Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human Bone Marrow‐Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Display Enhanced Clonogenicity but Impaired Differentiation With Hypoxic Preconditioning

Stem cells are promising candidate cells for regenerative applications because they possess high proliferative capacity and the potential to differentiate into other cell types. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are easily sourced but do not retain their proliferative and multilineage differentiative capabilities after prolonged ex vivo propagation. We investigated the use of hypoxia as a preconditioning agent and in differentiating cultures to enhance MSC function. Culture in 5% ambient O2 consistently enhanced clonogenic potential of primary MSCs from all donors tested. We determined that enhanced clonogenicity was attributable to increased proliferation, increased vascular endothelial growth factor secretion, and increased matrix turnover. Hypoxia did not impact the incidence of cell death. Application of hypoxia to osteogenic cultures resulted in enhanced total mineral deposition, although this effect was detected only in MSCs preconditioned in normoxic conditions. Osteogenesis‐associated genes were upregulated in hypoxia, and alkaline phosphatase activity was enhanced. Adipogenic differentiation was inhibited by exposure to hypoxia during differentiation. Chondrogenesis in three‐dimensional pellet cultures was inhibited by preconditioning with hypoxia. However, in cultures expanded under normoxia, hypoxia applied during subsequent pellet culture enhanced chondrogenesis. Whereas hypoxic preconditioning appears to be an excellent way to expand a highly clonogenic progenitor pool, our findings suggest that it may blunt the differentiation potential of MSCs, compromising their utility for regenerative tissue engineering. Exposure to hypoxia during differentiation (post‐normoxic expansion), however, appears to result in a greater quantity of functional osteoblasts and chondrocytes and ultimately a larger quantity of high‐quality differentiated tissue.
The Two Faces of Unionism

Our research demonstrates that the view of unions as organizations whose chief function is to raise wages is seriously misleading. For in addition to raising wages, unions have significant non-wage effects which influence diverse aspects of modern industrial life. By providing workers with a voice both at the workplace and in the political arena, unions can and do affect positively the functioning of the economic and social systems. Although our research on the non-wage effects of trade unions is by no means complete and some results will surely change as more evidence becomes available, enough work has been done to yield the broad outlines of a new view of unionism.
High mobility group protein HMGA1 inhibits retinoblastoma protein‐mediated cellular G0 arrest

Retinoblastoma protein (RB) acts as a tumor suppressor in many tissue types, by promoting cell arrest via E2F‐mediated transcriptional repression. In addition to the aberrant forms of the RB gene found in different types of cancers, many viral oncoproteins including the simian virus 40 large T antigen target RB. However, cellular factors that inhibit RB function remain to be elucidated. Here, we report that RB interacts with the high mobility group protein A1 (HMGA1), a‐non‐histone architectural chromatin factor that is frequently overexpressed in cancer cells. HMGA1 binds the small pocket domain of RB, and competes with HDAC1. Subsequently, overexpression of HMGA1 abolishes the inhibitory effect of RB on E2F‐activated transcription from the cyclin E promoter. Under serum starvation, T98G cells had been previously shown to be arrested in the G0 phase in an RB‐mediated manner. The G0 phase was characterized by growth arrest and low levels of transcription, together with the hypophosphorylation of RB and the downregulation of HMGA1. In contrast, such serum‐depleted G0 arrest was abrogated in T98G cells overexpressing HMGA1. The overexpressed HMGA1 was found to form complexes with cellular RB, suggesting that downregulation of HMGA1 is required for G0 arrest. There were no phenotypic changes in HMGA1‐expressing T98G cells in the presence of serum, but the persistent expression of HMGA1 under serum starvation caused various nuclear abnormalities, which were similarly induced in T antigen‐expressing T98G cells. Our present findings indicate that overexpression of HMGA1 disturbs RB‐mediated cell arrest, suggesting a negative control of RB by HMGA1. (Cancer Sci 2007; 98: 1893–1901)
Measuring the Welfare Effects of Nutrition Information

Cost/benefit analysis justifies regulations altering the amount of health-related information presented to consumers. The current method of benefit analysis, the cost of avoided illness, is limited; it assumes the benefits of health-related information are adequately represented by changes in illnesses. The manuscript develops a benefit estimation method to measure the welfare impacts of providing nutrient information. Nutrient labeling significantly affects purchase behaviour but may not lead to increased consumption of health foods. Nutrient labeling may increase welfare without any change in health risk. Thus, the cost of avoided illness approach can underestimate the social benefits of providing nutrient information. Copyright 2001, Oxford University Press.
Changes in Chemokine Receptor Expression of Regulatory T Cells After Ex Vivo Culture

By controlling and limiting inflammatory conditions, naturally occurring regulatory T cells (Tregs), defined as circulating CD4+CD25brightFoxP3+ cells, play critical roles in maintaining tolerance and preventing autoimmunity and thus have tremendous potential for adoptive immunotherapy. Because they represent a scanty subset of the CD4+ T-lymphocyte subset, several approaches have been developed to isolate and expand ex vivo polyclonal Tregs. However, one limitation of the functional analyses performed on these cultured Tregs is the incomplete characterization of their tissue-trafficking properties. As this aspect provides crucial information for their therapeutic effects, we have here explored the chemokine receptor expression profile and function of Tregs cultured ex vivo with validated expansion protocols. Our data show that ex vivo cultured Tregs retained the expression of CCR7 but dramatically downregulated CCR5 as compared with freshly isolated Tregs. The differential chemokine receptors expression pattern corroborated with their respective steady state messenger RNA expression and also with their migration toward specific chemokines. Our analyses suggest that ex vivo cultured Tregs may display impaired or suboptimal migration to the inflamed tissues releasing RANTES and MIP-1&agr; chemokines.
Corporate Bankruptcy Potential, Stockholder Returns and Share Valuation

CORPORATE BANKRUPTCY and the subsequent reorganization process is typically treated by academicians as an institutional problem of limited import. Yet, the appearance of these phenomena are conspicuous in numerous publicly held firms each year. ' On the few occasions when bankruptcy is considered within a theoretic context, the analysis generally follows the argument that high levels of financial leverage increase the probability of bankruptcy which in turn decreases the value of that firm. This paper is concerned with the effect of potential corporate bankruptcy on expected shareholder wealth over time and therefore its effect on total firm share value. The present study differs from prior works in that a new framework is presented enabling, for the first time, empirical testing of the problem. The relationship between bankruptcy and valuation is briefly reviewed in Section I. Those works deemed most relevant to the problem are cited and evaluated. With this background, the suggested model is presented in general form in Section II. The following section outlines the empirical test and includes an explicit specification of the relevant variables. Section IV encompasses the presentation and analysis of the results and includes a discussion of their implications. The important findings are summarized in Section V.
The Nature of Authentic Professional Development During Curriculum-Based Telecomputing

Abstract What do teachers learn about their teaching when their students engage in curriculum-based online learning projects? This qualitative study explores beliefs about on-the-job, profession-related learning—or “authentic professional development”—among eight teachers whose students participated in educational projects hosted by five well-established programs: The Electronic Emissary, iEARN, KidLink, ThinkQuest, and ThinkQuest Jr. Telecomputing alone does not change teachers’ teaching styles. Instead, teachers who are innovative, inquiry based, and student centered may find telecomputing to be a useful tool for helping their students become more confident, self-directed learners.
Can the BRICS help global capitalism escape its crisis

This paper explores the argument that the so-called four BRIC or the five BRICS economies can help rescue the global economy from its current crisis. It reviews the arguments for the positive role of these developing economies and then urges a series of reasons for caution about their capacity to act as an independent element in global economic recovery. It also draws attention to the differences between these economies and the need to consider the way that economic issues are related to geo-political considerations in the global system.
DISCREPANT TESTS FOR HYDROGEN SULFIDE

Kligler and Triple Sugar Iron (TSI) media have been considered to be interchangeable for the purpose of detecting hydrogen sulfide production in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Contrary evidence is presented in this report. From various sources, 11 cultures were isolated which yielded a positive hydrogen sulfide reaction on Kligler medium and a negative reaction on TSI. Biochemically, these cultures appear to belong to the Citrobacter group. In Kligler medium, these cultures react like the Salmonella and Arizona groups. On TSI medium, the reactions resemble the coliform group. Therefore, the classification of these cultures depends on which of the two media is employed. The chief difference between the media is the presence of sucrose in TSI medium. Presumably, other differences in the formulas are not significant. All 11 cultures ferment sucrose, but not lactose, promptly. Therefore, the utilization of sucrose appears to be responsible for the discrepancy. The acid products of sucrose fermentation may suppress the enzyme mechanism which forms hydrogen sulfide. To test this, lead acetate strips were placed in the tops of TSI cultures. Blackening of the strips indicated that hydrogen sulfide gas was being produced, although no blackening developed in the butts. Therefore, it appears that the iron sulfide indicator in the medium has been masked. Since many strains of Proteus vulgaris ferment sucrose and produce hydrogen sulfide, it seemed desirable to determine whether these cultures would yield the same results as the 11 Citrobacter cultures. The two media were inoculated with 18 strains of P. vulgaris. Blackening occurred in both media, although it was visibly more intense in Kligler medium. It was observed that, when these cultures were incubated several days longer, the iron sulfide disappeared gradually until all was gone, from TSI medium but not from Kligler medium. When the Proteus and Citrobacter cultures were inoculated into sucrose Purple Broth Base, acid production was evident in all of the cultures in a few hours. Therefore, the rate of utilization of sucrose did not account for the negative hydrogen sulfide tests.
Wavefront-guided excimer laser vision correction after multifocal IOL implantation.

PURPOSE To investigate the use of wavefront-guided LASIK after multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) implantation to correct residual ametropia and higher order aberrations. METHODS In a prospective, nonrandomized case series, wavefront-guided LASIK was performed in 27 eyes (19 patients) after multifocal IOL implantation (Tecnis diffractive IOL, n = 20; ReSTOR diffractive IOL, n = 4; ReZoom refractive IOL, n = 3) using the VISX STAR S4 IR excimer laser. Visual acuity, manifest refraction, and wavefront error were examined pre- and 3 months postoperatively. RESULTS In the Tecnis group, results before (after) LASIK were: sphere +1.06 +/- 0.77 diopters (D) (-0.03 +/- 0.28 D; P = .0001), cylinder -1.13 +/- 0.73 D (-0.14 +/- 0.25 D; P = .00004), distance uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) 20/45 +/- 0.09 (20/29 +/- 0.16; P = .00004), near UCVA 20/30 +/- 0.24 (20/25 +/- 0.16; P = .001), and higher order aberrations (4-mm pupil) 0.14 +/- 0.05 microm (0.18 +/-0.03 microm; P = .02). Distance and near best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) did not change. In the ReSTOR group, results before (after) LASIK were: sphere +0.75 +/- 0.56 D (+0.13 +/- 0.22 D), cylinder -1.50 +/- 0.47 D (-0.13 +/- 0.22 D), distance UCVA 20/40 +/- 0.07 (20/26 +/- 0.07), near UCVA 20/44 +/- 0.05 (20/25 +/- 0.0), and higher order aberrations (4-mm pupil) 0.14 +/- 0.03 microm (0.20 +/- 0.02 microm). Distance and near BSCVA did not change. In the ReZoom group, results before (after) LASIK were: sphere +0.08 +/- 1.20 D (0.00 D), cylinder -0.83 +/- 0.120 D (0.00 D), distance UCVA 20/40 +/- 0 (20/25 +/- 0), near UCVA 20/60 +/- 0.09 (20/150 +/- 0.18), and higher order aberrations (4-mm pupil) 0.43 +/- 0.04 microm (0.39 +/- 0.03 microm). Patients lost one line of distance BSCVA and two lines of near BSCVA. CONCLUSIONS Wavefront-guided LASIK is safe and effective in diffractive multifocal IOLs to correct residual refractive error, but higher order aberrations did not improve. It is not recommended in refractive multifocal IOLs, as these cannot be measured reliably with current wavefront sensors.
THE PARADOX OF PRECARIOUSNESS: EXPLORING THE PERCEPTIONS OF PART TIME AND FEMALE WORKERS IN AUSTRALIA

The concept of non-standard employment has gained increasing currency. Typically, it is closely associated with the notion of precarious employment. There is significant debate in the literature about the benefits and drawbacks of non-standard employment, ranging from increased flexibility to poor salaries and working conditions. Drawing on a national survey of one thousand employees, this paper explores the experiences of part time and female workers in Australia. The survey reveals unexpected findings, indicating that a segment of the female and part time workforce are highly satisfied and have organisational citizenship. These findings reiterate that non-standard employment is a core element of the contemporary labour market, yet the notion of unevenness between different types of employment arrangements is at times questionable and requires a more thorough analysis. The relevance and importance of non-standard working arrangements in the Australian labour market is further reinforced by the ACTU’s current policy initiatives to strengthen protection and extend benefits to employees in non-standard arrangements, through the Work Family Test Case (2004).
The Informational Effects of Restrictions on Short Sales: Some Empirical Evidence

In a world of heterogeneous investors, a competitive financial market has two major functions. First, it is the mechanism by which ownership of the existing supply of risky assets is distributed among investors. This is the role which is analyzed in detail by the standard Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and its many extensions. The second important market function is to aggregate the diverse information held by different investors into a single price. Most versions of the CAPM eliminate the information aggregation function by assuming that investors hold homogeneous beliefs with respect to the probability distribution of asset returns. Exceptions which deal with some aspects of the problem are Lintner [7], Grossman [4], Grossman and Stiglitz [5], and Figlewski [1, 3 ].
Risk factors for systemic reactions to allergen immunotherapy

Purpose of review To update safety information regarding allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) in clinical practice and highlight the risk factors associated with the adverse reactions, product and each dose. Recent findings Efforts in recent years have focused on increasing our understanding of the efficacy and safety of ASIT, especially the sublingual variety (SLIT), in multicenter studies. Moreover, new Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) and an international consensus concerning ASIT have been published recently. Although no deaths as a result of subcutaneous immunotherapy or SLIT have been reported in the last 2 years, systemic reactions mainly arising from administration errors still appear. Recent studies support the safety of new forms of specific immunotherapy. Summary An understanding of the risk factors for each patient, product and dose, and the implementation of CPGs are the main factors that could improve the safety of ASIT. The standardization of all procedures for prescribing and administering ASIT, and the systematic collection of standardized safety data in a multicenter database (postmarketing surveillance), may be required to generate new information on the safety of ASIT.
The Impact of Culture on the Quality of Internal Audit

This study draws on Hofstede’s theoretical framework to examine the impact of different dimensions of culture on the quality of internal audit (QIA) in Saudi Arabia. A sample of chief internal auditors from 67 listed companies has been used to examine the direct effect of the cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism on the QIA. Evidence was found that organizations, in which power distance and uncertainty avoidance are high, are characterized by lower QIA. The results also show a positive association between individualism and the QIA, indicating that internal audit is largely based on the accomplishments of the individual internal auditors associated with the process. Considering these outcomes from the Saudi Arabian standpoint, where the cultural and economic contexts are underpinned by collectivism rather than individualism, it emerges that it is only comparatively recently that a tradition of governance and audit has started to develop, and that quite particular and strong cultural influences stemming from tribalism and pervasive core traditions beliefs operate to condition the effort to achieve the ideal internal audit environment.
Metabolic regulation of redox status in stem cells.

SIGNIFICANCE Metabolism-dependent generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and associated oxidative damage have been traditionally linked to impaired homeostasis and cellular death. Beyond the adverse effects of ROS accumulation, increasing evidence implicates redox status as a regulator of vital cellular processes. RECENT ADVANCES Emerging studies on the molecular mechanisms guiding stem cell fate decisions indicate a role for energy metabolism in regulating the fundamental ability of maintaining stemness versus undergoing lineage-specific differentiation. Stem cells have evolved protective metabolic phenotypes to minimize reactive oxygen generation through oxidative metabolism and support antioxidant scavenging through glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway. CRITICAL ISSUES While the dynamics in ROS generation has been correlated with stem cell function, the intimate mechanisms by which energy metabolism regulates ROS to impact cellular fate remain to be deciphered. FUTURE DIRECTIONS Decoding the linkage between nutrient sensing, energy metabolism, and ROS in regulating cell fate decisions would offer a redox-dependent strategy to regulate stemness and lineage specification.
Genetic programming based optimization of class-dependent PCA for extracting robust MFCC

Principal component analysis (PCA) is commonly used in feature extraction. It projects the features in direction of maximum variance. This projection can be performed in a class-dependent or class-independent manner. In this paper, we propose to optimize class-dependent PCA transformation matrix for robust MFCC feature extraction using genetic programming. For this purpose, we first map logarithm of clean speech Mel filter bank energies (LMFE) in directions of maximum variability. We obtain the mapping functions using genetic programming. After this, we form class-dependent PCA transformation matrix based on mapped LMFE and use this matrix in place of DCT in MFCC feature extraction. The experimental results show that proposed method achieves to significant isolated word recognition rate on Aurora2 database.
Delayless differentiation algorithm and its efficient implementation for motion control applications

Acceleration feedback can improve the performance of motion control in motor drives. Acceleration control is, however, seldom implemented in practical drive systems due to the unsatisfactory results of most acceleration measurement methods. In this paper, we introduce a computationally efficient (Finite Impulse Response) filter-based algorithm which makes it possible to differentiate the polynomial-like velocity signal with optimal white noise attenuation. The proposed signal processing algorithm does not delay the acceleration signal but, instead, the prediction step can be freely adjusted to compensate for various delays in the physical implementation. Our algorithm can be implemented by utilizing recursive structure so that the amount of multiplications and additions required does not depend on the filter length. No additional hardware is required to implement the algorithm because it can be programmed as part of the control software. The performance of the new algorithm is evaluated by applying it to a simulated motion control application.
Inability of toxin inhibitors to neutralize enhanced toxicity caused by bacteria adherent to tissue culture cells

Toxicity to Y-1 adrenal mouse cells caused by heat-labile toxin secreted by an enterotoxigenic strain of Escherichia coli (H-10407-p) was 40-fold enhanced in mixtures containing organisms capable of adhering to the Y-1 cells compared with monolayers exposed to organisms whose adherence was inhibited by mannoside. Severalfold the concentrations of anti-heat-labile toxin antibodies required to neutralize the toxicity of nonadherent bacteria were unable to neutralize the toxicity caused by adherent bacteria. The cytolytic activity toward tissue culture cells and mouse peritoneal macrophages caused by streptolysin S carried by Streptococcus pyogenes was severalfold increased in mixtures containing organisms capable of adhering to the target cells compared with mixtures containing nonadherent bacteria. The ability of trypan blue and RNA core to inhibit the cell-bound streptolysin S was determined in tissue culture cells containing adherent streptococci and mixtures of streptococci randomly colliding with erythrocytes. Both inhibitors were markedly less effective in neutralizing cytolysis than in their ability to neutralize hemolysis. We conclude that compared with toxins produced by nonadherent bacteria, those produced by bacteria adherent to cells are targeted more efficiently and become relatively inaccessible to neutralization by toxin inhibitors.