Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Yeast one-hybrid assay identifies YY1 as a binding factor for a proacrosin promoter element.

The proacrosin gene is specifically expressed in the testis and encodes an acrosomal enzyme. Previously, footprint analyses have shown binding of nuclear extracts from testis and brain to a highly conserved 17 bp motif (F1 element: 5'-AACTTCAAAATGGCTCC/T-3') located in the proacrosin promoter. By using this DNA-element as a target in a yeast one-hybrid assay, a cDNA fragment coding for the C-terminal part of the transcription factor YY1 was isolated. The binding of YY1 to this F1 element was confirmed by immunocompetition in EMSA. Because putative YY1 binding sites were also found in the promoters of other testis-specific genes, the YY1 transcription factor could play an important role in testicular gene expression.
Plant Pathogen-Induced Water-Soaking Promotes Salmonella enterica Growth on Tomato Leaves

ABSTRACT Plant pathogen infection is a critical factor for the persistence of Salmonella enterica on plants. We investigated the mechanisms responsible for the persistence of S. enterica on diseased tomato plants by using four diverse bacterial spot Xanthomonas species that differ in disease severities. Xanthomonas euvesicatoria and X. gardneri infection fostered S. enterica growth, while X. perforans infection did not induce growth but supported the persistence of S. enterica. X. vesicatoria-infected leaves harbored S. enterica populations similar to those on healthy leaves. Growth of S. enterica was associated with extensive water-soaking and necrosis in X. euvesicatoria- and X. gardneri-infected plants. The contribution of water-soaking to the growth of S. enterica was corroborated by an increased growth of populations on water-saturated leaves in the absence of a plant pathogen. S. enterica aggregates were observed with bacterial spot lesions caused by either X. euvesicatoria or X. vesicatoria; however, more S. enterica aggregates formed on X. euvesicatoria-infected leaves as a result of larger lesion sizes per leaf area and extensive water-soaking. Sparsely distributed lesions caused by X. vesicatoria infection do not support the overall growth of S. enterica or aggregates in areas without lesions or water-soaking; S. enterica was observed as single cells and not aggregates. Thus, pathogen-induced water-soaking and necrosis allow S. enterica to replicate and proliferate on tomato leaves. The finding that the pathogen-induced virulence phenotype affects the fate of S. enterica populations in diseased plants suggests that targeting of plant pathogen disease is important in controlling S. enterica populations on plants.
Automatic cephalometric analysis.

OBJECTIVE To describe the techniques used for automatic landmarking of cephalograms, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each one and reviewing the percentage of success in locating each cephalometric point. MATERIALS AND METHODS The literature survey was performed by searching the Medline, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the ISI Web of Science Citation Index databases. The survey covered the period from January 1966 to August 2006. Abstracts that appeared to fulfill the initial selection criteria were selected by consensus. The original articles were then retrieved. Their references were also hand-searched for possible missing articles. The search strategy resulted in 118 articles of which eight met the inclusion criteria. Many articles were rejected for different reasons; among these, the most frequent was that results of accuracy for automatic landmark recognition were presented as a percentage of success. RESULTS A marked difference in results was found between the included studies consisting of heterogeneity in the performance of techniques to detect the same landmark. All in all, hybrid approaches detected cephalometric points with a higher accuracy in contrast to the results for the same points obtained by the model-based, image filtering plus knowledge-based landmark search and "soft-computing" approaches. CONCLUSIONS The systems described in the literature are not accurate enough to allow their use for clinical purposes. Errors in landmark detection were greater than those expected with manual tracing and, therefore, the scientific evidence supporting the use of automatic landmarking is low.
Long-Term Effects of Ambient Air Pollution on Lung Function: A Review

Lung function is an important measure of respiratory health and a predictor of cardiorespiratory morbidity and mortality. Over the past 2 decades, more than 50 publications have investigated long-term effects of ambient air pollution on lung function with most finding adverse effects. Several studies have also suggested effects from traffic-related air pollution. There is strong support for air pollution effects on the development of lung function in children and adolescents. It remains unclear whether subjects with slower development of lung function compensate by prolonging the growth phase, or whether they end their development at a lower plateau, thus entering the decline phase with a reduced lung function. In adults, the evidence for long-term air pollution effects is mostly based on cross-sectional comparisons. One recent longitudinal study observed that decreasing pollution attenuated the decline of lung function in adults. Earlier inconclusive cohort studies were based on limited data. There is great diversity in study designs, markers of air pollution, approaches to the measurement of exposure, and choices in lung function measures. These limit the comparability of studies and impede quantitative summaries. New studies should use individual-level exposure assessment to clarify the role of traffic and to preclude potential community-level confounding. Further research is needed on the relevance of specific pollution sources, particularly with regard to susceptible populations and relevant exposure periods throughout life.
Detection of Salmonella spp. in oysters by PCR

PCR DNA amplification of a region of the himA gene of Salmonella typhimurium specifically detected Salmonella spp. In oysters, 1 to 10 cells of Salmonella spp. were rapidly detected by the PCR following a pre-enrichment step to increase sensitivity and to ensure that detection was based on the presence of viable Salmonella spp.
Multivariate Mutual Information Inspired by Secret-Key Agreement

The capacity for multiterminal secret-key agreement inspires a natural generalization of Shannon's mutual information from two random variables to multiple random variables. Under a general source model without helpers, the capacity is shown to be equal to the normalized divergence from the joint distribution of the random sources to the product of marginal distributions minimized over partitions of the random sources. The mathematical underpinnings are the works on co-intersecting submodular functions and the principle lattices of partitions of the Dilworth truncation. We clarify the connection to these works and enrich them with information-theoretic interpretations and properties that are useful in solving other related problems in information theory as well as machine learning.
They never see how hard it is to be me: Siblings' observations of strangers, peers and family

Siblings of children with disabilities are an important consideration for professionals working in family-centred contexts. Siblings of children with a disability often have unique experiences and insights that can assist understanding within family-centred interactions. In order to understand siblings' complex interactions with others in their lives, 676 contributions to a children's Internet sibling support site were analysed. Three themes arose from the inductive thematic analysis regarding siblings' interactions with strangers, peers, and their family. Identified subthemes (written from the perspective of the siblings) were as follows: Strangers stare and have negative attitudes towards my sibling with a disability; peers don't understand what it's like to be me, use certain words that upset me, say nasty things and tease me about my brother/sister; although my family loves me, they don't have a lot of time for me, our plans are often disrupted, and they give me a lot of responsibility. Within family-centred intervention it is recommended that health and education professionals, and parents assist siblings to build effective strategies for interacting with others others and learn from siblings' insights.
The immune response attenuates growth and nutrient storage in Drosophila by reducing insulin signaling

Innate immunity is the primary and most ancient defense against infection. Although critical to survival, coordinating protection against a foreign organism is energetically costly, creating the need to reallocate substrates from nonessential functions, such as growth and nutrient storage. However, the mechanism by which infection or inflammation leads to a reduction in energy utilization by these dispensable processes is not well understood. Here, we demonstrate that activation of the Toll signaling pathway selectively in the fat body, the major immune and lipid storage organ of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, leads to both induction of immunity and reallocation of resources. Toll signaling in the fat body suppresses insulin signaling both within these cells and non-autonomously throughout the organism, leading to a decrease in both nutrient stores and growth. These data suggest that communication between these two regulatory systems evolved as a means to divert energy in times of need from organismal growth to the acute requirement of combating infection.
Decomposition of a Certain Cash Flow Stream: Differential Systemic Value and Net Final Value

This paper proposes a new way of decomposing net present values and net final values in periodic shares. Such a decomposition generates a new notion of residual income, radically different from the classical one available in the financial and accounting literature. While the standard residual income is formally computed as profit minus cost of capital times actual capital invested, the new paradigm introduces a fourth element: the capital invested in the so-called shadow project. Such a capital is the counterfactual capital that the investor would own if, at time 0, he invested his funds at the cost of capital, rather than in the project. Two important features are found: in primis, the new residual income is obtained as the sum of the standard residual incomes and the interest earned on past standard residual incomes; in secundis, the new paradigm is shown to be additive: the net final value of the project is computed as the sum of all periodic shares (residual incomes) with no capitalization process (abnormal earnings aggregation). A generalization is provided for a levered portfolio of projects, and a fourthfold decomposition is reached: (i) periodic decomposition, (ii) opportunity account decomposition, (iii) project decomposition, (iv) financing decomposition.
Effect of Anesthetics on Neuropathologic Sequelae of Status Epilepticus in Rats

&NA; We compared the efficacy of four different classes of anesthetics to arrest the progression of brain damage after chemoconvulsant‐induced seizures in rats. In two series of experiments, ventilated, paralyzed Long‐Evans rats were subjected to 30 or 45 min of continuous seizures induced by intravenous (IV) mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) or inhaled flurothyl, respectively. In the first series, seizures produced with MPA were treated with: 1) thiopental, 15 mg/kg IV bolus (controls); 2) thiopental, 27 mg/kg IV followed by 20.9 mg·kg−1·h−1 for 2 h; 3) isoflurane 4% inhaled concentration for 1 min followed by 1%‐2% for 2 h; 4) ketamine 30 mg/kg IV followed by 9.12 mg·kg−1·h−1 for 2 h; 5) midazolam 25 mg/kg IV followed by 9.7 mg·kg−1·h−1 for 2 h. In a second series, seizures were produced by flurothyl and, based on suggestive results in the MPA series, control rats were compared with rats receiving midazolam 25 mg/kg IV followed by 9.7 mg·kg−1·h−1. In all instances, seizure activity, recorded by electroencephalograph, stopped with anesthetic treatment. In MPA‐treated rats extranigral damage was mild, with no differences apparent between anesthetics. Control animals sustained severe lesions in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNPR). No statistically significant differences between anesthetic groups were present, although an effect was suggested for midazolam to decrease SNPR lesional area (P = 0.06). In flurothyl‐treated rats, there were significant reductions in SNPR neuropathologic grade (P = 0.025) and lesional area (P = 0.025) with midazolam. We conclude that midazolam attenuates postseizure SNPR damage in rats. (Anesth Analg 1993;77:330‐7)
A Study of Serum Lipoprotein and Cholesterol Determinations in 901 Diabetics

For over ioo years pathologists have recognized that the lipid laden intimal plaque impinging upon the lumen of the arteries is the characteristic feature of atherosclerosis. The dogma that it was an inevitable process of ageing resulted in a paucity of progress in this field. This theory was finally abandoned when pathologists found infants and children with intimal lipid streaks and elderly patients with minimal or no atherosclerosis. In 1913 Anitschkow stimulated a great deal of experimental work with his classic discovery that a lesion simulating atherosclerosis could be produced by feeding cholesterol to rabbits, and thus helped to categorize this disease as one of lipid metabolism. The lipids of the blood have long been known to exist in combination with other substances. More than a quarter of a century ago Macheboeuf isolated from serum a preparation containing large amounts of cholesterol and phospholipids. Both are water soluble due to their association with protein, and without this association such hydrophobic substances would lose their solubility in plasma. Gofman and his colleagues, from the Donner Laboratory of the University of California, demonstrated in 1950 that low density lipoprotein molecules in plasma could be made to undergo flotation in the ultracentrifuge. This marked the beginning of a renewed interest in research as to the status of serum lipids in relation to atherogenesis.
Financial market prediction system with Evolino neural network and Delphi method

Use of artificial intelligence systems in forecasting financial markets requires a reliable and simple model that would ensure profitable growth. The model presented in the paper combines Evolino recurrent neural networks with orthogonal data inputs and the Delphi expert evaluation method for its investment portfolio decision making process. A statistical study demonstrates the reliability of the model and describes its accuracy. Capabilities of the model are demonstrated using a trading simulation.
Real Estate and the Arbitrage Pricing Theory: Macrovariables vs. Derived Factors

Two empirical models are used to implement the arbitrage pricing theory: the factor loading model (FLM) and the macrovariable model (MVM). This study compares the ability of these two models to explain real estate returns using equity REIT returns as a proxy. Two tests are performed: a comparison of cross-sectional adjusted-R2's and the Davidson and Mackinnon test. The results show that while the two models perform equally well during the period 1974 - 1979,the MVM outperforms the FLM over the periods 1980 - 1985 and 1986 - 1991. In addition, both models suggest superior financial performance for EREITs relative to other investments in the market during the period 1980 - 1985.
Dietary Chemopreventative Benzyl Isothiocyanate Inhibits Breast Cancer Stem Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

A small subset of mammary tumor-initiating cells (also known as breast cancer stem cells; bCSC), characterized by expression of different markers [CD44high/CD24low/epithelial-specific antigen (ESA)+], aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1) activity, and ability to form mammospheres under ultra-low attachment culture conditions, are suspected to evade conventional therapies leading to disease recurrence. Elimination of both therapy-sensitive epithelial tumor cells and therapy-resistant bCSC is therefore necessary for prevention of breast cancer. We have shown previously that a nontoxic small-molecule constituent of edible cruciferous vegetables (benzyl isothiocyanate; BITC) inhibits mammary cancer development in mouse mammary tumor virus-neu (MMTV-neu) transgenic mice by causing epithelial tumor cell apoptosis. The present study shows efficacy of BITC against bCSC in vitro and in vivo. Mammosphere formation frequency and CD44high/CD24low/ESA+ and/or ALDH1+ populations in cultured MCF-7 (estrogen receptor–positive) and SUM159 (triple-negative) human breast cancer cells were decreased significantly in the presence of plasma achievable concentrations of BITC. BITC administration in the diet (3 μmol BITC/g diet for 29 weeks) resulted in a marked decrease in bCSCs in the MMTV-neu mice tumors in vivo. Overexpression of full-length Ron as well as its truncated form (sfRon), but not urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, conferred near complete protection against BITC-mediated inhibition of bCSCs in MCF-7 cells. The BITC treatment downregulated protein levels of Ron and sfRon in cultured breast cancer cells and in tumor xenografts. Ron overexpression resulted in upregulation of bCSC-associated genes Oct-4, SOX-2, and Nanog. In conclusion, the present study indicates that BITC treatment eliminates bCSCs in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Prev Res; 6(8); 782–90. ©2013 AACR.
An Empirical Exploration of Exchange Rate Target-Zones

In the context of a flexible-price monetary exchange rate model and the assumption of uncovered interest parity, we obtain a measure of the fundamental determinant of exchange rates. Daily data for the European Monetary System is then used to explore the importance of non-linearities in the relationship between the exchange rates and fundamentals. While some statistical evidence of non-linearities in conditional means of exchange rates is detected, these seem to have little economic content. A number of implications of existing "target zone" exchange rate models are tested; little support is found for existing models of limited exchange rate flexibility.
INFLUENCE OF SODIUM CHLORIDE ON SEED GERMINATION AND SEEDLING ROOT GROWTH OF COTTON (GOSSYPIUM HIRSUTUM L.)

Response of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv. NIAB-78) to salinity, in terms of seed germination, seedling root growth and root Na + and K + content was determined in a laboratory experiment. Cotton seeds were exposed to increasing salinity levels using germination water with Sodium chloride concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM, to provide different degrees of salt stress. Germinated seeds were counted and roots were harvested at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after the start of the experiment. It appeared that seed germination was only slightly affected by an increase in salinity (in most cases the differences between treatment were non-significant), whereas root length, root growth rate, root fresh and dry weights were severely affected, generally highly significant differences in these variables were found for comparisons involving most combinations of salinity levels, in particular with increased incubation period. K + contents decreased with increasing salinity levels, although differences in K + content were only significant when comparing the control and the 4 salinity levels. Na + content of the roots increased with increasing levels of NaCl in the germination water, suggesting an exchange of K + for Na + . The ratio K + /Na + strongly decreased with rising levels of salinity from around 4.5 for the control to ~ 1 at 200 mM NaCl.
An analysis of ecological footprint trade and sustainable carrying capacity of the population in Macao

Ecological footprint (EF) is a useful tool for exploring human impacts on natural ecosystems and has been widely applied. Until now, an important issue on the relationship between population sustainable carrying capacity and EF trade has rarely been discussed. EF trade can have positive or negative impacts on demand and supply of resources, and often changes the ecological carrying capacity of a country, region or city. This study focused on relationships between population carrying capacity and trade using the EF analysis framework. Taking Macao City as a case study, EFs from 1977 to 2004 were calculated. An ecological economic indicator, EF/US$1000, was used to analyse relationships between international trade of EF and carrying capacity, and a method for calculating population carrying capacity was also established to compare differences in sustainable populations in other countries. The results indicate that EF trade among countries, regions and cities can make up for shortages of domestic ecological resources and expand the population carrying capacity. In terms of ecological carrying capacity, the developmental status of the population in Macao was weakly sustainable. This research is helpful for a country, region or city to adjust its style of consumption and population size towards a reasonable level of sustainability.
Reconstitution of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Nuclear Capsid Egress In Vitro

ABSTRACT Newly assembled herpesvirus capsids travel from the nucleus to the plasma membrane by a mechanism that is poorly understood. Furthermore, the contribution of cellular proteins to this egress has yet to be clarified. To address these issues, an in vitro nuclear egress assay that reproduces the exit of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) capsids from nuclei isolated from infected cells was established. As expected, the assay has all the hallmarks of intracellular transport assays, namely, a dependence on time, energy, and temperature. Surprisingly, it is also dependent on cytosol and was slightly enhanced by infected cytosol, suggesting an implication of both host and viral proteins in the process. The capsids escaped these nuclei by budding through the inner nuclear membrane, accumulated as enveloped capsids between the two nuclear membranes, and were released in cytosol exclusively as naked capsids, exactly as in intact cells. This is most consistent with the view that the virus escapes by crossing the two nuclear membranes rather than through nuclear pores. Unexpectedly, nuclei isolated at the nonpermissive temperature from cells infected with a UL26 thermosensitive protease mutant (V701) supported capsid egress. Although electron microscopy, biochemical, and PCR analyses hinted at a likely reconstitution of capsid maturation, DNA encapsidation could not be confirmed by a traditional SQ test. This assay should prove very useful for identification of the molecular players involved in HSV-1 nuclear egress.