Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protective Effects of Leukemia Inhibitory Factor on Retinal Vasculature and Cells in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Mice

Background: Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) has been reported to possess various pharmacological effects, including displaying vascular and neuroprotective properties, during retinal disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the vascular and structural changes in the retina of diabetic mice and to explore whether LIF prevents experimental diabetes-induced retinal injury in the early stages. Methods: Diabetes was induced in C57Bl/6J mice with streptozotocin (STZ) injections. Successful diabetic animal models were randomly separated into two groups: the diabetic group (n = 15) and the LIF-treated group (n = 15). Normal C57BL/6 mice served as the normal control group (n = 14). Recombinant human LIF was intravitreally injected 8 weeks after the diabetic model was successfully established. Retinas were collected and evaluated using histological and immunohistochemical techniques, and flat-mounted retinas and Western blotting were performed at 18 weeks after the induction of diabetes and 2 days after the intravitreal injection of LIF. The analysis of variance test were used. Results: Histological analysis showed that there were fewer retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and the inner nuclear layer (INL) became thinner in the diabetic model group (RGC 21.8 ± 4.0 and INL 120.2 ± 4.6 &mgr;m) compared with the normal control group (RGC 29.0 ± 6.7, t = −3.02, P = 0.007; INL 150.7 ± 10.6 &mgr;m, t = −8.88, P < 0.001, respectively). After LIF treatment, the number of RGCs (26.9 ± 5.3) was significantly increased (t = 3.39, P = 0.030) and the INL (134.5 ± 14.2 &mgr;m) was thicker compared to the diabetic group (t = 2.75, P = 0.013). In the anti-Brn-3a-labeled retinas, the number of RGCs in the LIF-treated group (3926.0 ± 143.9) was obviously increased compared to the diabetic group (3507.7 ± 286.1, t = 2.38, P = 0.030), while no significance was found between the LIF-treated group and the control group (4188.3 ± 114.7, t = −2.47, P = 0.069). Flat-mounted retinas demonstrated that a disorganized, dense distribution of the vessel was prominent in the diabetic model group. Vessel distribution in the LIF-treated mouse group was typical and the thickness was uniform. The levels of phosphosignal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activation were obviously higher in the LIF-injected retinas than those in the diabetic control group (t = 3.85, P = 0.019) and the normal control (t = −3.20, P = 0.019). Conclusion: The present study provides evidence that LIF treatment protects the integrity of the vasculature and prevents retinal injury in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy in STZ-induced diabetic models.
The transition to an innovation-driven industrial economic development policy: the road ahead for Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico industrial economic development policy has been dominated by manufacturing multinationals that performed their product development outside the island. With the curtailment by Congress of special tax incentives to enterprises operating on the island, Puerto Rico must find ways to transform its manufacturing industry from a consumer of imported intellectual property, to a locally generated, innovation-driven industry. This paper looks into the different alternative strategies that may be attempted, discusses some of the factors that should be taken into consideration, and outlines several alternatives that have been developed by the University of Puerto Rico. Some of these initiatives include the creation of the technology incubator ViTeC, and the formation of institutes that spawn faculty-corporations such as the Innovation Development Assistance Institute (IDeAi), the Informatics and Telecommunications Development Institute (ITDI), the Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing and Education, and the Waste Conversion Institute (WCI).
Characterization of cis-4-hydroxy-D-proline dehydrogenase from Sinorhizobium meliloti

Abstract The hypO gene from Sinorhizobium meliloti, located within the trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline metabolic gene cluster, was first successfully expressed in the host Pseudomonas putida. Purified HypO protein functioned as a FAD-containing cis-4-hydroxy-D-proline dehydrogenase with a homomeric structure. In contrast to other known enzymes, significant activity for D-proline was found, confirming a previously proposed potential involvement in D-proline metabolism.
Viewpoint: Why women avoid computer science

As it happens, the literature fairly bubbles over with speculation as to why there are so few young women in computer science courses. We hear about math anxiety, violent computer games, the scarcity of mentors, and a supposed female preference for “relational work”. 7 Since no one really knows why women avoid computer science—or what to do about it—I feel justified in offering a guess of my own. Among the many reasons offered, math anxiety is the most obvious. It is also the least defensible. Commentators never seem to notice that women receive almost half of the undergraduate degrees in mathematics. In fact, they received nearly 40% of them in 1970, well before the women’s movement became a mass phenomenon.5 Not only do young women not avoid mathematics, they embrace it. What if the precision of mathematics, that “most masculine of subjects” in the words of one study,7 is exactly what has long invited women? The flip side is that the ill-defined nature of computing is what drives them away. Young men drawn to computer science, engineering, and physics like to tinker. They enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together. They like kits, gadgets, and screwdrivers. They were the boys who set up the audio-visual equipment in high school 30 years ago, and who now man—the choice of gender is deliberate—the school’s computer network. They are fascinated with anything that moves, especially if it has wheels or wings, and, crucially, is not alive.4 The men usually given credit for the microcomputer all started with screwdrivers and soldering irons. Bill Gates and Paul Allen built a Basic interpreter to run on their Altair 8800, a computer kit for hobbyists, in the mid-1970s. Steves Wozniak and Jobs, of Apple fame, built their first machine to dazzle pals in Silicon Valley’s Homebrew Computer Club around the same time. In fact, I claim that microcomputers are responsible for the steep rise in the number of women entering computer science following its introduction, as well as for the steep drop a few years later.6 In 1971, fewer than 2,400 students received degrees in computer science from a handful of academic departments. By 1986, that number had jumped to nearly 42,000, including almost 15,000 women. It is clear that the dramatic growth of computer science as an academic discipline is due to the microcomputer and, of course, to the extravagant promises that buzz around it. If the number of computer science degrees had continued to grow as it had from 1975 to 1985 (and if the population grew at its average annual rate over the same period), by next year everyone in the U.S. would be the proud holder of one. Lucky for us this didn’t
Tactile effect design and evaluation for virtual buttons on a mobile device touchscreen

In this paper, we present the design of a large number (72) of tactile stimuli for the confirmation feedback of virtual button presses on the mobile device touchscreen. Two industry standard variable-reluctance actuators (enhanced voice-coil actuators with added mass for stronger output) were used in the study. The design parameters of an input were amplitude, duration, carrier signal, envelope function, and actuator. Eighteen participants evaluated the modeled patterns with the criteria of similarity to physical buttons and user preference. An adjective rating task was also accompanied to assess the subjective quality of the designed tactile effects. Experimental results unveiled several important guidelines for designing realistic and favorable button-click tactile feedback. The findings of this paper have implications for improving the usability of user interface components displayed on a touchscreen by means of haptic feedback.
Enhanced Current Collection in 1.7 eV GaInAsP Solar Cells Grown on GaAs by Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy

Quaternary GaInAsP solar cells with a bandgap of ∼1.7 eV offer an attractive Al-free alternative to AlGaAs solar cells for integration in next generation of III–V multijunction solar cells with five or more junctions. Development of a high quality 1.7 eV solar cell is also highly sought for III–V/Si tandem solar cells. In this work, we systematically investigate the impact of varying base thicknesses and doping concentrations on the carrier collection and performance of 1.7 eV GaInAsP solar cells. The photoresponse of these cells is found to be very sensitive to p-type zinc doping concentration in the base layer. Prototype 1.7 eV GaInAsP n-i-p solar cell designs are demonstrated that leverage enhanced depletion width as an effective method to achieve peak quantum efficiency exceeding 90%. We also show the importance of optimal i-layer thickness as a critical parameter to reduce the drop in fill-factor (FF) due to field-aided collection. Furthermore, we demonstrate substantial improvement in the cell performance when the GaInAsP base layer is grown at 650 °C instead of 600 °C. The best GaInAsP solar cell (<italic>E<sub>g</sub></italic> ∼ 1.65 eV) in this study achieved <italic>J</italic><sub>SC</sub> of 21.1 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>, <italic>V</italic><sub>OC</sub> of 1.18 V, FF of 83.8%, and an efficiency of 20.8 ± 1% under AM1.5D spectrum (21.5 ± 1% under AM1.5G spectrum). These results highlight the potential of Al-free GaInAsP solar cells for integration in the next generation of III–V multijunction solar cells.
The policies of unemployment protection in Europe

The abundant literature on welfare state policies, regimes or ‘worlds’ has been only limitedly interested in unemployment protection, and even less in youth unemployment protection. What is clearly lacking in the literature is an updated analysis of the most recent policies developed in European countries targeting youth. This mini-symposium aims to fill in this gap by presenting findings from an EU-funded research project entitled ‘Youth, Unemployment and Exclusion in Europe: A Multidimensional Approach to Understanding the Conditions and Prospects for Social and Political Integration of Young Unemployed’ (YOUNEX). The main aim of the research endeavour was to develop theory and contribute to empirical knowledge concerning the social and political exclusion of unemployed youth in Europe.
Shh! It's vive la résistance …

Purpose – The purpose of this case study is to highlight the importance of recognizing and mitigating covert employee resistance to a change management initiative.Design/methodology/approach – This hypothetical case study takes place at a mid‐sized consulting firm specializing in innovative web development solutions. An underground resistance movement surfaces in the final stages of an organizational restructuring effort, threatening the final implementation phase. The change manager, a young senior partner at the firm, is now faced with the reality that his plan may fail. The psychological underpinnings of the movement, rooted in the natural human tendency to resist change, provide a framework for examining the inherent difficulty of successful change management.Findings – On realization of the underground resistance movement, the change manager must act quickly to quell employee animosity before his plan is ultimately doomed. Although a solution is not explicitly stated within the context of the case st.
Forecasting Financial Volatility with Interval-Valued Time Series Data

In this paper, we propose an interval-based model to capture the dynamics of the range process of asset prices. Particularly, this model is an alternative in forecasting the range-based volatility. By modelling the evolution of interval-valued price process over time, the proposed model utilizes more information than modelling the range process only. In the empirical study, the in-sample and out-of-sample forecasting performances based on the U.S. stock market daily data show that the interval-based model produces
[Determination of biological age--a group of biophysical tests].

BACKGROUND Biological age is defined as real state of organism with respect to the processes of aging. From the gerontological point of view, the methodology of determination of biological age is a tool for verification of theories. The role of biological age determination in medicine is wide. It consists, among others in the assessment of the efficiency of anti-aging interventions or in detection of premature aging. Many different batteries of methods for the measurement of biological age were developed till now. The currently applied methods are not standardized and they are, as a rule, significantly time-consuming. METHODS AND RESULTS The goal of the work was to develop a routine method for biological age determination. Simplicity and reproducibility of measurements was stressed. The result of our work is a set of 7 biophysical methods. Some of the methods are newly developed (measurement of rheological properties of the skin), others are modified classical methods (measurement of accommodation of eye, perception of high frequencies of sound, reaction times). CONCLUSIONS The battery of biophysical test for the routine biological age assessment was developed in our laboratory. The information is processed by computer, using multiple linear regression analysis for obtaining the best assessment of personal biological age. The duration of measurement is roughly 120 min.
Cross-Cultural Barriers to Health Care

Abstract Culturally sensitive health care represents a real ethical and practical need in a Western healthcare system increasingly serving a multiethnic society. This review focuses on cross-cultural barriers to health care and incongruent aspects from a cultural perspective in the provision of health care. To overcome difficulties in culturally dissimilar interactions and eventually remove cross-cultural barriers to health care, a culturally sensitive physician considers his or her own identity, values, and beliefs; recognizes the similarities and differences among cultures; understands what those similarities and differences mean; and is able to bridge the differences to accomplish clear and effective communication.
Texture image retrieval and similarity matching

Texture is one of the most important visual characteristics, which play a very critical role in many tasks, ranging from remote sensing to medical imaging and CBIR. The texture analysis has a long history and how to extract texture feature efficiently and accurately is still an active subject of study in the field of image retrieval. June proposed a method that used two features, and one of them is the gray-level histogram based on each low frequency. The gray-level histogram does not take the spatial relationship of gray in an image into account. In this paper, we establish a new way that describes texture in terms of their orientations and original image gray distributions using geostat, which represents the global spatial relationship of color. The performance has raised about 4% than that of June's method.
Budget Goal Commitment and Informational Effects of Budget Participation on Performance: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

This paper examines budget goal commitment and informational effects of budget participation on performance. A structural model is proposed and tested that includes budget participation, budget goal commitment, job‐relevant information, and job performance variables. The data were collected by survey questionnaires. Seventy‐nine middle‐level managers, drawn randomly from a cross‐section of manufacturing companies in Australia, participated in the project. A structural equation modeling technique was used to test hypothesized linkages. Support was found for the effects of budget goal commitment and informational roles of budget participation on job performance.
Transient release kinetics of rod bipolar cells revealed by capacitance measurement of exocytosis from axon terminals in rat retinal slices

Presynaptic transmitter release has mostly been studied through measurements of postsynaptic responses, but a few synapses offer direct access to the presynaptic terminal, thereby allowing capacitance measurements of exocytosis. For mammalian rod bipolar cells, synaptic transmission has been investigated in great detail by recording postsynaptic currents in AII amacrine cells. Presynaptic measurements of the dynamics of vesicular cycling have so far been limited to isolated rod bipolar cells in dissociated preparations. Here, we first used computer simulations of compartmental models of morphologically reconstructed rod bipolar cells to adapt the ‘Sine + DC’ technique for capacitance measurements of exocytosis at axon terminals of intact rod bipolar cells in retinal slices. In subsequent physiological recordings, voltage pulses that triggered presynaptic Ca2+ influx evoked capacitance increases that were proportional to the pulse duration. With pulse durations ≤100 ms, the increase saturated at ∼10 fF, corresponding to the size of a readily releasable pool of vesicles. Pulse durations ≥400 ms evoked additional capacitance increases, probably reflecting recruitment from additional pools of vesicles. By using Ca2+ tail current stimuli, we separated Ca2+ influx from Ca2+ channel activation kinetics, allowing us to estimate the intrinsic release kinetics of the readily releasable pool, yielding a time constant of ∼1.1 ms and a maximum release rate of 2–3 vesicles (release site)−1 ms−1. Following exocytosis, we observed endocytosis with time constants ranging from 0.7 to 17 s. Under physiological conditions, it is likely that release will be transient, with the kinetics limited by the activation kinetics of the voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels.
Improving the development of early bovine somatic‐cell nuclear transfer embryos by treating adult donor cells with vitamin C

Vitamin C (Vc) has been widely studied in cell and embryo culture, and has recently been demonstrated to promote cellular reprogramming. The objective of this study was to identify a suitable Vc concentration that, when used to treat adult bovine fibroblasts serving as donor cells for nuclear transfer, improved donor‐cell physiology and the developmental potential of the cloned embryos that the donor nuclei were used to create. A Vc concentration of 0.15 mM promoted cell proliferation and increased donor‐cell 5‐hydroxy methyl cytosine levels 2.73‐fold (P < 0.05). The blastocyst rate was also significantly improved after nuclear transfer (39.6% treated vs. 26.0% control, P < 0.05); the average number of apoptotic cells in cloned blastocysts was significantly reduced (2.2 vs. 4.4, P < 0.05); and the inner cell mass‐to‐trophectoderm ratio (38.25% vs. 30.75%, P < 0.05) and expression of SOX2 (3.71‐fold, P < 0.05) and POU5F1 (3.15‐fold, P < 0.05) were significantly increased. These results suggested that Vc promotes cell proliferation, decreases DNA methylation levels in donor cells, and improves the developmental competence of bovine somatic‐cell nuclear transfer embryos. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 82: 867–879, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Achieving an Institution's Values, Vision, and Mission

The measures of institutional success are more meaningful through the further realization of the institution’s vision and mission and how the institution is supporting its declared values through various initiatives and behaviours. Institutions and their leaders rely on these statements as foundational pillars by which to launch new programs, services, carry out applied research, sustain and enhance their operations, and to build a future capacity for change. Without meaningful evaluation of the achievement levels of values, vision, and mission (VVM) statements, how can leaders state that their institution was extraordinary or even successful? An ongoing evaluation process of these institutional statements helps to demonstrate to stakeholders how serious the institution is about its own existence. It is through meaningful evaluation that these critical statements become more relevant, tangible, and understandable.
Mutual Fund Skills and the Performance of Corporate Acquirers

We show that the commonly observed correlation between institutional investor ownership and the success of mergers is partly driven by active stock picking. Several mutual fund stock selection skill measures strongly predict the post-merger performance of corporate acquirers even after controlling for possible shareholder monitoring. These findings are stronger for funds with characteristics more indicative of active stock picking. Moreover, firms held by funds with higher stock selection skills are more likely to subsequently become acquirers, suggesting that the mutual fund skill set includes the ability to identify acquirers with value-enhancing acquisition opportunities.
THE MARKET FOR SHIP DEMOLITION

Little has been written about the ship demolition market, an essential element in the supply/demand balance for shipping. Either technical or economic obsolescence may be the cause for scrapping a ship, where the latter is strongly influenced not only by anticipated freight market levels, but the rate at which more efficient ships are being introduced. The scrap value of a ship is a function both of the realizable value of the materials within the ship and cost of demolition. Both are strongly influenced by the cost structures prevailing in the likely country of demolition. The paper explores not only the fundamentals of the ship demolition market, but the trends from the 1960s to the present. The shipbreaking market has moved in that time from being West European-centred to Asian-centred, concentrating for some years in Taiwan, but now shifting to the Indian subcontinent.
The Value of Domestic Supply Chains: Producers, Wholesalers, and Urban Consumers in Colombia

Global value chains are potential links between smallholder farmers in developing countries and lucrative markets in industrialised nations. However, food access for poor consumers in Third World cities depends largely on traditional domestic supply chains. This article focuses on the market for perishables in Colombia, which is dominated by peasant farming and ranching, wholesale (spot) markets, and small, family‐run corner stores and butchers. Here, evidence suggests that, despite characterisation of traditional supply chains as inefficient, they provide critical outlets for smallholders' heterogeneous production while simultaneously ensuring availability of cheap food for poor urban consumers.
Response Biases in Oral Reading: An Account of the Co occurrence of Surface Dyslexia and Semantic Dementia

This paper reports a case study of a subject (EP) with a progressive impairment of semantic memory and a coincident surface dyslexia. These two disorders frequently occur together, but their association is not readily explained within current models of reading. This study investigated two theories that offer different principled accounts of this association, the “semantic glue hypothesis” (Patterson & Hodges, 1992) and the “;summation hypothesis” (Hillis & Caramazza, 1991) and found both hypotheses wanting. Instead it was shown that when vestiges of word meaning remained, a lexical response was preferred, but when meaning was lost entirely, the evidence derived from sublexical processing appeared to bias selection of the response towards the regularized form.