Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiple Candidate Effectors from the Oomycete Pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis Suppress Host Plant Immunity

Oomycete pathogens cause diverse plant diseases. To successfully colonize their hosts, they deliver a suite of effector proteins that can attenuate plant defenses. In the oomycete downy mildews, effectors carry a signal peptide and an RxLR motif. Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) causes downy mildew on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis). We investigated if candidate effectors predicted in the genome sequence of Hpa isolate Emoy2 (HaRxLs) were able to manipulate host defenses in different Arabidopsis accessions. We developed a rapid and sensitive screening method to test HaRxLs by delivering them via the bacterial type-three secretion system (TTSS) of Pseudomonas syringae pv tomato DC3000-LUX (Pst-LUX) and assessing changes in Pst-LUX growth in planta on 12 Arabidopsis accessions. The majority (∼70%) of the 64 candidates tested positively contributed to Pst-LUX growth on more than one accession indicating that Hpa virulence likely involves multiple effectors with weak accession-specific effects. Further screening with a Pst mutant (ΔCEL) showed that HaRxLs that allow enhanced Pst-LUX growth usually suppress callose deposition, a hallmark of pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP)-triggered immunity (PTI). We found that HaRxLs are rarely strong avirulence determinants. Although some decreased Pst-LUX growth in particular accessions, none activated macroscopic cell death. Fewer HaRxLs conferred enhanced Pst growth on turnip, a non-host for Hpa, while several reduced it, consistent with the idea that turnip's non-host resistance against Hpa could involve a combination of recognized HaRxLs and ineffective HaRxLs. We verified our results by constitutively expressing in Arabidopsis a sub-set of HaRxLs. Several transgenic lines showed increased susceptibility to Hpa and attenuation of Arabidopsis PTI responses, confirming the HaRxLs' role in Hpa virulence. This study shows TTSS screening system provides a useful tool to test whether candidate effectors from eukaryotic pathogens can suppress/trigger plant defense mechanisms and to rank their effectiveness prior to subsequent mechanistic investigation.
Placing community self-governance: Building materialities, nuisance noise and neighbouring in self-governing communities

In self-governing residential communities processes of governance through community appear to be triggering a contractualisation of neighbouring and demise in socially inflected relations. Research to date has examined the socio-political dimensions of neighbouring, highlighting governance frameworks and the social context as key forces shaping transformations in community practice. Meanwhile, the material space of residential estates has largely disappeared from view, assuming a static role as either a container for social relations or a symbol informing estate standards. This paper advances a different perspective, arguing that residential materialities must be taken seriously as agents within community governance and neighbouring. Through a case study examining the management of pets and nuisance noise in strata-titled apartments in Sydney, Australia, the paper shows that community governance takes place through the material environment. Understandings of community self-governance and the ‘building event’ are productively combined to re-place understandings of community self-governance processes.
MicroRNA Expression Analysis in Serum of Patients with Congenital Hemochromatosis and Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

Background Congenital hemochromatosis is a disorder caused by mutations of genes involved in iron metabolism, leading to increased levels of iron concentration in tissues and serum. High concentrations of iron can lead to the development of AMD. The aim of this study was to analyze circulating miRNAs in the serum of congenital hemochromatosis patients with AMD and their correlation with the expression of genes involved in iron metabolism. Material/Methods Peripheral blood monolayer cells and serum were obtained from patients with congenital hemochromatosis, congenital hemochromatosis and AMD, AMD patients without congenital hemochromatosis, and healthy controls. Serum miRNAs expressions were analyzed by RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) using TaqMan MicroRNA probes, and proteins levels were measured by ELSA kits. Gene polymorphisms in TF and TFRC genes were determined using the TaqMan discrimination assay. Results Statistical analysis of the miRNAs expressions selected for further study the miR-31, miR-133a, miR-141, miR-145, miR-149, and miR-182, which are involved in the posttranscriptional expression of iron-related genes: TF, TFRI, DMT1, FTL, and FPN1. It was discovered that the observed changes in the expressions of the miRNAs was correlated with the level of protein in the serum of the analyzed genes. There were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of genotype and allele frequencies in TF and TFRC genes between analyzed groups of patients. Conclusions The differences studied in the miRNA serum profile, in conjunction with the changes in the analyzed protein levels, may be useful in the early detection of congenital hemochromatosis in patients who may develop AMD disease.
An Examination of the Determinants of Organizational Structure

Multiple regression and path analysis were employed to explore the relationships among organizational context, organizational complexity, and bureaucratic control in a sample of 50 Japanese industrial manufacturing plants. Of three contextual variables, internal dependence is found to be the most powerful predictor of bureaucratic control; organizational size and technological authomaticity show their influence on control by channeling through some intervening variables. The finding that structural differentiation has no important associations with centralization and formalization disconfirms part of our proposition, but each of the other two complexity variables (functioanl specialization and knowledge complexity)is a significant predictor of one of the two control variables. The magnitude of predictor of variance explained by all the variables examined suggests that the model used is more predictive of formalization than of centralization.
Auditors’ Reactions to Inconsistencies between Financial and Nonfinancial Measures: The Interactive Effects of Fraud Risk Assessment and a Decision Prompt

ABSTRACT: Nonfinancial measures (NFMs), such as employee headcount and production space, are operational measures that are not included on the face of the financial statements but are often disclosed elsewhere in the annual report or 10-K (e.g., in Management's Discussion and Analysis). Professional standards, auditing texts, and prior research suggest that external auditors can use NFMs to verify their clients' reported financial information and, in turn, improve audit quality. In an initial experiment where auditors develop an expectation for a client's sales balance, they generally fail to identify a seeded inconsistency between the client's sales and related NFMs. In our second experiment, where we introduce an NFM prompt and manipulate fraud risk as high and low, auditors are more likely to react to the inconsistency (i.e., rely more on inconsistent NFMs/develop expectations that reflect the client's current year decline in NFMs) when they are specifically prompted to consider the implications of NFM.
Comprehensive School Reform: An Observational Study of Teaching in Grades 3 through 5

This observational study involved literacy and mathematics instruction of 145 teachers in grades 3 through 5 in 20 low‐income schools enrolled in the U.S. government's Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Demonstration program. Observed curriculum and instructional practices were primarily and coherently focused on acquisition of basic facts and skills and related elaborations and thinking. With few exceptions, students were on task and productive and teacher‐student relationships were friendly and mutually supportive. Observations were compared with normative teaching practices. This comparison supported the conclusion that instruction in CSR classrooms did not differ from instruction typically observed in elementary school. Recommendations for enhancing normative practice within the constraints of modern school reform are made.
Synthetic-aperture assessment of a dispersive surface

This paper considers synthetic aperture radar and other synthetic aperture imaging systems in which a backscattered wave is measured from a variety of locations. We focus on the case in which the ground-reflectivity function depends on frequency as well as on position. The paper begins with a (linearized) mathematical model, based on a scalar approximation to Maxwell's equations, that includes the effects of the source waveform and the antenna beam pattern. The model can also accommodate other effects such as antenna steering and motion. For this mathematical model, we use the tools of microlocal analysis to develop and analyze a three-dimensional inversion algorithm that uses measurements made on a surface and determines the frequency-dependent ground reflectivity.
Performance Enhancement of MIMO-OFDMA : A Review Paper

OFDM multi-carrier modulation is expected to be the enabling technology for 4G wireless systems. One of the features that make OFDM the primary choice for 4G is its MIMO compatibility, because MIMO has a very significant potential of enhancing wireless systems for capacity, data rate, and coverage aspects. In this paper, the challenges of MIMO OFDM measurements are addressed and requirement of transmitting power control by user is discussed. Downlink power and uplink power is limiting factor in the performance of MIMO OFDMA system. An adequate power controlling mechanism based on closed loop of base station is solution to this problem.
The Rhetoric of Video Games

Animal Crossing is an “animal village simulator” for the Nintendo GameCube and DS video game consoles.1 As the game begins, the player has just left home to move to the game’s small village. There he meets a host of cartoonish animal residents and settles into a new life. The player is penniless upon arrival, and the game quickly thrusts him into the reality of making ends meet. The village’s resident real estate tycoon and shopkeeper, Tom Nook, helps the player out, offering him a small shack to live in and a job of planting trees, delivering goods, and creating marketing materials on the town notice board (see figure 1). After completing these chores, Nook releases the player to explore the town on his own. He may then work, trade, and personalize his environment. The game offers a series of innocuous, even mundane activities like bug catching, gardening, and wallpaper designing. One of the more challenging projects in the game is paying off the mortgage on one’s house. Animal Crossing allows players to upgrade their homes, but doing so requires paying off a large note the player must take out to start the game in the first place. The player must then pay down renovation mortgages for even larger sums.2 While the game omits some of the more punitive intricacies of long-term debt, such as compounding interest, improving one’s home does require consistent work in the game world. Catching fish, hunting for fossils, finding insects, and doing jobs for other townsfolk all produce income that can be used to pay off mortgage debt or to buy carpets, furniture, and objects to decorate one’s house. When my then five-year-old began playing the game seriously, he quickly recognized the dilemma he faced. On the one hand, he wanted to spend the money he had earned from collecting fruit and bugs on new furniture, carpets, and shirts. On the other hand, he wanted to pay off his house so he could get a bigger one like mine. Once he managed to amass enough savings to pay off his mortgage, Tom Nook offered to expand his house. While it is possible to refrain from upgrading, the unassuming raccoon continues to offer renovations as frequently as the player visits his store. My son began to realize the dilemma facing him: the more material possessions he took on, the more space he needed, and the more debt he had to assume to provide that space. And the additional space just fueled more material acquisitions, continuing the loop. This link between debt and acquisition gives form to a routine that many mortgage holders fail to recognize: buying more living space not only creates more debt, it also drives the impulse to acquire more goods. More goods demand even more space, creating a vicious cycle.
Further results on input/output stability of switched systems

This paper provides the extension of results on input-to-output stability properties of switched systems to switched systems whose dynamics are described by forced differential inclusions and whose outputs are obtained via switched set-valued maps . Lyapunov characterizations of these input/output stability properties, obtained in terms of certain conceptual output functions, are also presented.
Joint Models for the Association of Longitudinal Binary and Continuous Processes With Application to a Smoking Cessation Trial

Joint models for the association of a longitudinal binary and a longitudinal continuous process are proposed for situations in which their association is of direct interest. The models are parameterized such that the dependence between the two processes is characterized by unconstrained regression coefficients. Bayesian variable selection techniques are used to parsimoniously model these coefficients. A Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling algorithm is developed for sampling from the posterior distribution, using data augmentation steps to handle missing data. Several technical issues are addressed to implement the MCMC algorithm efficiently. The models are motivated by, and are used for, the analysis of a smoking cessation clinical trial in which an important question of interest was the effect of the (exercise) treatment on the relationship between smoking cessation and weight gain.
Endothelial nitric oxide synthase overexpression attenuates congestive heart failure in mice

Congestive heart failure results in cardiovascular dysfunction and diminished vascular nitric oxide (NO) production. We hypothesized that overexpression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) within the endothelium would reduce the extent of contractile dysfunction in a murine model of infarct-induced congestive heart failure. We generated transgenic (TG) mice overexpressing the human eNOS gene. The TG mice displayed significantly enhanced eNOS protein levels and eNOS activity levels (10- to 12-fold greater) in the aorta and the coronary vasculature. Non-TG (NTg) and eNOS TG mice were subjected to permanent left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and then observed for 1 mo. We assessed cardiac function in vivo by using echocardiography and ultraminiature ventricular pressure catheters. Myocardial infarct size was similar between study groups (≈70% of the risk zone). Survival was increased by 43% in the eNOS TG mice compared with NTg (P < 0.05). Fractional shortening and cardiac output were also significantly (P < 0.05) greater in the eNOS TG than in NTg. Interestingly, pulmonary edema was evident only in NTg mice, and no evidence of pulmonary edema was observed in the eNOS TG mice. Thus, targeted overexpression of the eNOS gene within the vascular endothelium in mice attenuates both cardiac and pulmonary dysfunction and dramatically improves survival during severe congestive heart failure.
Tierexperimentelle Forschung beleuchtet das therapeutische Potenzial von Cannabinoiden bei der Behandlung von Depressionen

Die stimmungsverandernden Wirkungen der Cannabinoide sind seit langem bekannt. Gegenwartig werden sie hinsichtlich ihres therapeutischen Potenzials bei der Behandlung von Depressionen beforscht. Befunde aus vielen Gebieten der Grundlagenforschung sind ein Indiz dafur, dass dieses System in der Tat ein brauchbares Ziel fur neue antidepressive Medikamente ist. Nagermodelle fur Depressionen haben veranderte Spiegel der endogenen Cannabinoide und des Cannabinoid-CB1Rezeptors ergeben, was zeigt, dass dieses System an der Ursache von Depressionen beteiligt ist. Zudem haben Medikamente auf Cannabinoidbasis eine Wirksamkeit in Nagertests fur antidepressive Aktivitat ergeben, und diese Wirkungen scheinen gemeinsame Wirkmechanismen mit gegenwartig verfugbaren antidepressiven Medikamenten, wie selektive Serotoninwiederaufnahmehemmer, zu teilen. Obwohl die Wirkungen von Cannabinoiden auf Depressionen beim Menschen noch erforscht werden mussen, haben tierexperimentelle Studien daher eine Unterstutzung fur die Fortfuhrung dieses Zweiges der klinischen Forschung geliefert. Stichworter: Cannabinoid, Depressionen, antidepressiv, Endocannabinoid, Serotonin, Cannabis
Evaluation of Cytotoxicity Effects of Oleo-Gum-Resin and Its Essential Oil of Ferula assa-foetida and Ferulic Acid on 4T1 Breast Cancer Cells

Abstract Background: Cancer causes significant morbidity and mortality and is a major public health problem worldwide. Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-associated mortality in women, and the incidence is also on the rise in the entire world. Medicinal plants have been an important source of several clinically useful anticancer agents. Aim: In this study, we studied the growth inhibitory effect of asafoetida and its essential oil and ferulic acid on antitumor activity using mouse breast cancer cell line. Materials and Methods: For this aim, cells were exposed to these components at different concentrations and for different time durations. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was carried out to characterize the cytotoxicity of the constituents used. Results: Our results showed that all three constituents could inhibit 4T1 cell proliferation. Our MTT assay results showed a significant cytotoxicity effect in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. It also demonstrated that essential oil of asafoetida has a stronger effect in decreasing viability breast cancer cells. Ferulic acid showed a significant effect only at a dose of 500 μg/ml. Conclusions: Based on the results of cellular carried out in this study, we could demonstrate that asafoetida and its essential oil and ferulic acid have inhibitory effect on the growth of breast cancer cell line. As evidenced from these preliminary results, asafoetida and its derivative constituents may be considered as attractive alternatives to serve as lead compounds in drug development for breast cancer as an adjuvant therapy. However, much remains to be done before such agent could be introduced to the clinic.
[Modern anesthesiologic concepts supporting paranasal sinus surgery].

BACKGROUND Optimal vision is essential for successful endonasal sinus surgery. Beside topical vasoconstriction general anaesthesia can contribute to reduce intraoperative bleeding. METHODS AND RESULTS For many years deliberate hypotension was used to prevent intraoperative bleeding. The intentional reduction of systolic blood pressure to 50-60 mm Hg was achieved by the use of Sodium Nitroprusside alone or in combination with other vasoactive agents. However, intraoperative bleeding is not affected by this technique unless the systolic blood pressure falls below 60 mm Hg which can cause serious side effects for the patient. Recently, there is growing evidence that not only systolic blood pressure but also a low heart rate (< 60 beats per minute) can minimize surgical bleeding. With the introduction of total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) by the use of Propofol and Remifentanyl an anaesthetic technique has been established which fulfils the haemodynamic requirements in endonasal sinus surgery in many regards. The inhibiting effects on the cardiovascular system of these drugs alone can lead to a reduced bleeding. TIVA allows the reduction of the systolic blood pressure to 60 mm Hg as well as the heart rate below 60 beats per minute. If necessary it can be supported by vasoactive agents of which betablockers have a theoretical advantage. CONCLUSION For general anaesthesia in endonasal sinus surgery Sodium Nitroprusside is no longer recommended. Instead a TIVA using Propofol and Remifentanil should be used.
Electoral Institutions, Ethnopolitical Cleavages, and Party Systems in Africa's Emerging Democracies

Do electoral institutions and ethnopolitical cleavages shape the structure of party systems separately or jointly? We examine the independent, additive, and interactive effects on the number of electoral and legislative parties of two institutional variables (district magnitude and proximity of presidential and legislative elections), one intervening variable (effective number of presidential candidates), and two new measures of ethnopolitical cleavages based on constructivist specification of ethnopolitical groups (fragmentation and concentration). Ethnopolitical fragmentation independently reduces the number of parties but, interactively with ethnopolitical concentration, increases it. However, the additive and interactive combinations of both measures with electoral institutions explain the largest amount of variance in the number of parties. These results emphasize the importance of ethnopolitical cleavages in mediating the effects of electoral institutions on the structure of party systems, with important implications for the stability of Africa's emerging democracies in which parties are weak and multiethnic coalitions are fluid.The National Science Foundation provided financial support (Grant SBER-9515439; Shaheen Mozaffar, Principal Investigator) for the larger project from which this article is drawn. Scarritt supervised the data collection on ethnopolitical groups and Mozaffar supervised the data collection on elections, electoral systems, and party systems. Adrian Prentice Hull of Jackson State University and Michelle Camou and Eitan Schiffman of the University of Colorado at Boulder provided invaluable assistance in the coding of ethnopolitical groups. For many helpful comments on early drafts, the authors thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers, as well as Fabian Camacho, Gary Cox, Ted Gurr, Richard Katz, David Leblang, Arend Lijphart, Tom Mayer, Susan McMillan, Kathleen O'Doherty, Dan Posner, Donald Rothchild, and members of the Globalization and Democratization colloquium at the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder. Mozaffar thanks the Boston University African Studies Center for continued research support. The data set for the article is available at http://webhost.bridgew. edu/smozaffar/. Final responsibility for the article rests with the authors.
Effects of N-glycosylation of the human cation channel TRPA1 on agonist-sensitivity

Our experiments confirm N-glycosylation of the human cation channel TRPA1 and suggest a role of the N-glycan at position Asn747 in determining channel sensitivity to various agonists. Further, the activity-modulating effects of TRPA1 N-glycans are evidently influenced by temperature.