Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chemical, biochemical, and microbiological aspects of chitosan quaternary salt as active coating on sliced apples

The biocompatibility of chitosan and chitosan quaternary salt coatings was evaluated for use as edible coatings for sliced apple. Measurement of water loss, color change, and fungal growth appearance were monitored as a function of time. A significant brownish effect was observed on chitosan coated slices, varying greatly from L* = 76.5 and Hue angle = 95.9° (t = 0) to L* = 45.3 and Hue angle = 69.8° (t = 3 days), whilst for TMC coated samples the variation was considerable lower (L* = 74.1; Hue angle = 95.0°) to (L* = 67.0; Hue angle = 83.8°) within the same period. The hydrosoluble derivative N,N,N-trimethylchitosan demonstrated good antifungal activity against P. expansum although highly dependent on the polymer properties such as degree of quaternization. The most efficient formulation was that prepared from derivative having a degree of quaternization of 45%, high solubility, and high viscosity. This formulation restrained fungus spreading up to 30%, while for the control it reached almost 80% of the total assessed surfaces during 7 days of storage.
Cloning of Two Human Thyroid cDNAs Encoding New Members of the NADPH Oxidase Family*

Two cDNAs encoding NADPH oxidases and constituting the thyroid H2O2 generating system have been cloned. The strategy of cloning was based on the functional similarities between H2O2 generation in leukocytes and the thyroid, according to the hypothesis that one of the components of the thyroid system would belong to the gp91Phox/Mox1 gene family and display sequence similarities with gp91Phox. Screening at low stringency with a gp91Phox probe of cDNA libraries from thyroid cells in primary culture yielded two distinct human cDNA clones harboring open reading frames of 1551 (ThOX1) and 1548 amino acids (ThOX2), respectively. The encoded polypeptides display 83% sequence similarity and are clearly related to gp91Phox (53 and 47% similarity). The theoretical molecular mass of 177 kDa is close to the apparent molecular mass of 180 kDa of the native corresponding porcine flavoprotein and the protein(s) detected by Western blot in dog and human thyroid. ThOX1 and ThOX2 display sequence similarities of 53% and 61%, respectively, with a predicted protein ofCaenorhabditis elegans over their entire length. They show along their first 500 amino acids a similarity of 43% with thyroperoxidase. The corresponding genes of ThOX1 and ThOX2 are closely linked on chromosome 15q15.3. The dog mRNA expression is thyroid-specific and up-regulated by agents activating the cAMP pathway as is the synthesis of the polypeptides they are coding for. In human thyroid the positive regulation by cAMP is less pronounced. The proteins ThOX1 and ThOX2 accumulate at the apical membrane of thyrocytes and are co-localized with thyroperoxidase.
Wages Policy and Wage Determination in 1996

* Australian Centre for Industrial Relations Research and Training, University of Sydney, NSW 2006. Traditionally Australian wage determination has involved specialiscd state agencies providing the setting in which employers, unions and workers settle agreements, written and unwritten, individual and collective. Until recent times the formal elements of the system have been built around the equal standing of unions and employer representatives in setting basic standards under the authority of industrial tribunals. As a matter of practice, however, employers at workplace and enterprise level have, in many industries, enjoyed considerable autonomy in the setting of wages and conditions above minimum standards. ’ Developments in 1996 confirmed the steady reduction of union influence in the formal process of wage determination and a consequent increase in the relative power enjoyed by employers in setting pay. The changing role of industrial tribunals in these trends was also clarified during the year. At both state and federal level they played an active role in facilitating the development of new, non-union and, in some cases, individual contracts of employment. As the year unfolded a number of key events occurred at national, state and industry levels and important new information on how wages are set within the
[Study on pathological features and diagnosis, differential diagnosis of olfactory neuroblastoma].

OBJECTIVE To observe the common characteristics of pathological morphology and immunohistochemical staining of olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB), and to raise the diagnostic ability for ONB. METHODS 34 cases of ONB, 11 cases of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and 76 cases of malignant lymphoma (ML) were collected, the clinical information were investigated, and the biopsy samples were stained and observed as follows: (1) Routine HE staining and viewed under the light microscope. (2) Expression of neuron-specific enolase (NSE), chromogranin-A (CgA), leukocyte common antigen (LCA), desmin, and sarcometic actin (S-actin) were determined in both ONB and RMS cases. In addition, S-100 protein, cytokeratin (AE1/AE3) were detected in the ONB and myoglobulin detected in the RMS. ML samples were stained for LCA, CD45RO, CD56, and CD20. The NSE, CgA, desmin and S-actin were stained in 10 cases of NK/T cell ML and 9 cases of B cell ML additionally. (3) 4 cases of ONB, RMS and ML were observed under transmission electron microscope respectively. RESULTS The ages and clinical manifestations of ONB, RMS and ML were similar. The morphological characteristics of ONB included epithelial nests; net of angioma-like fibrous connective tissues; small round cells and small short spindle cells and nucleus; glandular and squamous liked epithelium; Homer-Wright and Flexner rosette; bunch of neurofibrilla, etc. NSE and CgA were expressed in small cells. S-100 protein was positive in the area of bunch of neurofibrilla. AE1/AE3 was positive in epithelial cells, LCA, while desmin and S-actin were all negative. Ultrastructurelly, there were neurosecretory granules and neurofibrilla in the cytoplasm of a few tumor cells. Although there were some similarities among ONB, RMS and ML under the light microscope, their characteristics of pathologic morphology, immunohistochemical staining and transmission electron microscope were different. CONCLUSIONS The features of the morphological changes are the most important basis to make diagnosis for ONB. The results of immunohistochemical staining can verify it further and play an important role in its differential diagnosis. Transmission electron microscope is very important but not essential for its diagnosis.
A regression tree analysis of real interest rate regime changes

This paper uses regression tree analysis to locate changes in the real interest rate process from the early 1950s to the early 1990s. We find important changes in the mean and variance of the process in 1972:Q4, 1980:Q1, and 1986:Q2. Removing the changing mean from the ex post real interest rate leaves a time series that is largely unpredictable - consistent with the view that it is a rational forecast error as predicted by the Fisher effect. This implies that the ex ante real interest rate is approximately a constant subject to infrequent but important changes.
Zinc and 4-Hydroxy-2-Nonenal Mediate Lysosomal Membrane Permeabilization Induced by H2O2 in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons

Lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) is implicated in cancer cell death. However, its role and mechanism of action in neuronal death remain to be established. In the present study, we investigate the function of cellular zinc in oxidative stress-induced LMP using hippocampal neurons. Live-cell confocal microscopy with FluoZin-3 fluorescence showed that H2O2 exposure induced vesicles containing labile zinc in hippocampal neurons. Double staining with LysoTracker or MitoTracker disclosed that the majority of the zinc-containing vesicles were lysosomes and not mitochondria. H2O2 additionally augmented the 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) adduct level in lysosomes. Intracellular zinc chelation with TPEN [tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine] completely blocked both HNE accumulation and neuronal death. Interestingly, within 1 h after the onset of H2O2 exposure, some of zinc-loaded vesicles lost their zinc signals. Consistent with the characteristics of LMP, a lysosomal enzyme, cathepsin D, was released into the cytosol, and cathepsin inhibitors partially rescued neuronal death. We further examined the possibility that HNE or zinc mediates H2O2-triggered LMP. Similar to H2O2, exposure to HNE or zinc triggered lysosomal zinc accumulation and LMP. Moreover, isolated lysosomes underwent LMP when exposed to HNE or zinc, but not H2O2, supporting the direct mediation of LMP by HNE and/or zinc. The appearance of zinc-containing vesicles and the increases in levels of cathepsin D and HNE, were also observed in hippocampal neurons of rats after kainate seizures. Thus, under oxidative stress, neuronal lysosomes accumulate zinc and HNE, and eventually undergo LMP, which may constitute a key mechanism of oxidative neuronal death.
An Analysis of Regional Inequalities in Per Capita Production and Causative Factors: Current Status of Agriculture, Manufacturing and Retail Trades in Vietnam

This paper examines the issue of regional inequalities in per capita production in Vietnam. In the 1990s, estimates indicate such inequalities may have widened, or at the very least persisted. It is concluded that regional inequalities have resulted from industrialization, restriction of internal migration, and the concentration of foreign direct investment and public investment in specific areas.
Adaptive two-stage equalisation and FEXT cancellation architecture for 10GBASE-T system

For 10GBASE-T systems, variation in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) channel degrades the decision-point signal-to-noise ratio (DP-SNR) owing to imperfect pre-equalisation in the Tomlinson-Harashima precoding (THP) at the transmitter sides and catastrophic error propagation in far-end crosstalk (FEXT) cancellation at the receiver sides. Moreover, by using fixed THP coefficients during data transmission, as specified in the 10GBASE-T standard, and the non-linearity of THP pose challenges in the design of adaptive receivers. The authors propose an adaptive two-stage equalisation and FEXT cancellation (TS-EFC) architecture without updating the THP coefficients to combat channel variation at both the transmitter and receiver sides. In the first stage, we propose a new non-decision-directed FEXT canceller at the transmitter side using a joint training architecture to avoid error propagation. In the second stage, we devise an adaptive MIMO equaliser together with a novel pre-processing unit at the receiver side to combat channel variation. The pre-processing unit can eliminate the non-linearity issue by estimating both effective data sequences and precoded channel inputs. In addition, we develop a block least mean square algorithm that exploits the properties of two-dimensional modulated symbols for updating coefficients of the adaptive MIMO equaliser. Simulation results show that our TS-EFC architecture is robust against channel variation and significantly improves the DP-SNR. It eliminates the error propagation and also achieves faster convergence rates during the adaptation process.
The effect of propranolol on aortic structure and function in normotensive rats.

INTRODUCTION Beta-blocking agents are widely used for the treatment of many cardiovascular diseases. The effect of these agents, however, on the aortic wall structure and function has not been well defined. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of therapy with propranolol on wall structure and aortic function in rats. METHODS 20 healthy Wistar rats (350-400 g) were assigned to a control group (n=8), with rats receiving only water and food, and an experimental group (n=12), in which 100 mg/kg/day propranolol was administered in the drinking water. Three months after initiation of treatment, aortic pressures and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) were measured using high-fidelity Millar catheters. Extensive histopathologic studies were performed in the wall of the descending thoracic aorta. RESULTS Systolic, mean, diastolic, and pulse pressure were significantly lower in the propranolol-treated rats compared to controls (p<0.05). For any given systolic, mean, and pulse pressure, PWV was greater in the propranolol-treated animals (p<0.05). The heart rate was lower and the response to isoproterenol infusion was less in the propranolol-treated animals. Smooth muscle content was decreased and collagen content was increased in the aortic wall of the propranolol-treated animals compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS Long-term propranolol administration elicits an increase in PWV adjusted for aortic pressure. This may be related to accumulation of collagen in the aortic wall at the expense of smooth muscle cells. The aortic stiffening may explain some of the reported data, suggesting that the effect of β-blockade therapy in patients with arterial hypertension may be inferior to other pharmacologic agents.
A Primer on Financial Contagion

This paper presents a theoretical framework to highlight possible channels for the international transmission of financial shocks. We first review the different definitions and measures of contagion adopted by the literature. We then use a simple multi-country asset pricing model to classify the main elements of the current debate on contagion and provide a stylized account of how a crisis in one country can spread to the world economy. In particular, the model shows how crises can be transmitted across countries, without assuming ad hoc portfolio management rules or market imperfections. Finally, tracking our classification, we survey the results of the empirical literature on contagion. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2003.
Short-run and long-run oil price sensitivity of equity returns: The South Asian markets

This paper examines the short-run and the long-run oil price sensitivity of Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan equity returns using industry share price indices that are common between at least two countries. A generalised method of moments based approach is applied to a market model augmented by an oil price factor. Results are estimated using both domestic and US dollar oil prices. Several industries (e.g. chemicals, engineering and machinery, food processors and transport) are found to be statistically significantly sensitive to the oil price factor in the long run, whereas no such sensitivity is detected in the short run. Our results indicate that longer period return generating intervals might offer a better setting in which to explore the oil price sensitivity of stock market returns in the South Asian markets. Currency of measurement of oil price appears to be irrelevant.
Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein (HnRNP) K Genome-wide Binding Survey Reveals Its Role in Regulating 3′-End RNA Processing and Transcription Termination at the Early Growth Response 1 (EGR1) Gene through XRN2 Exonuclease*

Background: Mapping heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNPK) genome-wide binding could better define its role in transcription. Results: ChIP-Seq revealed hnRNPK accumulation at 3′-ends of immediate early genes. HnRNPK knockdown altered degradation of RNA downstream of poly(A) at EGR1 by decreased binding of XRN2 exonuclease. Conclusion: HnRNPK facilitates XRN2 recruitment influencing co-transcriptional 3′-end mRNA processing. Significance: A novel hnRNPK-dependent process has been identified in the control of transcription termination. The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNPK) is a nucleic acid-binding protein that acts as a docking platform integrating signal transduction pathways to nucleic acid-related processes. Given that hnRNPK could be involved in other steps that compose gene expression the definition of its genome-wide occupancy is important to better understand its role in transcription and co-transcriptional processes. Here, we used chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to analyze the genome-wide hnRNPK-DNA interaction in colon cancer cell line HCT116. 9.1/3.6 and 7.0/3.4 million tags were sequenced/mapped, then 1809 and 642 hnRNPK binding sites were detected in quiescent and 30-min serum-stimulated cells, respectively. The inspection of sequencing tracks revealed inducible hnRNPK recruitment along a number of immediate early gene loci, including EGR1 and ZFP36, with the highest densities present at the transcription termination sites. Strikingly, hnRNPK knockdown with siRNA resulted in increased pre-RNA levels transcribed downstream of the EGR1 polyadenylation (A) site suggesting altered 3′-end pre-RNA degradation. Further ChIP survey of hnRNPK knockdown uncovered decreased recruitment of the 5′-3′ exonuclease XRN2 along EGR1 and downstream of the poly(A) signal without altering RNA polymerase II density at these sites. Immunoprecipitation of hnRNPK and XRN2 from intact and RNase A-treated nuclear extracts followed by shotgun mass spectrometry revealed the presence of hnRNPK and XRN2 in the same complexes along with other spliceosome-related proteins. Our data suggest that hnRNPK may play a role in recruitment of XRN2 to gene loci thus regulating coupling 3′-end pre-mRNA processing to transcription termination.
Distributed voltage regulation in distribution power grids: Utilizing the photovoltaics inverters

Millions of newly installed photovoltaic (PV) panels are disrupting the conventional distribution power grid operation. The lack of efficient coordination schemes between the PV panels results in voltage stability issues. In this paper, we exploit the reactive power control potential in the inverters of the PV panels for voltage regulation. There are considerable obstacles to design a coordination scheme that does not rely on a central entity with theoretical performance guarantee. In particular, the power flow equations define a highly non-convex constraint set. To tackle this challenge, we first examine the structure of the problem for a simplified linear network model, which allows for the design of a distributed control scheme. Then, we devise an analytical framework to show that our proposed distributed scheme will converge to a local minimum geometrically in the non-convex branch flow model. We further characterize the systematic error during the convergence. Finally, we use simulations to assess the performance of our proposed scheme.
Helicobacter pylori: A Fickle Germ

The morphologic changes from bacillary to coccoid forms of Helicobacter pylori were studied. These form changes were analyzed by bacterial growth in Brucella broth plus 2% fetal calf serum. The coccoid forms were observed at five days of incubation and a rapid decrease of CFU/ml was recorded. At two weeks of microaerophilic incubation, all coccoid forms observed were not culturable in vitro. The coccoid morphology was observed earlier when the culture of H. pylori was incubated in aerobic conditions and with subinhibitory concentrations of omeprazole and roxithromycin. To evaluate the possibility of resistance of coccal forms, before plating, the cultures were heated to 80 C for 10 min and sonicated. In the absence of these treatments the cultures did not show growth in vitro. The proteic patterns of the same strains of two different morphologies were studied revealing significant differences.
How Much Does Money Matter? 'Buying' Votes in Japan, 1967-1990

Japanese elections are notorious for the money that flows between contributors, politicians, and voters. To date, however, nobody has estimated statistically the impact of this money on electoral outcomes. Students of American politics have discovered that this question is difficult to answer because, while performance may depend on spending, spending may also depend on expected performance - so that there is simultaneous causation to deal with. In this paper, we specify a two-stage least squares model that explains the vote shares of LDP candidates as a function of their own spending, spending by other candidates, and a battery of control variables. Interestingly, the multiple candidate nature of Japanese elections means that district-level demographic variables are largely unrelated to any particular LDP candidate's vote share, allowing us to use these variables to create instruments for campaign spending. Finally, in a necessarily tentative comparison, we find that the marginal dollar of campaign spending buys the spender a great deal more in Japan than is true in the U.S.
Commentary: Oil and the Economy

Between 2000 and 2003 OPEC maintained a target range for the price of oil of US$22–28 per barrel. In early September of this year the price of oil reached US$67 per barrel. Such a rapid change in the price of oil was not anticipated either by economic forecasters or by those involved in the industry. Indeed, about a year ago, with the price of oil just over US$40 per barrel, a senior oil company executive, said that the high prices were caused by short-term factors and that prices had reached their peak. As the rise of oil prices has continued, people's thoughts have inevitably turned to the two oil crises of 1973–4 and 1979–80.
Ultrastructural Evidence for Synaptic Interactions between Thalamocortical Axons and Subplate Neurons

Thalamic axons are known to accumulate in the subplate for a protracted period prior to invading the cortical plate and contacting their ultimate targets, the neurons of layer 4. We have examined the synaptic contacts made by visual and somatosensory thalamic axons during the transition period in which axons begin to leave the subplate and invade the cortical plate in the ferret. We first determined when geniculocortical axons leave the subplate and begin to grow into layer 4 of the visual cortex by injecting 1,1′‐dioctadecyl‐3, 3, 3′, 3′‐tetramethyl indocarbocyanine (Dil) into the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). By birth most LGN axons are still confined to the subplate. Over the next 10 days LGN axons grow into layer 4, but many axons retain axonal branches within the subplate. To establish whether thalamic axons make synaptic contacts within the subplate, the anterograde tracer PHA‐L was injected into thalamic nuclei of neonatal ferrets between postnatal day 3 and 12 to label thalamic axons at the electron microscope level. The analysis of the PHA‐L injections confirmed the Dil data regarding the timing of ingrowth of thalamic axons into the cortical plate. At the electron microscope level, PHA‐L‐labelled axons were found to form synaptic contacts in the subplate. The thalamic axon terminals were presynaptic primarily to dendritic shafts and dendritic spines. Between postnatal days 12 and 20 labelled synapses were also observed within layer 4 of the cortex. The ultrastructural appearance of the synapses did not differ significantly in the subplate and cortical plate, with regard to type of postsynaptic profiles, length of postsynaptic density or presynaptic terminal size. These observations provide direct evidence that thalamocortical axons make synaptic contacts with subplate neurons, the only cell type within the subplate possessing mature dendrites and dendritic spines; they also suggest that functional interactions between thalamic axons and subplate neurons could play a role in the establishment of appropriate thalamocortical connections.