Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The "bystander effect": association of U-87 cell death with ganciclovir-mediated apoptosis of nearby cells and lack of effect in athymic mice.

Cells expressing the herpes simplex-thymidine kinase (HS-TK) gene as a consequence of retroviral transduction, as well as TK-negative (TK-) bystander cells, can be killed by treatment with ganciclovir (GCV). In vitro, this "bystander effect," has been attributed to metabolic cooperation through gap junctions or to the uptake of apoptotic vesicles. We show that GCV treatment kills TK-negative U-87 glioma cells cocultured with cells that express TK (TK+) but that have lost the capacity for releasing retroviral particles. A photometric enzyme immunoassay identifies histone-associated DNA fragments, typical of apoptosis, in the cytosol of GCV-treated TK+ cells, and apoptotic features are also demonstrated by ultrastructural studies. Northern blot analysis and the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) show that connexin 43, a major constituent of gap junctions, is expressed in TK+ and U-87 cells. The size of U-87 tumors in nude mice subsequently injected with TK+ cells and GCV is not significantly different than in untreated animals; whereas, after injecting 1:1 mixtures of U-87 and TK+ cells, GCV treatment only causes a temporary regression of tumor growth. On the contrary, when the injected mixtures contain PA317.STK. SBA (a retroviral producer cell line that can transduce efficiently the HS-TK gene) and U-87 cells, tumors are destroyed effectively by GCV treatment. Thus, an experimental setting in which U-87 gliomas are matched with cells that are able to express, but not to transduce, the HS-TK gene indicates that the bystander effect kills U-87 cells in vitro by mechanisms associated with apoptotic death. In vivo, this effect is not sufficient to restrain the tumor growth taking place in immunodeficient animals.
Corporate Taxation and US MNCs: Ensuring a Competitive Economy

The debate about "tax reform," during the 2012 presidential race and congressional budget battles this year has centered on closing loopholes, creating new incentives for growth, and raising revenue through higher personal taxation of wealthy Americans. But the debate overlooks an important priority for future US economic growth: the urgent need to reform the corporate tax. US-based multinational corporations (MNCs) are hobbled by an outmoded tax structure as they compete in the age of globalization. Reform would make American MNCs stronger competitors in markets abroad and enable them to expand and invest more at home. Tax rates should be lowered, both on profits earned in the United States and profits earned abroad.
The stability of DC power systems feeding constant power loads

The advantages of utilising direct current electricity for the transmission of power has many acknowledged advantages and it is now receiving serious consideration for adoption in the marine and naval sectors, and design studies for future naval platforms in many of the world's navies are favouring DC. But in addition to the manifold advantages such as power transmission density, efficiency and flexibility there is one inherent weakness - stability when supplying constant power loads - which whilst not an incurable problem first needs to be understood in order that a robust design can be achieved in all operating conditions. The problem is highly non-linear and has resulted in several papers applying complex and highly arcane methodologies. However in the authors' view the problem is tractable to the ubiquitous control analysis of linearisation about a set point - even though the problem itself being a physical manifestation of hardware characteristics is not strictly within the control engineer's domain. This paper explains the source of the instability illustrates the analysis methodology, assesses a method of compensation and compares the linearised approach to a non-linear approach.
Patience in a Foraging-Horticultural Society: A Test of Competing Hypotheses

Patience, or the ability to delay gratification, matters in the behavioral and medical sciences and in public policy because it correlates with a wide range of desirable outcomes. For instance, patience correlates positively with income, wealth, conservation of natural resources, health, and savings and negatively with crime and drug addiction. Anthropologists have made few contributions to cross-cultural studies of patience despite its importance. Drawing on five-quarter panel data from 154 Amerindians (10-80 years of age) from the Tsimane' foraging-horticultural society in the Bolivian Amazon, we use hyperbolic and exponential discounting to estimate patience and the correlation between patience and (a) modern human capital, (b) personal affluence, and (c) age. Levels of impatience in Tsimane' society are higher than in Western societies. We find a strong negative correlation between schooling and impatience and a weaker, but still negative, correlation between impatience and modern human-capital skills. We find mixed support for (b), probably because of sharing and reciprocity. We also find mixed support for (c), probably because of a truncated sample and measurement error of the age variable. We discuss areas for future research to encourage anthropologists to contribute to the cross-cultural understanding of patience.
An efficient approach for robust SCOPF considering load and renewable power uncertainties

With the increasing penetration level of renewables in the electricity network, requirements such as making the control strategies robust to the uncertainties that caused by the intermittency of renewables, have been considered to be of great significance to the electricity network reliability. Optimal power flow (OPF) is a powerful tool for determining the optimal control variables of a power system, where considering the uncertainties is increasingly important. This paper presents an efficient approach to address the uncertain factors arisen by load demand and renewable generation in power system, via a robust security constrained-optimal power flow (SCOPF) model. The proposed approach consists of two steps. First, a robust OPF is realized through a minimum number of uncertainty scenarios selected from TOAT method. Then, the security constraints are incorporated into the robust OPF through Benders decomposition. The obtained solution is robust against uncertain variables and secure against contingencies, meanwhile with high degree of scalability.
Biologically inspired computing

Computing systems inspired by biological systems (biocomputation) are one possible alternative currently being investigated. Whether it will impact information technology as defined today is still unclear. The field of biocomputation has a twofold definition: the use of biology or biological processes as metaphor, inspiration, or enabler in developing new computing technologies and new areas of computer science; and conversely, the use of information science concepts and tools to explore biology from a different theoretical perspective. In addition to its potential applications, such as DNA computation, nanofabrication, storage devices, sensing, and health care, biocomputation also has implications for basic scientific research. It can provide biologists, for example, with an IT-oriented paradigm for looking at how cells compute or process information, or help computer scientists construct algorithms based on natural systems, such as evolutionary and genetic algorithms. Biocomputing has the potential to be a very powerful tool.
Tree growth traits and social status affect the wood density of pioneer species in secondary subtropical forest

Abstract Wood density (WD) is not only an important parameter to estimate aboveground biomass but also an indicator of timber quality and plant adaptation strategies to stressful conditions (i.e., windthrow, pests, and pathogens). This study had three objectives: (1) to compare WD among seven subtropical tree species; (2) to determine how tree growth traits may influence possible differences in WD between the pioneer and shade‐tolerant species; and (3) to examine whether or not WD differs by tree social status (dominant vs. suppressed trees) within species. To do this, 70 trees were destructively harvested. From each tree, disks at different stem heights were obtained and subjected to a method of stem analysis to measure whole tree level WD. The results showed that WD differed significantly among the seven species (p < .001). Their average WD was 0.537 g/cm3, ranging from 0.409 g/cm3 for Choerospondias axillaris to 0.691 g/cm3 for Cyclobalanopsis glauca. The average WD of the four pioneer species (0.497 ± 0.13 g/cm3) was significantly lower (p < .01) than that of the three shade‐tolerant species (0.589 ± 0.12 g/cm3). The WD of the pioneers had a significant positive correlation with their stem diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height (H), and tree age, but WD had a significant negative correlation with relative growth rate (RGR). In contrast, the WD of the shade‐tolerant tree species had no significant relationships with DBH, H, tree age, or RGR. The dominant trees of the pioneer species had a higher WD than the suppressed trees, whereas the shade‐tolerant species had a lower WD for dominant trees than the suppressed trees. However, the differences in WD between dominant and suppressed trees were not significant. Taken together, the results suggest that classifying species into pioneer and shade‐tolerant groups to examine the effects of tree growth traits and social status could improve our understanding of intra‐ and interspecific variation in WD among subtropical tree species.
Decentralization of the Subnational Public Sector: An Empirical Analysis of the Determinants of Local Government Structure in Metropolitan Areas in the U.S.*

The conventional wisdom about the optimal organization or structure of local governments has undergone a dramatic change in the last twenty years. For a period after World War II, a movement existed in the U.S. and in many European countries that called for the consolidation of existing units of local governments into larger, general-purpose, jurisdictions [1; 12; 17; 19]. Such amalgamations, it was argued, would improve administrative efficiencies and equity in the delivery of locally-provided public services and allow for a greater degree of scale economies to be realized in the production of these services. These arguments persuaded legislators in several European countries-Sweden, Denmark, and West Germany are the most notable-to undertake substantial restructuring of their local governments. In each case, the restructuring was imposed on the local sector by the central government and involved the consolidation of municipalities [18, Ch. 12]. The most dramatic amalgamations occurred in Sweden where the number of municipalities declined from around 2,500 in 1950 to less than 300 at present. Unlike many European countries, comprehensive reorganization of local governments did not take place in the U.S. in the post World War II period. ' Instead, the structure of local governments evolved slowly and in largely piecemeal fashion. As a result, a pattern of local governments has emerged in the U.S. that critics characterize as "fragmented" with a "crazy-quilt" of overlapping boundaries and with little in the way of coordination and cooperation among local authorities. In spite of the consolidationist arguments, the preponderance of research in the past three decades, beginning with Tiebout [32] and Stigler [31], has concluded that at least in some circumstances smaller jurisdictions (in terms of geographic size and in some instances in terms of scope of functional responsibilities) offer important advantages over larger jurisdictions.2 A large
An Infectious Clone of Woolly Monkey Hepatitis B Virus

ABSTRACT Members of the Hepadnaviridae family have been isolated from birds, rodents, and primates. A new hepadnavirus isolated from the woolly monkey, a New World primate, is phylogenetically distinct from other primate isolates. An animal model has been established for woolly monkey hepatitis B virus (WMHBV) by using spider monkeys, since woolly monkeys are endangered. In this study, a greater-than-genome length construct was prepared without amplification by using covalently closed circular DNA extracted from the liver of an infected woolly monkey. Transfection of the human liver cell line Huh7 with WMHBV DNA resulted in the production of viral transcripts, DNA replicative intermediates, and secreted virions at levels similar to those obtained with an infectious human HBV clone, demonstrating that the host range restriction of WMHBV is not at the level of genome replication. WMHBV particles from the medium of transfected cultures initiated an infection in a spider monkey similar to that obtained with virions derived from woolly monkey serum. In an attempt to adapt the virus for higher levels of replication in spider monkeys, immunosuppressed and newborn animals were inoculated. Neither procedure produced persistent infections, and the level of viral replication remained several logs lower than that observed in persistently infected woolly monkeys. These data demonstrate the production of an infectious clone for WMHBV and extend the characterization of the spider monkey animal model.
Anthrax lethal toxin induces cell death-independent permeability in zebrafish vasculature

Vascular dysfunction has been reported in human cases of anthrax, in mammalian models of Bacillus anthracis, and in animals injected with anthrax toxin proteins. To examine anthrax lethal toxin effects on intact blood vessels, we developed a zebrafish model that permits in vivo imaging and evaluation of vasculature and cardiovascular function. Vascular defects monitored in hundreds of embryos enabled us to define four stages of phenotypic progression leading to circulatory dysfunction. We demonstrated increased endothelial permeability as an early consequence of toxin action by tracking the extravasation of fluorescent microspheres in toxin-injected embryos. Lethal toxin did not induce a significant amount of cell death in embryonic tissues or blood vessels, as shown by staining with acridine orange, and endothelial cells in lethal toxin-injected embryos continued to divide at the normal rate. Vascular permeability is strongly affected by the VEGF/vascular permeability factor (VPF) signaling pathway, and we were able to attenuate anthrax lethal toxin effects with chemical inhibitors of VEGFR function. Our study demonstrates the importance of vascular permeability in anthrax lethal toxin action and the need for further investigation of the cardiovascular component of human anthrax disease.
Long-Term Sensory Recovery of Nipple-Areola Complex following Superolateral Pedicled Reduction Mammaplasty

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate nipple-areola complex sensation at 48-month follow-up following superolateral pedicled reduction mammaplasty using the pressure-specified sensory device. Methods: Data regarding nipple-areola complex sensation for static and moving one- and two-point discrimination were collected from 30 active group hypertrophic-breasted patients undergoing superolateral pedicled reduction mammaplasty preoperatively, at 6 months, and at 48 months, and from a control group of 30 unoperated women with normal-sized breasts. Breast volume was assessed using the BREAST-V instrument. Results: For the nipple, static one-point discrimination showed that mean pressure thresholds for the active group at 48 months were 4.10 and 4.19 times higher than preoperatively and in the control group (p < 0.001), respectively; moving one-point discrimination showed that mean pressure thresholds for the active group at 48 months were 4.08 and 3.23 times higher than preoperatively and in the control group (p < 0.001), respectively. For the areola, static one-point discrimination showed that mean pressure thresholds in the active group at 48 months were 4.12 and 4.83 times higher than preoperatively and in the control group (p < 0.001), respectively; moving one-point discrimination showed that mean pressure thresholds from the active group at 48 months were 4.56 and 4.46 times higher than preoperatively and in the control group (p < 0.001), respectively. Conclusions: Despite a slight worsening at 6 months after surgery, patients who had undergone superolateral pedicled reduction mammaplasty showed significant nipple-areola complex sensibility reduction at 48-month follow-up. Although the nipple-areola complex of hypertrophic-breasted patients was seen to be nonsignificantly less sensitive than normal-sized breasts, a significant decrease of sensation was observed following reduction mammaplasty. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, II.
Reliability and validity of lumbar and abdominal trunk muscle endurance tests in office workers with nonspecific subacute low back pain.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Despite the widespread use of trunk endurance tests, the reliability and validity of these tests in office workers with subacute nonspecific low back pain are unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study involved 190 subjects: 30 men and 42 women without low back pain and 47 men and 71 women with low back pain. All subjects underwent timed prone and supine isometric lumbar and abdominal trunk endurance tests that were performed until subjective fatigue occurred. All subjects also completed the Roland Morris and Oswestry self-reported disability questionnaires. A test-retest study (7 days) was conducted with 31 participants with low back pain from the study. RESULTS For the abdominal trunk endurance test, males and females with low back pain had mean (SD) values of 62.06 (36.87) and 46.06 (29.28) seconds, respectively, both significantly lower than the asymptomatic workers. For the lumbar test, males and females with low back pain had mean (SD) values of 79.57 (30.66) and 75.49 (28.97) seconds, respectively, again, both significantly lower than the asymptomatic workers. The intraclass correlation coefficients of both tests exceeded 0.90 and the Kappa indices were excellent for both men and women. Receiver-operating curve analyses revealed areas under the curve very close to or exceeding 0.70 for both men and women for both tests. CONCLUSIONS The lumbar and abdominal trunk muscle endurance tests appeared to be reliable and valid measures in office workers with subacute low back pain.
When Losing Money and Time Feels Good: The Paradoxical Role of Flow in Gambling

Despite being well-known for its positive consequences, the psychological state of flow has raised some concerns. In this research, we advanced our understanding of the relationships that flow has in the context of online gambling. Across two studies, in which participants played blackjack and slots, we demonstrated that flow is associated with an increase in the amount of time spent gambling. Flow is also related to an increase in the amount of money spent. We demonstrated that the reason that flow increases the amount of playing time is that its inherently enjoyable nature makes it difficult to stop. We also tested the alternative hypothesis that this relationship occurs because in flow, people lose track of time. Although flow is related to losing track of time, that does not mediate the relationship with playing time. Lastly, we demonstrated that despite losing more money and spending more time while gambling, those who experienced flow had more enjoyable experiences overall, creating a counterintuitive and potentially dangerous situation for gamblers. A secondary goal of this research was to explore ways in which to protect consumers from this paradox. We used warning messages and on-screen interruptions to potentially thwart flow. However, both tactics were ineffective. We discuss the implications for future research and practice. RésuméBien qu’il soit connu pour ses conséquences positives, l’état de fonctionnement psychologique optimal (state of flow) suscite certaines inquiétudes. Dans cette recherche, nous approfondissons notre compréhension des relations propres à cet état qui s’établissent dans le contexte du jeu en ligne. Dans deux études dans lesquelles les participants ont joué au blackjack et à des machines à sous, nous avons démontré que l’état optimal est associé à une augmentation du temps passé à jouer. Cet état psychologique est également lié à une augmentation des dépenses. Nous démontrons la raison pour laquelle l’état optimal augmente le temps de jeu, notamment sa nature intrinsèquement agréable qui rend un arrêt difficile. Nous avons également testé l’autre hypothèse selon laquelle cette relation est due au fait que, dans cet état optimal, les gens perdent le contrôle du temps. Bien que cet état soit lié à la perte de la notion du temps, cela ne modifie pas la relation avec le temps de jeu. Enfin, nous démontrons que malgré la perte d’argent et la perte de temps au jeu, ceux qui vivent une expérience optimale au jeu ont eu des expériences plus agréables dans l’ensemble, créant une situation contre-intuitive et potentiellement nocive pour les joueurs. Un objectif secondaire de cette recherche est d’explorer les moyens de protéger les consommateurs de ce paradoxe. Nous avons utilisé des messages d’avertissement et des interruptions à l’écran pour tenter d’entraver l’état optimal, en vain. Ces deux tactiques se révèlent inefficaces. Nous abordons les répercussions pour la recherche et la pratique futures.
Biotinylated Carbohydrate Markers -A Novel Tool for Lectin Research

One of the key obstacles in lectin research is the lack of specific techniques for their detection. Novel markers, biotin-labeled carbohydrates, could contribute to overcome this problem. Being at least 10 times more sensitive than neoglycoproteins in the membranescreening assays, they also enable direct detection of lectins in complex mixtures. The markers were synthesized by linking biotin to one, and a carbohydrate (galactose or glucose) to the other amino group of (the amino acid) lysine. After synthesis the markers were chromatographically purified on lectin (RCA for galactose marker, ConA for glucose marker) and avidin affinity columns. The applicability of the markers to detect lectins was demonstrated e.g. with sponge extracts (from Geodia cydonium). Following incubation with biotin-labeled carbohydrates covalent cross-linking between lectins and markers was induced by UV radiation. After transfer to the blotting membrane, lectins were detected with deglycosylated antibiotin antibody labeled with alkaline phosphatase. Besides for the cross-linking technique, the biotinylated carbohydrate markers were also used for detection of lectins on the nitrocellulose membrane in gene library screening and slot blotting.
Changing Varietal Distinctiveness of the World's Wine Regions: Evidence from a New Global Database*

Abstract Consumers are always looking for new types of wines. Producers compete for their attention by trying to product differentiate at the same time as they are responding to technological improvements, climate change, and evolving demand patterns. In doing so, wineries are increasingly highlighting their regional and varietal distinctiveness. This paper examines the extent to which the choice of winegrape varieties in wine regions has already changed over the first decade of the twenty-first century in both the Old World and New World. In doing so, it reports a varietal intensity index of different regions and an index of similarity of varietal mix between regions. The study is based on a new database of vine-bearing areas circa 2000 and 2010 for nearly 1,300 DNA-distinct winegrape varieties, spanning over 600 regions in 44 countries that together account for 99 percent of the world's wine production. (JEL Classifications: D24, L66, Q13, Q15)