Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
miR-1247 Functions by Targeting Cartilage Transcription Factor SOX9*

Background: The function of miR-1247 was heretofore unknown. Results: We show that miR-1247 directly targets SOX9, a transcription factor essential for cartilage formation and function. Conclusion: miR-1247 may be an important regulator of cartilage function. Significance: miR-1247 is a potential new target for joint repair. microRNAs are a large and essential class of gene regulators that play key roles in development, homeostasis, and disease. They are necessary for normal skeletal development, and their expression is altered in arthritis. However, the specific role of individual microRNAs is only beginning to be unraveled. Using microRNA expression profiling in healthy human articular cartilage cells (chondrocytes), we identified miR-1247 expression as highly correlated with that of the differentiated cell phenotype. Transcribed from the DLK1-DIO3 locus, the function of miR-1247 is completely unknown. In mice its expression level was relatively high in cartilage tissue, and correlated with cartilage-associated microRNA miR-675 across a range of 15 different mouse tissues. To further probe miR-1247 function, overexpression and inhibition studies were performed in isolated human chondrocytes. Modulation of miR-1247 was found to exert profound phenotypic effects altering expression levels of cartilage master regulator transcription factor SOX9. SOX9 is essential for cartilage development and subsequent function throughout life, and mutations in this gene result in severe dwarfism. Putative miR-1247 binding sites were further investigated using luciferase reporter assays, which indicated binding of miR-1247 to a highly conserved region in the coding sequence of SOX9 but not in its 3′-UTR. Interestingly, depletion of SOX9 in human chondrocytes resulted in increased levels of the mature, processed microRNA, suggesting a negative feedback loop between miR-1247 and its target SOX9.
Currency Preferences, Purchasing Power Risks, and the Determination of Exchange Rates in an Optimizing Model

MOST RECENT RESEARCH on the theory of exchange rate determination treats the exchange rate as the relative price of two assets: domestic money and foreign money. The value of an asset depends on the distribution of its return. However, most of the research has dealt with models in which there is no uncertainty. The present paper focuses on questions that cannot be addressed in a world of certainty, because in such a world an asset is never risky. It investigates how purchasing power risks affect the determination of exchange rates. This investigation is pursued in a fairly general optimizing model. The present research is related to some recent work in international economics and in financial economics. It follows the approach of Obstfeld (1981) and Stockman (1980) in that it uses an optimizing model and takes into account the role of government transfers in the flow budget constraint of individuals. As in Calvo and Rodriguez (1977), Stockman (1980), and others, the fact that holdings of foreign monies are useful to domestic individuals is taken into account. Finally, the paper uses techniques developed in papers in the finance literature which build on Merton's (1973) asset-pricing model and use a concept of equilibrium developed in
Better Together: Restoring the American Community

For his new book Robert Putnam visited a number of places across America where individuals and groups are engaged in unusual forms of social activism and civic renewal. These are people who are renewing their communities and investing in new forms of 'social capital. ' Approximately a dozen such stories of civic innovation are told in this book. They range from a mentoring and reading programme in Philadelphia that brings together retirees and primary school children to a revitalised neighbourhood association and revitalised neighbourhoods in Boston to a successful community organising effort in the impoverished Rio Grande Valley. All across America and the UK such organizations are starting up and thriving, giving hope that the message of BOWLING ALONE has reached people and that civic institutions are taking new forms to adapt to new times and new needs.
Option Coskewness and Capital Asset Pricing

This article shows how the market coskewness model of Rubinstein (1973) and Kraus and Litzenberger (1976) is altered when a nonredundant call option is optimally traded. Owing to the option's nonredundancy, the economy's stochastic discount factor (SDF) depends not only on the market return and the square of the market return but also on the option return, the square of the option return, and the product of the market and option returns. This leads to an asset pricing model in which the expected return on any risky asset depends explicitly on the asset's coskewness with option returns. The empirical results show that the option coskewness model outperforms several competing benchmark models. Furthermore, option coskewness captures some of the same risks as the Fama--French factors small minus big (SMB) and high minus low (HML). These results suggest that the factors that drive the pricing of nonredundant options are also important for pricing risky equities. (JEL G11, G12, D61) Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
Measuring the Contributions of Site Characteristics to the Value of Agricultural Land

This study examines the effects of different combinations and qualities of selected site characteristics on the value of agricultural land in six substate regions in Washington State. The analysis follows the general hedonic regression form, but incorporates nonnegativity constraints on the models. This, coupled with an adaptation of Bierens's conditional moment test, yields consistent results showing (a) land value is a function of site characteristics, (b) land markets in Washington State are highly regional, (c) parsimonious empirical models can provide adequate representations of expected land values, and (d) nonnegative truncation is a valuable procedure in hedonic models.
Policy Analysis for What? The Effectiveness of Nonpartisan Policy Research Organizations

For the past several decades, scholars have studied the role of policy research in decision making. Depending how “use” is measured, the results have indicated only modest or indirect impacts. This study takes another direction to studying knowledge utilization, comparing the influence of nonpartisan policy research organizations in 19 states on their principal clients: state legislators. Nonpartisan research agencies represent a particularly rigorous test since the literature on knowledge utilization questions whether nonpartisan policy analysis organizations (NPROs) can remain neutral and contribute meaningfully to policymaking. Further, this analysis is comparative across states, studies institutions rather than specific reports or policy domains, and examines multiple types of “use. ” Using the results of surveys of both agencies and legislators, the results indicate a strong association between the size and type of policy research organizations and legislators’ assessments of use, even controlling for political and ideological factors. This suggests that policy analysis organizations—even those in a highly politicized environment—have a significant impact on policymaking, mainly by providing information and analysis to decision makers but also in influencing public policy outcomes.
Petroleum Services Enterprises Limited (PSEL): A Case in Financial Reporting and Analysis

The case has been used in the Financial Accounting course of the MBA programme offered by the University of the West Indies. It replaced a number of simple, end-of-chapter problems in the recommended course text. It is administered as a comprehensive group assignment after completing the Financial Statements Preparation and Financial Statements Analysis modules of the Financial Accounting course. These modules cover the environment and structure of financial statements, the preparation of general-purpose financial statements and related disclosures, income measurement and financial analysis.
Folic acid supplementation and cancer risk: A meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

There are growing data and a continuing controversy over the effect of folic acid supplementation on cancer risk. We conducted a meta‐analysis based on up‐to‐date published relevant randomized trials to further examine this issue. Relative risk (RR) was used to measure the effect of folic acid supplementation on risk of cancer using a random‐effects model. Overall, folic acid supplementation had no significant effect on total cancer incidence (13 trials, n = 49,406, RR = 1.05; 95% CI: 0.99–1.11, p = 0.13), colorectal cancer (seven trials, n = 33,824, 1.01; 0.82–1.23, p = 0.95), other gastrointestinal cancer (two trials, n = 20,228, 1.00; 0.75–1.33, p = 0.99), prostate cancer (five trials, n = 27,065, 1.17; 0.84–1.62, p = 0.35), other genitourinary cancer (two trials, n = 20,228, 0.97; 0.75–1.27, p = 0.84), lung cancer (five trials, n = 31,864, 1.00; 0.84–1.21, p = 0.97), breast cancer (four trials, n = 19,800, 0.82; 0.63–1.07, p = 0.15), hematological malignancy (three trials, n = 25,670, 0.87; 0.64–1.17, p = 0.35) and total cancer mortality (six trials, n = 31,930, 1.02; 0.90–1.15, p = 0.81). However, a significantly reduced risk was observed for melanoma (three trials, n = 19,128, 0.47; 0.23–0.94, p = 0.03). Furthermore, higher total cancer incidence risk was observed among those trials with a higher percent use of lipid‐lowering drugs (>60%, 1.10; 1.00–1.20, p = 0.04), or with lower percent baseline hypertension (≤70%, 1.08; 1.00–1.16, p = 0.057). Consistently, meta‐regression analyses suggested that the similar trend between percent use of lipid‐lowering drugs (p = 0.084) or percent baseline hypertension (p = 0.056) and log‐RR for total cancer incidence associated with folic acid supplementation. Our findings indicate that folic acid supplementation has no significant effect on total cancer incidence, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer or hematological malignancy, but reduces the risk of melanoma.
Cardiac troponin I in feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Measurement of plasma cardiac troponin I concentration ([cTnI]) is a sensitive and specific means for detecting myocardial damage in many mammalian species. Studies have shown that [cTnI] increases rapidly after cardiomyocyte injury. The molecular structure of cTnl is highly conserved across species, and current assays developed for its detection in humans have been validated in many species. In this study, [cTnI] was quantified using a 2-site sandwich assay in plasma of healthy control cats (n = 33) and cats with moderate to severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) (n = 20). [cTnI] was significantly higher in cats with HCM (median, 0.66 ng/mL; range, 0.05-10.93 ng/mL) as compared with normal cats (median, <0.03 ng/mL; range, <0.03-0.16 ng/mL) (P < .0001). An increase in [cTnI] was also highly sensitive (sensitivity = 85%) and specific (specificity = 97%) for differentiating cats with moderate to severe HCM from normal cats. [cTnI] was weakly correlated with diastolic thickness of the left ventricular free wall (r2 = .354; P = .009) but not with the diastolic thickness of the interventricular septum (P = .8467) or the left atrium: aorta ratio (P = .0652). Furthermore, cats with congestive heart failure at the time of cTnI analysis had a significantly higher [cTnI] than did cats that had never had heart failure and those whose heart failure was controlled at the time of analysis (P = .0095 and P = .0201, respectively). These data indicate that cats with HCM have ongoing myocardial damage. Although the origin of this damage is unknown, it most likely explains the replacement fibrosis that is consistently identified in cats with moderate to severe HCM.
Gender Differences in Salary and Promotion in the Humanities

In their annual review of academic salaries, the American Association of University Professors observes large gender-related salary differentials. At doctoral-level institutions, male professors at the rank of full professor earn 11.4% more than women full professors. Data on academic labor markets from the Survey of Doctorate Recipients to evaluate gender differences in salaries and promotion probabilities. Differences in employment outcomes by gender are found using two methods: the Oaxaca decomposition is used to examine salary differentials, and duration analysis is used to estimate promotion to tenure. While gender salary differences can largely be explained by academic rank, substantial gender differences in promotion to tenure exist after controlling for productivity, demographic characteristics, and primary work activity.
Efeitos da governança corporativa e da performance empresarial sobre o turnover de executivos no Brasil: comparando empresas familiares e não-familiares

In recent years, an increasing share of researches on Finance have placed attention to the study of corporate governance, highlighting its implications to the global performance of companies. One of the ways to assess the structures and practices of the corporate governance is to verify the sensibility of executives’ turnover to the company performance. In this article we aim at checking if the determinants of executives’ turnover in Brazilian companies may be different between family and non-family businesses from the governance viewpoint. The analysis is conducted having as reference a set of 176 industrial businesses listed at Bovespa, segmented by type (family or non-family), between 1997 and 2001. The contribution of this study is in the peculiarities involving the family businesses and which have not been considered in Brazilian researches, and by offering elements to reflect theoretically about the performance of family businesses and their governance structures. The results reveal the existence of significant differences in performance, value and structures of corporate governance between family and non-family businesses. It has also been observed that the companies which obtained better profitability tended to implement a smaller turnover.
Relapsed infant MLL‐rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia with additional genetic alterations

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in infants is a rare and aggressive disease, and has poor prognosis. Approximately 80% of patients with infant ALL harbor a mixed lineage leukemia (MLL, also known as KMT2A) gene rearrangement, which is a strong independent predictor of poor outcome.1,2 Although MLL rearrangement is considered a strong driver mutation, it may not be sufficient for leukemogenesis.3 We report two relapsed cases of infant ALL with MLL rearrangement. Case 1 is a 3-month-old female who was diagnosed as infant ALL with MLL-ENL, and Case 2 is a 4-month-old male who was diagnosed as infant ALLwithMLL-AF4. Both patients experienced a relapse twice. Somatic DNA was obtained from bone marrow at diagnosis and each episode of relapse, while germline DNA was obtained from buccal swab. Targeted sequencing was performed on MiSeq (Illumina, San Diego, CA) using HaloPlex custom panels (Agilent, Santa Clara, CA), with 163 known mutated genes in hematological diseases, which are customized to detect cancer-related genes (Supplementary Table S1). Read alignment and variant calling were performed using the MiSeq reporter (Illumina), and variants were annotated using SureCall software (Agilent). Synonymous or noncoding variants were excluded, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and germline polymorphisms were reported to dbSNP, unless they were found in the COSMIC database. Among the remaining variants with a variant allele frequency higher than 0.1, recurrentlymutated genes reported in a larger cohort4 were considered as candidate genes and validated by conventional Sanger sequencing. Sanger sequencingwasperformedafterPCR using specific primers, and mutations were detected by ABI PRISM 3100 (Thermo Fisher Scientific,Waltham,MA) using the primers listed in Supplementary Table S1. Thus, we identified additional gene alterations (Fig. 1). Only two mutations were detected in diagnostic samples, indicating that small number of mutations cooperate with MLL rearrangement. Among them, mutations in KRAS and FLT3 have also been recurrently reported in a study by Andersson et al. using wholegenome or whole-exome sequencing . 4 To date, their study has been the largest describing the mutational profile of infant ALL. It is notable that many mutations other than those involved in the tyrosine kinasePI3K-RAS signaling pathways, which are found in approximately half of the patients, are found with low frequency. We could monitor our
Creator-centric study of digital art exhibitions on interactive public displays

We present a mixed-methods study aimed at assessing artists' experiences of a digital art exhibition service, called StreetGallery, on a network of interactive displays situated in public urban locations. We ground our analysis using survey responses and in-depth interviews of artists who have exhibited their art in StreetGallery over the years. Findings from these studies indicate that the artists highly value StreetGallery's open and egalitarian access to art, and its contribution towards fusing novel digital technologies and art in public urban spaces. We conclude that platforms such as StreetGallery have the potential to challenge traditional paradigms of art gallery practices and public urban spaces as a stage for consumption and commerce.
Monolithic Low-EMI CMOS DC–DC Boost Converter for Portable Applications

This brief presents the design of a novel low-electromagnetic interference DC-DC step-up (boost) switching converter for portable applications. The converter can switch between pulsewidth modulation and pulse-frequency modulation modes for different load conditions, and uses a new ultralow-current spread spectrum frequency modulator to reduce the harmonic noise peak. The stability of the converter system with a spread spectrum frequency modulator is first analyzed in this brief. The harmonic peak reduction for the switching frequency and the second harmonic is 14 and 18 dB, respectively. A new two-stage soft-start circuit is also implemented to greatly reduce the start-up current. The start-up current of the boost converter is effectively limited below 500 mA. This brief also investigates the effects of the spread spectrum on conversion efficiency and output ripple voltage. About 93% maximum conversion efficiency can be reached for both operation modes. The chip was fabricated using a TSMC 2P4M 0.35- μm CMOS process.
Urban Rationing in Communist China

From an economic point of view, a ration coupon can serve at least three purposes: it can control the movement of people from one place to another, thereby easing employment, housing and transportation problems; it can distribute basic necessities, such as foodstuffs, more evenly in times of scarcity; and it can shift purchasing power away from certain goods, thus helping to maintain stable prices on these goods during periods of inflationary pressure. However, while each of these goals can be analysed in a narrowly economic framework, it is important to consider their political consequences as well. Inflation, for example, may cause political discontent even before it brings about economic dislocation. Any consideration of Peking's rationing policies, therefore, must touch on both the economic and non-economic aspects of the problem.
Deficiency of IL-5 receptor alpha-chain selectively influences the development of the common mucosal immune system independent IgA-producing B-1 cell in mucosa-associated tissues.

Deletion of IL-5R alpha-chain (IL-5R alpha-/-) selectively influenced the mucosal IgA responses in vivo. While levels of IgA in mucosal secretions were more reduced in IL-5R alpha-/- mice than in wild-type mice, the levels of IgA in serum were not changed. The frequency of IgA-producing cells was reduced in mucosal effector sites (e.g., intestinal lamina propria and nasal passage), but not in inductive sites such as Payer's patches and nasal-associated lymphoreticular tissues in IL-5R alpha-/- mice. IgA-committed (surface IgA+; sIgA+) B-1 cells mainly resided in mucosal effector tissues, while conventional sIgA+ B (B-2) cells formed in mucosal inductive sites of wild-type mice. In contrast, in the effector tissue of IL-5R alpha-/- mice, sIgA+ B-1 cells, but not sIgA+ B-2 cells in the inductive site, were significantly reduced. IL-5R alpha was more expressed on sIgA+ B-1 cells than was IL-6R, while both IL-5R alpha and IL-6R were expressed on sIgA+ B-2 cells in wild-type mice. sIgA+ B-1 cells produced high levels of IgA with rIL-5 rather than of rIL-6 in vitro. Taken together, the findings suggest that the IL-5/IL-5R signaling pathway is critically important for the development of common mucosal immune system independent sIgA+ B-1 cell in mucosal effector tissues in vivo.
Ultrastructural Changes in Otoconia of Osteoporotic Rats

The etiology of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) remains obscure in many cases and women are affected more often than men. A recent prospective study, performed in women >50 years of age suffering from recurrent BPPV, showed associated osteopenia or osteoporosis in a large percentage of these patients. These results suggested the possible relationship between recurrent BPPV and a decreased fixation of calcium in bone in women >50 years. To test this hypothesis, an experimental study was performed in adult female rats. Utricular otoconia of female rats in which osteopenia/osteoporosis was induced by bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) were compared to those of sham-operated adult females rats (SHAM), as control group. First Study: The morphology of theutricles of OVX and SHAM rats was analyzed with scanning electron microscopy. In osteopenic/osteoporotic rats, the density of otoconia (i.e. the number of otoconia per unit area) was decreased (p = 0.036)and their size was increased (p = 0.036) compared to the control group. Second Study: To test the role of calcium turnover in such morphological changes, utricular otoconia of 2 other groups of OVX and SHAM rats, previously injected with calcein subcutaneously, were examined by conventional and epifluorescence microscopy. In epifluorescence microscopy, labeling with calcein showed no significant fluorescence in either group. This finding was interpreted as a lack of external calcium turnover into otoconia of adult female rats. The ultrastructural modifications of otoconia in osteopenic/osteoporotic female adult rats as well as the role of estrogenic receptors in the inner ear are discussed. The possible pathophysiological mechanisms which support the relationship between recurrent BPPV in women and the disturbance of the calcium metabolism of osteopenia/osteoporosis are debated.
UV‐induced Skin Cancer: Similarities – Variations

Skin cancer, the most common cancer world wide, encompasses different tumor entities, the keratinocyte‐derived basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) as well as the neuroectodermal malignant melanoma (MM) and the neuroendocrine Merkel cell carcinomas (MCC). While knowledge is significantly increasing about genetic changes contributing to BCCs and MMs, our understanding for the development and progression of SCCs and MCCs is still fragmentary. This review, thus, aims, on the one hand to summarize the present knowledge without claiming completeness and, on the other hand, to provide information on the HaCaT in vitro skin carcinogenesis model that is used to evaluate the functional consequence of genetic aberrations believed to play a role in skin cancer development and progression.