Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential regulation of stress proteins by high hydrostatic pressure, heat shock, and unbalanced calcium homeostasis in chondrocytic cells

High hydrostatic pressure (HP) has recently been shown to increase cellular heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) level in a specific way that does not involve transcriptional activation of the gene, but rather the stabilisation of the mRNA for Hsp70. In this study, we investigated whether there are other observable changes caused by HP stress, and compared them with those induced by certain other forms of stressors. A chondrocytic cell line T/C28a4 was exposed to 30 MPa continuous HP, heat shock at 43°C, and increased cytosolic calcium concentration by the addition of sarco‐endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase inhibitor thapsigargin (25 nM) or calcium ionophore A23187 (1 μM) in the cultures. The protein synthesis was studied by in vitro metabolic labelling followed by one‐ and two‐dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry was utilized to confirm the identity of the protein spots on two‐dimensional gels. Continuous 30 MPa HP increased remarkably the relative labelling of Hsp70. Labelling of Hsp90 was also increased by 15–20%, although no clear change was evident at the protein level in Western blots. Elevated intracellular Ca2+ concentration induced by thapsigargin and calcium ionophore A23187 increased mainly the synthesis of glucose‐regulated protein 78 (Grp78/BiP), whereas Hsp70 and Hsp90 were decreased by the treatment. Heat shock was the strongest inducer of Hsp70 and Hsp90. This study further confirmed the induction of Hsp70 in chondrocytic cells exposed to high HP, but it also showed that calcium‐mediated responses are unlikely to cause the stress response observed in the hydrostatically pressurized cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 79:610–619, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mark-up Pricing versus Normal Cost Pricing in Post-Keynesian Models

The intent of the present paper is to show that some of Frederic Lee's recent criticisms against some of the hypotheses imbedded in some post-Keynesian models are exaggerated. In contrast to what is argued by Lee, there is no flagrant contradiction between the work of Andrews and his followers and that of most modern-day Kaleckian and post-Keynesian authors. Some of the simplifications used by the latter, such as constant direct unit costs or simple mark-up pricing, were, in fact, suggested by well-known Andrewsian authors, Lee himself included. In addition, although most well-known post-Keynesian authors have relied on the writings of Kalecki to establish their pricing models, Presumably because of its obvious macroeconomic implications, the structure of their model is in many instances drawing on the Andrewsian normal cost pricing Principe.
Exploring Bed & Breakfast Websites

SUMMARY This exploratory study was designed to evaluate the Websites of Bed & Breakfast(s) (B&B) belonging to the Indiana B&B Association (IBBA). Using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach, four evaluation perspectives were considered: (1) user friendliness, (2) site attractiveness, (3) marketing effectiveness, and (4) technical aspects. A team of trained evaluators rated a random sample of 20 IBBA property Websites. The study found that the major strength of the B&B Websites evaluated was their attractiveness, but improvements were needed in all four categories. The B&B modified BSC instrument used in this research also showed good inter-rater reliability.
An Outbreak of Salmonella enterica Serotype Choleraesuis in Goitered Gazelle (Gazella subgutrosa subgutrosa) and a Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus)

Abstract: An outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Choleraesuis enteritis occurred in two juvenile goitered gazelles and an adult Malayan tapir over a period of 5 wk at the Minnesota Zoo. Diagnosis was made postmortem on one gazelle and one tapir, and a second gazelle was diagnosed via fecal culture. The death of the tapir was attributed to S. enterica serovar Choleraesuis septicemia, while salmonellosis was considered to be a contributing factor besides ostertagiasis for the death of one goitered gazelle and for the diarrhea of another goitered gazelle. A third gazelle became ill in the same time period, but Salmonella infection was not confirmed by culture. All exhibited the clinical signs of profuse, watery diarrhea. The gazelles developed a protein-losing enteropathy, and the tapir showed signs of sepsis and endotoxemia. Serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed the Salmonella isolates to be indistinguishable from each other. One year prior to this outbreak, Salmonella sp. was cultured from a Visayan warty pig (Sus cebifrons) housed in the same building as the tapir. After further investigation into the outbreak, spread of this pathogen was speculated to be associated with human movement across animal areas.
Email pragmatics and automatic classification: A study in the organizational context

This paper presents a two-phased research project aiming to improve email triage for public administration managers. The first phase developed a typology of email classification patterns through a qualitative study involving 34 participants. Inspired by the fields of pragmatics and speech act theory, this typology comprising four top level categories and 13 subcategories represents the typical email triage behaviors of managers in an organizational context. The second study phase was conducted on a corpus of 1,703 messages using email samples of two managers. Using the k-NN (k-nearest neighbor) algorithm, statistical treatments automatically classified the email according to lexical and nonlexical features representative of managers' triage patterns. The automatic classification of email according to the lexicon of the messages was found to be substantially more efficient when k = 2 and n = 2,000. For four categories, the average recall rate was 94.32%, the average precision rate was 94.50%, and the accuracy rate was 94.54%. For 13 categories, the average recall rate was 91.09%, the average precision rate was 84.18%, and the accuracy rate was 88.70%. It appears that a message's nonlexical features are also deeply influenced by email pragmatics. Features related to the recipient and the sender were the most relevant for characterizing email. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Transfer of Ingested Insecticides Among Cockroaches: Effects of Active Ingredient, Bait Formulation, and Assay Procedures

Abstract Foraging cockroaches ingest insecticide baits, translocate them, and can cause mortality in untreated cockroaches that contact the foragers or ingest their excretions. Translocation of eight ingested baits by adult male Blattella germanica (L.) was examined in relation to the type of the active ingredient, formulation, and foraging area. Ingested boric acid, chlorpyrifos, fipronil, and hydramethylnon that were excreted by adults in small dishes killed 100% of first instars within 10 d and >50% of second instars within 14 d. Residues from these ingested baits were also highly effective on nymphs in larger arenas and killed 16–100% of the adults. However, when the baits and dead cockroaches were removed from the large arenas and replaced with new cockroaches, only residues of the slow-acting hydramethylnon killed most of the nymphs and adults, whereas residues of fast acting insecticides (chlorpyrifos and fipronil) killed fewer nymphs and adults. Excretions from cockroaches that ingested abamectin baits failed to cause significant mortality in cockroaches that contacted the residues. These results suggest that hydramethylnon is highly effective in these assays because cockroaches that feed on the bait have ample time to return to their shelter and defecate insecticide-laden feces. The relatively high concentration of hydramethylnon in the bait (2.15%) and its apparent stability in the digestive tract and feces probably contribute to the efficacy of hydramethylnon. To control for differences among baits in inert ingredients and the amount of active ingredient, we compared 1% chlorpyrifos with 1% hydramethylnon in identical baits. Again, hydramethylnon residues provided greater secondary kill, but the results highlighted the importance of the inert ingredients. We conclude that, in the absence of cannibalism and necrophagy, translocation of baits and secondary kill are most effective with slow acting insecticides in palatable baits that can traverse the digestive tract and be deposited within and around the cockroach aggregation.
Characterization of the murine splice variant Mobp155: Developmental CNS expression pattern and subcellular localization of epitope‐tagged protein

Members of the myelin‐associated oligodendrocytic basic protein (MOBP) family constitute the third most abundant protein in CNS myelin. Although MOBP localizes to the major dense line (MDL) of CNS myelin, the function of the individual isoforms is unknown. Alternative splicing of pre‐Mobp mRNA gives rise to six characterized splice variants in both the mouse and the rat. These splice variants share a common N‐terminal encoded in Mobp exon 3 comprising 68 amino acids. The predicted protein isoforms differ in their C‐termini. Sequence analysis of intron 3 revealed the presence of a putative initiation codon followed by an open reading frame (ORF) encoding 53 amino acids that extends in frame into Mobp exon 4 yielding a predicted MOBP isoform comprising 155 amino acids, designated MOBP155. This newly characterized isoform possessing a novel N‐terminus shares a common C‐terminus with MOBP170. Mobp170 message is detectable at low abundance throughout myelinogenesis. In contrast, the novel splice variant encoding MOBP155 is expressed at modest levels late in CNS development, coincident with the expression of the abundant splice variant, Mobp81A. Immunostaining of Cos7 cells transiently expressing an epitope‐tagged MOBP155 suggested that most of the product was translocated to mitochondria. Although Mobp155 and Mobp170 encode a common predicted C‐terminus they have different expression profiles and their products are targeted to mitochondria and the nucleus, respectively, in transiently transfected Cos7 cells. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Two Hydrophobic Residues Can Determine the Specificity of Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Docking Interactions*

Background: MAPK cascade proteins bind to each other selectively via docking interactions. Results: The high selectivity of JNK family MAPKs for cognate binding partners is controlled by two key hydrophobic residues in the docking site. Conclusion: This contrasts with other proposed models of docking specificity. Significance: This has implications for drug design and for the evolution of signaling specificity. MAPKs bind to many of their upstream regulators and downstream substrates via a short docking motif (the D-site) on their binding partner. MAPKs that are in different families (e.g. ERK, JNK, and p38) can bind selectively to D-sites in their authentic substrates and regulators while discriminating against D-sites in other pathways. Here we demonstrate that the short hydrophobic region at the distal end of the D-site plays a critical role in determining the high selectivity of JNK MAPKs for docking sites in their cognate MAPK kinases. Changing just 1 or 2 key hydrophobic residues in this submotif is sufficient to turn a weak JNK-binding D-site into a strong one, or vice versa. These specificity-determining differences are also found in the D-sites of the ETS family transcription factors Elk-1 and Net. Moreover, swapping two hydrophobic residues between these D-sites switches the relative efficiency of Elk-1 and Net as substrates for ERK versus JNK, as predicted. These results provide new insights into docking specificity and suggest that this specificity can evolve rapidly by changes to just 1 or 2 amino acids.
PharmaSUG2010 - Paper SP01 Using SAS® to Compute Partial Correlation

Partial correlation is used in many epidemiological studies and clinical trials when a researcher investigates an association involving some potential confounding factors. Partial correlation is a method used to describe the relationship between two variables when controlling for effects of one or more variables in this relationship. In SAS, several procedures such as PROC CORR, PROC REG, and PROC GLM, can be used to obtain partial correlation coefficient. This paper will illustrate how to use these different procedures to get partial correlation, and explain the difference among these procedures.
Complete Genome Sequence of Klebsiella oxytoca Strain JKo3

ABSTRACT Klebsiella oxytoca can be either pathogenic or beneficial, depending on conditions. These opposing characteristics have not been fully elucidated. Here, we report the complete sequence of the K. oxytoca JKo3 genome, consisting of a single circular chromosome of 5,943,791 bp and four plasmids.
Multi-lingual Phoneme Recognition and Language Identification Using Phonotactic Information

Previous research indicates that automatic language identification systems based on phonotactic information produce the best results compared with other systems based on acoustic or prosodic information. This paper investigates two different approaches that use phonotactic information: parallel phoneme recognition followed by language modeling (PPRLM) and multi-lingual PRLM. In the PPRLM approach, we have modified the system by using four different language models with different discounting methods, including the linear, absolute, good-turning and Witten-Bell. Our results show that the modified PPRLM system with the Witten-Bell discounting outperforms other systems and achieves 75.5% language identification accuracy for the OGI-TS speech corpus
Elite Rivalry in a Semi-Democracy: The Kuwaiti Press Scene

Kuwait's liberalization of the press and publication law in 2006 sparked a threefold increase in the number of Arabic language newspapers that defied conventional wisdom about print media decline and also survived the world financial crisis. The article provides a political explanation for this puzzle, arguing that newspapers serve as political instruments in elite rivalries in Kuwait's semi-democratic setting. It qualifies the idea of newspapers as civil society institutions and shows how political control is reproduced in a liberal context. It thereby contributes to our understanding of the role of the press in hybrid regimes.
SME environmental attitudes and participation in local‐scale voluntary initiatives: some practical applications

This paper briefly assesses the economic efficiency case for voluntary initiatives (VIs), discusses some limitations of this type of policy instrument and goes on to consider the role that local‐scale voluntary initiatives might play in assisting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to embrace the issue of environmental performance improvement. The paper examines SME organizational management in relation to the likely effectiveness of their participation in voluntary environment programmes. An environmental attitudes survey carried out with 62 SMEs in East Anglia found that willingness to become involved in such initiatives does exist, but that a better presentation of opportunities for prospective small firms, together with a more tailored approach, will be necessary if VIs for SMEs are to become a more extensive feature of environmental policy making in the UK.
Phase Sensitivity Analysis of a Circadian Rhythm Gene Network

Circadian rhythm synchronizes the daily activities of living organisms with the 24-hour earth rotation. The core of this clock is a transcriptional regulation of genes which produces an autonomous oscillation of 24-hour period. Despite the prevalence of oscillatory systems, sensitivity analysis of the key characteristics, such as period and phase, does not directly fit into the traditional framework for differential equations, which motivates the development of analyses aimed for these systems. This work focuses on the phase sensitivity analysis of circadian rhythm. Many of the concepts however can apply to oscillatory systems in general. Two examples of Drosophila circadian models illustrate the utilities of the developed analysis.
Research Methods For Managers

PART ONE: ISSUES AND PROCESSES IN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH Introduction Starting Management Research The Role of Theory in Research Methods PART TWO: KEY METHODS IN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH Experimental Research Design Action Research Survey Research Design Qualitative Methodology The Case of Ethnography PART THREE: PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH Philosophical Disputes and Management Research Conclusions Evaluating Management Research
Attempted Suicide in Ghana: Motivation, Stigma, and Coping

To understand the experiences of suicidal persons in Ghana, 10 persons were interviewed after they attempted suicide. Thematic analysis of data showed that motivation for suicidal behavior included social taunting, hopelessness, and partner's infidelity. Suicidal persons reported stigma expressed through physical molestation and social ostracism, which left them traumatized. However, they coped through social support from relations, religious faith, and use of avoidance. Community-wide sensitive education should target reducing stigma and also increase mental health education on suicidal behavior in Ghanaian communities.
Functional Plasticity After Left Anterior Temporal Lobectomy: Reconstitution and Compensation of Verbal Memory Functions

Summary: Purpose: This study investigated the functional plasticity of the brain to reconstitute and compensate for verbal memory functions after epilepsy surgery of left temporocortical and temporomesial structures. We hypothesized that memory outcome would be best when surgery is performed within the period of cerebral plasticity, and that the outcome should be worst when fluid intelligence starts to decrease with physiologic aging. We also raised the question of different plasticity and compensation mechanisms for temporomesial and temporocortical memory functions.
Conditional predictability of daily exchange rates

At what forecast horizon is one time series more predictable than another? This paper applies the Diebold–Kilian conditional predictability measure to assess the out-of-sample performance of three alternative models of daily GBP/USD and DEM/USD exchange rate returns. Predictability is defined as a non-linear statistic of a model's relative expected losses at short and long forecast horizons, allowing flexible choice of both the estimation procedure and loss function. The long horizon is set to 2 weeks and one month ahead and forecasts evaluated according to MSE loss. Bootstrap methodology is used to estimate the data's conditional predictability using GARCH models. This is then compared to predictability under a random walk and a model using the prediction bias in uncovered interest parity (UIP). We find that both exchange rates are less predictable using GARCH than using a random walk, but they are more predictable using UIP than a random walk. Predictability using GARCH is relatively higher for the 2-weeks-than for the 1-month long forecast horizon. Comparing the results using a random walk to that using UIP reveals ‘pockets’ of predictability, that is, particular short horizons for which predictability using the random walk exceeds that using UIP, or vice versa. Overall, GBP/USD returns appear more predictable than DEM/USD returns at short horizons. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Medical Image Understanding and Analysis - MIUA 2015. 19th Annual Conference, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK, July 15-17, 2015

The fusion between an endoscopic movie and a CT poses a special surface registration problem. The surface extracted from CT is complete and accurate, whereas the surface extracted from endoscopy suffers from serious missing patches and topology change. We propose a surface registration method, Thin Shell Demons, that is robust under these two situations. Motivated by Thirion’s Demons idea, the partial surface can provide virtual forces to attract the complete surface, which is equipped with a novel physics-based deformation energy. This energy can help preserve the correct surface topology while producing realistic deformation for the regions that don’t have any attracting counterpart regions. The attraction direction assures the deformation is not affected by the surface completeness. Moreover, we propose to use geometric feature matching for computing virtual forces to handle inaccurate 3D point positions and large deformations. We test our method for CT/endoscope fusion and show its potential to achieve successful registration.
ON THE PERFORMANCE OF COMPETITIVELY TENDERED, PUBLIC SECTOR CLEANING CONTRACTS

Quantitative analysis of competitive tendering and contracting typically focuses on their effect on the cost of providing public sector services. In this article we turn to the systematic factors that appear to influence the performance of cleaning contracts. This is defined as compliance with contract specification, public perception of service quality and other qualitative measures of service characteristics as observed by the contracting authority. Our analysis attempts to isolate particular features of contract design, monitoring and enforcement that influence performance positively or negatively. Econometric results based on a sample of public sector cleaning contracts suggest that contractor selection procedures and contract enforcement mechanisms have the greatest influence on performance.
Lack of the Nlrp3 Inflammasome Improves Mice Recovery Following Traumatic Brain Injury

Treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains elusive despite compelling evidence from animal models for a variety of therapeutic targets. The activation of the NLRP3 (Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3) inflammasome has been proposed as key point in the brain damage associated with TBI. NLRP3 was tested as potential target for reducing neuronal loss and promoting functional recovery in a mouse model of TBI. Male NLRP3-/- (n = 20) and wild type (n = 27) mice were used. A closed TBI model was performed and inflammatory and apoptotic markers were evaluated. A group of WT mice also received BAY 11-7082, a NLRP3 inhibitor, to further evaluate the role of this pathway. At 24 h following TBI NLRP3-/- animals demonstrated a preserved cognitive function as compared to WT mice, additionally brain damage was less severe and the inflammatory mediators were reduced in brain lysates. The administration of BAY 11-7082 in WT animals subjected to TBI produced overlapping results. At day 7 histology revealed a more conserved brain structure with reduced damage in TBI NLRP3-/- animals compared to WT. Our data indicate that the NLRP3 pathway might be exploited as molecular target for the short-term sequelae of TBI.
Modulation of the Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel Kv1.5 by the SGK1 Protein Kinase Involves Inhibition of Channel Ubiquitination

The serum and glucocorticoid inducible kinase SGK1 is involved in dexamethasone-induced inhibition of insulin secretion by increasing voltage-gated potassium channel (Kv) activity. SGK1 upregulates the Kv1.5 channel but the precise mechanism underlying the SGK1 dependent regulation of Kv1.5 has not been defined yet. The present study explored the signal transduction processes involved. Expression studies in Xenopus oocytes revealed that SGK1 promotes channel activity by interfering with the Nedd4-2 ubiquitination pathway, irrespective of the presence of putative SGK1 phosphorylation sites on Kv1.5. Expression of the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-2 declined Kv1.5 currents by ubiquitinating and thereby reducing Kv1.5 plasma membrane expression. Increasing concentrations of SGK1 gradually compensated the inhibiting effect of Nedd4-2 on Kv1.5. Enhanced Kv1.5 surface abundance by SGK1 reflects decreased channel internalization as indicated by Brefeldin A experiments. In conclusion, Kv1.5 upregulation by SGK1 involves inhibition of channel ubiquitination by Nedd4-2 that leads to Kv1.5 stabilization in the plasma membrane. Our results suggest that the kinase might participate in the regulation of insulin secretion in part by controlling Kv1.5 surface abundance.