Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impaired Short-Term Plasticity in Mossy Fiber Synapses Caused by Mitochondrial Dysfunction of Dentate Granule Cells Is the Earliest Synaptic Deficit in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the early stages is characterized by memory impairment, which may be attributable to synaptic dysfunction. Oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and Ca2+ dysregulation are key factors in the pathogenesis of AD, but the causal relationship between these factors and synaptic dysfunction is not clearly understood. We found that in the hippocampus of an AD mouse model (Tg2576), mitochondrial Ca2+ handling in dentate granule cells was impaired as early as the second postnatal month, and this Ca2+ dysregulation caused an impairment of post-tetanic potentiation in mossy fiber-CA3 synapses. The alteration of cellular Ca2+ clearance in Tg2576 mice is region-specific within hippocampus because in another region, CA1 pyramidal neuron, no significant difference in Ca2+ clearance was detected between wild-type and Tg2576 mice at this early stage. Impairment of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake was associated with increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species and depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential. Mitochondrial dysfunctions in dentate granule cells and impairment of post-tetanic potentiation in mossy fiber-CA3 synapses were fully restored when brain slices obtained from Tg2576 were pretreated with antioxidant, suggesting that mitochondrial oxidative stress initiates other dysfunctions. Reversibility of early dysfunctions by antioxidants at the preclinical stage of AD highlights the importance of early diagnosis and antioxidant therapy to delay or prevent the disease processes.
Federal Intervention in the Municipal Bond Market: The Effectiveness of the Build America Bond Program and Its Implications on Federal and Subnational Budgeting

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) included several new federal programs intended ostensibly to “unfreeze” the credit markets as a result of the global financial crisis. One such program, the Build America Bond (BAB) program, aimed to lower the borrowing costs for state and local governments by increasing their access to capital and providing a more generous federal subsidy than the traditional indirect tax exemption subsidy. BABs are taxable bonds sold by subnational governments, which carry a 35 percent direct federal payment subsidy to the borrower. In creating this program, the federal government hoped that the large direct federal subsidy along with greater potential investor interest in taxable securities would result in lower borrowing costs for state and local governments vis‐a‐vis traditional tax‐exempt bonds. This research study examines the relative effectiveness of the BAB program and details the various quantitative and qualitative implications on federal and subnational budgeting by moving from an indirect to a direct federal subsidy approach in facilitating state and local government capital raising.
Leasing, Lemons, and Buybacks

In his seminal article of 1970, Akerlof argued that the used-car market is not efficient because adverse selection causes too little trade. We construct a competitive model of the new- and used-car markets and investigate the relationship between new-car leasing and adverse selection. Our analysis yields a number of interesting results, including that new-car leasing reduces the adverse-selection problem, and that buybacks also increase efficiency in the secondhand market. We also discuss alternative explanations for new-car leasing and an explanation for the growth in new-car leasing during the last fifteen years. Copyright 2003 by the RAND Corporation.
The evolution of Canadian sport policy

Canadian sport policy has witnessed important changes in the last century. Governmental intervention has increased in conjunction with the breadth and scope of sport policy. This article examines the evolution of Canadian sport policy to identify dominant ideas and institutions highlighting the importance of these in sport policy-making. Although several authors have noted the dominance of excellence in sport policy orientation, few studies have examined the role of ideas and institutions in Canadian sport policy formulation. The few notable exceptions are either comparative studies or are focused on high performance sport. This article argues that formal and informal institutions such as federalism, institutionalized relations and ideas have played and continue to play a key role in orienting Canadian sport policy by enabling and constraining policy options.
A new global strategy for infant and young child feeding.

1. Some 1.5 million children still die every year because they are inappropriately fed, less than 35% of infants worldwide are exclusively breastfed for the first four months of life, and complementary feeding practices are frequently inappropriate and unsafe. The growing scale, variety and frequency of major emergencies, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, complexities of modern lifestyles, coupled with continued promulgation of mixed messages and changing fashion with regard to breastfeeding complicate meeting the nutritional needs of infants and young children.
The role of existing measures in developing and implementing performance measurement systems

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of existing, local performance measures in the process of developing and implementing an integrated performance measurement system. Performance measurement has received much attention since the 1980s, based on the notion that performance measurement systems should be adapted to modern manufacturing systems. However, relatively few empirical studies have investigated implementation processes of such systems.Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes a case study of the development of a performance measurement system in a medium‐sized company.Findings – It was found that the process was strongly guided by the need to identify existing reports and metrics at different levels within the organization, which informed the development and implementation of the new performance measurement system. This is a more significant role than has usually been proposed in the literature – one side of the gap between existing measures and an ideal system th.
Trade Unions and Training Practices in British Workplaces

The authors use British establishment-level data from the 1991 Employers' Manpower and Skills Practices Survey (EMSPS) and individual-level data from the Autumn 1993 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) to investigate the links between training provision and workplace unionization. Both the probability of receiving training and the amount of training received are found to have been substantially higher in unionized than in nonunion workplaces. The authors view these results as showing that trade unions can play an important role in developing and boosting skill formation in Britain.
The Distribution of Money and Prices in Search Equilibrium

This article considers a search-theoretic model of monetary exchange. Agents bargain over both the amount of money and the quantity of goods to be exchanged in bilateral meetings, determining endogenously the distributions of money and of prices. I show that money is neutral if changes in the money supply are accomplished via proportional transfers. However, within the class of lump-sum transfers, an increase of the rate of monetary expansion tends to decrease the dispersion of wealth and prices and to improve welfare when inflation is low; but when inflation is high enough, the opposite effects occur.
A Proposal for a New Editorial Policy in the Social Sciences

Abstract “… there's this desert prison, see, with an old prisoner, resigned to his life, and a young one just arrived. The young one talks constantly of escape, and, after a few months, he makes a break. He's gone a week, and then he's brought back by the guards. He's half dead, crazy with hunger and thirst. He describes how awful it was to the old prisoner. The endless stretches of sand, no oasis, no signs of life anywhere. The old prisoner listens for a while, then says, ‘Yep. I know. I tried to escape myself, twenty years ago. ’ The young prisoner says, ‘You did? Why didn't you tell me, all these months I was planning my escape? Why didn't you let me know it was impossible? ’ And the old prisoner shrugs, and says, ‘So who publishes negative results? ’” (Hudson, 1968, p. 168)
Understanding the Behavior of Hong Kong Chinese Tourists on Group Tour Packages

This study investigates the behavior of Hong Kong Chinese tourists when they take outbound group tour packages and the underlying dimensions of Chinese tourists’ cultural values. The behavior of Hong Kong Chinese tourists was collected using an arched semantic differential scale on 22 behavioral questions. Tourists were asked to view more than 13 Chinese values—extracted from the Chinese Value Survey—in relation to travel behavior. Factor analysis identified four factors in Chinese tourists’ cultural values: social integration, Confucian work dynamism, personal well-being, and moral discipline. Canonical correlation revealed that Hong Kong Chinese tourists preferred to travel in groups, be safe, and join all self-paid activities. Nevertheless, tourists placed a low value on personal well-being when joining group tour packages. Recommendations for tour operators, including safe activities, social interaction, exposure to local cuisine, and photo taking, are presented to improve group tour packages.
Current Peptide HIV Type-1 Fusion Inhibitors

There are now 26 antiretroviral drugs and 6 fixed-dose combinations, including reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, integrase inhibitors and fusion (or entry) inhibitors, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for clinical use. Although they are clinically effective when used in combination, none of the existing drugs are considered ideal because of toxic side effects and the ascendance of inducing drug-resistant mutants. Development of new antiviral agents is essential. In the past decades, there has been great progress in understanding the structure of HIV type-1 (HIV-1) gp41 and the mechanism of HIV-1 entry into host cells. This opened up a promising avenue for rationally designed agents to interfere with this process. A number of fusion inhibitors have been developed to block HIV-1 replication. Enfuvirtide (T20) was one of those approved for clinical use. This signalled a new era in AIDS therapeutics. It is a synthetic polypeptide with potent inhibitory activity against HIV-1 infection. However, it is sensitive to proteolytic digestion and resistant virus strains are easily induced with multiple clinical use. One of the directions in designing new fusion inhibitors is to overcome these shortages. In the past years, large numbers of promising fusion inhibitory peptides have emerged. The antiviral activities are more potent or they can act differently from that of T20. Some of these new compounds have great potential to be further developed as therapeutic agents. This article reviewed some recent developments of these peptides and the possible role in anti-HIV-1 therapy.
Easy Life, Intelligent Systems, and Life 2.0: European Research on ICT for Aging Adults

Lack of access and accessibility have been two of the largest impediments for older adults and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use, resulting in reduced computer skills, lack of motivation, and aversion to new technologies. By looking at these influential barriers, we can see that this is partially due to technologies being designed and marketed towards the younger generations and do not allow for inclusive design. Aging is usually not considered when designing mainstream products and there can be a distinct lack of industry awareness about the cohort’s capabilities. Additionally, even when Assistive Technologies (AT) are developed specifically to help marginalized groups, a lack of interoperability can hamper uptake. Since the 1990’s, the European Union has contributed to the development of eHealth and this has helped to place Europe as one of the leading world investors in the field. As a result, the EU is utilizing industrial, scientific, and social resources to accelerate product and service synchronization. Innovation and development in these areas not only benefits European citizens and residents, but also strengthens the European industry market. ICT sectors are experiencing a growth in the needs and marketability of tools and services designed specifically for older adults. If a service is offering opportunities to emphasize resources and capabilities already available, research must incorporate design and functionality requirements and preferences of aging adults. This can help to improve or maintain QoL, allow for aging in place and independent living, increase socialization through connection services, and reduce cost of care burdens expected with the increase in aged proportions of global populations.
Between a rock and a hard place: RCMP organizational change

Examines how the collision of neo‐liberalism and regionally specific social forces have created a specific manifestation of community based policing. The merger of neo‐liberalism and community policing has taken place under common conditions of downsizing, fiscal downloading and organizational restructuring. These conditions have not, however, led to a consistency of application. The political, economic and social variables differ across regions, as do the stimuli for reform and the manner in which community policing has been implemented. As a result, each region has uniquely articulated the neo‐liberal tenet of community involvement in community based policing. This range of reform initiatives is examined first from the perspective of broad RCMP organizational shifts and then within the context of Alberta (K‐Division).
Characteristics of synaptic input to three classes of sympathetic neurone in the coeliac ganglion of the guinea‐pig.

1. Intracellular recordings from sympathetic neurones in the isolated coeliac ganglion of guinea‐pigs have been used to define the synaptic input to three subtypes of neurone, classified on the basis of their discharge during maintained depolarizing current as phasic neurones, neurones with prolonged after‐hyperpolarizations (LAH), and tonic neurones. 2. The three classes of neurone were distributed characteristically in different parts of the ganglion. 3. Passive membrane properties differed between the three neurone types. Mean input resistance was highest in phasic neurones and was inversely related to the size of the prolonged calcium‐activated potassium conductance in LAH neurones. Mean input time constant was highest in tonic neurones, because of significantly higher cell capacitance. 4. Phasic and LAH neurones usually received one suprathreshold ('strong') as well as several subthreshold excitatory synaptic potentials (ESPs) from the ipsilateral splanchnic nerve. In general, the amplitude and number of splanchnic inputs were greater, and the occurrence of two strong inputs more common, in phasic than in LAH neurones. The input to tonic neurones was small and usually subthreshold, even with supramaximal splanchnic stimulation. In a few (mostly tonic) neurones lying close to the midline, small ESPs were evoked by contralateral splanchnic stimulation. 5. Antidromic action potentials were evoked in more than half of all neurones by high voltage coeliac nerve stimulation. In addition, multiple small subthreshold ESPs were recorded in virtually all tonic neurones (99%) on coeliac nerve stimulation. In contrast, coeliac stimulation rarely evoked a few very small ESPs in LAH neurones (9%), but no synaptic response in phasic neurones. 6. In about half of the tonic neurones tested (but no phasic or LAH neurones), small ESPs were evoked by stimulation of the intermesenteric nerve. 7. Slow depolarization elicited by repetitive activation of splanchnic and coeliac nerve trunks, at voltages supramaximal for the fast cholinergic responses, were recorded from about half of both phasic and tonic neurones, but only one of twenty‐four LAH neurones. These responses commonly faded during subsequent trials, so that it was difficult to characterize them. 8. The data indicate that the three broad groups of coeliac neurone, classified on the basis of their voltage‐ and calcium‐dependent potassium conductances, receive different patterns of synaptic input. The differences may be related to the three major functions of vasoconstriction, motility and mucosal secretion in the small intestine.
Why Might Investors Choose Active Management?

We investigate why investors may be willing to participate in active management, notwithstanding expectations for negative average alpha after fees across all managers. Our approach involves modeling the expected outcome from investing in a portfolio of active managers, for investors who believe they have ability to select good managers and may anticipate benefits from replacing managers when alpha expectations fall. Numerical calibrations using inputs consistent with the literature find that certain investors can credibly invest through active managers at observed fee levels, most notably institutions. However, participation in active management at fees paid by some retail investors can only be explained by allowing for behavioral biases. Our analysis suggests that the wide use of active management reflects a diversity of investors who form expectations based on information other than expected alpha for the average manager, some of which entails cognitive error.
A System of Indicators for Sustainability: An Example from the Senegalese Fisheries

Abstract In most coastal countries the fisheries sector satisfies multiple socioeconomic needs. This is especially the case in many coastal developing countries where fisheries represent a substantial source of food, jobs, and income. However, fisheries exert strong pressures on marine resources with threats to their sustainability. The context of overexploitation of marine resources is combined with a great diversity of stakeholders intervening in the governance of the fisheries. Thus, a better understanding of the challenges fisheries face is essential to enact management policies to ensure sustainability. Through a case study of the Senegalese fisheries, this article develops quantitative indicators of social, economic, and ecological states of the fisheries. Standardized principal components analysis combined with the Hodrick-Prescott filter is used to assess trends in the indicators. These indicators can contribute to an adaptive management framework in a context of multiple management objectives with diverse stakeholders and uncertainty. JEL Classification Code: Q22
Wavelet Analysis of the Cost-of-Carry Model

In this paper, it is shown how one can employ the wavelet analysis to reconstruct data based only on the subset of information that differentiates the two fundamentally related time series: spot and futures indices. Such an analysis allows researchers to focus on examining the relationship between the two price series. Furthermore, it also enables examination and comparison of reconstructed prices based on different levels of information detail. It is found that the lead-lag relationship described in the empirical literature still exists between the spot and the futures index prices. Such a relationship is more persistent when more detailed information is used for price reconstruction. This implies that, if market imperfection is to be blamed for the noncontemporaneous relationship between the spot and the futures indices, one should concentrate solely on those imperfections that are likely to occur within very short time horizons.
An Estimated New Keynesian Model for Israel

We formulate and estimate a small New Keynesian model for the Israeli economy. Our goal is to construct a small but still realistic model that can be used to support the inflation targeting process. The model contains three structural equations: An open economy Phillips curve for CPI inflation (excluding the housing component), an aggregate demand curve for the output gap and an interest parity condition for the nominal exchange rate. The model is closed with an interest rate reaction function (Taylor-type rule) and an ad hoc equation for the housing component of the CPI, which is dominated by exchange rate changes. In the specification of the model we had to pay special attention to the crucial role of the exchange rate in the transmission of monetary policy in Israel, which has a direct effect on almost 60 percent of the CPI. The model is estimated by the GMM method, using quarterly data for the period 1992:I to 2005:IV. In the estimation of the structural equations we tried to remain as close as possible to the theoretical formulation by restricting the dynamics to one lag at most. We use the model to characterize an "optimal" simple interest rate rule. We find that the monetary authority should respond to an hybrid backward-forward looking rate of inflation and does not benefit from direct reaction to exchange rate measures.
Production of tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) by pig ovarian cells in vivo and the effect of TIMP-1 on steroidogenesis in vitro.

Precisely which ovarian cells produce tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) is unclear. Although granulosa cells are reported to produce TIMPs, thecal TIMP production has not been investigated nor has the influence of TIMPs on theca cells. Furthermore, although periovulatory follicles have been examined, little is known about smaller ovarian follicles. Follicles >/= 2 mm in diameter were collected from Large White hybrid gilts on the day before predicted oestrus (n = 3) or after hCG treatment (n = 3) and divided into 1 mm size classes. Small (2 to < 5 mm) follicles were kept intact, whereas follicles >/= 5 mm were separated into follicular fluid, granulosa and theca cell compartments. After homogenization, TIMP-1, -2 and -3 were detected by reverse zymography. Theca cells (50 x 10(3) per well) were cultured with TIMP-1 (10, 100 or 200 ng ml(-1) with or without long-R3 insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I)) in a serum-free system to investigate the effect on steroidogenesis and the number of cells. Both large and small pig follicles produced TIMPs and TIMP-1, -2 and -3 were detected in follicular fluid, granulosa and theca cell samples. There was a phase x tissue type interaction for the presence of both TIMP-1 and -2 (P < 0.03, P < 0.05, respectively), and TIMPs were detected in more granulosa and theca cell samples after hCG than during the follicular phase. The concentrations were influenced by the type of tissue (TIMP-1, P < 0.005; TIMP-2, P < 0.005, TIMP-3, P > 0.05), and the highest concentrations occurred in the theca tissue. There were tissue type x follicle size interactions for the presence of both TIMP-1 and -2 (P < 0.001). In vitro, TIMP-1 increased thecal steroidogenesis after 144 h (oestradiol, P < 0.05, progesterone, P < 0.001) but reduced the number of viable cells (P < 0.001). In conclusion, TIMP-1, -2 and -3 were present in large and small pig follicles and were produced by both granulosa and theca cells, although concentrations differed with the type of tissue. Production was regulated by factors including follicle size and phase of the oestrous cycle. In addition to controlling tissue remodelling, TIMP-1 may also regulate steroidogenesis.