Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of programmed cell death impairs in vitro vascular‐like structure formation and reduces in vivo angiogenesis

Tissue remodeling during embryonic development and in the adult organism relies on a subtle balance between cell growth and apoptosis. As angiogenesis involves restructuring of preexisting endothelium, we examined the role of apoptosis in new vessel formation. We show that apoptosis occurs before capillary formation but not after vessels have assembled. Using the human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) in vitro Matrigel angiogenesis model, we show that vascular‐like structure formation requires apoptotic cell death through activation of a caspasedependent mechanism and mitochondrial cytochrome c release. Vascular‐like structure formation was further blocked by caspase inhibitors such as z‐VAD or AcD‐EVD‐CHO, using HUVEC and human lung microvascular endothelial cells. Overexpression of anti‐apoptotic human Bcl‐2 or baculovirus p35 genes in HUVEC altered endothelial cell rearrangement during in vitro angiogenesis, causing impaired vessel‐like structure formation. Caspase inhibitors blocked VEGF‐ or bFGF‐induced HUVEC angiogenesis on 2‐ or 3‐D collagen gels, respectively, confirming that apoptosis was not the result of nonspecific cell death after seeding on the matrix. In an in vivo angiogenesis assay, caspase inhibitors blocked VEGF‐dependent vascular formation at the alignment step, as demonstrated histologically. This evidence indicates that endothelial cell apoptosis may be relevant for precise vascular tissue rearrangement in in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis. —Segura, I. , Serrano, A. , González de Buitrago, G. , González, M. A. , Abad, J. L. , Clavería, C. , Gómez, L. , Bernad, A. , Martínez‐A, C. , Riese, H. H. Inhibition of programmed cell death impairs in vitro vascular‐like structure formation and reduces in vivo angiogenesis. FASEB J. 16, 833–841 (2002)
Maintenance of differentiation capacity of HT-29 cells after radiation exposure

Purpose: Following ionizing radiation exposure, intestinal crypt regeneration is possible but it is still not known if regenerating crypts give rise to differentiated functional epithelial cells on villi. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that irradiated progeny of enterocytic precursor cells are capable of proliferation and subsequent differentiation using the HT-29 cell line. Materials and methods: Cells were cultured, irradiated (5 Gy or 10 Gy) and incubated in the presence or absence of butyrate (5 mM). Cell numbers, cell cycle parameters, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, occludin labelling and gene expression were determined at different times post-exposure. Results: Butyrate-induced inhibition of cell growth and arrest in G0 phase was comparable in both sham and irradiated cells in addition to similar development of ALP activity and expression. Cells also formed a monolayer with tight junctions post-irradiation. Butyrate-stimulated modulation of integrin expression during differentiation was unchanged after radiation exposure. Genes known to be implicated in differentiation mechanisms, i.e., growth and transcription factors (vascular Epidermal Growth Factor, v-EGF; Activating Transcription Factor 4, ATF4), cell cycle genes (Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor 1A, CDKN1A/p21Cip1/waf1), were studied. Most responded similarly to the differentiation stimulus whether irradiated or not. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that irradiated HT-29 cells still respond to butyrate to form a differentiated, functional epithelium.
Models of epidermal wound healing

The spreading of cells across the surface of an epidermal wound enables epidermal migration to be studied independently of the wound contraction that occurs in deeper wounds. In particular, the stimulus for the increase in epidermal mitosis during would healing is uncertain. Our modelling suggests that biochemical regulation of mitosis is fundamental to the process, and that a single chemical with a simple regulatory effect can account for the healing of circular epidermal wounds. The model results compare well with experimental data.
Determinants of the Returns-Earnings Correlation

The weak correlation between accounting earnings and security returns documented by numerous empirical studies is an issue of concern in current accounting research. Given that price is determined not solely by accounting earnings but also by other sources of information about future earnings this paper focuses on the relation between earnings and other information to understand the returns- earnings association. The analysis indicates that current earnings exhibit high explanatory power for returns if they correlate with expected future earnings (or with other information which reflects expected future earnings). A high price-earnings (P/E) ratio coupled with a high return on equity (ROE) can ex ante indicate earnings growth and the earnings of firms with these attributes are positively correlated with future earnings. The high growth subset obtains an impressive returns-earnings R2 of 31 percent and an earnings coefficient of 6.17 demonstrating that it is possible to identify firms whose earnings are strongly correlated with returns using a parsimonious set of firm characteristics.
Mendeley readership counts: An investigation of temporal and disciplinary differences

Scientists and managers using citation‐based indicators to help evaluate research cannot evaluate recent articles because of the time needed for citations to accrue. Reading occurs before citing, however, and so it makes sense to count readers rather than citations for recent publications. To assess this, Mendeley readers and citations were obtained for articles from 2004 to late 2014 in five broad categories (agriculture, business, decision science, pharmacy, and the social sciences) and 50 subcategories. In these areas, citation counts tended to increase with every extra year since publication, and readership counts tended to increase faster initially but then stabilize after about 5 years. The correlation between citations and readers was also higher for longer time periods, stabilizing after about 5 years. Although there were substantial differences between broad fields and smaller differences between subfields, the results confirm the value of Mendeley reader counts as early scientific impact indicators.
A New Iris Detection Method based on Cascaded Neural Network

Iris recognition is one of the most reliable and applicable methods for a person's identification. The most complex and important phase of recognition is iris segmentation of an input eye image that affects iris recognition successful rate significantly. Due to missed parameters in noisy images, main error occurs in the performance of classic localization. Artificial neural networks (ANN) are appropriate substitutes for classic methods because of their flexibility on noisy images. In this paper, we use feedforward neural network (FFNN) for the improvement of iris localization accuracy. We apply two methods in order to reduce neural network error: first, designing one neural network for each output neuron . Second, using cascaded feedforward neural network (CFFNN). Then, we examine proposed methods on different datasets which cause remarkable reduction of localization error.
Saturability of Granulocyte Kill of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a Murine Model of Pneumonia

ABSTRACT Outcomes for patients with dense bacterial burdens, such as ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) patients, are often critically influenced by the adequacy of antimicrobial chemotherapy and by the response of the immune system, particularly the granulocytes. Little information is available about the quantitation of kill of organisms over time by granulocytes. In this investigation, we examined the impact of the baseline bacterial burden on the ability of granulocytes alone (without chemotherapy) to keep the number of organisms in check or to kill them over a 24-h period. Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853 was the study organism, and we employed a murine pneumonia model (granulocyte replete) for the study. We found that the ability of the immune system to kill P. aeruginosa was saturable. The burden at which the system was half saturated was 2.15 × 106 ± 2.66 × 106 CFU/g. Burdens greater than 107 CFU/g demonstrated net growth over 24 h. These findings suggest the need for aggressive chemotherapy early in the treatment of VAP to keep the burden from saturating the granulocytes. This should optimize the outcome for these seriously infected patients.
International assignment experience at the top can make a bottom‐line difference

This article addresses the question of whether international assignment experience in the top management team makes a bottom-line difference. Based on the premise and observations that executive international assignment experience is rare, valuable, and hard to imitate, we suggest that in the right organizational context, it can create competitive advantage. The authors show how such experience can benefit companies and executives financially and discuss how companies can help ensure a supply of internationally seasoned candidates for future executive positions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Capacity building: Shifting the paradigms of practice

Capacity building is now one of the most frequently invoked of current development concepts and yet it continues to defy a shared definition of what it means in practice. Is it possible that capacity building demands such a radically new form of practice, such a radically new form of thinking, that our current approaches are doomed to failure, not because we lack adequate models or 'technologies', but because our very approach to the issue is inadequate? Arguing that conventional capacity-building initiatives have tended to focus on the material and tangible aspects of the capacity of an organisation and its people to be critically self-aware, the author outlines some fundamental shifts which would be both entailed and generated by concentrating on the practice of the development practitioner in relation to organisational development, rather than focusing on external appearances or rushing to the training manuals.
Tweeting Educational Technology: A Tale of Professional Community of Practice

This paper explores an Israeli professional community on Twitter practicing educational technology. Networking analysis of 42 users and 296 structural connections among them revealed that the adoption of Twitter was normally distributed and active participation was asymmetrical - 14.3% of users produced 80% of the tweets. Investment in participation was highly gratified by influence on the audience.
Reliant behavior in the United States and Japan

Japanese economic success is often attributed to culturally reinforced psychological conditioning that promotes interpersonal reliance, cooperation, and a group interest orientation. This article provides direct experimental evidence on differences in behavior among future businesspeople in the United States and Japan. Utilizing a simple, two person extensive form game of perfect information introduced by Selten (1975), we provide evidence that, contrary to some views, the Japanese can be less reliant on the behavior of others and are more likely to take actions at variance with group welfare in some settings. Thus, popular explanations of Japanese economic achievements may require further exploration. Copyright 2001 by Oxford University Press.
An assessment of the annual and long-term direct costs of rheumatoid arthritis: the impact of poor function and functional decline.

OBJECTIVE To describe the distribution of direct medical care costs of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over 1-year and 11-year periods, and to evaluate the impact of poor function and functional decline on direct costs. METHODS The present study uses data from the University of California, San Francisco, RA Panel Study in which 1,156 persons with RA have been followed up for as long as 15 years through annual structured interviews and periodic updates on severity from rheumatologists. We present annual direct medical care cost data for the years 1995 and 1996 and estimates of cumulative costs for the period 1986-1996 for the 272 persons followed up continuously for this period. RESULTS Medical care costs for RA averaged $5,919 a year from a societal perspective; persons with RA incur another $2,582 in medical care costs for non-RA reasons. Of the RA total costs, hospital admissions account for more than half. Costs are highly skewed, with the costs in the 90th, 95th, and 100th percentiles totaling $8,209, $31,059, and $85,469 a year, respectively. Cumulative costs for the period 1986-1996 averaged $57,201, with cumulative costs in the 90th, 95th, and 100th percentiles totaling $114,844, $142,563, and $191,540, respectively. Persons with RA in the worst quartile of function experienced total annual direct costs that were 2.55 times as high and total hospital costs that were 6.97 times as high as those in the best (e.g., the first) quartile. Poor baseline functional status and declining functional status had similar, large effects on cumulative medical care costs. CONCLUSION Medical care costs for RA over 1 year and 1 decade are highly skewed. Persons with RA with poor and declining function experience much higher costs of care.
Paraptosis‐like cell death in Wistar rat granulosa cells

Follicular atresia, a common process present in all mammals, involves apoptotic and autophagic cell death. However, the participation of paraptosis, a type of caspase‐independent cell death, during follicular atresia is unknown. This study found swollen endoplasmic reticulum in the granulosa cells of adult Wistar rats. Calnexin was used as a marker of the endoplasmic reticulum at the ultrastructural and optical levels. The cells with swelling of the endoplasmic reticulum were negative to the TUNEL assay and active caspase‐3 immunodetection, indicating that this swelling is not part of any apoptotic or autophagic process. Additionally, immunodetection of the CHOP protein was used as a marker of endoplasmic reticulum stress, and this confirmed the presence of the paraptosis process. These data suggest that paraptosis‐like cell death is associated with the death of granulosa cells during follicular atresia in adult Wistar rats.
Residents as Travel Destination Information Providers: An Online Community Perspective

Prior research regarding residents and tourists has focused on their commonalities and interactions occurring on-site. What is missing from the literature is an examination of residents as information sources to potential tourists. Online travel communities offer such a viable venue. This study has two main purposes. The first is to examine the influence residents may have on travel decisions and identify the types of travel decisions they influence. The second is to compare the influence residents have on travel decisions with other online community members (i.e., experienced travelers). Treemapper is used to identify the country forums, and thematic networks are used for the analysis of influence of eWOM. The results reveal that nearly one-third of the communication threads (including 1,699 postings from 713 contributing members) have been influential for members. Residents are more influential in accommodations and food and beverage recommendations, whereas experienced travelers are more influential in the destination information category.
Customer Store Loyalty Determinants: A Case of the Czech Republic

Economic transformation in the post-transition countries brought about the enormous expansion of the vending industry that included multi-national supermarket chains. With the saturation of the consumer demand, increase of the economic well-being, and the growth of competition in the field, vendors in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) attempt to sustain their loyal customer base using various loyalty programs. Our paper describes the results of the survey among shoppers in the six largest supermarket chains in the Czech Republic. We determine the main qualities that supermarkets may offer for the customers to stay loyal on the basis of 257 face-to-face interviews and the effect of socio-demographic factors on the importance of these factors. Our results show that, as opposed to the literature that stresses the emotional relationship between the customer and the store, loyalty of Czech consumers is linked to such “traditional” factors like low prices, discount sales, accessibility, and quality of goods and gifts. On the other hand, factors such as assortment of goods or the level of services in stores did not come through as significant. Our results are explained in the light of economic behavior of people in post-transition economies.
Risk factors associated with typhoid fever in children aged 2–16 years in Karachi, Pakistan

SUMMARY We analysed the data from the control group in a typhoid vaccine trial in Karachi to assess the differences in individual-, household- and cluster-level characteristics for developing typhoid fever. The annual incidence of typhoid in children aged 2–16 years in the control arm of the vaccine trial was 151/100 000 population. After adjustment, the risk of typhoid was lower with increasing age [risk ratio (RR) 0·89, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·83–0·95], was higher with an increase in population density (RR 1·13, 95% CI 1·05–1·21) and was lower in the households using a safe drinking-water source (RR 0·63, 95% CI 0·41–0·99). Typhoid fever affects younger children living in areas of high population density and lack of access to safe water in Pakistan. A combination of environmental and biological interventions is required to prevent the continued epidemiological and economic impact of typhoid fever in high-risk areas of Pakistan.
Public capital and private sector productivity in Ireland, 1958‐1990

Academic research in the USA and more recently in the UK and Sweden, has highlighted public capital as a significant growth determinant. Public capital, it is argued, has a positive effect on private sector output, productivity and capital formation. However, controversy surrounds the empirical results emerging from this literature. Much of the controversy rests on research methods employed. Adds to this body of literature in two ways. First, estimates aggregate production functions for private sector output using Irish data. The stock of public capital is included as an input to investigate the effects of government investment on private sector productivity. Second, uses modern time‐series techniques to test the hypothesis. Employs the Johansen (1988) cointegration testing procedure and error correction modelling on annual data for the period 1958‐1990. These modern techniques produce empirical results which do not support the public capital hypothesis. Suggests several reasons to explain this outcome, and outlines possible policy implications.
Dual Labour Market Theory and the Organisation of Local Labour Markets

In recent years a considerable amount of work has been done in Britain and America utilising dual labour market theory. In America, the ideas of Doeringer and Piore have been taken up by radical economists such as Edwards and Bluestone, while in Britain a group of Cambridge economists have also been seeking to develop the theory. These studies have all retained the basic duality incorporated in the theory by Doeringer and Piore. Moreover, the work of Barron and Norris, Bosanquet and Doeringer and Blackburn and Mann has provided some qualified empirical support to the notion of two separate labour markets.
On Budget Deficits And Interest Rates: Another Look At The Evidence

This paper revisits the relationship between government budget deficits and interest rates in Greece. Contrary to the results of Vamvoukas (1997), the evidence I deduce from system estimations of error-correction models consistently denies any causal impact of the deficits on interest rates. Indeed, the high correlation observed between the two variables appears to the outcome of interest rates causing purposeful changes in the stance of fiscal policy. These findings stand up to numerous sensitivity tests and provide further support to the overwhelming evidence against the crowding-out hypothesis, [E6, H6]
Seasonal and spatial dynamics of ectoparasite infestation of a threatened reptile, the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)

Abstract The conservation of threatened vertebrate species and their threatened parasites requires an understanding of the factors influencing their distribution and dynamics. This is particularly important for species maintained in conservation reserves at high densities, where increased contact among hosts could lead to increased rates of parasitism. The tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) (Reptilia: Sphenodontia) is a threatened reptile that persists at high densities in forests (∼ 2700 tuatara/ha) and lower densities in pastures and shrubland (< 200 tuatara/ha) on Stephens Island, New Zealand. We investigated the lifecycles and seasonal dynamics of infestation of two ectoparasites (the tuatara tick, Amblyomma sphenodonti, and trombiculid mites, Neotrombicula sp.) in a mark‐recapture study in three forest study plots from November 2004 to March 2007, and compared infestation levels among habitat types in March 2006. Tick loads were lowest over summer and peaked from late autumn (May) until early spring (September). Mating and engorgement of female ticks was highest over spring, and larval tick loads subsequently increased in early autumn (March). Nymphal tick loads increased in September, and adult tick loads increased in May. Our findings suggest the tuatara tick has a 2‐ or 3‐year lifecycle. Mite loads were highest over summer and autumn, and peaked in March. Prevalences (proportion of hosts infected) and densities (estimated number of parasites per hectare) of ticks were similar among habitats, but tick loads (parasites per host) were higher in pastures than in forests and shrub. The prevalence and density of mites was higher in forests than in pasture or shrub, but mite loads were similar among habitats. We suggest that a higher density of tuatara in forests may reduce the ectoparasite loads of individuals through a dilution effect. Understanding host–parasite dynamics will help in the conservation management of both the host and its parasites.
Differences in Wage Distributions Between Canada and the United States: An Application of a Flexible Estimator of Distribution Functions in the Presence of Covariates

We construct a tractable, flexible-functional-form estimator of cumulative distribution functions for non-negative random variables which admits large numbers of covariates. The estimator adopts and extends techniques from the spell-duration literature for estimating hazard functions to distribution functions for wages, earnings, and income. We apply these methods to investigate sources of wage inequality for full-time male workers between Canada and the United States, finding that the Canadian wage density has a thinner left tail because low-educated workers have higher pay and a thinner right tail because of a lower proportion of highly-educated workers. Unions appear to play a large role in these outcomes.