Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Oxygen-bridged Dinuclear Ruthenium Amine Complex Specifically Inhibits Ca2+ Uptake into Mitochondria in Vitroand in Situ in Single Cardiac Myocytes*

Ruthenium red is a well known inhibitor of Ca2+ uptake into mitochondria in vitro. However, its utility as an inhibitor of Ca2+ uptake into mitochondria in vivo or in situ in intact cells is limited because of its inhibitory effects on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release channel and other cellular processes. We have synthesized a ruthenium derivative and found it to be an oxygen-bridged dinuclear ruthenium amine complex. It has the same chemical structure as Ru360 reported previously (Emerson, J., Clarke, M. J., Ying, W-L., and Sanadi, D. R. (1993) J. Am. Chem. Soc.115, 11799–11805). Ru360 has been shown to be a potent inhibitor of Ca2+-stimulated respiration of liver mitochondria in vitro. However, the specificity of Ru360 on Ca2+uptake into mitochondria in vitro or in intact cells has not been determined. The present study reports in detail the potency, the effectiveness, and the mechanism of inhibition of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake by Ru360 and its specificity in vitro in isolated mitochondria and in situ in isolated cardiac myocytes. Ru360 was more potent (IC50 = 0.184 nm) than ruthenium red (IC50 = 6.85 nm) in inhibiting Ca2+ uptake into mitochondria. 103Ru360 was found to bind to isolated mitochondria with high affinity (K d = 0.34 nm, B max = 80 fmol/mg of mitochondrial protein). The IC50 of 103Ru360 for the inhibition of Ca2+ uptake into mitochondria was also 0.2 nm, indicating that saturation of a specific binding site is responsible for the inhibition of Ca2+uptake. Ru360, as high as 10 μm, produced no effect on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ uptake or release, sarcolemmal Na+/Ca2+ exchange, actomyosin ATPase activity, L-type Ca2+ channel current, cytosolic Ca2+transients, or cell shortening. 103Ru360 was taken up by isolated myocytes in a time-dependent biphasic manner. Ru360 (10 μm) applied outside intact voltage-clamped ventricular myocytes prevented Ca2+ uptake into mitochondria in situ where the cells were progressively loaded with Ca2+ via sarcolemmal Na+/Ca2+ exchange by depolarization to +110 mV. We conclude that Ru360 specifically blocks Ca2+ uptake into mitochondria and can be used in intact cells.
Energy-aware services composition for Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) are going to change our daily live in the near future. As IoT services prevail, many edge server, gateways, sensors and actuators etc. will be widely available in cities and smart spaces. Thus, how do we exploit these resources to provide rich and green services to users has become a very critical issue. In the past, researchers have developed QoS-based service composition schemes for IoT. However, they fail to consider energy efficiency in service composition. This paper extended previous QoS-based scheme to consider power consumption when linking various objects in the IoT environment based on users' demand. Simulation results show that our algorithm performs efficiently regarding computation complexity and energy efficiency in comparison with existing QoS-based algorithms.
CULTURE‐BASED EXPECTATIONS OF CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP: A PROPOSITIONAL FRAMEWORK AND COMPARISON OF FOUR CULTURES

This article examines how underlying national culture potentially impacts host country expectations of corporate citizenship for multi‐national firms. We present a conceptual framework for systematically comparing the impact of national culture on social issues affecting multi‐national firms. Research propositions describe the relationships between national culture and corporate citizenship suggesting potential future empirical research opportunities. Using four countries as examples, we conduct a qualitative comparative analysis to demonstrate the applicability of our culture‐based framework. Finally, we offer implications of our framework for corporate global citizenship of multi‐national firms.
The Effect of Rupatadine on Lung Histopathology in a Murine Model of Chronic Asthma

Introduction. Rupatadine is a new second-generation antihistamine with H1 receptor antagonist activity and platelet-activating factor antagonist properties. This study aimed to investigate the effect of rupatadine on histologic changes in the lungs in a murine model of chronic asthma. Materials and Methods. Thirty-five BALB/c mice were divided into five groups of seven mice each: group I (control), group II (placebo [saline]), group III (dexamethasone 1 mg · kg−1·d−1), group IV (rupatadine 3 mg·kg−1 d−1), and group V (rupatadine 30 mg·kg−1·d−1). Groups II through V were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin and treated once per day via the oral route (gavage). Animals were sacrificed 24 h after the last treatment was administered. Airway histopathology was evaluated using light and electron microscopy in all groups. Results. There were no significant differences observed in any of the histologic parameters between groups II and IV. There were significantly thinner basement membrane, subepithelial smooth muscle layer, and epithelia were significantly thinner in group V than in group II (p < .05). There were no statistically significant differences in the thicknesses of the basement membrane, subepithelial smooth muscle layer and epithelia between groups III and V. Conclusion. Rupatadine had a beneficial effect on histologic changes in a chronic murine model of asthma.
Design of Duty-Varied Voltage Pulse Charger for Improving Li-Ion Battery-Charging Response

In this paper, a duty-varied voltage pulse-charge strategy (DVVPCS), that can detect and dynamically track the suitable duty of the charge pulse, is proposed to improve the battery-charge performance. To assess the system performance, a prototype of the duty-varied voltage pulse charger (DVVPC) is designed and implemented. Comparing with the standard constant-current and constant-voltage (CC-CV) charge strategy, the charge speed of the proposed DVVPCS is improved by about 14%, while the proposed DVVPCS is improved by about 5% in comparison with the conventional duty-fixed voltage pulse-charge strategy (DFVPCS). The charge efficiency of the proposed DVVPC has been improved by about 3.4% as compared with that of the general CC-CV. In comparison with conventional DFVPCS with D = 50%, the charge efficiency of the proposed DVVPCS is improved by about 1.5%. The results indicate that the DVVPCS can actually provide pulse with suitable duty to charge the battery, and the charge performance is improved.
Deriving Meaning for Social Franchising From Commercial Franchising and Social Enterprise

Auntie Anne's Pretzels, the American Red Cross, and IKEA are franchises for a social benefit, but are they social franchises? There is a diversity of perceptions of what is meant by the term social franchising but no consensus on the precise meaning. Given that social franchising is a relatively new area of research and that a crucial first step in research on any topic is to define its parameters, this article derives a set of indicators for the phenomenon of social franchising by bringing together three strands of scholarship: social franchising, commercial franchising, and social enterprise.
Vegetation–climate feedbacks modulate rainfall patterns in Africa underfuture climate change

Abstract. Africa has been undergoing significant changes in climate and vegetation in recent decades, and continued changes may be expected over this century. Vegetation cover and composition impose important influences on the regional climate in Africa. Climate-driven changes in vegetation structure and the distribution of forests versus savannah and grassland may feed back to climate via shifts in the surface energy balance, hydrological cycle and resultant effects on surface pressure and larger-scale atmospheric circulation. We used a regional Earth system model incorporating interactive vegetation–atmosphere coupling to investigate the potential role of vegetation-mediated biophysical feedbacks on climate dynamics in Africa in an RCP8.5-based future climate scenario. The model was applied at high resolution (0.44 × 0.44°) for the CORDEX-Africa domain with boundary conditions from the CanESM2 general circulation model. We found that increased tree cover and leaf-area index (LAI) associated with a CO2 and climate-driven increase in net primary productivity, particularly over subtropical savannah areas, not only imposed important local effect on the regional climate by altering surface energy fluxes but also resulted in remote effects over central Africa by modulating the land–ocean temperature contrast, Atlantic Walker circulation and moisture inflow feeding the central African tropical rainforest region with precipitation. The vegetation-mediated feedbacks were in general negative with respect to temperature, dampening the warming trend simulated in the absence of feedbacks, and positive with respect to precipitation, enhancing rainfall reduction over the rainforest areas. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for vegetation–atmosphere interactions in climate projections for tropical and subtropical Africa.
Investigation into the Effects of Gas Price and GDP on Freeway Traffic

It is well acknowledged that gas price negatively affects traffic volume while GDP (gross domestic product) may have the contrary effect. To gain in-depth understandings of such relationships, this paper collects monthly time series data of freeway traffic, gas price and GDP of Taiwan to examine short- and long-term causal relationships by Granger causality test and cointegration test, respectively. Results show that gas price Granger causes large-vehicle (truck and bus) and trailer traffic, but not small-vehicle traffic. However, there is no statistically significant finding on long-term equilibrium relationship neither between gas price and freeway traffic nor between GDP and freeway traffic.
Why different interpretations of vulnerability matter in climate change discourses

In this article, we discuss how two interpretations of vulnerability in the climate change literature are manifestations of different discourses and framings of the climate change problem. The two differing interpretations, conceptualized here as ‘outcome vulnerability’ and ‘contextual vulnerability’, are linked respectively to a scientific framing and a human-security framing. Each framing prioritizes the production of different types of knowledge, and emphasizes different types of policy responses to climate change. Nevertheless, studies are seldom explicit about the interpretation that they use. We present a diagnostic tool for distinguishing the two interpretations of vulnerability and use this tool to illustrate the practical consequences that interpretations of vulnerability have for climate change policy and responses in Mozambique. We argue that because the two interpretations are rooted in different discourses and differ fundamentally in their conceptualization of the character and causes of vulnerability, they cannot be integrated into one common framework. Instead, it should be recognized that the two interpretations represent complementary approaches to the climate change issue. We point out that the human-security framing of climate change has been far less visible in formal, international scientific and policy debates, and addressing this imbalance would broaden the scope of adaptation policies.
Germ‐like cell differentiation from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)

Historically, our understanding of molecular genetic aspects of germ cell development has been limited. Recently, results demonstrated that the derivation of pluripotent stem cells may provide the necessary genetic system to study germ cell development. Here, we characterized an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line, which can spontaneously differentiate into embryonic bodies (EBs) after 3 days of suspension culture, expressing specific markers of three germ layers. Then, we induced the iPSCs to differentiate into germ cells by culturing adherent EBs in retinoic acid (RA) and porcine follicular fluid (PFF) differentiation medium or seminiferous tubule transplantation. Our results indicated that RA and PFF were beneficial for the derivation of germ cells and oocyte‐like cells from iPSCs, and iPSCs transplantation could make a contribution to repairing the testis of infertile mice. Our study offers an approach for further study on the development and the differentiation of germ cells derived from iPSCs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stakeholder Politics: Social Capital, Sustainable Development, and the Corporation

Corporations are now publicly committed to sustainability. But, beneath the public relations happy face, executives and managers are perplexed. The majority of them have a genuine desire to work in an ethical and sustainable manner, yet, when they engage with their stakeholders for that purpose, they often encounter a world of hardball politics, full of hostile activists, self-interested elites, and unpredictable attacks. "Stakeholder Politics: Social Capital, Sustainable Development and The Corporation" gives companies a "how to" guide for addressing the twin problems of maintaining political legitimacy, and promoting sustainable development. The text presents a typology of stakeholder networks that helps managers and community leaders identify and improve the social capital patterns in their own networks. Once they know these patterns, they can move their networks towards those that foster sustainable community development. The book describes vivid cases in which managers and community stakeholders have used the authors' approach successfully, and in addition provides managers with handy tools for predicting and avoiding community-level socio-political risk around stakeholder issues. With its proven and practical approach, "Stakeholder Politics" promises to be a valuable guide for managers and academics who are invested in sustainable development worldwide and stakeholder issues alike.
A whole can of worms

Originates from a management development programme which was run for a statutory water authority over a period of two‐and‐a‐half years, which sought to facilitate a change in management style away from a directing and controlling paradigm towards a supportive and trust‐based paradigm. A significant requirement of the programme, as specified by senior management, was the empowerment of middle management. However, the implications of this were not fully appreciated by senior management until late in the programme when issues of control came back into prominence. Eventually, the programme was curtailed and middle managers were consequently disillusioned rather than empowered. Offers insights into the nature of the dynamics of the change process and draws attention to the phenomenon of senior management resistance to change. Suggests, however, a more pervasive ambivalence in change management in general and “empowerment” in particular. This has significant implications for the regulation and limitation of lea.
Proteome Screening of Pleural Effusions Identifies Galectin 1 as a Diagnostic Biomarker and Highlights Several Prognostic Biomarkers for Malignant Mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive asbestos-induced cancer, and affected patients have a median survival of approximately one year after diagnosis. It is often difficult to reach a conclusive diagnosis, and ancillary measurements of soluble biomarkers could increase diagnostic accuracy. Unfortunately, few soluble mesothelioma biomarkers are suitable for clinical application. Here we screened the effusion proteomes of mesothelioma and lung adenocarcinoma patients to identify novel soluble mesothelioma biomarkers. We performed quantitative mass-spectrometry-based proteomics using isobaric tags for quantification and used narrow-range immobilized pH gradient/high-resolution isoelectric focusing (pH 4–4.25) prior to analysis by means of nano liquid chromatography coupled to MS/MS. More than 1,300 proteins were identified in pleural effusions from patients with malignant mesothelioma (n = 6), lung adenocarcinoma (n = 6), or benign mesotheliosis (n = 7). Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000531. The identified proteins included a set of known mesothelioma markers and proteins that regulate hallmarks of cancer such as invasion, angiogenesis, and immune evasion, plus several new candidate proteins. Seven candidates (aldo-keto reductase 1B10, apolipoprotein C-I, galectin 1, myosin-VIIb, superoxide dismutase 2, tenascin C, and thrombospondin 1) were validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in a larger group of patients with mesothelioma (n = 37) or metastatic carcinomas (n = 25) and in effusions from patients with benign, reactive conditions (n = 16). Galectin 1 was identified as overexpressed in effusions from lung adenocarcinoma relative to mesothelioma and was validated as an excellent predictor for metastatic carcinomas against malignant mesothelioma. Galectin 1, aldo-keto reductase 1B10, and apolipoprotein C-I were all identified as potential prognostic biomarkers for malignant mesothelioma. This analysis of the effusion proteome furthers our understanding of malignant mesothelioma, identified galectin 1 as a potential diagnostic biomarker, and highlighted several possible prognostic biomarkers of this disease.
An intelligent ECG interactive processing system based on Android and cloud computing platform

ECG (electrocardiogram) is of great value in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, myocardial ischemia, ventricular hypertrophy and conduction disorders. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm based on Android platform and cloud computing platform for ECG analysis, rendering, transmission and sharing, which achieves the interaction between doctors and users by visiting cloud platform interface.
Heterodimeric O‐methyltransferases involved in the biosynthesis of noscapine in opium poppy

Noscapine biosynthesis in opium poppy involves three characterized O-methyltransferases (OMTs) and a fourth responsible for the 4'-methoxyl on the phthalide isoquinoline scaffold. The first three enzymes are homodimers, whereas the latter is a heterodimer encoded by two linked genes (OMT2 and OMT3). Neither OMT2 nor OMT3 form stable homodimers, but yield a substrate-specific heterodimer when their genes are co-expressed in Escherichia coli. The only substrate, 4'-O-desmethyl-3-O-acetylpapaveroxine, is a seco-berbine pathway intermediate that undergoes ester hydrolysis subsequent to 4'-O-methylation leading to the formation of narcotine hemiacetal. In the absence of 4'-O-methylation, a parallel pathway yields narcotoline hemiacetal. Dehydrogenation produces noscapine and narcotoline from the corresponding hemiacetals. Phthalide isoquinoline intermediates with a 4'-hydroxyl (i.e. narcotoline and narcotoline hemiacetal), or the corresponding 1-hydroxyl on protoberberine intermediates, were not accepted. Norcoclaurine 6OMT, which shares 81% amino acid sequence identity with OMT3, also formed a functionally similar heterodimer with OMT2. Suppression of OMT2 transcript levels in opium poppy increased narcotoline accumulation, whereas reduced OMT3 transcript abundance caused no detectable change in the alkaloid phenotype. Opium poppy chemotype Marianne accumulates high levels of narcotoline and showed no detectable OMT2:OMT3 activity. Compared with the active subunit from the Bea's Choice chemotype, Marianne OMT2 exhibited a single S122Y mutation in the dimerization domain that precluded heterodimer formation based on homology models. Both subunits contributed to the formation of the substrate-binding domain, although site-directed mutagenesis revealed OMT2 as the active subunit. The occurrence of physiologically relevant OMT heterodimers increases the catalytic diversity of enzymes derived from a smaller number of gene products.
Trade Policy in Malaysia: Liberalization Process, Structure of Protection, and Reform Agenda

The purpose of this paper is to examine trade policy-making in Malaysia in the post-independence era with emphasis on factors underlying key policy shifts and to identify key elements of the unfinished reform agenda. The paper provides a historical overview of trade policy-making in Malaysia, paying attention to the underlying political economy, and undertakes a critical evaluation of the current trade and investment policy regime from a comparative regional perspective. It also examines Malaysia's changing policy posture relating to multilateral trade regional and bilateral trade negotiations.
Investigating the impact of an appreciation of the euro in a small macroeconometric model of Germany and the euro area

Since the start of European monetary union, the macroeconomic situation in Germany can in many respects only be analyzed in combination with the situation in the rest of the euro area. To take this into account, a small macroeconometric model is constructed that models the euro area as consisting of two regions, Germany and the rest of the euro area. The rest of the world is treated as exogenous. Given problems with modelling the relevant relationships in a standard vector autoregression approach, the model is set up as a dynamic simultaneous equations model. The model is used to study the impact of monetary policy or of exchange rate changes on economic activity in Germany and the euro area.
South Korean Media Industry in the 1990s and the Economic Crisis

This paper examines the changes in the Korean media industry with reference to the Korean economic crisis in the 1990s as Korean big business, or chaebol, previously unconcerned with the media industry, expanded into that sector.Given the conventional close relationship between the state and big business in Korean economic development, this new business strategy had implications for state policy.
Saving Rates of New Zealanders: A Net Wealth Approach

Reliable estimates of actual household saving rates in New Zealand have proved elusive as existing sources of data have in the past given disparate estimates, making it difficult to reach a consensus of the real rate of household saving. For the first time in New Zealand, however, longitudinal data on the assets and liabilities of households at the unit record level are becoming available from Statistics New Zealand’s multi-year national longitudinal Survey of Family Income and Employment (SoFIE). In this paper we first update estimates from the Reserve Bank’s aggregate data on the household sector (a stock approach) and those from Statistics New Zealand’s national accounts (a flow approach). These continue to give widely different estimates of the overall household saving rate, although both were negative in 2008 and both below their long-run trend values. We then present initial estimates derived from SoFIE by comparing individuals’ net wealth in 2004 with that in 2006 and computing the implied real saving rate on an annual basis. This yielded an overall median estimate of 16%. This is virtually the same as the long-run average annual saving rate measured from the aggregate household balance sheet from RBNZ. Furthermore, the estimated saving rates between 2004 and 2006 for the whole household sector in total are almost identical using RBNZ and SoFIE data. However, it must be stressed that median estimates should be complemented with a measure of dispersion. There is a strikingly wide distribution of saving rates. For example across many categories of individuals around 40% are estimated to have had a decline in net wealth, implying a negative rate of saving. Initial explorations into the reasons for this are undertaken in the paper, but as yet are not fully understood. Measurement errors in the data can account for some of the disparities but much remains for further research. Finally we demonstrate that over the period 2004 to 2006, passive saving in the form of the revaluation of house prices constituted a major part of the total change in net wealth. After removing owner-occupied property as an asset, the median saving rate remained positive at 5%, close to the long run average rate from the aggregate RBNZ data after correcting for changes in house prices.