Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lipid Absorption Defects in Intestine-specific Microsomal Triglyceride Transfer Protein and ATP-binding Cassette Transporter A1-deficient Mice*

Background: The combined roles of intestinal MTP and ABCA1 in tissue and plasma lipid homeostasis are unknown. Results: Intestine-specific ablation of MTP and ABCA1 severely impairs acute fat and cholesterol absorption. Conclusion: MTP and ABCA1 are critical for lipid absorption. Significance: Reducing both intestinal MTP and ABCA1 might reduce plasma lipid concentrations. We have previously described apolipoprotein B (apoB)-dependent and -independent cholesterol absorption pathways and the role of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) in these pathways. To assess the contribution of these pathways to cholesterol absorption and to determine whether there are other pathways, we generated mice that lack MTP and ABCA1, individually and in combination, in the intestine. Intestinal deletions of Mttp and Abca1 decreased plasma cholesterol concentrations by 45 and 24%, respectively, whereas their combined deletion reduced it by 59%. Acute cholesterol absorption was reduced by 28% in the absence of ABCA1, and it was reduced by 92–95% when MTP was deleted in the intestine alone or together with ABCA1. MTP deficiency significantly reduced triglyceride absorption, although ABCA1 deficiency had no effect. ABCA1 deficiency did not affect cellular lipids, but Mttp deficiency significantly increased intestinal levels of triglycerides and free fatty acids. Accumulation of intestinal free fatty acids, but not triglycerides, in Mttp-deficient intestines was prevented when mice were also deficient in intestinal ABCA1. Combined deficiency of these genes increased intestinal fatty acid oxidation as a consequence of increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1α (CPT1α). These studies show that intestinal MTP and ABCA1 are critical for lipid absorption and are the main determinants of plasma and intestinal lipid levels. Reducing their activities might lower plasma lipid concentrations.
Evaluation of glutathione‐sensitive fluorescent dyes in cortical culture

The sensitivity of six fluorophores to glutathione (GSH) was evaluated in living rat cortical neuronal/glial mixed cultures during the first 23 days in vitro (DIV). Four of the dyes require glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST) to form a fluorescent conjugate, potentially conferring specificity for GSH: these included t‐butoxycarbonyl‐Leu‐Met‐7‐amino‐4‐chloromethylcoumarin (CMAC), 7‐amino‐4‐chloromethylcoumarin (CMAC‐blue), monochlorobimane (MCB), and 5‐chloromethylfluorescein diacetate (CMFDA). The final two dyes examined, 2,3‐naphthalenedicarboxaldehyde (NDA) and o‐phthaldehyde (OPD), do not require GST for adduct formation with GSH. To examine the specificity of the dyes for GSH, cultures grown less than 6 DIV were pretreated with diethyl maleate or DL‐buthionine‐(S,R)‐sulfoximine to deplete endogenous GSH. This resulted in a substantial loss of staining by CMAC, CMAC‐blue, and MCB and partial loss of staining by OPD, indicating specificity for GSH, while staining by CMFDA or NDA was not altered, indicating a lack of specificity for GSH. Neurons experienced a dramatic decline in GSH levels relative to astrocytes between 5–6 DIV, as shown by a loss of neuronal staining with CMAC, CMAC‐blue and MCB. This decrease in staining was not due to a decrease in GST activity, as neurons stained with the GST‐insensitive OPD also exhibited a decline in GSH‐sensitive staining. Immunolabeling experiments demonstrated that CMAC staining co‐localized with GFAP‐positive astrocytes, but not with MAP‐2‐positive neurons, in 18 DIV cultures. Finally, CMAC was exploited as a specific morphological marker of astrocytes in cultures aged >5 DIV. CMAC staining was employed to monitor astrocyte proliferation and to resolve astrocytes in living mixed cultures co‐loaded with the Ca2+‐sensitive dye, calcium green 5N‐AM. GLIA 30:329–341, 2000. Published 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Novel Arthropod Repellent, BioUD, Is an Efficacious Alternative to Deet

Abstract For >50 yr, N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (deet) has been the standard for arthropod repellents and has been an important tool to protect people from disease agents carried by ticks, mosquitoes, and other arthropods. However, some people avoid using deet because of concerns about adverse health effects. In 2007, a new repellent, BioUD, with the active ingredient 7.75% 2-undecanone, originally derived from wild tomato (Lycopersicon hirsutum Dunal f. glabratum C. H. Müll) plants, was registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In the current study, repellent efficacy of BioUD was compared using arm-in-cage studies with 7 and 15% deet against the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus Skuse. No differences were found in mean repellency over 6 h after application between BioUD versus 7 and 15% deet for Ae albopictus. For Ae. aegypti, no differences were found over the same time period for 7% deet. Compared with 15% deet, BioUD mean repellency was lower over the 6-h test period. Human subject field trials were conducted in North Carolina, United States, and Ontario, Canada, comparing the repellency of BioUD to products containing 25 and 30% deet. BioUD provided the same repellency or was more efficacious than 25 and 30% deet, respectively, in these studies. Laboratory trials were conducted to determine the repellent activity of BioUD against the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), on human skin and cloth. BioUD repelled ticks at least 2.5 h after application to human skin. On cloth, no differences in mean repellency were found through 8 d after application between BioUD and 7% deet. In a two-choice test for BioUD versus 15% deet on filter paper, ticks spent significantly more time on the deet-treated surface than the BioUD-treated surface. Based on these studies in toto, BioUD is an efficacious alternative to deet in its repellent activity.
Design of current reuse CMOS LC-VCO

This paper describes the design of voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) with a low-power static frequency divider. The new LC-VCO replaces one of the NMOS of a conventional differential LC-VCO with a PMOS, which reduces power dissipation to the half and allows operation at reduced supply voltages. Based on a 0.13um UMC CMOS process, the VCO is simulated using 0.8V supply voltage. It is demonstrated that the proposed N-&P-MOS cross-coupled pair VCO operating at 806MHz can work with a power consumption of 0.24mW with as low as - 133dBc/Hz of phase noise at 1-MHz offset. Finally, in order to generate the quadrature signals at 403MHz, a low-power static frequency divider is designed, which utilizes a parallel switching current topology.
Meeting the news needs of local communities

This research goes to the heart of what communities need in order to play a full part in the democratic process, in society and in their locality. It reinforces our view that communities want to engage with their local media, and are struggling to do so. And it has produced some surprising results - uncovering a latent demand for the rapidly disappearing truly ‘local’ newspaper, for quality investigative journalism, that can represent and reflect local concerns, underpin accountability and arguably, be the key tool in bringing back a sense of community. Media Trust works with diverse communities across the country, of all ages and backgrounds, who wish to fully participate and build a better society. We speak daily to charities and community organisers who have their own vision of a better society for themselves and their peers, locally, regionally and nationally. Yet we also sense a pressing need and vocal desire in local communities for better communication and local news. We believe that communication is the catalyst that enables the seed of an idea to gather support and become a reality.
Exchange Rate Management and Inflation Targeting in the CEE Accession Countries

We consider a small structural model to describe the transmission mechanism of monetary policy and the dynamics of inflation. We first verify the validity of the general structure estimating it for Germany which represents a sort of benchmark model. At least one of the links required for the transmission mechanism of monetary policy, when we analyse the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs), reveals to be not significant when considered on the whole sample. On the contrary the results are closer to a textbook description when the attention is shifted to the second part of the sample only. We interpret this as a piece of evidence indicating that the transition is indeed operating, but it is still ongoing and in some cases it is not complete yet. We also verify that the effects of the exchange rate on both the aggregate demand and on the inflation are in agreement with the economic theory. We conclude that the exchange rate should be actively used to control the inflation in the CEECs.
CUSTOMER‐FOCUSED PERFORMANCE AND ITS KEY RESOURCE‐BASED DETERMINANTS: AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK

Unlike previous studies which emphasize market oriented performance from the perspective of firms or customers, but mainly internally, the paper proposes that firms should prioritize customer‐focused performance defined totally externally from the perspective of targeted customers, which are the fundamental drivers of purchasing or repurchasing behaviors of customers and consequently the key to successful competition in the customer‐centered era. Then, the role of customer‐focused performance in the overall business performance system is examined. After the components and dynamics of customer‐focused performance are analyzed, much attention is given to its key determinants in perspective of a resource‐based view, which aims mainly at bridging the current gaps between strategic management and service management. In addition, important propositions are presented and future implications are discussed.
Getting into the Zone: Cases of Student-Centered Multicultural Literacy Teacher Education

The purpose of this article is to report our preliminary work on student-centered teacher preparation to promote school success among culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The authors believe that teacher education programs need to be very purposeful in their approach to multicultural literacy teacher education. Drawing upon Vygotskian perspective on learning, the authors chose two cases from the beginning of their teacher education program and during student teaching, which often marks the end of teacher education program. The authors explain the potential of a student-centered approach they experienced and its implications for teacher education programs.
Photodynamic therapy in the treatment of class II furcation: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

AIM To investigate the effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) as adjunct to mechanical therapy in furcations. MATERIALS AND METHODS A double-blind, parallel, randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted in subjects presenting class II furcations. The subjects were randomly allocated to a test (PDT; n = 16) or control group (non-activated laser/only photosensitizer; n = 21). At baseline, 3 and 6 months, clinical, microbiological and cytokine pattern evaluation was performed. Clinical attachment level was defined as the primary outcome variable. RESULTS Clinical parameters improved after both therapies (p < 0.05) with no differences between groups at any time point (p > 0.05). At 6 months, real-time PCR evaluation showed a decrease in Porphyromonas gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia only in the PDT group (p < 0.05) with no inter-group differences. Regarding cytokines, IL-4 and IL-10 levels increased in both groups at 6 months. GM-CSF, IL-8, IL-1β and IL-6 levels decreased only in the PDT group after 3 months (p < 0.05). At 3 months, inter-group analyses showed that GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-8 levels were lower in the PDT group. At 6 months, lower IL-1β levels were also observed in the PDT group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Photodynamic therapy did not promote clinical benefits for class II furcations; however, advantages in local levels of cytokines and a reduction in periodontopathogens were demonstrated.
The correlation between economic underdevelopment and sport

This paper demonstrates the strong relationship that exists between the level of economic development in a country and the level of its sporting development. In particular, developing countries are plagued with a shortage of physical education and sport for all programmes, a lack of financing for sport, few sport facilities and little equipment, a “muscle drain” to developed counties, and no capacity to host major sporting events. An ordered‐logit model estimation shows that the probability for a country to win medals at the Olympics increases with GDP per capita and population. On the other hand, sport in the Third World cannot escape to professionalism, multinational sponsors, media and corruption, nor to the relocation of the sporting goods industry in low cost labour areas. Economic development is the only basic recipe against sporting underdevelopment. However, other solutions such as: the UNESCO effort in favour of physical education, sport for all and traditional sports in developing countries; foreign aid for participation in international sport events; and fines for instances of corruption in sport and the use of child labour in the sports goods industry are presented. The main suggestion is a “Coubertobin tax” which is designed to hinder the transfers of teenage and younger athletes from developing countries, the tax income would reside in a fund for sports development in the home developing countries. “No queremos goles, queremos frijoles”
Involvement of the Reparative DNA Polymerase Pol X of African Swine Fever Virus in the Maintenance of Viral Genome Stability In Vivo

ABSTRACT The function of the African swine fever virus (ASFV) reparative DNA polymerase, Pol X, was investigated in the context of virus infection. Pol X is a late structural protein that localizes at cytoplasmic viral factories during DNA replication. Using an ASFV deletion mutant lacking the Pol X gene, we have shown that Pol X is not required for virus growth in Vero cells or swine macrophages under one-step growth conditions. However, at a low multiplicity of infection, when multiple rounds of replication occur, the growth of the mutant virus is impaired in swine macrophages but not in Vero cells, suggesting that Pol X is needed to repair the accumulated DNA damage. The replication of the mutant virus in Vero cells presents sensitivity to oxidative damage, and mutational analysis of viral DNA shows that deletion of Pol X results in an increase in the mutation frequency in macrophages. Therefore, our data reveal a biological role for ASFV Pol X in the context of the infected cell in the preservation of viral genetic information.
Leaving Teaching in the UK: A Duration Analysis

In this paper, the authors analyze the decision by teachers to leave the profession. Their results affirm the importance of relative earnings in the tenure and turnover decisions of teachers. The econometric modeling approach used yields important insights into the appropriateness of adopting a flexible, semiparametric specification of the duration dependence structure and of the unobserved heterogeneity distribution in duration models. Copyright 1995 by Royal Economic Society.
Visual landscape classification in the coastal strip of Santander (Spain)

Abstract The coastal landscape in Santander, Spain, is analyzed in terms of landscape quality and fragility (or vulnerability). Quality is intended to indicate those areas of major landscape value for conservation purposes. Fragility is utilized to detect areas which could easily deteriorate if certain human activities are carried out. The authors’ study has three clearly differentiated phases. In the first, landscape units are defined and mapped. In the second, units are classified by computerized techniques and grouped according to significance. In the third phase, the true significance of the groups is interpreted. A mountainous, coastal zone in northern Spain was chosen for this study. Landscape units were determined by visual criteria with strong topographical bias. The area covered by each unit is that visible to an observer situated approximately in its center. Each unit is represented by certain biophysical and visual variables. Data were subjected to clustering analysis on the basis of using thre.
A Strictly Evolutionary Model of Common Law

PAUL H. Rubin and George L. Priest have developed similar models to argue that the common law evolves largely independently of the desires of individual judges and that this evolutionary process favors the selection of rules that promote economic efficiency. ' The central assumption of both authors was that rules that are litigated most often have the greatest probability of being overturned.2 Rubin pointed out that, when litigants have a continuing interest in the legal rules involved in litigation, the potential private gain from overturning inefficient legal precedents is greater than the potential gain from overturning efficient precedents. Therefore, when both parties have a continuing interest, inefficient legal rules will be litigated more frequently and have a smaller probability of survival than efficient rules. Priest carried the argument further by asserting that continuing interest was not necessary:
The novelty of simple and known technologies and the rhythm of farmer-centred innovation in family dairy farming in Brazil

Family dairy farming is under threat from the expansion of the sugarcane economy in south-eastern Brazil. This paper analyses an intervention programme which aimed to intensify dairy production and make family dairy farming sustainable in this competitive context. The case study of the ‘Balde Cheio’ Programme (Full Bucket) can be seen as an alternative method of knowledge generation to that of the dominant research approach which prioritizes cutting-edge technologies. This paper characterizes this farmer-oriented innovation programme for dairy farming systems, in which research, development and extension are seen as a long-term learning process. It analyses how the programme has been adapted to fit the diversity of situations found amongst farmers and to heterogeneous production conditions. The study relates the circulation of knowledge, the search for innovation by recombining apparently simple and known technologies, the use of experiments on the farm and the adaptation of the rhythm of innovation to the specific situation of the farm as the critical issues to achieve sustainable production systems.
Genomic scan for single nucleotide polymorphisms reveals patterns of divergence and gene flow between ecologically divergent species

Recent advances in population genomics have triggered great interest in the genomic landscape of divergence in taxa with ‘porous’ species boundaries. One important obstable of previous studies of this topic was the low genomic coverage achieved. This issue can now be overcome by the use of ‘next generation’ or short‐read DNA‐sequencing approaches capable of assaying many thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in divergent species. We have scanned the ‘porous’ genomes of Populus alba and Populus tremula, two ecologically divergent hybridizing forest trees, using >38 000 SNPs assayed by restriction site associated DNA (RAD) sequencing. Windowed analyses indicate great variation in genetic divergence (e.g. the proportion of fixed SNPs) between species, and these results are unlikely to be strongly biased by genomic features of the Populus trichocarpa reference genome used for SNP calling. Divergence estimates were significantly autocorrelated (P < 0.01; Moran's I up to 0.6) along 11 of 19 chromosomes. Many of these autocorrelations involved low divergence blocks, thus suggesting that allele sharing was caused by recurrent gene flow rather than shared ancestral polymorphism. A conspicuous low divergence block of three megabases was detected on chromosome XIX, recently put forward as an incipient sex chromosome in Populus, and was largely congruent with introgression of mapped microsatellites in two natural hybrid zones (N > 400). Our results help explain the origin of the ‘genomic mosaic’ seen in these taxa with ‘porous’ genomes and suggest rampant introgression or extensive among‐species conservation of an incipient plant sex chromosome. RAD sequencing holds great promise for detecting patterns of divergence and gene flow in highly divergent hybridizing species.
Correction: Commercial Serological Antibody Detection Tests for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review

1417 August 2007 | Volume 4 | Issue 8 | e254 Correction: Commercial Serological Antibody Detection Tests for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review Karen R. Steingart, Megan Henry, Suman Laal, Philip C. Hopewell, Andrew Ramsay, Dick Menzies, Jane Cunningham, Karin Weldingh, Madhukar Pai Correction for: Steingart KR, Henry M, Laal S, Hopewell PC, Ramsay A, et al. (2007) Commercial Serological Antibody Detection Tests for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Systematic Review. PLoS Med 4(6): e202. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed. 0040202 Figure 1 contained an error. Of the 515 articles selected for full-text review, in the box entitled “Excluded,” the number for “Relevance to topic” should read 34, not 340. The revised fi gure appears below:
Effects of Labeling Patients as Prehypertensive

Background: Labeling patients as hypertensive has some negative effects. The effects of being labeled as having prehypertension are unknown. We examined whether the label of prehypertension exerts a negative effect on patients’ perceived health and whether it motivates people to adopt lifestyle recommendations to prevent hypertension. Methods: We randomized 97 prehypertensive adults to either a labeling message or a generic (no label) message. At 3 months we assessed self-reports of change in perceived health and reported adoption of lifestyle recommendations to try to prevent hypertension. Results: Except for more participants with asthma in the label group, the 2 groups were similar at baseline. Among the 70 participants who provided 3-month follow-up data, 18 people (56%) in the no-label group and 22 people (58%) in the label group reported their health as the same; 13 people (41%) in the no label group and 16 people (42%) in the label group reported health as better; and 1 person (in no label group) reported his health as worse. At 3 months there were no differences in reports of changing eating habits (risk ratio [RR], 1.06; 95% CI, 0.86–1.31), cutting down on salt (RR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.84–1.15), reducing alcohol intake (RR, 1.23; 95% CI, 0.80–1.90), or exercising (RR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.91–1.51) to try to prevent hypertension. Conclusion: Being labeled as prehypertensive seems to exert neither harmful nor helpful effects.