial dysfunction in diabetes. This study used cultured human VSM cells to study the regulation of VPF production and determine whether elevated glucose concentrations, per se, are a sufficient stimulus for increased VPF production by human cells. In human VSM cells, high extracellular glucose concentrations (20 mmol/l) increased VPF mRNA expression within 3 h (3-fold vs. glucose 5 mmol/l) and significantly increased VPF peptide production within 24 h (1.5-fold) in a time- and glucose concentration-dependent manner. The high glucose-induced increase in VPF mRNA expression was rapidly reversed after normalizing the extracellular glucose concentration and was specific for a high D-glucose concentration, as these effects were not reproduced by osmotic control media containing elevated concentrations of mannitol or L-glucose. High glucose concentrations activate protein kinase C (PKC) in human VSM cells, and PKC inhibitors (H-7 or chelerythrine chloride) or PKC downregulation each prevented the glucose-induced increases in VPF mRNA expression by human VSM cells. In conclusion, high glucose concentrations directly increase VPF mRNA expression and peptide production by human VSM cells via a PKC-dependent mechanism. These results demonstrate a cellular mechanism, whereby hyperglycemia could directly contribute to the development of endothelial dysfunction and neovascularization in diabetes.
The Long, Lingering Shadow: Slavery, Race, and Law in the American Hemisphere

Students of American history know of the law's critical role in systematizing a racial hierarchy in the United States. Showing that this history is best appreciated in a comparative perspective, The Long, Lingering Shadow looks at the parallel legal histories of race relations in the United States, Brazil, and Spanish America. Robert J. Cottrol takes the reader on a journey from the origins of New World slavery in colonial Latin America to current debates and litigation over affirmative action in Brazil and the United States, as well as contemporary struggles against racial discrimination and Afro-Latin invisibility in the Spanish-speaking nations of the hemisphere. Ranging across such topics as slavery, emancipation, scientific racism, immigration policies, racial classifications, and legal processes, Cottrol unravels a complex odyssey. By the eve of the Civil War, the U.S. slave system was rooted in a legal and cultural foundation of racial exclusion unmatched in the Western Hemisphere. That system's legacy was later echoed in Jim Crow, the practice of legally mandated segregation. Jim Crow in turn caused leading Latin Americans to regard their nations as models of racial equality because their laws did not mandate racial discrimination-- a belief that masked very real patterns of racism throughout the Americas. And yet, Cottrol says, if the United States has had a history of more-rigid racial exclusion, since the Second World War it has also had a more thorough civil rights revolution, with significant legal victories over racial discrimination. Cottrol explores this remarkable transformation and shows how it is now inspiring civil rights activists throughout the Americas.
Mutagenic Screening of Crude Oil Fractions Using Modified Ames Test and Allium cepa (Linn) Assay

Problem statement: Crude oil which may be broadly characterized as paraffinic or naphthenic is a complex mixture of alkanes, cycloalkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons. About 500,000 workers are employed in crude oil exploration and production worldwide. There have been reports of occupational exposure during drilling, pumping and transportation of crude oil, including maintenance of equipment used for these processes. Thus, skin tumors have been reported in mice after repeated application of the east Wilmington crude oil to their skin. Approach: It may thus be necessary to investigate the mutagenic potentials of crude oil fractions using a modified Ames test and internationally accepted Allium cepa (Linn) assay. The Allium cepa assay was done to determine the mean root length, mitotic index and chromosomal aberrations of the onions root grown in various concentrations of 5, 10 and 15% v/v crude oil, petrol, kerosene, engine oil and diesel in water. The modified Ames test which is a modification of the standard Ames test was done using E. coli (0157: H7) that has the phenotypic characteristics of glucose and lactose fermentation, motile, urease negative, indole positive and citrate negative. Thus the alteration in normal biochemical characteristics was determined by inoculating the revertant strains produced by the organism after incubating with the crude oil fractions into the specified media to re-determine their biochemical characteristics. Results: The results obtained from the Allium cepa assay showed increasing root growth inhibition with increased concentration and decreasing mitotic index with increased concentration. Stickiness, Vagrant, Bridges and fragments, Bi-nuclei, C-mitosis, multi polar anaphase and anaphase with laggards chromosomal aberration were observed. The modified Ames test showed a remarkable alteration in the biochemical characteristics of E. coli (0157: H7) by petrol and engine oil indicating mutagenicity. Conclusion: The results of the Ames test showed petrol and engine oil to demonstrate mutagenicity in bacteria, while, the Allium cepa assay showed mitodepressive effects of crude oil, petrol, engine oil, diesel and kerosene.
Radical change through incremental innovations: generic principles and cultural differences in evolution management

In the present turbulent environment, enterprises compete through their capability to manage innovation. The evolutionary process of the enterprise can be managed as a succession of innovations towards a vision, if generic evolution management principles are followed. The results from three empirical studies suggest also that the shared values of national culture are more important than a fit with organisational culture for successful evolution management. The critical cultural dimensions are power, distance and uncertainty avoidance. This should be taken into account also in the development of managerial methods.
Planning Policy and Retail Property Investment in the UK

Empirical evidence suggests that planning policies significantly impact on investment property market performance in the UK. It is less clear, however, how information about the planning policy environment feeds into investment decision-making. This paper seeks to explore this issue. It reports on interviews with the property investment community and focuses on the decision to invest in the retail sector. The paper uses a six-stage model of the investment decision-making process as a framework for analysing the way in which concerns about policy impact on behaviour. The results suggest that an understanding of the policy environment and the development of a relationship with local planning authorities are most important in the post-acquisition asset management stage of the investment process. The research also reveals variations in access to policy intelligence and that approaches to analysis of the likely effects of planning regimes vary with fund type and strategy.
Niacin Nutritional Status in HIV Type 1–Positive Children: Preliminary Data

Objective: HIV infection induces a state of pellagra in cell culture models. This study compared the nutritional status and the 24-hour urine excretion of N1-methylnicotinamide between HIV-positive children and HIV-negative children who were or were not born of mothers with HIV-1 infection. Patients and Methods: Forty patients were included in the study: HIV-positive children (group 1; n = 20), HIV-negative children born to infected mothers (group 2; n = 10), and HIV-negative control children (group 3; n = 10). Usual dietary intake was assessed by a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. Weight and height were assessed and compared with the reference data of the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the estimation of fat-free mass and total body water, bioelectrical impedance technique was used. N1-methylnicotinamide was measured by a modified method of high-performance liquid chromatography. Results: Groups were matched in relation to age, sex, percentage of malnutrition, anthropometric measures, and body composition. Daily niacin intake did not differ statistically across groups (group 1 = 18.0 ± 11.4 mg/day; group 2 = 18.9 ± 8.0 mg/day; group 3 = 14.2 ± 5.2 mg/day), nor did intake of tryptophan, vitamin B6, and zinc. The values of urinary niacin per gram of creatinine were similar and adequate across the groups (group 1 = 4.68 [0.75–14.9]; group 2 = 3.74 [1.13–5.69]; group 3 = 3.85 [1.80–8.19]). Conclusions: HIV-positive children excreted the same amount of N1-methylnicotinamide in urine as did the control children. These findings may be attributed to similarities in nutritional status, adequate intestinal absorption (no children experienced diarrhea) and stable clinical condition.