Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Did the Massachusetts healthcare reform make people happier

We study the effects of Massachusetts’ healthcare reform on individuals’ subjective well-being. Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we find that the reform significantly improved Massachusetts residents’ overall life satisfaction. This result is robust to various sensitivity checks and falsification tests. We find consistent evidence from other healthcare reforms such as the 2014 Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion and the 2005 Tennessee Medicaid disenrollment, that support the external validity of our findings. Our results provide novel evidence of the psychological consequences of recent healthcare reforms that expand health insurance coverage. This study analyzes the 2006 Massachusetts healthcare reform’s effects on SWB. This reform aimed at achieving near-universal health insurance coverage within the state. To identify the effects of this reform on SWB, we compare changes in the SWB levels of Massachusetts residents before and after the reform to those of residents in other states using the difference-in-differences (DID) approach. We use data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) for our empirical analyses.
Isoflavones Contents and Physiological Activities of Soybeans Fermented with Aspergillus oryzae or Bacillus natto

This study investigated the isoflavone contents and physiological properties of non-fermented soybean (NF) and the fermented soybeans prepared with Asp. oryzae (AO) and B. natto (BN). The total isoflavone contents (daidzin, genistin, daidzein and genistein) of NF, AO and BN were 81.8 mg/100 g, 130.7 mg/100 g and 139.5 mg/100 g, respectively. Especially, the total phenol contents of NF, AO and BN were 2.1%, 4.3% and 7.6%, and the total flavonoid contents were 1.3%, 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively. The nitrite-scavenging abilities of NF, AO and BN were 34.4%, 55.2% and 92.5%, respectively. Antimicrobial activity of BN was shown to be the strongest to Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The SOD-like activity was the strongest in AO, whereas the electron donating ability was the strongest in BN. Antioxidant activity of AO at concentration of 0.02% was stronger than BN or NF.
Pseudohepatica duidensis, a new lichen from the venezuelan Amazonas

The species Pseudohepatica duidensis Marcano, Palacios & Morales is described from the Venezuelan Amazonas. Special attention has been paid to the morphology and the chemistry (e.g. polysaccharides and secondary compounds), using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thin-layer chromatography (TLC, HPTLC) and iodine reagent tests. Pseudohepatica duidensis is characterized by a very small (to 1 mm long), yellowish-green thallus, non-pored epicortex, yellowish lower surface with soredial protuberances, paraplectenchymatous upper cortex consisting of strongly sclerotic cells, cell walls with iodine reactions characteristic of lichenan and gyrophoric acid as relevant chemical constituent.
Cross-fostering experiments to compare carotenoid- and melanin-based plumage traits and long-term parental effects in post-moulted great tits

A current hot topic in the study of plumage coloration refers to whether melanin- and carotenoid-based plumage traits differ in the factors which determine ornament expression. However, approaches and results are mixed and controversial. The present study aims to apply a cross-fostering experiment in the great tit (Parus major) to compare melanin- and carotenoid-based traits of both genetic and foster parents with those of their offspring after completing post-juvenile moult. The size of the melanin-based black tie area of yearling great tits was significantly correlated to that of their genetic father. Conversely, the chroma of the carotenoid-based yellow breast colouration of yearling offspring was positively correlated to the mid-parent value of the foster parents and to the value of each foster parent separately. Our results suggest that melanin-based traits are mainly influenced by genetic factors, while carotenoid-based colouration is environmentally dependent, supporting the view that different factors determine ornament expression of the two traits. Our results also emphasize the long-term parental effect of carotenoid-based plumage colouration.
Statistical Bias Correction of Fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Data from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security - Climate Portal for Mount Makulu, Zambia

Although Global Climate Models (GCMs) are regarded as the best tools available for future climate projections, there are biases in simulating precipitation and temperature due to their coarse spatial resolution and modelled impacts between the future climate scenarios and the baseline. A widely used bias correction method is the QM. QM adjusts a GCM value by mapping quantiles of the model’s distribution onto quantiles of the observed time series data. In spite of nudging being robust and easy to implement, it suppresses high-frequency variability and introduces artificial phase shifts. CF cannot provide information on future climate changes in high frequency variability that may be critical for specific impact applications such as estimates of peak discharge in hydrological catchments or inputs for crop models. Future climate signals shows that the number of days with and the amount of precipitation (mm/year) for 2020-2050 would range from 62 - 92 days and 211.9 906 mm/year, respectively. On the other hand, maximum and minimum temperature would increase in the in the range of 1.23 - 1.97°C and 1.45 - 2.6 8°C, respectively. QM can be used for precipitation while the CF can be used for temperature. Nudging is a widely used technique for online bias reduction, where modelled fields are continuously forced toward observed climatology.
Continuous morphology and growth monitoring of different cell types in a single culture using quantitative phase microscopy

The minimally-invasive quantitative observation of different cell types in a single culture is of particular interest for the analysis of the impact of pharmaceuticals, pathogens or toxins on different cellular phenotypes under identical measurement conditions and to analyze interactions between different cellular specimens. Quantitative phase microscopy (QPM), provides high resolution detection of optical path length changes that is suitable for quantitative tomographic imaging and stain-free minimally-invasive live cell analysis. Due to low light intensities for object illumination, QPM minimizes the interaction with the sample and thus is in particular suitable for long term time-lapse investigations on cells in which for example morphology alterations due to toxins, drugs or genetic modifications are studied. We analyzed the feasibility of QPM, for the analysis of mixed cell cultures and explored if quantitative phase images provide sufficient information to distinguish between different cell types and to extract cell specific parameters. For the experiments quantitative phase imaging with digital holographic microscopy (DHM) was utilized. Mixed cell cultures with different cell types were continuously observed with quantitative DHM phase contrast up to 35 h. The obtained series of quantitative phase images were evaluated by adapted image segmentation algorithms. From the segmented quantitative phase images the area covered by the cells, the cellular dry mass as well as the mean cell thickness and volume were determined and used as parameters to quantify the reliability of data acquisition. The obtained results demonstrate that it is possible to characterize the growth of cell types with different morphology features separately in a single cell culture. This prospects new application fields of quantitative phase imaging in drug and toxicity testing in vitro.
Morphologic change and the DNA contents of the testicular cell of rabbits treated with the fatty acid ex­tracted from the irradiated animals

1. The unsaturated fatty acid fraction (OX) from the liver of irradiated rabbits contains substance which has the same effects as X-ray irradiation on the testicular cells. 2. This substance introduced intravenously causes the degeneration of the germinal cells with the formation of giant cells or multi-nucleated cells and the mitotic abnormalities. 3. The DNA content of the cell also shows the changes exactly identical with that seen after X-ray irradiation. 4. From these results we conclude that the X-ray injury will be mainly due to the production of some toxic substance which is found in the unsaturated fatty acid fraction and severely affects the cells in mitosis and DNA metabolism.
Infection of Alstroemeria Plants with Tomato yellow ring virus in Iran

Alstroemeria cv. Ovation plants with virus-like necrotic spots and streaks on leaves and petals were observed in greenhouses in Khorasan Razavi (Mashhad) and Markazi (Mahallat) provinces, Iran. Samples with virus-like symptoms reacted positively in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with a polyclonal antibody raised against Tomato yellow ring virus (TYRV) nucleocapsid (N) protein. TYRV-specific primers were used in a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to amplify the N gene. The deduced amino acid sequences of the obtained amplicon revealed 99% identity to the N protein of an isolate of TYRV isolated from tomato (TYRV-t)
Characterising the role of ATSCL26 in root development

Variations in root phenotype in response to the limiting nutrient nitrogen is of great importance in light of current agricultural challenges. Understanding the molecular processes that determine phenotype can also help further understanding of how root architecture systems are regulated and the overall effect that N has on molecular processes. Links between divergent root systems can also offer answers as to how plants have adapted to meet changes in their environmental conditions over evolutionary time. NSP2 is a Medicago truncatula gene known to regulate processes involved in the formation of nodules in legumes, and has a putative homolog in the non-nodulating plant Arabidopsis thaliana, AtSCL26. This thesis has shown that there is a root system architecture phenotype, as well as a molecular transcriptomic phenotype in atscl26 mutants, and that these phenotypes are nitrogen dependant. AtSCL26 acts to regulate transport of auxin signalling genes in deplete nitrogen conditions, as well as repress other molecular regulatory processes that are involved in regulating growth and root development. Overall AtSCL26 has a repressive effect on root development in nitrogen-deplete conditions, and this is also nitrogen source dependant, as there is a stronger phenotype on potassium nitrate when compared to ammonium nitrate. Overall this investigation suggests that, like NSP2, AtSCL26 could be a nitrogen-regulated transcription factor that coordinates root development according to environmental cues.
Glucose Transport in the Renal Proximal Tubule

The sections in this article are: 1 General Characteristics 1.1 Glucose Handling by the Whole Kidney 1.2 Tubular Site of Reabsorption 1.3 d-Glucose Handling by the Intact Proximal Tubule 2 Current Understanding of the Mechanism of Glucose Reabsorption 2.1 Components of the Reabsorptive Mechanism 2.2 Energetics: Gradient Hypothesis 2.3 Na+ Dependence of Luminal versus Basolateral d-glucose Transport 2.4 Kinetics and Stoichiometry 2.5 Systematics of d-Glucose Reabsorption at the Cellular and Tubular Levels 2.6 Specificity Characteristics 3 Abnormalities of Glucose Reabsorption in the Renal Tubule 3.1 Renal Glycosuria 3.2 Fanconi's Syndrome 3.3 Specific Defects of d-Glucose Transport 4 Molecular Characterization of the Components of the d-Glucose Reabsorptive Pathway Across the Renal Proximal Tubule 4.1 The Luminal Na+-Dependent d-Glucose Carrier 4.2 The Basolateral Na+-Independent d-Glucose Carrier 5 Molecular Mechanism of Operation of the Na+-Dependent d-Glucose Transporter 6 Conclusion
Anti-aggregation of Gold Nanoparticles for Inorganic Bromide Detection in Rice Sample

A simple and highly sensitive colorimetric sensor for inorganic bromide (Br ) detection in rice samples was developed. The sensor is based on antiaggregation of gold nanoparticle (AuNPs) via the adsorbed Br on AuNPs surface, leading to interruption of an AuNPs aggregation process based on coordination of chromium ion (Cr 3+ ) and citrate capped AuNPs. Consequently, the solution color of aggregation state changed from blue to red color of anti-aggregation state with increasing the Br concentration. Under the optimum condition of 1.83 nM AuNPs with 4.81 μM Cr 3+ in 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) and 10 min of reaction time, a linear calibration curve based on the color transition observed by naked eye was 0.31 3.75 μM Br (y = 3.4803x 0.6065, R 2 = 0.9970). The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.04 and 0.13 μM, respectively. The recoveries were 79.9 92.2 % and intraand inter-day precisions as % relative standard deviation were better than 7.12 %. However, due to matrix effect, a standard addition curve was applied for accurate determination of Br in rice samples. The preparation of rice samples before colorimetric detection was carried out by alkaline digestion and dry ashing at 600 oC for 4 h that can remove organic compounds and the minor elements. The X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) results confirmed that Br did not evaporate after ashing at high temperature (600 oC). The developed sensor is very selective to Br compared to other ions which is found in rice samples. Moreover, it was successfully applied for determination of Br -1 in five brands of white rice samples. The Br residues were detected ranging from 3.12 5.21 mg kg in all samples which was corresponded to the Br detected by ion chromatography with no significant difference and no over the maximum residue limit of 50 mg kg -1 set by CODEX.
Direct Detection of a Fish Pathogen, Vibrio anguillarum Serotype J-O-1, in Freshwater by Fluorescent Antibody Technique

Vibriosis caused by Vibrio anguillarum has been report ed in various kinds of fish and has been known to be one of the most serious diseases in salmonid culture.1) In Eu rope and the US, salmonid culture in sea and/or brackish water regions has often suffered from heavy vibriosis. In Japan, the vibriosis seriously damages freshwater fish, es pecially ayu Plecoglossus altivelis.2) Ayu, belonging to plecoglossidae, has a life pattern simi lar to salmon except for its one-year life. After hatching in rivers in autumn, the larvae of ayu are carried to the sea and spend a few months there. In spring, the juveniles of ayu come back to the rivers, grow up in summer, and finally spawn and die in next autumn. The exception to this is a landlocked stock of ayu in Lake Biwa, which spend their whole life in freshwater. They migrate the rivers around Lake Biwa. More than 70% of the seed popu lations, which are juveniles, for ayu culture in Japan come from Lake Biwa. They are caught in Lake Biwa during late winter to early spring and transferred to nearly everywhere in Japan. In Japan, eight serotypes (J-O-1? J-O-8) of V. anguilla rum proposed by Ezura et al.3) are usually used for the serotyping of V. anguillarum. They reported that almost all strains of V. anguillarum isolated from diseased ayu by vibriosis in fresh water belonged to serotype J-O-1, and those in sea water belonged to serotype J-O-3. Vibrio sis in Lake Biwa is not an exception in freshwater cases. Vibriosis of ayu caused by V. anguillarum J-O-1 has oc curred almost every early summer in Lake Biwa. One of the characteristics of vibriosis in Lake Biwa in the recent 10 years is that mass killings of ayu have occurred not only in cultured populations but also in feral populations. In 1989, more than 4 million individuals of feral ayu died.4) Using conventional cultural methods, it has been reported that some serotypes of V. anguillarum were detected from marine and estuary but not from freshwater environ ments.5,6) Thus, it has been thought that this pathogen could not survive in freshwater environments.5,7) However, we have confirmed that V. anguillarum J-O-1 lost their ability to make colonies within 24 h in sterilized lake water, but still kept 14C-uptake and respiration activity even after 24 h-starvation in lake water.8) It was also report ed that nonculturable cells of pathogenic bacteria in natur al environments kept their pathogenicities,9-14) and various kinds of pathogenic bacteria which lost their ability to make colonies were detected by modern molecular tech niques such as the fluorescent antibody technique,15,16) poly merase chain reaction, 17,18) and specific DNA probes. 19,20) Thus, even if V. anguillarum J-O-1 can not be detected by the conventional cultural methods, it still remains to be solved whether the pathogen exists in freshwater environ ments or not.
The foliar epidermal studies in some hitherto unstudied Euphorbiaceae

The paper is aimed at revealing various cellular structures, contours of foliar epidermis and foliar stomata of hitherto unstudied 17 species belonging 17 genera of the euphorbiaceous taxa. This information will be useful to reach sound taxonomic and phylogenetic deductions. Epidermal peels removed by TAT method or using Wellcol or Favicol were stained by safranin and fast green combination making semi permanent slides then camera lucida drawings provided to enlightened their structures. Â Anomocytic stomatal type is predominant, while other types such as paracytic, hexacytic and anisocytic are also noted on the same foliar surface in different combinations. In majority of taxa, the leaves are hypostomatic, while in few they are amphistomatic. Distribution of stomata, stomatal index, stomatal frequency, stomatal size and other cell wall contours are described in detail in present study.
Efficient transformation of rice

Conclusion An efficient practical transformation system for Australian rice was developed with the help of an optimised particle bombardment system, selection and co-transformation procedure and a simple protocol for regeneration of embryogenic callus derived from mature embryos. Evidence for stable integration of transferred genes into the genome of regenerated plants was obtained by using the two techniques of Southern blotting and PCR. The inheritance of the hph marker gene was tested in the progeny. By using this protocol fertile transgenic rice plants could be obtained within two months after bombardment. C P C G Efficient Transformation of Rice
Trapping migrating zooplankton

We have developed a method to determine if individual zooplankton make short‐duration migrations, on the order of meters to tens of meters in vertical extent, between food‐rich surface water and deeper, food‐poor water. To do this, we developed a zooplankton trapping system, consisting of paired traps to catch zooplankton migrating downward and an inverted ring net to catch zooplankton migrating upward. These two trap systems were deployed simultaneously with the openings at the same depth, to catch zooplankton crossing a particular depth horizon, and samples were immediately sorted to make morphological and physiological measurements of individuals. Initial tests showed that there were differences in the ability to capture upward‐ and downward‐migrating marine zooplankton. In addition, physiological (gut contents) and morphological (prosome length) characteristics of individual copepods differed between those moving in opposite directions. These data support the hypothesis that copepods make repeated nighttime forays between deeper, food‐poor water and the near‐surface, food‐rich waters. This is part of an ongoing study on the variability of this behavior in different conditions and over seasonal cycles, but the method may be applicable to other pelagic environments, to explore various ecological questions.
In silico analysis of pathways targeted by EBV infection and malignant transformation

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous γ-herpes virus with dual cell tropism for human B-lymphocytes and epithelial cells. EBV infection is linked to several malignancies such as Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). In vitro EBV is a potent transforming virus that converts resting B-lymphocytes into indefinitely proliferating lymphoblastoid cells (LCLs). The overall aim of this study was to develop and utilize bioinformatics methods to dissect the molecular mechanisms by which EBV modulates the cellular environment. EBV is a large DNA virus that encodes about 100 open reading frames (ORFs) expressed at various times during infection. Using established sequence search methods such as patterns and hidden Markov models (HMM), we have identified catalytic domains of ubiquitin specific proteases (deubiquitinating enzymes, DUBs) in a limited number of EBV ORFs. The DUB activity of three high scoring candidates: BPLF1, BSLF1 and BXLF1, was confirmed by functional and mutational analysis (Paper-I). EBV establishes distinct programs of viral gene expression in latently infected and malignant cells. The EBV nuclear antigen (EBNA)-1 is expressed in all EBV carrying proliferating cells. EBNA-1 has been associated with the induction of cellular oxidative stress due to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA damage. To search for the cellular genes involved in these effects we used gene expression data sets from public databases. By analyzing the expression of genes involved in ROS metabolism in EBV positive and negative Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell lines and lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) we found that the NADPH oxidase (NOX)-2 is induced in cells expressing EBNA-1. Activation of the NOX2 gene by EBNA-1 is associated with the induction and/or maintenance of genomic instability, a critical step in malignant transformation (Paper-II). The expression of EBNA-1 is associated with a global rearrangement of cellular transcription. To investigate the primary and secondary targets of this transcriptional effect we have analyzed the gene expression profiles of stable and inducible EBNA-1 expressing cells. Functional analysis of the regulated transcripts revealed that EBNA-1 influences the expression of genes involved in the maintenance of chromatin architecture. Several subunits of chromatin remodeling complexes were down-regulated on EBNA-1 expression (Paper-III). Microarray analysis and systems biology approaches were implemented to investigate the cellular pathways modulated by tripeptidyl peptidase II (TPPII) a cellular protein that is highly expressed in BL cells and participates in the induction of the malignant phenotype. Comparison of the gene expression profiles of control and TPPII knockdown BL cells and systems level analysis of differentially regulated genes demonstrated that the MAPK signaling pathway is selectively inactivated by TPPII knockdown (Paper-IV). In summary, this work demonstrated the potential of bioinformatics tools and highthroughput genomic approaches in identifying the novel strategies of EBV.