Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PII: S0925-4773(99)00196-3

During Drosophila oogenesis, localization of the transforming growth factor a (TGFa )-like signaling molecule Gurken to the oocyte membrane is required for polarity establishment of the egg and embryo. To test Gurken domain functions, full-length and truncated forms of Gurken were expressed ectopically using the UAS/Gal4 expression system, or in the germline using the endogenous promoter. GrkDC, a deletion of the cytoplasmic domain, localizes to the oocyte membrane and can signal. GrkDTC, which lacks the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, retains signaling ability when ectopically expressed in somatic cells. However, in the germline, the GrkDTC protein accumulates throughout the oocyte cytoplasm and cannot signal. In addition, we found that several strong gurken alleles contain point mutations in the transmembrane region. We conclude that secretion of Gurken requires its transmembrane region, and propose a model in which the gene cornichon mediates this process. q 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(01)00586-X

To identify regulatory events occurring during myogenesis, we characterized the transcriptional regulation of a Drosophila melanogaster actin gene, Actin 57B. Act57B transcription is first detected in visceral muscle precursors and is detectable in all embryonic muscles by the end of embryogenesis. Through deletion analysis we identified a 595 bp promoter element that was sufficient for high levels of expression in all three muscle lineages. This fragment contained a MEF2 binding site conserved between D. melanogaster and Drosophila virilis which bound MEF2 protein in embryo nuclear extracts. Mutation of the MEF2 site severely reduced promoter activity in embryos, and in Mef2 mutants Act57B expression was severely decreased, demonstrating MEF2 is an essential regulator of Act57B. We also showed that MEF2 likely acts synergistically with factors bound to additional sequences within the 595 bp element. These findings underline the importance of MEF2 in controlling differentiation in all muscle lineages. Our experiments reveal a novel regulatory mechanism for a structural gene where high levels of expression in all embryonic muscles is regulated through a single transcription factor binding site. q 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(99)00180-X

In the mouse Tabby (Ta) mutant and human X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (EDA) syndrome development of several ectodermal organs such as hair, teeth, and sweat glands is impaired. The gene behind Tabby and EDA has been cloned, and several alternative transcripts have been isolated. The protein product named ectodysplasin had no obvious function or prominent homology to other known gene products apart from a short collagen-like sequence. We have isolated two novel Ta transcripts which are variants of the longest isoform of Tabby, named Ta-A. In situ hybridizations revealed Ta-A to be the major transcript in the developing embryo. It was detected in the endoderm of early embryos and subsequently in speci®c locations in the neuroepithelium and ectoderm. Unexpectedly, sequence analysis of the most C-terminal domain of Ta revealed that ectodysplasin is a novel member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand superfamily. Mouse ectodysplasin was biochemically and functionally characterized, and shown to be a glycosylated, oligomeric type II membrane protein (N-terminus inside), all characteristics typical to TNF-like proteins. Members of the TNF family are critically involved in host defence and immune response often mediating either apoptosis or cell survival. Expression of Ta in several epithelial cell lines did not result in prominent changes in cell morphology and did not promote apoptosis. Instead, it was shown to promote cell adhesion to extracellular matrix, a function consistent with its postulated role in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions regulating the development of ectodermal appendages. Ectodysplasin is the ®rst TNF-like signaling molecule described known to be required for epithelial morphogenesis. q 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(02)00200-9

Phagocytic myeloid cells provide the principle line of immune defence during early embryogenesis in lower vertebrates. They may also have important functions during normal embryo morphogenesis, not least through the phagocytic clearance of cell corpses arising from apoptosis. We have identified two cDNAs that provide sensitive molecular markers of embryonic leukocytes in the early Xenopus embryo. These encode a peroxidase (XPOX2) and a Ly-6/uPAR-related protein (XLURP-1). We show that myeloid progenitors can first be detected at an antero-ventral site in early tailbud stage embryos (a region previously termed the anterior ventral blood island) and transiently express the haematopoetic transcription factors SCL and AML. Phagocytes migrate from this site along consistent routes and proliferate, becoming widely distributed throughout the tadpole long before the circulatory system is established. This migration can be followed in living embryos using a 5 kb portion of the XLURP-1 promoter to drive expression of EGFP specifically in the myeloid cells. Interestingly, whilst much of this migration occurs by movement of individual cells between embryonic germ layers, the rostral-most myeloid cells apparently migrate in an anterior direction along the ventral midline within the mesodermal layer itself. The transient presence of such cells as a strip bisecting the cardiac mesoderm immediately prior to heart tube formation suggests that embryonic myeloid cells may play a role in early cardiac morphogenesis. q 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(01)00375-6

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) of Drosophila offers a powerful system to precisely identify individual cells and dissect their genetic pathways of development. The mode of speci®cation of a subset of larval PNS cells, the multiple dendritic (md) neurons (or type II neurons), is complex and still poorly understood. Within the dorsal thoracic and abdominal segments, two md neurons, dbd and dda1, apparently require the proneural gene amos but not atonal (ato) or Achaete-Scute-Complex (ASC) genes. ASC normally acts via the neural selector gene cut to specify appropriate sensory organ identities. Here, we show that dbdand dda1-type differentiation is suppressed by cut in dorsal ASCdependent md neurons. Thus, cut is not only required to promote an ASC-dependent mode of differentiation, but also represses an ASCand ato-independent fate that leads to dbd and dda1 differentiation. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(99)00288-9

The Drosophila sprouty protein is a recently-identi®ed intracellular modulator of FGF and EGF receptor tyrosine kinase activity which antagonises ras/MAP kinase signalling. In a differential display analysis to identify genes involved in patterning the mid/hindbrain region of the chick neural tube, we have identi®ed a sprouty orthologue, sprouty2. Here we report expression of sprouty2 transcripts in the developing chick embryo. We ®nd a close correlation with known sites of FGF activity but little correlation with expression patterns of members of the EGF family. Initially, transcripts are associated with the primitive streak. During the period of neural tube patterning expression is detected in the anterior neuropore, in the isthmic region and in neural plate and posterior spinal cord. Transcripts are also detected in the otic placode, tail bud, mesoderm of the branchial arches, somitic myotome, retina, limb buds and gut mesenchyme; all known sites of FGF action. q 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0042-6989(98)00099-6

In the past, suggested transformations of Farnsworth–Munsell 100-Hue Test (FM 100-Hue) test scores distributions have been limited to a square root transformation. In this study, the choice of transformations of total error scores (TES) are considered by identifying a possible source of skewness. Several distributions of FM100-Hue Test TES were assessed for skewness (third moment). The error score (ES) distributions for the 85 individual caps in each of the populations were also analysed for skewness (Figs. 3 and 4). There is no single transformation which will normalise all TES distributions. The single cap ES distributions with low mean ES (such as those achieved normals and, for some regions of the test, by anomalous trichromats and dichromats) are symmetrical because most subjects can organise the cap perfectly (and could do even better given smaller colour differences). The distributions of ESs where the mean ES is in the moderate range (such as those achieved by diabetics) are skewed because some ESs at the lower end of the range represent performance which could also be better than the test allows. ES distributions with a high mean (such as random distributions and some regions of the test by congenital dichromats) are symmetrical being unaffected by the limitations of the test. TES distributions of diabetics are asymmetrical and comprise skewed cap ES distributions. A suggestion for a transformation is made. © 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(99)00191-4

Melanocytes derived from pluripotent neural crest cells migrate initially in the dorsolateral pathway between the ectoderm and dermomyotome. To understand the role of speci®c proteins involved in this cell migration, we looked for a cellular model that mimics the in vivo behavior of melanoblasts, and that allows functional studies of their migration. We report here that wild-type embryonic stem (ES) cells are able to follow the ventral and dorsolateral neural crest pathways after being grafted into chicken embryos. By contrast, a mutant ES cell line de®cient for b1 integrin subunits, proteins involved in cell±extracellular interactions, had a severely impaired migratory behavior. Interestingly, ES cells de®cient for Kit, the tyrosine kinase receptor for the stem cell factor (SCF), behaved similarly to wild-type ES cells. Thus, grafting mouse ES cells into chicken embryos provides a new cellular system that allows both in vitro and in vivo studies of the molecular mechanisms controlling dorsolateral migration. q 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(01)00636-0

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is proposed to play critical roles in organ morphogenesis through the stabilization and/or sequestration of signaling factors and adhesion molecules, and by maintaining organ integrity. As a first step toward understanding molecules involved in ECM modification and maturation, we have examined the embryonic expression profiles of ten prolyl 4-hydroxylase a subunit (PH4a)related genes. Prolyl 4-hydroxylases (PH4) catalyze the formation of 4-hydroxyproline in collagens, the major components of the ECM, and are implicated in the hydroxylation of proline in several other secreted proteins. To date, two a subunit proteins have been described in both humans (PHaI and PHaII) and worms (PHY-1/DPY-18 and PHY-2), whereas only a single Drosophila a subunit has been identified. The ten PH4a-related genes described in this study are clustered in a 183-kb region near the tip of chromosome arm 3R and include the previously described Drosophila a subunit gene. Six of the ten PH4a genes in the cluster have tissue-specific embryonic expression. PH4aSG1 and PH4aSG2 are expressed in the salivary gland, PH4aMP is expressed in mouth-part precursors, PH4aPV is expressed in the proventriculus, and CG9698-E is expressed in the epidermis. PH4aEFB is expressed more broadly, with expression in the anterior and posterior midgut primordia, the fat body, the hemocytes and the epidermis. The expression profiles of these PH4a-related genes suggest that tissue-specific ECM modifications may be critical to organ formation and/or function. q 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(99)00276-2

The three mammalian Raf serine/threonine protein kinases mediate the transduction of proliferative and differentiative signals from cell surface receptors to the nucleus. In vertebrates, Raf signaling has been implicated in the progression of mouse embryos through the two-cell stage and in the induction of posterior mesoderm. However, mouse embryos mutant for each of the Raf genes exhibit no developmental defects before mid-gestation. Here we describe the phenotype of mouse mutants with different combinations of mutant Craf-1 and Braf alleles. Our results show that Raf signaling is indeed indispensable for normal development beyond the blastocyst stage. However, due to a signi®cant redundancy between Craf-1 and Braf, either gene is suf®cient for normal development until mid-gestation. The molecular and developmental mechanisms for this redundancy were investigated by monitoring the expression of Raf genes throughout embryogenesis and by biochemical studies in mutant cell lines. q 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(01)00548-2

The Na–Ca exchanger (NCX) regulates intracellular calcium homeostasis. We report on an upstream region of the rat NCX1 multipartite promoter that is active in cardiac myocytes. Although inactive in most non-cardiac cell lines, its activity can be rescued by cotransfection with GATA-4 and -6, but not GATA-5 transcription factors. In transgenic mice and similar to endogenous NCX1 mRNA expression, the upstream promoter region directs uniform b-galactosidase expression in cardiac myocytes from ,7.75 dpc. In adult mouse hearts, promoter activity is, however, significantly reduced and heterogeneous, except in the conduction system (sinoatrial and atrioventricular node, atrioventricular bundles). The upstream NCX1 promoter region thus directs appropriate spatial and temporal control of cardiac expression throughout development. Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.
SYNTHESIS OF WATER-SOLUBLE AND CONDUCTING POLY (2-ETHYLANILINE) BY USING HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE

(2-ethylaniline) in the presence of sulphonated polystyrene (SPS). The polymerization of 2-ethylaniline was performed with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a catalyst to form conducting poly(2-ethylaniline)/SPS complex with moderate electrical conductivity. The polymerization is simple and can be carried out at room temperature in pH 4.0 phosphate buffered solution. This electrochemically active polymer shows strong pH dependence of absorption and other characteristics. The formation of conducting and electroactive form of poly(2-ethylaniline)/SPS complex was confirmed through UV-vis, FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetry studies show only one set of redox peaks over the potential range of -0.2 to 1.0 V. Synthesis of Water-soluble and Conducting Poly(2-ethylaniline) by Using Horseradish Peroxidase
PII: S0925-4773(00)00558-X

Retinoic acid (RA) metabolizing enzymes play important roles in RA signaling during vertebrate embryogenesis. We have previously reported on a RA degrading enzyme, XCYP26, which appears to be critical for the anteroposterior patterning of the central nervous system (EMBO J. 17 (1998) 7361). Here, we report on the sequence, expression and function of its counterpart, XRALDH2, a RA generating enzyme in Xenopus. During gastrulation and neurulation, XRALDH2 and XCYP26 show non-overlapping, complementary expression domains. Upon misexpression, XRALDH2 is found to reduce the forebrain territory and to posteriorize the molecular identity of midbrain and individual hindbrain rhombomeres in Xenopus embryos. Furthermore, ectopic XRALDH2, in combination with its substrate, all-trans-retinal (ATR), can mimic the RA phenotype to result in microcephalic embryos. Taken together, our data support the notion that XRALDH2 plays an important role in RA homeostasis by the creation of a critical RA concentration gradient along the anteroposterior axis of early embryos, which is essential for proper patterning of the central nervous system in Xenopus. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0925-4773(01)00427-0

A comprehensive comparison of Sonic (Shh), Indian (Ihh), and Desert (Dhh) hedgehog biological activities has not previously been undertaken. To test whether the three higher vertebrate Hh proteins have distinct biological properties, we compared recombinant forms of the N-terminal domains of human Shh, Ihh, and Dhh in a variety of cell-based and tissue explant assays in which their activities could be assessed at a range of concentrations. While we observed that the proteins were similar in their af®nities for the Hh-binding proteins; Patched (Ptc) and Hedgehog-interacting protein (Hip), and were equipotent in their ability to induce Islet-1 in chick neural plate explant; there were dramatic differences in their potencies in several other assays. Most dramatic were the Hh-dependent responses of C3H10T1/2 cells, where relative potencies ranged from 80 nM for Shh, to 500 nM for Ihh, to . 5 mM for Dhh. Similar trends in potency were seen in the ability of the three Hh proteins to induce differentiation of chondrocytes in embryonic mouse limbs, and to induce the expression of nodal in the lateral plate mesoderm of early chick embryos. However, in a chick embryo digit duplication assay used to measure polarizing activity, Ihh was the least active, and Dhh was almost as potent as Shh. These ®ndings suggest that a mechanism for ®ne-tuning the biological actions of Shh, Ihh, and Dhh, exists beyond the simple temporal and spatial control of their expression domains within the developing and adult organism. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Do Active Fund Managers Care about Capital Gains Tax Efficiency?

This study investigates the tax efficiency of actively managed equity funds by conducting a previously unaddressed natural experiment. Specifically, we examine whether asset sales were timed to take advantage of the introduction of a substantial discount to realized capital gains when the holding period was at least one year. Institutional equity fund management in Australia is principally focused on the pre-fee and pre-tax performance surveys of leading asset consultants. Given this industry setting, our study is important because tax efficiency is not accounted for directly in the reported performance numbers, and is thus opaque. We find that active fund managers overall have significantly increased the proportion of long-term capital gains realized after the change in taxation code, although there are significant variations across funds. We also find that active fund managers realize more long-term gains on both large capitalization and low volatility stocks.
Reducing Recommendation Inequality via Two-Sided Matching: A Field Experiment of Online Dating

Leading recommender systems may recommend only a small fraction of users on the dating platform since the algorithms often exploit popularity and similarity that reinforce preference homogeneity and assortative mating in the marriage market. We apply a stylized matching model in economics to the existing algorithms to reduce inequality, and we evaluate the proposed method by a large-scale field experiment through a dating app. Experiment results suggest that our recommender reduces inequality, improves predictive accuracy, and leads to substantially more matched couples than other competing algorithms.
Investor Protection and Liquidity of Cross-Listed Securities: Evidence from the Adr Market

Using 'American depository receipt' (ADR) data on various countries, this paper sets out to investigate the relationship between investor protection and firm liquidity. Since weak investor protection and poor economic prospects lead to greater expropriation by managers - and thus greater asymmetric information costs - liquidity providers will incur relatively higher costs and will therefore offer higher bid-ask spreads. Our empirical results demonstrate that the level of investor protection afforded to ADRs, as well as the quality of law enforcement, have significant effects on firm liquidity. This issue is further analyzed by investigating whether there is any increase in the vulnerability of ADRs of firms operating in countries with relatively poor investor protection mechanisms during a period of financial crisis. We explore this issue by examining whether net-selling pressure was any stronger on ADRs from countries with poor investor protection mechanisms during the period of the Asian financial crisis.
Does the Turbulence of the Stock Market Terrify Consumers? Evidence from a Panel of U.S. States Using Pooled Mean Group Estimation

This paper elucidates the influence of stock market volatility on U.S. consumption using pooled mean group (PMG) estimation of 46 states over the period from 1998 to 2017. The findings confirm that the PMG estimates of the effect of stock market volatility on consumption are robust to the lag order, lag selection criteria, and outliers compared with the mean group (MG) and the dynamic fixed effect (DFE) methods. I explore that stock market volatility reduces total consumption, nondurables, durables, and services consumption. However, durables consumption responds negatively to stock market volatility more than services and nondurables consumption, respectively, and has a higher speed of adjustment to market disequilibria. Although Romer (1999) uncovered the adverse effect of stock market volatility on durables consumption during the Great Depression, the current investigation reveals that the stability of the stock market plays such a critical role in redressing market disequilibria and influences not only durables consumption but also nondurables and services consumption. In addition, the data provides evidence to reject the null of no cointegration among the models’ variables, which contrasts with the pervasive idea surrounding the consumption function. Since the short-run income elasticities are far less than the long-run ones, I reconfirm that the permanent income hypothesis (PIH) is valid in the United States. As a result, the short-run efficacy of macroeconomic policies in resolving market disequilibria is limited, as it takes time for consumers to build confidence regarding the permanency of their income.
Dynamic Q-Theory: The Rationale of Rate Shifts

This article will argue the following key points: (1) Equity market prices are in equilibrium when they equal net worth (or Tobin’s q reaches unity). (2) Prices can temporarily digress from Tobin’s equilibrium by cyclical mismatches between equity supply and demand. (3) Markets have been out of equilibrium for much longer periods (1916-1995) because certain q-balancing mechanisms have been blocked and/or underutilized. For this reason, q’s historical average has been substantially below 1. (4) Since Tobin’s q is an accurate predictor of long-term total market equity return rates, the first three points also describe the equilibrium conditions and dynamics of equity rates.
Whose Taxes Matter for Dividend Payout Policy? Insiders versus Institutional Owners

Prior research finds that shareholder-level taxes affect dividend policy, but does not consider whether this relation varies with shareholders’ monitoring role or with conflicts between tax incentives of insiders versus other investors. We find that taxable insiders encourage dividends before tax increases (“dividend acceleration”) even when most institutional owners do not benefit from acceleration, indicating that managers’ tax preferences outweigh institutions’ tax preferences. However, after accounting for institutions’ monitoring role, we find that monitoring tax-insensitive institutions constrain insiders’ ability to accelerate dividends, particularly when acceleration costs are high. Monitoring institutions’ learning from prior market reactions appears to drive this behavior.