Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
14-3-3 γ associates with muscle specific kinase and regulates synaptic gene transcription at vertebrate neuromuscular synapse

The muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase (MuSK) is part of a receptor complex, activated by neural agrin, that orchestrates the differentiation of the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). To gain insight into the function of the MuSK complex, we have developed a proteomic approach to identify new MuSK partners. MS analysis of MuSK crosslink products from postsynaptic membranes of the Torpedo electrocytes identified the adaptor protein 14-3-3 γ. The 14-3-3 γ protein was found localized at the adult rat NMJ. Cotransfection experiments in COS-7 cells showed that MuSK codistributed with the 14-3-3 γ protein at the plasma membrane. Furthermore, 14-3-3 γ was copurified by affinity chromatography with MuSK from transfected COS-7 cells and myotubes. The 14-3-3 γ protein did not colocalize with agrin-elicited acetylcholine receptor (AChR) aggregates in cultured myotubes, suggesting that it is not involved in AChR clustering. Expression of 14-3-3 γ specifically repressed the transcription of several synaptic reporter genes in cultured myotubes. This repression was potentiated by MuSK expression. Moreover, the expression of 14-3-3 γ in muscle fibers in vivo caused both the repression of synaptic genes transcription and morphological perturbations of the NMJ. Our data extend the notion that, apart from its well documented role in AChR clustering, the MuSK complex might also be involved in the regulation of synaptic gene expression at the NMJ.
The Choice between Project Financing and Corporate Financing: Evidence from the Corporate Syndicated Loan Market

This paper examines the pricing of project finance (PF) and non-project finance (non-PF) loans and examines the factors that influence the borrower’s choice between project financing and corporate financing. Using a sample of 210,273 syndicated loans closed between 2000 and 2014, we find that PF and Non-PF loans are influenced differently by common pricing characteristics and that PF loans in the U.S. and W.E. are priced in segmented markets. Borrowers choose PF when they seek long-term financing and funding cost reduction. We find that transaction cost considerations, the financial crisis and country risk affect the financing choice. Our results document that publicly traded sponsors who prefer project financing to corporate financing are larger, less profitable, more financially distressed and have a higher asset tangibility. Finally, privately held firms that choose off-balance sheet financing are smaller and less profitable and use PF to raise relatively larger amounts of debt.
Functional down‐regulation of volume‐regulated anion channels in AQP4 knockdown cultured rat cortical astrocytes

In the brain, the astroglial syncytium is crucially involved in the regulation of water homeostasis. Accumulating evidence indicates that a dysregulation of the astrocytic processes controlling water homeostasis has a pathogenetic role in several brain injuries. Here, we have analysed by RNA interference technology the functional interactions occurring between the most abundant water channel in the brain, aquaporin‐4 (AQP4), and the swelling‐activated Cl– current expressed by cultured rat cortical astrocytes. We show that in primary cultured rat cortical astrocytes transfected with control small interfering RNA (siRNA), hypotonic shock promotes an increase in cellular volume accompanied by augmented membrane conductance mediated by volume‐regulated anion channels (VRAC). Conversely, astroglia in which AQP4 was knocked down (AQP4 KD) by transfection with AQP4 siRNA changed their morphology from polygonal to process‐bearing, and displayed normal cell swelling but reduced VRAC activity. Pharmacological manipulations of actin cytoskeleton in rat astrocytes, and functional analysis in mouse astroglial cells, which retain their morphology upon knockdown of AQP4, suggest that stellation of AQP4 KD rat cortical astrocytes was not causally linked to reduction of VRAC current. Molecular analysis of possible candidates of swelling‐activated Cl– current provided evidence that in AQP4 KD astrocytes, there was a down‐regulation of chloride channel‐2 (CIC‐2), which, however, was not involved in VRAC conductance. Inclusion of ATP in the intracellular saline restored VRAC activity upon hypotonicity. Collectively, these results support the view that in cultured astroglial cells, plasma membrane proteins involved in cell volume homeostasis are assembled in a functional platform.
Performance analysis of classification and ranking techniques

Recommendation systems aim at recommending relevant items to the users of the system. Recommendation Systems provide efficient recommendations based on algorithms used for classification and ranking. There exist various ways by which classification can be achieved in a supervised or unsupervised manner. Since the sample datasets that are used for experiments are large and also contain more number of feature sets, it is essential to understand dataset beforehand. Also when results are shown to the user, big challenge is how well data can be ranked so that user satisfaction is guaranteed. When data sets are large, some ranking algorithms perform poorly in terms of computation and storage. Thus, these kinds of algorithms are quite expensive. We aim at developing classification and ranking algorithm which will reduce computational cost and dimensionality of data without affecting the diversity of the feature set. Dimensionality of data can be handled by SVM (Support Vector Machine). AUC (Area under the Curve) and WARP (Weighted Approximately Ranked Pairwise) algorithms are efficient for ranking of the items which are of user interest.
Uncertainty in Measurement for Biochemists : Differential Calculus for calculating Sensitivity Coefficients

Page 2 1. Overview Page 10 2. Background Page 12 3. The differential calculus, sensitivity to errors and uncertainty Page 20 4. The notion of ‘differentials’ and ratio of differentials Page 27 5. The notion of a function Page 34 6. The exponential function Page 39 7. The natural logarithm Page 41 8. The derivative of the natural logarithm Page 41 9. The derivatives of some simple functions Page 51 10. Derivative of one function of x multiplied by another function of x Page 53 11. Derivative of a ratio: one function of x divided by another function of x Page 56 12. Derivatives of the trigonometric functions Page 62 13. Derivatives of the hyperbolic functions Page 63 14. From errors to uncertainties and bias, using the derivative and differentials Page 65 15. Functions of more than one variable, and partial differentiation Page 72 16. Propagation of uncertainties from inputs to output
Pharmacogenetically based dosing of thiopurines in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Influence on cure rates and risk of second cancer

Previous studies have indicated that patients with thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) low activity (TPMTLA) have reduced risk of relapse but increased risk of second malignant neoplasm (SMN) compared to patients with TPMT wild‐type (TPMTWT) when treated with 6MP maintenance therapy starting doses of 75 mg/m2/day. To reduce SMN risk, 6MP starting doses were reduced to 50 mg/m2/day for patients with TPMT heterozygosity in the Nordic Society of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (NOPHO) ALL2000 protocol.
A COMPARISON OF DECISION SUPPORT AND ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEMS: THE VIEWS OF IT AND NON IT PROFESSIONALS

The study compares Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) in relation to two categories of factors (User Characteristics and Perceptions; and System Development and Organizational Issues) concerned with the implementation, adoption, and use of these systems in the context of supply chain management. Based on previous studies each factor is associated with a set of indicators and each indicator is hypothesized to have a particular role with respect to DSS and ERP systems. The hypotheses are tested using data collected by questionnaire from a sample of 108 Information Technology (IT) professionals and a sample of 73 non IT professionals. The findings present both theoretical and practical implications based on the similarities and differences between the separate views of the IT and non IT professionals. Although there is mainly agreement among both groups and the results from previous studies the IT professionals identify more differences between DSS and ERP systems than the non IT professionals while the views of both groups are compatible with their different roles and levels and types of experience with these systems. From a practical perspective project teams and especially team leaders can benefit from understanding the differences found among the views of the IT and non IT professionals about what is important in relation to DSS and ERP systems.
What do Alzheimer's disease patients know about animals? It depends on task structure and presentation format

Deficits on tasks requiring semantic memory in Alzheimer's disease (AD) may be due to storage loss, a retrieval deficit, or both. To address this question, we administered multiple tasks involving 9 exemplars of the category “animals,” presented as both words and pictures, to 12 AD patients and 12 nondemented individuals. Participants made semantic judgments by class (sorting task), similarity (triadic comparison task), and dimensional attributes (ordering task). Relative to control participants, AD patients were impaired on an unstructured sorting task, but did not differ on a constrained sorting task. On the triadic comparison task, the patients were as likely to make judgments based on size as domesticity attributes, whereas control participants made judgments based primarily on domesticity. The patients' judgments were also less consistent across tasks than those of control participants. On the ordering tasks, performance was generally comparable between groups with pictures but not words, suggesting that pictures enable AD patients to access information from semantic memory that is less accessible with lexical stimuli. These results suggest that AD patients' semantic judgments are impaired when the retrieval context is unstructured, but perform normally under supportive retrieval conditions. (JINS, 2002, 8, 83–94.)
Proposal of Model Predictive Control (MPC) method for a three-phase four-leg inverter applied in a distributed generation system

This work deals with the feedback operation strategy of a low-voltage distributed generation system composed by a three-phase four-leg inverter connected to a typical three-phase four-wire grid-utility in a PCC (Point of Common Coupling). The desired modulation strategy and switching pattern for the four-leg inverter is determined by the Model Predictive Control (MPC) method. Some reasons for choosing the control method and the inverter topology are presented and discussed. The rules of the MPC are defined so that the load is supplied in full and that the generator power factor is maximized. A total of four cases of local loads are considered to validate the proposed control method.
A METHOD FOR THE CYTOPHOTOMETRIC ESTIMATION OF NUCLEIC ACIDS USING METHYLENE BLUE

When methylene blue is used to stains fixed tissue after acetylating to block competing protein basic groups, the amount of dye bound per cell reaches a limit largely independent of staining time, temperature and dye concentration and to a lesser extent pH. After extracting the nucleic acids, the tissue is unstained except for acid polysaccharide-containing areas. The intensity of staining does not depend upon alcoholic differentiation and the dye is used as a progressive stain. The amount of dye bound is stoichiometric with nucleic acid concentration. This is demonstrated by comparing the average dye binding to the nucleic acid concentrations in gelatin-nucleic acid model slides and for isolated HeLa nuclei. Although methylene blue is a metachromatic dye, analysis of absorption curves show that there is no significant differences in curve shape when the dye is bound either to tissue ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Hence total dye binding of nuclear chromatin may be used as an index of dye bound to both DNA and RNA. RNA may be extracted by a short hydrolysis in 1 N HCl; dye binding after such extraction represents dye bound to DNA. The amount of dye bound to chromosomal RNA can be estimated by the difference between these two figures and DNA/RNA ratios for methylene blue-stained chromatin can be determined in this manner.
Distinct activities of GABA agonists at synaptic‐ and extrasynaptic‐type GABAA receptors

The activation characteristics of synaptic and extrasynaptic GABAA receptors are important for shaping the profile of phasic and tonic inhibition in the central nervous system, which will critically impact on the activity of neuronal networks. Here, we study in isolation the activity of three agonists, GABA, muscimol and 4,5,6,7‐tetrahydoisoxazolo[5,4‐c]pyridin‐3(2H)‐one (THIP), to further understand the activation profiles of α1β3γ2, α4β3γ2 and α4β3δ receptors that typify synaptic‐ and extrasynaptic‐type receptors expressed in the hippocampus and thalamus. The agonists display an order of potency that is invariant between the three receptors, which is reliant mostly on the agonist dissociation constant. At δ subunit‐containing extrasynaptic‐type GABAA receptors, both THIP and muscimol additionally exhibited, to different degrees, superagonist behaviour. By comparing whole‐cell and single channel currents induced by the agonists, we provide a molecular explanation for their different activation profiles. For THIP at high concentrations, the unusual superagonist behaviour on α4β3δ receptors is a consequence of its ability to increase the duration of longer channel openings and their frequency, resulting in longer burst durations. By contrast, for muscimol, moderate superagonist behaviour was caused by reduced desensitisation of the extrasynaptic‐type receptors. The ability to specifically increase the efficacy of receptor activation, by selected exogenous agonists over that obtained with the natural transmitter, may prove to be of therapeutic benefit under circumstances when synaptic inhibition is compromised or dysfunctional.
Influencing Participation in Group Brainstorming Through Ambient Intelligence

Drawing on concepts from theories on persuasion, social psychology, and philosophy of language, this article presents the design of an ambient persuasive system that acts as an automatic facilitator by supporting a balanced flow of communication in group conversational activity. The system includes two main components: (a) a context-awareness system that monitors group member non-verbal behavior, and (b) a visualization component that promotes balanced participation, providing targeted directives to participants through peripheral displays. In two empirical studies, a strategy for influencing participant social dynamics based on subtle directives in the form of aesthetically pleasant visual animations was assessed. The findings provide insight on the effect, the acceptability, and the perceived influence of subtle peripheral persuasive messages for ambient displays. The studies indicate that when the participants understand the message intention, the subtle directives have a positive influence on group behavior, and are considered more appealing and less intrusive than overt, language-based messages. Furthermore, it was found that personality traits influenced attitudes towards the system.
Phenolic metabolites, biological activities, and isolated compounds of Terminalia muelleri extract

Abstract Context: Terminalia muelleri Benth. (Combretaceae), is rich with phenolics that have antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. No screening studies were published before on T. muelleri. Objective: The study focused on isolation and identification of secondary metabolites from aqueous methanol leaf extract of T. muelleri and evaluation of its biological activities. Materials and methods: The n-butanol extract was chromatographed on polyamide 6, and eluted with H2O/MeOH mixtures of decreasing polarity, then separated by different chromatographic tools that yielded 10 phenolic compounds. The antioxidant activity of the extract was evaluated by investigating its total phenolic and flavonoid content and DPPH scavenging effectiveness. The extract and the two acylated flavones were evaluated for their anticancer activity towards MCF-7 and PC3 cancer cell lines. Molecular docking study of the acylated flavones was performed against topoisomerase enzyme. Results and discussion: Two acylated flavonoids, apigenin-8-C-(2″-O-galloyl) glucoside 1 and luteolin-8-C-(2″-O-galloyl) glucoside 2, were isolated and identified for the second time in nature, with eight tannins (3–10), from the leaves of T. muelleri. The extract and compound 10 showed the most significant antioxidant activity (IC50 = 3.55 and 6.34 μg/mL), respectively. The total extract and compound 2 demonstrated cytotoxic effect against MCF-7 with IC50 = 29.7 and 45.2 μg/mL respectively, while compound 1 showed cytotoxic effect against PC3 (IC50 = 40.8 μg/mL). The docking study of compounds 1 and 2 confirmed unique binding mode in the active site of human DNA topoisomerase enzyme. Conclusions: Terminalia muelleri is a promising medicinal plant as it possesses high antioxidant activity and moderate cytotoxic activity against MCF-7.
The impact of willingness to engage in negative electronic word-of-mouth on brand attitude: a study of airline passengers in South Africa

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has provided consumers with the opportunity to offer their experiences and opinions to other consumers on a global scale. Both traditional word of mouth (WOM) and eWOM have been found to play a major role in determining consumers’ behaviour and attitudes towards a brand. Negative eWOM has been found to have a greater impact on consumers than positive eWOM. This study investigated whether the willingness of a frequent flyer to engage in negative eWOM has a significant negative impact on brand attitude. Brand attitude was measured by three components, namely brand trust, brand affect and consumer purchase intent. The study further examined whether willingness to engage in negative eWOM differed between customers of full-service and low-cost carriers. The primary finding of this study revealed that willingness to engage in negative eWOM after a service failure did indeed have a negative impact on frequent flyers’ attitude towards the brand. However, no difference was found between the two types of customers. It is believed that this study can assist airline companies in understanding the effect of eWOM after a service failure and, in a scholarly context, goes some way to addressing the dearth of research in this area of enquiry.
The experimental demonstration of a multichannel time-series myoprocessor: system testing and evaluation

A multichannel time-series myoprocessor which combines the advantages of the parallel filtering limb function classifiers of P. Doerschuk et al. (ibid., vol.BME-130, p.18-28, 1983) and the optimal myoprocessor muscle force estimators described by N. Hogan et al. (ibid., vol.BME-27, p.382-410, 1980) is discussed. Magnitudes and directions of knee movements were identified accurately and robustly from EMG sites intermediate to the major thigh muscles of intact individuals. Electrode placement criteria were tested, and system performance and sensitivity to contraction level as functions of channel number were computed. By including spatially distributed information into the structure of the processor, gains in accuracy and reliability over systems with fewer channels were demonstrated. Operating range increased with the number of channels included in the processor. Joint movement was estimated from multiple channels of temporally correlated data, extending and generalizing previously reported techniques. Identifying the parameters of autoregressive models of the EMG at low levels of contraction resulted in more robust classification and joint movement estimation. <<ETX>>
Benign Postoperative Biliary Strictures: Operate or Dilate?

At The Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1979 through 1987, 42 patients had 45 procedures for benign postoperative biliary strictures. Three patients were managed with both surgery and balloon dilatation. Twenty-five patients underwent surgical repair with Roux-Y choledocho- or hepaticojejunostomy with postoperative transhepatic stenting for a mean of 13.8 +/- 1.3 months. Twenty patients had balloon dilatation a mean of 3.9 times and were stented transhepatically for a mean of 13.3 +/- 2.0 months. The two groups were similar with respect to multiple parameters that might have influenced outcome. Mean length of follow-up was 57 +/- 7 and 59 +/- 6 months for surgery and balloon dilatation, respectively. No patients died after any of the procedures. The same definition of a successful outcome was applied to both groups and was achieved in 88% of the surgical and in only 55% of the balloon dilatation patients (p less than 0.02). Significant hemobilia occurred more often with balloon dilatation (20% vs. 4%, p less than 0.02). The total hospital stay and cost of balloon dilatation was not significantly different from surgery. We conclude that surgical repair of benign postoperative strictures results in fewer problems that require further therapy. Nevertheless balloon dilatation is an alternative for patients who are at high risk or who are unwilling to undergo another operation.
Adaptive step duration in biped walking: A robust approach to nonlinear constraints

When a biped robot is walking in a crowd, being able to adapt the duration of steps is a key element to avoid collisions. Model Predictive Control (MPC) schemes for biped walking usually assume a fixed step duration since adapting it leads to a nonlinear problem, in general. Nonlinear solvers do not guarantee the satisfaction of nonlinear constraints at every iterate and this can be problematic for the real-time operation of robots. We propose a method to make sure that all iterates satisfy the nonlinear constraints by borrowing concepts from robust control: we make the problem robust to nonlinearities within some bounds. These bounds are linear with respect to the variables of the problem and can be adapted online.