Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identifying Epitopes Responsible for Neutralizing Antibody and DC-SIGN Binding on the Spike Glycoprotein of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

ABSTRACT The severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) uses dendritic cell-specific ICAM-3 grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) to facilitate cell entry via cellular receptor-angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. For this project, we used recombinant baculoviruses expressing different lengths of SARS-CoV spike (S) protein in a capture assay to deduce the minimal DC-SIGN binding region. Our results identified the region location between amino acid (aa) residues 324 to 386 of the S protein. We then generated nine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the S protein to map the DC-SIGN-binding domain using capture assays with pseudotyped viruses and observed that MAb SIa5 significantly blocked S protein-DC-SIGN interaction. An enhancement assay using the HKU39849 SARS-CoV strain and human immature dendritic cells confirmed our observation. Data from a pepscan analysis and M13 phage peptide display library system mapped the reactive MAb SIa5 epitope to aa residues 363 to 368 of the S protein. Results from a capture assay testing three pseudotyped viruses with mutated N-linked glycosylation sites of the S protein indicate that only two pseudotyped viruses (N330Q and N357Q, both of which lost glycosylation sites near the SIa5 epitope) had diminished DC-SIGN-binding capacity. We also noted that MAb SIb4 exerted a neutralizing effect against HKU39849; its reactive epitope was mapped to aa residues 435 to 439 of the S protein. We offer the data to facilitate the development of therapeutic agents and preventive vaccines against SARS-CoV infection.
Atrial Echo Beats in the Human Heart Elicited by Induced Atrial Premature Beats

In a patient with atrial septal defect and incomplete right bundle-branch block atrial echo beats were observed after atrial premature beats, induced with a gradually decreasing delay during regular driving of the atrium. The time relations of these atrial echo beats could be accurately defined. Considerable prolongation of the atrioventricular (A-V) conduction of the premature atrial response was found to be a necessary condition for the occurrence of atrial reciprocation, which was restricted to small and very circumscript delay ranges.Three types of atrial echo responses could be discerned. The concept of a dual A-V conduction system was not sufficient to explain the genesis of these three types. The assumption of a third pathway in the upper part of the A-V node was needed. Arguments in favor of a longitudinal dissociation of one of the two pathways postulated in the concept of dual A-V transmission were given.
Early intervention for psychosis.

Proponents of early intervention have argued that outcomes might be improved if more therapeutic efforts were focused on the early stages of schizophrenia or on people with prodromal symptoms. Early intervention in schizophrenia has 2 elements that are distinct from standard care: early detection and phase-specific treatment (phase-specific treatment is a psychological, social, or physical treatment developed, or modified, specifically for use with people at an early stage of the illness). Early detection and phase-specific treatment may both be offered as supplements to standard care or may be provided through a specialized early intervention team. Early intervention is now well established as a therapeutic approach in America, Europe, and Australasia.
The Information Frown in Option Prices

It is well known that for options with the same expiration date, levels of implied volatility differ systematically by strike price in a smile or smirk pattern. We show that (in the equity index options market) information content also differs systematically by strike price displaying a "frown" pattern. Implied volatilities calculated from near-the-money, and particularly from moderately high strike price, options contain considerable information regarding future volatility and efficiently subsume the information in the historical record. Implied volatilities calculated from far-from-the-money options (particularly options with low strike prices) are much less informative and do not incorporate the information in the asset's price history. While the prices of near-the-money and moderately high strike price options appear largely determined by the market's expectations of future volatility, the prices of far-from-the-money and low-strike-price options appear to be largely determined by factors other than the market's volatility expectation. These other determinants of implied volatility are apparently long-lived or persistent since the frown cannot be attributed to transitory factors. Theories of the smile need to not only explain why volatility levels differ by strike price but should also explain why implied volatilities at some strike prices are largely determined by the market's volatility expectations while others appear relatively independent of these expectations.
The Influence of Different Forms of Government Spending on Distribution and Growth

This paper deals with the influence of different types of government expenditure on growth in a post-Keynesian framework. The analysis considers a government sector with a balanced budget and an autonomous and non-linear investment function, interpreted along a Kaleckian and a Classical-Harrodian line. It shows under which conditions different types of government expenditure are beneficial or detrimental for economic growth, comparing some results with those reached by Barro in his 1990 Journal of Political Economy article, and points out the emergence of phenomena like multiple equilibria, hysteresis and low growth traps.
Detection of Lewy Bodies in Trisomy 21 (Down's Syndrome)

ABSTRACT: The presence of cortical senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles sufficient to warrant a neuropatho-logical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is well established in middle-aged individuals with Trisomy 21 (Down's syndrome). In contrast a relationship between Down's syndrome and Lewy bodies, one of the major neuropathological features of Parkinson's disease, has not been previously reported. In a cliniconeuropathological survey of 23 cases of Down's Syndrome, two patients, aged 50 and 56 years respectively, were found to have Lewy body formation in the substantia nigra in addition to cortical Alzheimer-type pathology. Neither case showed significant substantia nigra neuron loss although locus coeruleus loss was present in both. Since substantia nigra Lewy bodies are a characteristic neu-rohistological feature of idiopathic Parkinson's disease, their occurrence in cases of Down's syndrome with evidence of Alzheimer-type pathology supports an aetiopathological connection between Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Down's syndrome; and suggests that common pathogenic mechanisms may underlie aspects of neuronal degeneration in these three disorders, some of which may relate to aberrant chromosome 21 expression.
Customer e-complaining behaviours using social media

This paper develops a conceptual framework about customer complaining behaviours (CCB), using social media. Specifically, this research expands the current understanding of CCB by examining the differential impact of unfairness, firm response, retaliation, locus attribution, stability attribution, and personal identity on public complaining and private complaining using social media, and their subsequent impact on post-complaining satisfaction (PCS) and loyalty. Public complaining refers to customer complaints directed to a service provider, while private complaining refers to service failure complaints directed towards other customers. A structural equation model shows that high levels of unfairness, firm response, locus, and personal identity have a strong influence on public complaining, while desire for retaliation is a significant factor influencing private complaining. The findings contribute to practice by providing useful and pertinent information for developing suitable web care interventions to effectively deal with public complaining and private complaining through social media platforms.
The Fit of Dynamic Equilibrium Models of Exchange Rate

The two-country monetary model has become a fundamental tool for explaining the behavior of the exchange rate. However, the popularity of this approach is not justified by its empirical support. One of the reasons for the empirical “failure” of exchange rate models could be the econometric approach applied. In this paper, an alternative procedure for evaluating the fit of dynamic equilibrium models of exchange rate is suggested. This approach is applied to three theoretical models: Lucas (1982), Svensson (1985), and Grilli and Roubini (1992).
Competitive Corruption: Factional Conflict and Political Malfeasance in Postwar Italian Christian Democracy

This article studies the relationship between cartels of politicians and systemic political corruption in a democratic setting. Some electoral systems, including open-list systems of proportional representation, encourage intraparty competition for office. The authors analyze the relationship between intraparty conflict in postwar Italy's dominant political party, the Christian Democrats, and charges of malfeasance against Christian Democratic members of the Chamber of Deputies in the years between the first postwar parliamentary elections of 1948 and the end of the XI legislature in 1994, when the electoral system was substantially modified. Suspected malfeasance is operationalized as requests by the judiciary to lift parliamentary immunity in order to proceed with an investigation of a member of the Chamber of Deputies. Results show a significant statistical relationship between intraparty conflict and alleged corruption on the part of dc deputies starting in the early 1970s. These results are interpreted to mean that the dramatic levels of political corruption observed in Italy in recent decades were in part an outgrowth of the search for campaign funds by incumbent dc members of parliament in competition with other candidates from the same party. Electoral competition with other parties did not significantly affect the extent of charges of malfeasance against dc deputies. Using maps, the authors also provide preliminary evidence that Italian corruption did not spread from south to north in a process of cultural contagion, as is commonly believed. Instead, they find, the determinants of corruption appear to be endogenous to institutions of the postwar political system.
Microcinematographic analysis of tethered Leptospira illini

A model of Leptospira motility was recently proposed. One element of the model states that in translating cells the anterior spiral-shaped end gyrates counterclockwise and the posterior hook-shaped end gyrates clockwise. We tested these predictions by analyzing cells tethered to a glass surface. Leptospira illini was incubated with antibody-coated latex beads (Ab-beads). These beads adhered to the cells, and subsequently some cells became attached to either the slide or the cover glass via the Ab-beads. As previously reported, these cells rapidly moved back and forth across the surface of the beads. In addition, a general trend was observed: cells tethered to the cover glass rotated clockwise around the Ab-bead; cells tethered to the slide rotated counterclockwise around the Ab-bead. A computer-aided microcinematographic analysis of tethered cells indicated that the direction of rotation of cells around the Ab-bead was a function of both the surface of attachment and the shape of the cell ends. The results can best be explained by assuming that the gyrating ends interact with the glass surface to cause rotation around the Ab-beads. The analysis obtained indicates that the hook- and spiral-shaped ends rotate in the directions predicted by the model. In addition, the tethered cell assay permitted detection of rapid, coordinated reversals of the cell ends, e.g., cells rapidly switched from a hook-spiral configuration to a spiral-hook configuration. These results suggest the existance of a mechanism which coordinates the shape of the cell ends of L. illini.
Structure and magnetic properties of Nd/sub 2/Fe/sub 14/B/Fe/sub x/B-type nanocomposites prepared by strip casting

A series of isotropic nanocomposite permanent magnets composed of Nd/sub 2/Fe/sub 14/B (the majority phase) and Fe/sub 3/B and/or Fe/sub 23/B/sub 6/ are developed by converting phase formation behavior with partial replacement of Fe with Ti and B with C. The glass forming ability of the melt of the new series of alloys is great enough to allow application of the strip casting technique as the means of rapid solidification process. Powders exhibit excellent magnetic properties ranging from (B/sub r/,H/sub cJ/)=(0.88 T, 470 kA/m) to (0.80 T, 1010 kA/m), closely matching to the property range covered by the conventional isotropic Nd-Fe-B hard magnetic powders.
Multiple Sexual Signals and Behavioral Reproductive Isolation in a Diverging Population

Sexual trait divergence has been shown to play a role in the evolution of reproductive isolation. While variation in multiple sexual signals is common among closely related species, little is known about the role of these different axes of phenotype variation with respect to the evolution of behavioral reproductive isolation. Here we study a unique population of barn swallows (Hirundo rustica transitiva) that can be distinguished phenotypically from its neighboring populations only on the basis of two features of male plumage: exaggerated expression of both long tail streamers and dark ventral coloration. Using phenotype manipulation experiments, we conducted a paternity study to examine whether both traits are sexually selected. Our results show that an exaggerated form of the local male phenotype (with both tail elongation and color darkening) is favored by local females, whereas males whose phenotypes were manipulated to look like males of neighboring subspecies suffered paternity losses from their social mates. These results confirm the multiple signaling role of the unique tail and color combination in our diverging population and suggest a novel possibility according to which multiple sexual signals may also be used to discriminate among males from nearby populations when prezygotic reproductive isolation is adaptive.
Motor Skill Learning Depends on Protein Synthesis in Motor Cortex after Training

The role of protein synthesis in memory consolidation is well established for hippocampus-dependent learning and synaptic plasticity. Whether protein synthesis is required for motor skill learning is unknown. We hypothesized that skill learning is interrupted by protein synthesis inhibition (PSI). We intended to test whether local protein synthesis in motor cortex or cerebellum is required during skill acquisition and consolidation. Anisomycin (ANI; 100 μg/μl in 1 μl of PBS) injected into motor cortex, posterior parietal cortex, or cerebellum produced 84.0 ± 1.44% (mean ± SEM), 85.9 ± 2.31%, and 87.3 ± 0.17% of PSI 60 min after administration, respectively. In motor cortex, protein synthesis was still reduced at 24 hr (72.0 ± 4.68% PSI) but normalized at 48 hr after a second injection given 24 hr after the first. To test for the effects of PSI on learning of a skilled reaching task, ANI was injected into motor cortex contralateral to the trained limb or into ipsilateral cerebellum immediately after daily training sessions 1 and 2. Two control groups received motor cortex injections of vehicle or ANI injections into contralateral parietal cortex. Control and cerebellar animals showed a sigmoid learning curve, which plateaued after day 4. PSI in motor cortex significantly reduced learning during days 1-4. Thereafter, when protein synthesis normalized, learning was reinitiated. ANI injections into motor cortex did not induce a motor deficit, because animals injected during the performance plateau did not deteriorate. This demonstrates that motor skill learning depends on de novo synthesis of proteins in motor cortex after training.
The Link between Output Growth and Output Volatility in Five Crisis-Affected Asian Countries

This article tests the Black’s hypothesis in five crisis-affected Asian countries(India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand). The hypothesis posits that economies face a positive relationship between output growth and output volatility. Using monthly data of the industrial production indices in the five economies and applying the ARCH/GARCH models to generate a measure of output volatility to conduct the two-step approach, the results show that output volatility positively Granger causes output growth in two economies, Japan, and South Korea. The results indicate that countries with specialized technology are compensated for associated risk. In addition, the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis is minimal such that it will not alter the volatility and growth relationship.
Utilizing Learners' Negative Ratings in Semantic Content-based Recommender System for e-Learning Forum

Nowadays, most of e-learning systems embody online discussion forums as a medium for collaborative learning that supports knowledge sharing and information exchanging between learners. The exponential growth of the available shared information in e-learning online discussion forums has caused a difficulty for learners in discovering interesting information. This paper introduces a novel recommendation architecture that is able to recommend interesting post messages to the learners in an e-learning online discussion forum based on a semantic content-based filtering and learners’ negative ratings. We evaluated the proposed e-learning recommender system against exiting e-learning recommender systems that use similar filtering techniques in terms of recommendation accuracy and learners’ performance. The obtained experimental results show that the proposed e-learning recommender system outperforms other similar e-learning recommender systems that use non-semantic content-based filtering technique (CB), non-semantic content-based filtering technique with learners’ negative ratings (CB-NR), semantic content-based filtering technique (SCB), with respect to system accuracy of about 57%, 28%, and 25%, respectively. Furthermore, the obtained results also show that the learning performance has been increased by at least 9.84% for the learners whom are supported by recommendations based on the proposed technique as compared to other similar recommendation techniques
Sustainability of current account balance in ASEAN countries: Evidence from a panel error correction model

Sustained current account deficit and surplus are not good for an economy. Before 1997 financial crisis South East Asian countries experienced current account deficit, while after the crisis most of them have current account surplus. This paper is motivated by the absence of research on current account sustainability issues in selected crisis affected countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, within the framework of panel cointegration and error correction methods. The paper employs panel unit root, panel cointegration and panel dynamic OLS (PDOLS) methods to assess current account sustainability. Based on an inter-temporal analytical framework the paper examines co-integrating relationship between export as percentage of GDP (indicated by X) and the sum of import and interest on long-term external borrowing, both as percentage of GDP (indicated by MM). The paper also estimates current account sustainability parameter by PDOLS. Annual data from 1970 to 2013 for Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand are sourced from World Development Indicator 2012 & 2014. Exports, imports, and GDP data are in current US dollars. The interest payment on long-term external borrowing is used as a proxy for interest on net foreign debt. All variables are expressed as percentage of GDP. Different econometric tests indicate that X and MM are non-stationary at level; however, stationary at first difference. Panel co-integration tests indicate that the variables are co-integrated, which indicates that there is long-run equilibrium relationship between X and MM. Error correction parameter indicates that it takes less than four years to correct short-run disequilibrium. PDOLS estimate shows that the sustainability coefficient is 1 (one). Panel co-integration and PDOLS results together indicate that current accounts in the sample countries are strongly sustainable. This finding is consistent with previous single country study. This finding supports that the current account balance reflects the optimal decisions of the borrowers and lenders; therefore, policy intervention to correct the balance is unwarranted and could reduce welfare. To avoid future crises, policymakers should pay attention to other issues, such as supporting long-term capital flows and liberalizing short-term capital movements.
Temperature-sensitive intracellular Mg2+ block of L-type Ca2+ channels in cardiac myocytes.

We examined the concentration-dependent blocking effects of intracellular Mg2+ on L-type Ca2+ channels in cardiac myocytes using the whole cell patch-clamp technique. The increase of L-type Ca2+ channel current (I(Ca)) (due to relief of Mg2+ block) occurred in two temporal phases. The rapid phase (runup) transiently appeared early (<5 min) in dialysis of the low-Mg2+ solution; the slow phase began later in dialysis (>10 min). Runup was not blocked by intracellular GTP (GTP(i)). The late phase of the I(Ca) increase (late I(Ca)) was suppressed by GTP(i) (0.4 mM) and was observed in myocytes of the guinea pig or frog at higher (32 or 24 degrees C, respectively) rather than lower temperatures (24 or 17.5 degrees C, respectively). At pMg = 6.0, raising the temperature from 24 to 32 degrees C evoked late I(Ca) with a Q10 of 14.5. Restoring the temperature to 24 degrees C decreased I(Ca) with a Q10 of only 2.4. The marked difference in the Q10 values indicated that late I(Ca) (pMg = 5-6) is an irreversible phenomenon. Phosphorylation suppressed the intracellular [Mg2+] dependency of late I(Ca). This effect of phosphorylation together with the inhibitory action of GTP(i) on Mg2+-dependent blocking of I(Ca) are common properties of mammalian and amphibian cardiomyocytes.
Diagnostic Mr 31 000 Schistosoma mansoni proteins: requirement of infection, but not immunization, and use of the “miniblot” technique for the production of monoclonal antibodies

ABSTRACT Antibodies directed against diagnostic Mr 31 000 polypeptide(s) of adult Schistosoma mansoni were already formed in mice during prepatency. In contrast, repeated immunization of mice with homogenates of adult schistosomes failed to elicit antibodies detectable in immunoblots in the Mr 31 000 region. Therefore, spleen cells of infected mice were used to produce hybridoma lines. The “miniblot technique” was developed in order to detect in hybridoma supernatants antibodies against schistosome Mr 31 000 components. Electrophoretically separated total S. mansoni proteins were transferred onto nitrocellulose, and the position of the Mr 31 000 components was determined with polyclonal antisera and immunoblotting. Pieces of about 3 square mm of nitrocellulose bearing the diagnostic proteins were incubated with about 100 μ1 of hybridoma supernatant in microtitre plates and subsequently probed with peroxidase-conjugated antibody to mouse IgG. This screening technique identified hybridomas secreting antibody to the relevant S. mansoni antigens. It is applicable to other defined parasit antigens, which are, however, not available in biochemically purified form. The monoclonal antibodies produced against the proteins with diagnostic potential reacted with antigens localized in the schistosome gut.