Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing a Historically Hispanic Serving Institution Internationalization Process

This article presents a qualitative study conducted at a Historically Hispanic Serving Institution (HHSI) to further the understanding of its internationalization decision-making process. The study uses the Internationalization Cube model to review the institution’s internal processes and policies toward internationalization and assess how its international activities align with its internationalization efforts. The Internationalization Cube, an eight-cell model, permits the positioning of Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) based on the analysis of its three dimensions and respective subcategories: policy, support, and implementation. The International Dimension Index (IDI) and the Item Relevancy Index (IRI) were also used to determine the level of alignment between the HHSI position on the Internationalization Cube and its international activities. The study finds that the HHSI is on Position 6 on the Internationalization Cube (priority policy, one-sided support, and systematic/structure implementation), and exhibits all the international activities considered indicators of internationalization but attention is needed to foreign language, international students, study abroad, faculty movement and involvement in international projects. The study concludes that an association exists between the institution’s position on the Internationalization Cube and its international activities, and adjustments in the institution’s policy, support, and implementation dimensions will be required to advance its position on the Internationalization Cube making its internationalization process more sustainable. This study makes a contribution to addressing the need to assess an IHE by presenting a holistic organizational framework instead of a fragmented international activities organizational analysis.
Extension of the Thrombolytic Time Window With Minocycline in Experimental Stroke

Background and Purpose— Thrombolysis with tPA is the only FDA-approved therapy for acute ischemic stroke. But its widespread application remains limited by narrow treatment time windows and the related risks of cerebral hemorrhage. In this study, we ask whether minocycline can prevent tPA-associated cerebral hemorrhage and extend the reperfusion window in an experimental stroke model in rats. Methods— Spontaneously hypertensive rats were subjected to embolic focal ischemia using homologous clots and treated with: saline at 1 hour; early tPA at 1 hour, delayed tPA at 6 hours; minocycline at 4 hours; combined minocycline at 4 hours plus tPA at 6 hours. Infarct volumes and hemorrhagic transformation were quantified at 24 hours. Gelatin zymography was used to measure blood levels of circulating matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). Results— Early 1-hour thrombolysis restored perfusion and reduced infarction. Late 6-hour tPA did not decrease infarction but instead worsened hemorrhagic conversion. Combining minocycline with delayed 6-hour tPA decreased plasma MMP-9 levels, reduced infarction, and ameliorated brain hemorrhage. Blood levels of MMP-9 were also significantly correlated with volumes of infarction and hemorrhage. Conclusion— Combination therapy with minocycline may extend tPA treatment time windows in ischemic stroke.
Flexible spike timing of layer 5 neurons during dynamic beta oscillation shifts in rat prefrontal cortex

Human brain oscillations occur in different frequency bands that have been linked to different behaviours and cognitive processes. Even within specific frequency bands such as the beta‐ (14–30 Hz) or gamma‐band (30–100 Hz), oscillations fluctuate in frequency and amplitude. Such frequency fluctuations most probably reflect changing states of neuronal network activity, as brain oscillations arise from the correlated synchronized activity of large numbers of neurons. However, the neuronal mechanisms governing the dynamic nature of amplitude and frequency fluctuations within frequency bands remain elusive. Here we show that in acute slices of rat prefrontal cortex (PFC), carbachol‐induced oscillations in the beta‐band show frequency and amplitude fluctuations. Fast and slow non‐harmonic frequencies are distributed differentially over superficial and deep cortical layers, with fast frequencies being present in layer 3, while layer 6 only showed slow oscillation frequencies. Layer 5 pyramidal cells and interneurons experience both fast and slow frequencies and they time their spiking with respect to the dominant frequency. Frequency and phase information is encoded and relayed in the layer 5 network through timed excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission. Our data indicate that frequency fluctuations in the beta‐band reflect synchronized activity in different cortical subnetworks, that both influence spike timing of output layer 5 neurons. Thus, amplitude and frequency fluctuations within frequency bands may reflect activity in distinct cortical neuronal subnetworks that may process information in a parallel fashion.
The human immune response to tuberculosis and its treatment: a view from the blood

The immune response upon infection with the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis is poorly understood, hampering the discovery of new treatments and the improvements in diagnosis. In the last years, a blood transcriptional signature in tuberculosis has provided knowledge on the immune response occurring during active tuberculosis disease. This signature was absent in the majority of asymptomatic individuals who are latently infected with M. tuberculosis (referred to as latent). Using modular and pathway analyses of the complex data has shown, now in multiple studies, that the signature of active tuberculosis is dominated by overexpression of interferon‐inducible genes (consisting of both type I and type II interferon signaling), myeloid genes, and inflammatory genes. There is also downregulation of genes encoding B and T‐cell function. The blood signature of tuberculosis correlates with the extent of radiographic disease and is diminished upon effective treatment suggesting the possibility of new improved strategies to support diagnostic assays and methods for drug treatment monitoring. The signature suggested a previously under‐appreciated role for type I interferons in development of active tuberculosis disease, and numerous mechanisms have now been uncovered to explain how type I interferon impedes the protective response to M. tuberculosis infection.
Corporate Finance, Financial Development, and Growth

The paper examine the relevance of informational asymetries in the transmission process from financial development to growth. A simple growth model has hightlighted the hypothesis that firms with valuable invesment opportunities but insufficient internal funds may grow faster should their acces to external sources be enhanced. The present work finds a similar relationship between information frictions and long-run growth.
A Bounded Rationality Approach to β , δ Preferences

Borrowing from Cognitive Heierarchy Theory, I introduce bounded rationality into the β, δ model of present-biased preferences. I define a level-two agent—or “k-2– sophisticate”—as one who is aware that her future selves will have present-bias, but believes that they will be naive. The k-2–sophisticate does one round of strategic thinking about her future behavior instead of the unlimited number of rounds of the usual sophisticate. In the “doing it once” model of procrastination of O’Donoghue and Rabin (1999) the k-2–sophisticate typically procrastinates and preproperates less than the full sophisticate, and is protected from severe harm from both extreme preproperation and extreme procrastination, though she may suffer from excessive costly preemption due to pessimism about future preemption when costs are immediate.
The pronunciation of Hong Kong English

This paper provides a detailed description of the pronunciation of English by fifteen fourth-year undergraduates at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. First, the occurrence of American features of pronunciation is considered. Then there is an analysis of the pronunciation of initial TH, initial and final consonant clusters, L-vocalisation, conflation between initial [n] and [l], monophthong vowels, the vowels in FACE and GOAT, vowel reduction, rhythm and sentence stress. Finally, the status of Hong Kong English is considered, particularly the extent of its continuing alignment with an exonormative standard.
Effects of low-dose atorvastatin on arterial stiffness and central aortic pressure augmentation in patients with hypertension and hypercholesterolemia.

BACKGROUND Experimental and clinical data suggest that statins exert anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative actions on vasculature beyond their lipid-lowering properties. Whether these pleiotropic effects of statins translate into a beneficial effect on arterial stiffness is not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the potential effects of low-dose atorvastatin treatment on arterial stiffness and central arterial pressure waveforms in patients with mild hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. METHODS In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled fashion, 50 hypertensive and hypercholesterolemic patients were allocated to receive 10 mg of atorvastatin or placebo for 26 weeks. Arterial stiffness was assessed by aortic pulse-wave velocity (PWV) using a Sphygmocor device. Central arterial pressure waveform parameters were estimated by radial artery applanation tonometry. Heart rate-adjusted augmentation index (AIx(75)) was used as measure of wave reflections. RESULTS At study end, aortic PWV (9.0 ± 1.5 vs. 10.9 ± 2.6 m/sec; P < 0.001) and AIx(75) (24.9% ± 9.7% vs 28.8% ± 11.8%; P < 0.001) were significantly lower in the atorvastatin group than that placebo group. Furthermore, decreases in central aortic systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure were evident at study-end with atorvastatin but not with placebo (130 ± 8 vs. 138 ± 6 mm Hg, P < 0.001; 48 ± 7 vs. 53 ± 6 mm Hg, P < 0.05, respectively). Atorvastatin-induced reductions in aortic PWV during follow-up showed significant associations with changes in AIx(75) and central aortic systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that low-dose atorvastatin treatment improves arterial stiffness and exerts a reduction on central aortic pressures. These effects may represent a potential mechanism of cardiovascular risk reduction observed with statin use. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Database Identifier Number: NCT01126684.
Safety and efficacy of albumin administration in trauma

Albumin is one of the oldest known and studied human proteins. It is characterised by diverse physiological and biochemical properties that render it relevant to many aspects of the disordered vascular and cellular functions after trauma. Apart from the ability to maintain the colloid oncotic pressure, human serum albumin has multiple effects, including antioxidant activity and binding affinity for drugs and toxic substances, inhibition of apoptosis and modulation of trauma-induced inflammatory response. According to the current state of knowledge, there are conflicting results regarding the benefits of albumin administration in critically ill patients. Further investigations are warranted to resolve the continued uncertainty about the safety and efficacy of human serum albumin in specific clinical circumstances and selected populations of severely injured patients.
A Survey on Query-by-Example based Music Information Retrieval

search in huge musical datasets using a query provided as a fragment of desired song while there exists no extra information is a particular concern in content-based music information retrieval (MIR), defined as query-by-example (QBE). A number of QBE based MIR systems have evolved in recent years, which search a desired song without any manual of its originality, such as title, composer, singer or etc., and return a list of songs ranked in descending order according to the similarity with the given query recorded by user on TV, in gym or so on. Although, too much attention has been paid to this topic by researchers and developers in several communities, such as information retrieval, data mining or multimedia browsing engines, but it still suffers from no existing a unique definition on structure, aim, similarity, performance and also output results. This paper focuses on providing a brief overview of available QBE based MIR systems to manifest variety, opportunities and challenges in this area.
Physical Appearance, Social Skill, and Performance as a Leadership Candidate

A study was conducted to explore whether the influence of physical appearance on leader emergence is mediated by appearance-related social skills. College student subjects performed a leadership simulation task in which they were videotaped giving a standard campaign speech. Canonical analysis revealed that the quality of their performance, as measured by observers' judgments and behavioral indicators, was related to their appearance and to appearance-related leadership skills. The implications of these findings for both attribution theories of leadership and applied efforts to improve leaders' performance are discussed.
The Social Organization of Organized Crime in Chicago

Based upon the analysis of interview data, this research argues that neither the bureaucratic nor the patrimonial models of complex organizations adequately explains traditional organized crime as found in Chicago today. This paper suggests that the open systems perspective, and in particular the contingency model, better explains the true nature of organized crime. In addition, this research describes the organizational structure of the Outfit, the traditional organized crime group in Chicago, and argues that positions exist within the Outfit for made guys, Outfit Guys, and connected members. In addition, this research argues that the Outfit has an organized public made up of gamblers, thieves, and wanna-be's who provide support for the activities of the organization and recruits for the Outfit itself.
Party Elites in Multilevel Europe

This article addresses the role of party elites in the setting of European multilevel governance and transnationalization. Emphasis is placed on informal networks, elite socialization and policy coordination. The analysis focuses on the 1985 Intergovernmental Conference, which led to the Single European Act (SEA), and the political family of Christian Democrats, most notably party leaders' meetings. The research material consists of interviews and archival sources. It can be shown that the SEA was to a large extent shaped through transnational party elite socialization. Challenging previous analyses, there is sufficient documentary evidence to claim that political parties, or rather party elites, were centrally involved in the making of this historic treaty. Such involvement of elected political representatives could further the democratic legitimacy of the European Union, but reinforces problems of intra-party democracy.
Molecular cloning of complementary deoxyribonucleic acids for the pituitary glycoprotein hormone α-subunit and luteinizing hormone β-subunit precursor molecules of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Abstract Complementary DNAs encoding precursor molecules of the pituitary glycoprotein hormone (PGH) α- and luteinizing hormone (LH) β-subunits of Japanese quail were isolated from a quail adenohypophyseal cDNA library using corresponding chicken cDNAs as hybridization probes. The isolated cDNAs had a length of 695 and 724 bp, respectively, and contained sequences of 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions and an entire coding region of the precursor molecules. Two series of incompletely repeating and partially overlapping nucleotide sequences were observed over a part near the 3′ end of the apoprotein coding region and the 3′-untranslated region in the β-subunit cDNA. One of them consisted of two repeated sets of 71 bases and the other consisted of six repeated sets of 30 bases or less. The predicted amino acid sequence showed that signal peptide and apoprotein of the α-subunit consisted of 24 and 96 amino acid residues, respectively, and those of the β-subunit consisted of 47 and 119 amino acid residues, respectively. Hybridization of the quail PGH αand LH β-subunit cDNAs to adenohypophyseal RNA showed that sizes of PGH α- and LH β-subunit precursor mRNAs were about 1.1 and 0.9 kb, respectively. Amounts of both mRNAs were increased three to four times by castration in male quail. A comparison of the amino acid sequences of each of the PGH α- and LH β-subunit precursors of the quail and other vertebrates indicated that the apoprotein, especially that of the α-subunit, was conserved (59 to 85% and 34 to 55% homology in the α- and β-subunits, respectively), while the signal peptide was diversified (4 to 75% and 4 to 45% homology in the α- and β-subunits, respectively). In the LH β-subunit apoprotein, interclass homology values varied in a narrow range and did not show a clear relation with the phylogenic distance, while interclass homology values in the α-subunit apoprotein and both signal peptides reflected the phylogenic distance. This characteristic feature of the LHβ apoprotein can be explained by assuming that the variable portion of the LHβ apoprotein molecule evolved with a higher speed than that of the other peptides, and consequently no sequence common with other classes remained. This highly variable sequence may be responsible for the high animal-class specificity of the interaction between LH and its receptor.
Linguistic Typology

Abstract: Variety sampling aims at capturing as much of the world’s linguistic variety as possible. The article discusses and compares two sampling methods designed for variety sampling: the Diversity Value method, in which sample languages are picked according to the diversity found in family trees, and the Genus-Macroarea method, in which genealogical stratification is primarily based on genera and areal stratification pays attention to the proportional representation of the genealogical diversity of macroareas. The pros and cons of the methods are discussed, some additional features are introduced to the GenusMacroarea method, and the ability of both methods to capture crosslinguistic variety is tested with computerized simulations drawing on data in The world atlas of language structures database.
α-SNAP Interferes with the Zippering of the SNARE Protein Membrane Fusion Machinery

Background: Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein α (α-SNAP) regulates the pre-fusion step as well as SNARE disassembly. Results: α-SNAP on its own interferes with SNARE zippering and inhibits chromaffin granule fusion, but not synaptic vesicle fusion. Conclusion: Retardation of SNARE zippering by α-SNAP results in the partial SNARE zippering. Significance: This is the first direct evidence showing the partial SNARE zippering in the physiological context. Neuronal exocytosis is mediated by soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins. Before fusion, SNARE proteins form complexes bridging the membrane followed by assembly toward the C-terminal membrane anchors, thus initiating membrane fusion. After fusion, the SNARE complex is disassembled by the AAA-ATPase N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor that requires the cofactor α-SNAP to first bind to the assembled SNARE complex. Using chromaffin granules and liposomes we now show that α-SNAP on its own interferes with the zippering of membrane-anchored SNARE complexes midway through the zippering reaction, arresting SNAREs in a partially assembled trans-complex and preventing fusion. Intriguingly, the interference does not result in an inhibitory effect on synaptic vesicles, suggesting that membrane properties also influence the final outcome of α-SNAP interference with SNARE zippering. We suggest that binding of α-SNAP to the SNARE complex affects the ability of the SNARE complex to harness energy or transmit force to the membrane.
Psychiatry: Evidence-Based but Still Value-Laden

The directive that we should be ‘for evidence-based medicine’ has the same moral imperative as Queen Elizabeth's affirmation that she is ‘against sin’. It seems impossible to take an opposing view without abandoning reason or at least ethics. And yet a feeling of uneasiness, or at least caution, stands in the way of wholehearted endorsement – why?
Activation of the Interferon-Inducible 2′-5′-Oligoadenylate Synthetase Gene by Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein

ABSTRACT The effects of hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins on several signal transduction pathways in human nonneoplastic hepatocyte PH5CH8 cells were investigated using expression vectors encoding HCV proteins derived from HCV-infected human nonneoplastic cultured T-lymphocyte and hepatocyte cells (MT-2C and PH5CH7), which could support HCV replication. The amino acid sequences of HCV proteins obtained from HCV-infected human cells were identical or very close to the consensus sequences of the proteins derived from the original inoculum used for HCV infection. During the course of the study, we found that HCV core protein specifically activated the 40/46-kDa 2′-5′-oligoadenylate synthetase (2′-5′-OAS) gene promoter in a dose-dependent manner in different human hepatocyte cell lines (PH5CH8, HepG2, and PLC/PRF/5). We also found that the activation by core protein was further enhanced in the cells treated with alpha interferon. The expression of E1 or E2 envelope protein or nonstructural NS5A protein did not activate the 2′-5′-OAS gene promoter. We demonstrated that the activation by core protein in the hepatocyte cells was suppressed by antisense RNA complementary to core-encoding RNA. Deletion mutant analysis of core protein and deletion analysis of the 2′-5′-OAS gene promoter have been performed. Finally, we demonstrated that the activation of the 2′-5′-OAS gene occurred at the transcriptional level and furthermore demonstrated that the endogenous 2′-5′-OAS gene was also activated by core protein. This is the first report to show that a viral protein activated the 2′-5′-OAS gene.
Kinase Activation through Dimerization by Human SH2-B

ABSTRACT The isoforms of SH2-B, APS, and Lnk form a family of signaling proteins that have been described as activators, mediators, or inhibitors of cytokine and growth factor signaling. We now show that the three alternatively spliced isoforms of human SH2-B readily homodimerize in yeast two-hybrid and cellular transfections assays, and this is mediated specifically by a unique domain in its amino terminus. Consistent with previous reports, we further show that the SH2 domains of SH2-B and APS bind JAK2 at Tyr813. These findings suggested a model in which two molecules of SH2-B or APS homodimerize with their SH2 domains bound to two JAK2 molecules, creating heterotetrameric JAK2-(SH2-B)2-JAK2 or JAK2-(APS)2-JAK2 complexes. We further show that APS and SH2-B isoforms heterodimerize. At lower levels of SH2-B or APS expression, dimerization approximates two JAK2 molecules to induce transactivation. At higher relative concentrations of SH2-B or APS, kinase activation is blocked. SH2-B or APS homodimerization and SH2-B/APS heterodimerization thus provide direct mechanisms for activating and inhibiting JAK2 and other kinases from the inside of the cell and for potentiating or attenuating cytokine and growth factor receptor signaling when ligands are present.