Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Protein phosphatase type-1, not type-2A, modulates actin microfilament integrity and myosin light chain phosphorylation in living nonmuscle cells

Dynamic reorganization of the actin microfilament networks is dependent on the reversible phosphorylation of myosin light chain. To assess the potential role of protein phosphatases in this process in living nonmuscle cells, we have microinjected the purified type-1 and type-2A phosphatases into the cytoplasm of mammalian fibroblasts. Our studies reveal that elevating type-1 phosphatase levels led to the rapid (within 30 min) and fully reversible disassembly of the actin microfilament network as determined by immunofluorescence analysis. In contrast, microinjection of equivalent amounts of the purified type-2A phosphatase had no effect on actin microfilament organization. Metabolic labeling of cells after injection of purified phosphatases was used to analyze changes in protein phosphorylation. Concomitant with the disassembly of the actin microfilaments induced by type-1 phosphatase, there was an extensive dephosphorylation of myosin light chain. No such change was observed when cells were injected with type-2A phosphatase. In addition, after extraction of fibroblasts with Triton X-100, the type-1 phosphatase could be specifically localized by immunofluorescence to a fibrillar network of microfilaments. Furthermore, neutralizing type-1 phosphatase activity in vivo by microinjection of an affinity-purified antibody, prevented the reorganization of actin microfilaments that we had previously described following injection of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. These data support the notion that type 1 and type-2 phosphatases have distinct substrate specificity in living cells, and that type-1 phosphatase plays a predominant role in the dephosphorylation of myosin light chain and thus in the modulation of actin microfilament organization in vivo in intact nonmuscle cells.
Increased urinary excretion of a 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA), an abnormal phenylalanine metabolite of Clostridia spp. in the gastrointestinal tract, in urine samples from patients with autism and schizophrenia

Abstract A compound identified as 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-hydroxypropionic acid (HPHPA) was found in higher concentrations in urine samples of children with autism compared to age and sex appropriate controls and in an adult with recurrent diarrhea due to Clostridium difficile infections. The highest value measured in urine samples was 7500 mmol/mol creatinine, a value 300 times the median normal adult value, in a patient with acute schizophrenia during an acute psychotic episode. The psychosis remitted after treatment with oral vancomycin with a concomitant marked decrease in HPHPA. The source of this compound appears to be multiple species of anaerobic bacteria of the Clostridium genus. The significance of this compound is that it is a probable metabolite of m-tyrosine (3-hydroxyphenylalanine), a tyrosine analog which depletes brain catecholamines and causes symptoms of autism (stereotypical behavior, hyperactivity, and hyper-reactivity) in experimental animals.
Secrecy capacities for multiple terminals

We derive single-letter characterizations of (strong) secrecy capacities for models with an arbitrary number of terminals, each of which observes a distinct component of a discrete memoryless multiple source, with unrestricted and interactive public communication permitted between the terminals. A subset of these terminals can serve as helpers for the remaining terminals in generating secrecy. According to the extent of an eavesdropper's knowledge, three kinds of secrecy capacity are considered: secret key (SK), private key (PK), and wiretap secret key (WSK) capacity. The characterizations of the SK and PK capacities highlight the innate connections between secrecy generation and multiterminal source coding without secrecy requirements. A general upper bound for WSK capacity is derived which is tight in the case when the eavesdropper can wiretap noisy versions of the components of the underlying multiple source, provided randomization is permitted at the terminals. These secrecy capacities are seen to be achievable with noninteractive communication between the terminals. The achievability results are also shown to be universal.
The macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy

We investigate the macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy using a Bayesian Structural Vector Autoregression (B-SVAR) approach. We identify fiscal policy shocks via a partial identification scheme, but also: (i) include the feedback from government debt; (ii) look at the impact on the composition of output; (iii) assess the effects on asset markets; (iv) use quarterly data; and (v) analyse empirical evidence from the US, the UK, Germany and Italy. The results show that government spending shocks, in general, have a small effect on Gross Domestic Product (GDP); lead to important ‘crowding-out’ effects; have a varied impact on housing prices and generate a quick fall in stock prices. Government revenue shocks generate a mixed effect on housing prices and a small and positive effect on stock prices. The empirical evidence also suggests that it is important to explicitly consider the government debt dynamics in the model.
The IOC’s midas touch: Summer Olympics and city growth

Hosting a mega-event is a costly activity of short duration. Still, cities frequently compete to become host of all types of events. This paper examines the effect of staging the largest and most important sporting event in the world, the Summer Olympic Games, on the host city. Applying a difference-in-differences methodology, we analyse the population size of Olympic cities, candidate cities and other large cities in host and candidate countries over the period from 1860 to 2010. We find that, following the Games, host cities do not experience a measurable increase in population size relative to cities in the control group. On the contrary, to the extent that any effect of hosting the Games is identifiable, our results indicate that being awarded the Summer Olympics has a negative impact on cities.
Concise Review: Bridging the Gap: Bone Regeneration Using Skeletal Stem Cell‐Based Strategies—Where Are We Now?

Skeletal stem cells confer to bone its innate capacity for regeneration and repair. Bone regeneration strategies seek to harness and enhance this regenerative capacity for the replacement of tissue damaged or lost through congenital defects, trauma, functional/esthetic problems, and a broad range of diseases associated with an increasingly aged population. This review describes the state of the field and current steps to translate and apply skeletal stem cell biology in the clinic and the problems therein. Challenges are described along with key strategies including the isolation and ex vivo expansion of multipotential populations, the targeting/delivery of regenerative populations to sites of repair, and their differentiation toward bone lineages. Finally, preclinical models of bone repair are discussed along with their implications for clinical translation and the opportunities to harness that knowledge for musculoskeletal regeneration. Stem Cells 2014;32:35–44
A tutorial introduction to financial engineering

Buying and selling assets as a human activity has been going on since the dawn of civilization. Buying and selling (and thus speculating in) derivative instruments based on these assets is almost as old an activity. While banking as a formal, regulated activity is just a few hundred years old, there can be no doubt even ancient societies had their version of money lenders. Borrowing against assets, or ‘leveraged buying’ is neither new nor disreputable. A home-owner who buys a house with only part down payment and borrows the rest to be paid in monthly instalments is in effect speculating that his future earnings will be adequate to cover the payments; simultaneously, he may also be betting that the value of his home will go up before the mortage matures. At the same time, the lender (holder of the mortgage) is also betting on the same thing. For the past several decades, the financial world has become more and more mathematical. By now practically everyone has heard of the Black–Scholes formula, even if he might not actually know what it is (or even what it is for). The objective of this article is to give a very brief, and very elementary, tutorial-level introduction to various topics in financial engineering. In all the problems discussed here, the emphasis is on giving the flavour of the problem, rather than on stating theorems with the strongest possible conclusions in the most general setting possible. The bibliography at the end of the article contains several authoritative books that could be consulted by readers interested in pursuing the topic further. The article is aimed at both mathematical as well as non-mathematical readers. A nonmathematical reader can read only sections 5. , 8. , 9. and 10. , which do not have a single equation in them. A person who knows a little bit of mathematics can also read sections 2. and 6. , except for subsection 6.4. Section 2. discusses an extremely simplified problem that nevertheless brings out many of the salient aspects, while section 6. discusses slightly more general situations. Mathematically inclined readers, of course, can read the entire article.
Towards bridging the twin peaks of requirements and architecture

Requirements engineering (RE) and software architecture (SA) significantly affect software project success. In practice, requirements and architectural design impact each other. This relationship was the subject of the Fourth International Workshop on the Twin Peaks of Requirements and Architecture (TwinPeaks@ICSE 2014). Similar to previous editions of the TwinPeaks workshop series, we aimed at exploring the relationship between RE and SA in the broader context of nsoftware engineering, rather than in the isolated contexts of either RE or SA. We found that there are things that drive architectural design, in addition to functional and quality requirements (e.g., "architectural necessities" which are often overlooked and ignored by architects). We then identified new challenges related to intertwining requirements and architectures based on the current state of practice. Furthermore, we described solutions to bridging the requirements-architecture gap. These range from technical solutions (e.g., knowledge reuse) to solutions related to changing the mindset and the "way of thinking" of software engineers (e.g., software engineering education).
An IPv6 Routing Header for Source Routes with the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL)

In Low-Power and Lossy Networks (LLNs), memory constraints on routers may limit them to maintaining, at most, a few routes. In some configurations, it is necessary to use these memory-constrained routers to deliver datagrams to nodes within the LLN. The Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) can be used in some deployments to store most, if not all, routes on one (e.g., the Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) root) or a few routers and forward the IPv6 datagram using a source routing technique to avoid large routing tables on memory-constrained routers. This document specifies a new IPv6 Routing header type for delivering datagrams within a RPL routing domain. [STANDARDS-TRACK]
ECG signal compression using analysis by synthesis coding

An electrocardiogram (ECG) compression algorithm, called analysis by synthesis ECG compressor (ASEC), is introduced. The ASEC algorithm is based on analysis by synthesis coding, and consists of a beat codebook, long and short-term predictors, and an adaptive residual quantizer. The compression algorithm uses a defined distortion measure in order to efficiently encode every heartbeat, with minimum bit rate, while maintaining a predetermined distortion level. The compression algorithm was implemented and tested with both the percentage rms difference (PRD) measure and the recently introduced weighted diagnostic distortion (WDD) measure. The compression algorithm has been evaluated with the MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database. A mean compression rate of approximately 100 bits/s (compression ratio of about 30:1) has been achieved with a good reconstructed signal quality (WDD below 4% and PRD below 8%). The ASEC was compared with several well-known ECG compression algorithms and was found to be superior at all tested bit rates. A mean opinion score (MOS) test was also applied. The testers were three independent expert cardiologists. As In the quantitative test, the proposed compression algorithm was found to be superior to the other tested compression algorithms.
Tumor Expression of Vitamin D Receptor and Breast Cancer Histopathological Characteristics and Prognosis

Purpose: Our previous work has shown low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in association with aggressive breast cancer subtypes. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is central for vitamin D–mediated transcription regulation. Few studies have examined breast VDR expression with tumor characteristics or patient survival. Experimental Design: VDR expression in breast tumor tissue microarrays was determined by immunohistochemistry in 1,114 female patients as low, moderate, and strong expression based on an immunoreactive score, and examined with histopathologic tumor characteristics and survival outcomes including progression-free survival, breast cancer–specific survival, and overall survival. Results: A majority (58%) of breast tumors showed moderate or strong VDR expression. VDR expression was inversely related to aggressive tumor characteristics, including large tumor size, hormonal receptor (HR) negativity, and triple-negative subtype (P < 0.05). In addition, VDR expression was also inversely related to Ki-67 expression among patients older than 50 years. Nevertheless, VDR expression was not associated with any patient survival outcomes examined. Conclusions: In a large patient population, VDR expression is inversely associated with more aggressive breast cancer, but not with breast cancer survival outcomes. The present findings of VDR expression are consistent with our previous results of circulating vitamin D biomarkers, which provide two converging lines of evidence supporting the putative benefits of vitamin D against aggressive breast cancer. Because of the observational nature of our analyses, future studies are warranted to establish the causality of the reported associations. Clin Cancer Res; 23(1); 97–103. ©2016 AACR.
Membership Roles in Field Research

PART ONE: THE HISTORY AND EPISTEMOLOGY OF FIELDWORK ROLES The Chicago School More Radical Views on Membership The California Sociologies of Everyday Life Existential Sociology The Investigative Paradigm Ethnomethodology Becoming the Phenomenon Synthesis The Critique of Traditional Field Research Membership Roles in Field Research PART TWO: PERIPHERAL MEMBERSHIP The Process of Membership Becoming a Peripheral-Member-Researcher The Membership Experience Disengagement Reflections PART THREE: ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP The Process of Membership Becoming an Active-Member-Researcher The Membership Experience Disengagement Reflections PART FOUR: COMPLETE MEMBERSHIP The Process of Membership Becoming a Complete-Member-Researcher The Membership Experience Disengagement Reflections
Oncolytic Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Induces Apoptosis via Signaling through PKR, Fas, and Daxx

ABSTRACT Matrix (M) protein mutants of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) are promising oncolytic agents for cancer therapy. Previous research has implicated Fas and PKR in apoptosis induced by other viruses. Here, we show that dominant-negative mutants of Fas and PKR inhibit M protein mutant virus-induced apoptosis. Most previous research has focused on the adapter protein FADD as a necessary transducer of Fas-mediated apoptosis. However, the expression of dominant-negative FADD had little effect on the induction of apoptosis by M protein mutant VSV. Instead, virus-induced apoptosis was inhibited by the expression of a dominant-negative mutant of the adapter protein Daxx. These data indicate that Daxx is more important than FADD for apoptosis induced by M protein mutant VSV. These results show that PKR- and Fas-mediated signaling play important roles in cell death during M protein mutant VSV infection and that Daxx has novel functions in the host response to virus infection by mediating virus-induced apoptosis.
Central and autonomic nervous system interaction is altered by short-term meditation

Five days of integrative body–mind training (IBMT) improves attention and self-regulation in comparison with the same amount of relaxation training. This paper explores the underlying mechanisms of this finding. We measured the physiological and brain changes at rest before, during, and after 5 days of IBMT and relaxation training. During and after training, the IBMT group showed significantly better physiological reactions in heart rate, respiratory amplitude and rate, and skin conductance response (SCR) than the relaxation control. Differences in heart rate variability (HRV) and EEG power suggested greater involvement of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the IBMT group during and after training. Imaging data demonstrated stronger subgenual and adjacent ventral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity in the IBMT group. Frontal midline ACC theta was correlated with high-frequency HRV, suggesting control by the ACC over parasympathetic activity. These results indicate that after 5 days of training, the IBMT group shows better regulation of the ANS by a ventral midfrontal brain system than does the relaxation group. This changed state probably reflects training in the coordination of body and mind given in the IBMT but not in the control group. These results could be useful in the design of further specific interventions.
Impact of nitrogen allocation on growth and photosynthesis of Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus)

Nitrogen (N) addition typically increases overall plant growth, but the nature of this response depends upon patterns of plant nitrogen allocation that vary throughout the growing season and depend upon canopy position. In this study seasonal variations in leaf traits were investigated across a canopy profile in Miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) under two N treatments (0 and 224 kg ha−1) to determine whether the growth response of Miscanthus to N fertilization was related to the response of photosynthetic capacity and nitrogen allocation. Miscanthus yielded 24.1 Mg ha−1 in fertilized plots, a 40% increase compared to control plots. Photosynthetic properties, such as net photosynthesis (A), maximum rate of rubisco carboxylation (Vcmax), stomatal conductance (gs) and PSII efficiency (Fv'/Fm'), all decreased significantly from the top of the canopy to the bottom, but were not affected by N fertilization. N fertilization increased specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area index (LAI). Leaf N concentration in different canopy layers was increased by N fertilization and the distribution of N concentration within canopy followed irradiance gradients. These results show that the positive effect of N fertilization on the yield of Miscanthus was unrelated to changes in photosynthetic rates but was achieved mainly by increased canopy leaf area. Vertical measurements through the canopy demonstrated that Miscanthus adapted to the light environment by adjusting leaf morphological and biochemical properties independent of nitrogen treatments. GPP estimated using big leaf and multilayer models varied considerably, suggesting a multilayer model in which Vcmax changes both through time and canopy layer could be adopted into agricultural models to more accurately predict biomass production in biomass crop ecosystems.
Protection against ischemic brain damage using propentofylline in gerbils.

We studied the xanthine derivative propentofylline (HWA 285) to determine its protection against ischemic brain damage when administered before and after ischemia. Transient forebrain ischemia was produced in 81 Mongolian gerbils by occluding both carotid arteries. The necessary surgery was performed under anesthesia with intraperitoneal pentobarbital/chloral hydrate 2 days before occlusion. We tested the parameters delayed selective hippocampal nerve cell damage, generation of seizures, and survival. Determination of the dose-response relation revealed the optimal dose of HWA 285 to be 10 mg/kg i.p. The effect of the drug on delayed selective nerve cell damage in the hippocampus was assessed by measuring the intensity of Nissl staining in the CA1 area by means of densitometry 4 days after a 10-minute occlusion. Gerbils treated with HWA 285 revealed significant protection of the CA1 neurons even when the drug was applied 1 hour after the end of the occlusion. In contrast to HWA 285, pentobarbital provided no detectable protection of the CA1 neurons in our experimental model when administered 1 hour after occlusion, suggesting different mechanisms of action. After a 15-minute occlusion, all six untreated gerbils developed convulsions and died within 2 days. Chronic (daily) treatment of nine gerbils with HWA 285 prevented the generation of convulsions in eight and allowed seven to survive for greater than 12 days.
Myths and taboos – students’ attitudes towards and knowledge about intimate partner violence (IPV)

➤ Background: Violence against women is a world health problem which is to be targeted by educational nursing programmes. Objective: To explore knowledge and attitudes among students in an educational nursing programme regarding myths and beliefs about intimate partner violence (IPV). Method: Data were collected through questionnaires and focus groups interviews. Results: Survey data suggest that some nursing students did not believe in the myths about IPV. The students who still believed in the myths marginally manifested a change in attitude towards the myths. The focus group interviews yielded three main themes: “guilty or not guilty”; “a complex story”; and “from uncertainty to security”, and showed an increase of knowledge in IPV. Conclusion: Prior to their training, the students manifested both a belief in common myths about IPV and appropriate knowledge and understanding. Post-training demonstrated a minor increase of knowledge and change in beliefs. Training may alter these beliefs and contribute to changes in behaviour.
Cambios en el cerebro adolescente y conductas agresivas y de asunción de riesgos Changes in the adolescent brain and aggressive and risk-taking behaviours

Recent advances in neuroimaging techniques have contributed to a better understanding of brain development during adolescence, promoting a new approach to the study of adolescent problem behaviours, such as antisocial and risk-taking behaviours. Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging have reported important structural changes in the adolescent brain, mainly affecting the prefrontal cortex —an area involved in cognitive and regulatory processes. Other important changes affect the basic threat system and reward system. Empirical evidence indicates that these two brain circuits present greater activity during adolescence than in adulthood. Thus, it is possible that reactive aggression and risk-taking behaviours are elicited by an imbalance between a still immature prefrontal cortex and two hiperresponsive brain systems. Some data indicate that changes in reward and basic threat circuits could be influenced by hormonal activity during puberty. This makes early adolescence a period of high vulnerability for problem behaviours related to lack of selfregulation.