Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Subventricular Zone Is Able to Respond to a Demyelinating Lesion After Localized Radiation

Radiation is a common tool in the treatment of brain tumors that induces neurological deficits as a side effect. Some of these deficits appear to be related to the impact of radiation on the neurogenic niches, producing a drastic decrease in the proliferative capacity of these regions. In the adult mammalian brain, the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricles is the main neurogenic niche. Neural stem/precursor cells (NSCs) within the SVZ play an important role in brain repair following injuries. However, the irradiated NSCs' ability to respond to damage has not been previously elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the effects of localized radiation on the SVZ ability to respond to a lysolecithin‐induced demyelination of the striatum. We demonstrated that the proliferation rate of the irradiated SVZ was increased after brain damage and that residual NSCs were reactivated. The irradiated SVZ had an expansion of doublecortin positive cells that appeared to migrate from the lateral ventricles toward the demyelinated striatum, where newly generated oligodendrocytes were found. In addition, in the absence of demyelinating damage, remaining cells in the irradiated SVZ appeared to repopulate the neurogenic niche a year post‐radiation. These findings support the hypothesis that NSCs are radioresistant and can respond to a brain injury, recovering the neurogenic niche. A more complete understanding of the effects that localized radiation has on the SVZ may lead to improvement of the current protocols used in the radiotherapy of cancer. Stem Cells 2014;32:59–69
Prognostic Value of Lymphangiogenesis and Lymphovascular Invasion in Invasive Breast Cancer

Objective:The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic relevance of lymphangiogenesis and lymphovascular invasion in a large cohort of breast cancer patients. Introduction:Invasion of tumor cells into blood and lymphatic vessels is one of the critical steps for metastasis. The presence or absence of lymph node metastasis is one of the main decision criteria for further therapy. One shortcoming of previous morphologic studies was the lack of specific markers that could exact discriminate between blood and lymphatic vessels. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic relevance of lymphangiogenesis and lymphovascular invasion in breast cancer patients. Methods:We investigated 374 tissue specimens of patients suffering from invasive breast cancer by immunostaining for the lymphatic endothelial specific marker podoplanin. Lymphangiogenesis, quantified by evaluating the lymphatic microvessels density (LMVD), and lymphovascular invasion (LVI) were correlated with various clinical parameters and prognostic relevance. Results:LMVD correlated significantly with LVI (P = 0.001). LVI was associated significantly with a higher risk for developing lymph-node metastasis (P = 0.004). Calculating the prognostic relevance, LVI presented as an independent prognostic parameter for disease free as well as overall survival (P = 0.001, and P = 0.001, respectively). Conclusion:Our data provide evidence that the biologic system of lymphangiogenesis constitutes a potential new target for development of anti-breast cancer therapeutic concepts. Our results further suggest that young, premenopausal patients with low differentiated breast tumors and high LMVD and LVI would, in particular, benefit from lymphangiogenesis-associated therapeutic strategies.
Does the stock market affect income distribution? Some empirical evidence for the US

What is the relation between the stock market and income distribution? There are many potential links between the two, some of which are associated with the relations of each of these with the rate of economic growth. An empirical analysis set in the framework of the neoclassical growth model shows that the key mechanisms explaining income distribution in the US operate through the labour market rather than through the stock market, even though stock market shocks appear to have some short time relevance for the dynamics of income distribution.
LEGAL EUROPEANIZATION: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES

By mid-2003, the legal orders (the entire bodies of legislation in force) of three EU member states – Austria , Denmark, and The Netherlands – contained between 10.5 and 14.2 per cent of rules devoted to the transposition of EU directives. Only a few ministerial jurisdictions contain more than 20 per cent of Europeanized rules. The member states show remarkable differences in the use of parliamentary versus delegated legislation as a means of transposition. The comparison of the three cases tentatively suggests that different legal traditions and the parliamentary involvement in EU affairs are important factors that account for cross-national differences.
Enabling L2 network programmability in multi-tenant clouds

With the advent of SDN, efforts on network virtualization have accelerated. Many concepts have been developed to enable the coexistence of multiple logical network domains on a shared networking infrastructure while also ensuring isolation between them. In this context, we envision a multi-tenant cloud environment that grants users the ability to dynamically alter the behaviour of the underlying network, thus achieving a truer sense of Infrastructure as a service. In this paper, we propose a method for providing users in multi-tenant cloud environments open APIs for installing custom flows into the network at layer 2 (L2). Our proposed system ensures tenant isolation while detecting possible flow-level conflicts that can lead to tenancy violations and to problems in end-to-end reachability. We prototyped our system on a nationwide testbed environment, which showed that our proposed method reduces flow-level conflict detection time over existing proposals from ms to μs scale.
Characterization of the exbBD operon of Escherichia coli and the role of ExbB and ExbD in TonB function and stability

TonB protein appears to couple the electrochemical potential of the cytoplasmic membrane to active transport across the essentially unenergized outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. ExbB protein has been identified as an auxiliary protein in this process. In this paper we show that ExbD protein, encoded by an adjacent gene in the exb cluster at 65', was also required for TonB-dependent energy transduction and, like ExbB, was required for the stability of TonB. The phenotypes of exbB exbD+ strains were essentially indistinguishable from the phenotypes of exbB+ exbD strains. Mutations in either gene resulted in the degradation of TonB protein and in decreased, but not entirely absent, sensitivities to colicins B and Ia and to bacteriophage phi 80. Evidence that the absence of ExbB or ExbD differentially affected the half-lives of newly synthesized and steady-state TonB was obtained. In the absence of ExbB or ExbD, newly synthesized TonB was degraded with a half-life of 5 to 10 min, while the half-life of TonB under steady-state conditions was significantly longer, approximately 30 min. These results were consistent with the idea that ExbB and ExbD play roles in the assembly of TonB into an energy-transducing complex. While interaction between TonB and ExbD was suggested by the effect of ExbD on TonB stability, interaction of ExbD with TonB was detected by neither in vivo cross-linking assays nor genetic tests for competition. Assays of a chromosomally encoded exbD::phoA fusion showed that exbB and exbD were transcribed as an operon, such that ExbD-PhoA levels in an exbB::Tn10 strain were reduced to 4% of the levels observed in an exbB+ strain under iron-limiting conditions. Residual ExbD-PhoA expression in an exbB::Tn10 strain was not iron regulated and may have originated from within the Tn10 element in exbB.
HIF‐1α is required for solid tumor formation and embryonic vascularization

The transcriptional response to lowered oxygen levels is mediated by the hypoxia‐inducible transcription factor (HIF‐1), a heterodimer consisting of the constitutively expressed aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) and the hypoxic response factor HIF‐1α. To study the role of the transcriptional hypoxic response in vivo we have targeted the murine HIF‐1α gene. Loss of HIF‐1α in embryonic stem (ES) cells dramatically retards solid tumor growth; this is correlated with a reduced capacity to release the angiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) during hypoxia. HIF‐1α null mutant embryos exhibit clear morphological differences by embryonic day (E) 8.0, and by E8.5 there is a complete lack of cephalic vascularization, a reduction in the number of somites, abnormal neural fold formation and a greatly increased degree of hypoxia (measured by the nitroimidazole EF5). These data demonstrate the essential role of HIF‐1α in controlling both embryonic and tumorigenic responses to variations in microenvironmental oxygenation.
Regulatory Forum Opinion Piece: The Role of the Toxicologic Pathologist in the Postgenomic Era

The “omics,” high-throughput screening, computational modeling, and database mining revolutions have each arrived with euphoric expectations, considerable hand waving, and promises to set toxicity testing priorities and reduce reliance on conventional animal toxicity and carcinogenicity testing. Reflecting back on prior experience with other predictive approaches and alternatives, what follows the rush to endorse a promising new technology or different approach to toxicity/carcinogenicity testing is years of grinding out data for validation and optimization. Much of what has driven the enthusiasm for each new emerging technology and approach is the costly, labor-intensive, and sometimes irrelevant and inefficient rodent bioassay-testing paradigm. However, no one should expect abandonment of all animal testing for the foreseeable future, especially for agrochemicals and environmental xenobiotic exposures. It is reasonable to anticipate the future will bring still new approaches to safety testing and human risk assessment. In the past, each new approach has not achieved the inflated expectations for safety testing and human risk assessment but often has become a useful research tool with tangible contributions to basic biology and clinical medicine. The toxicologic pathologist is embedded in the matrix of a mixed disciplinary milieu and is faced with some critical challenges and important opportunities in the postgenomic decades ahead. So what advice do we give to the journeyman toxicologic pathologist who will hopefully function effectively in the postgenomic decades ahead? And what advice do we also give to the experienced bench pathologist confronted with emerging technologies each accompanied by a bewildering array of techno-jargon so that he or she can remain effective as a toxicologic pathology practitioner?
Simulation-driven development of a novel SiC embedded power module design concept

Silicon carbide embedded power modules enable a compact and cost competitive packaging solution for high-switching frequency and high-temperature operation applications. Power module packaging technologies span several engineering domains. At the early design stage, simulation-driven development is necessary to shorten the design period and reduce the design cost. This paper presents a novel design concept of a three-phase embedded power module (1200 V, 20 A, 55 mm × 36 mm × 0.808 mm) including silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor and antiparallel diode dies. Based on the E/CAD design data different layer built-up designs have been tested against thermal, mechanical, and electrical behavior. The obtained simulation data then have been evaluated against a commercial available power module (Motion Smart Power Module SMP33) which utilizes over mold direct bonded copper substrates with soldered semiconductor dies and bond wire contacts. Compared to the conventional module, the loop conductive interconnection parasitic inductance and resistance of the design concept (Vdc+ to Vdc−) reduces approximately by 88 % and 72 %, respectively. The average junction to case thermal resistance has been improved by approximately more than 10 % even though the total package size reduces by approximately 88 %. Furthermore, the contours of deformation and stresses have been investigated for the design concept in the thermomechanical simulation.
Hospital operations and length of stay performance

Purpose – As hospital costs continue to rise, increasing attention is being paid to the way these organizations are and should be managed. This attention typically comes in the form of focus on costs of services, quality (often measured through mortality rates) and length of stay. Hospital management has a broad array of choices at their disposal to address these challenges. As service operations, hospitals present a significant opportunity to apply the many tools and techniques from the field of operations strategy to this important industry. The objective of this paper is to use the operations strategy framework to assess the relationship between a set of operational elements and hospital performance in terms of average length of stay (ALOS), so that hospital managers improve the effectiveness and efficiency of patient care of their hospitals.Design/methodology/approach – Using the structural and infrastructural operations strategy framework, this study examines the relationship between several strategi.
Acute alcohol intoxication suppresses the CXC chemokine response during endotoxemia.

BACKGROUND CXC chemokines play an important role in host defense against infections. Alcohol is a frequently abused drug that inhibits numerous immune functions of the host. This study investigated the effects of alcohol on CXC chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC) responses in rats challenged with intravenous lipopolysaccharide (LPS). METHODS Acute ethanol intoxication was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of 20% alcohol (5.5 g/kg). Thirty minutes thereafter, LPS (500 microg/kg) was administered intravenously. In another set of experiments, rats were intravenously administered an anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) neutralizing antibody (10 mg per rat) 2 hr before the LPS challenge. RESULTS At 1 and 2 hr after the LPS challenge, MIP-2, CINC, and TNFalpha concentrations in the plasma were significantly increased. Alcohol intoxication suppressed the MIP-2, CINC, and TNFalpha responses in the bloodstream during endotoxemia. Alcohol also suppressed the increase in plasma chemotactic activity and polymorphonuclear leukocyte adhesion molecule expression in rats with endotoxemia. MIP-2 and CINC messenger RNA (mRNA) expression was significantly increased 1 hr after endotoxemia in the lung, liver, and spleen. Alcohol suppressed the up-regulation of MIP-2 mRNA expression in all of these organs and CINC mRNA expression in the lungs of rats with endotoxemia. TNFalpha neutralization minimally inhibited plasma CINC and MIP-2 responses during endotoxemia and did not suppress the increase in plasma chemotactic activity. CONCLUSIONS These results show that alcohol suppresses the systemic CXC chemokine response to LPS, which is not primarily mediated by ethanol-induced suppression of TNFalpha. This disruption of host-defense function may serve as one mechanism underlying the increased risk of infectious diseases in hosts who abuse alcohol.
Automatic Refactoring of Component-based Software by Detecting and Eliminating Bad Smells - A Search-based Approach

Refactoring has been proposed as a de factobehavior-preserving mean to eliminate bad smells. However manually determining and performing useful refactorings is a though challenge because seemingly useful refactorings can improve some aspect of a software while making another aspect worse. Therefore it has been proposed to view object-oriented automated refactoring as a search-based technique. Nevertheless the review of the literature shows that automated refactoring of component-based software has not been investigated yet. Recently a catalogue of component-relevant bad smells has been proposed in the literature but there is a lack of component-relevant refactorings. In this paper we propose detection rules for component-relevant bad smells as well as a catalogue of component-relevant refactorings. Then we rely on these two elements to propose a search-based approach for automated refactoring of component-based software systems by detecting and eliminating bad smells. Finally, we experiment our approach on a medium-sized component-based software and we assess the efficieny and accuracy of our approach.
Beyond public participation: Fairness in natural resource decision making

Perceptions of justice in decision outcomes and processes increases trust, support for authorities, and satisfaction with unfavorable outcomes (Lind and Tyler 1988). However, very little research has been done to apply justice concepts to natural resource decision making contexts (an exception is Lauber and Knuth 1997; 1998). In the study presented here, two rounds of focus groups with public participants in the Northern Lower Michigan Ecosystem Management Project were conducted. Participants were asked to describe their experiences with and attitudes toward different types of public participation. They were also asked what criteria they use when judging the fairness of a natural resource agency decision. Themes emerging in the answers included the importance of representation, voice, consideration, logic, and desired outcomes. These are very similar to justice principles documented in other fields. This suggests managers would be wise to focus less on public participation techniques and more on achieving.
Perceived Auditor Independence and Audit Litigation: The Role of Nonaudit Services Fees

ABSTRACT: This study investigates whether audit litigants act as if they believe jurors will associate auditor-provided nonaudit services (NAS) with impaired auditor independence, and thus substandard auditor performance. Using GAAP-based financial statement restatements disclosed from 2001–2007 as an indicator for audit failure, I find that the amount of NAS fees and the ratio of NAS fees to total fees is positively associated with the likelihood that a restatement results in audit litigation. I also find that when plaintiff attorneys argue that auditor independence was impaired due to dependence on client fees and, in particular, NAS fees, restatement-related audit litigation is more likely to result in an auditor settlement and a larger amount of settlement. These results suggest that audit litigants act as if they believe NAS fees will strengthen the case against the auditor, and thus affect the court resolution if the lawsuit is taken to verdict. Data Availability: All data are publicly available fro.
Natural Gas Across Country Borders: An Introduction and Overview

In the last several years, market forces and institutions have transformed international natural gas markets in fundamental ways. Natural gas today is relatively easy to transport over water, and an increasing volume of purchases flow through the spot market. As trade grows, regional prices start to move with each other. Although one does not need formal modeling to describe these new developments, it is also evident that the modeling process improves our basic understanding of how these trends reshape the natural gas outlook.
Staphylococcus aureus, but not Staphylococcus epidermidis, modulates the oxidative response and induces apoptosis in human neutrophils

S. epidermidis is the most common isolate in foreign body infections. The aim of this study was to understand why S. epidermidis causes silent biomaterial infections. In view of the divergent inflammatory responses S. epidermidis and S. aureus cause in patients, we analyzed how they differ when interacting with human neutrophils. Neutrophils interacting with S. epidermidis strains isolated either from granulation tissue covering infected hip prostheses or from normal skin flora were tested by measuring the oxidative response as chemiluminescence and apoptosis as annexin V binding. Different S. aureus strains were tested in parallel. All S. epidermidis tested were unable to modulate the oxidative reaction in response to formyl‐methionyl‐leucyl‐phenylalanine (fMLP) and did not provoke, but rather inhibited, apoptosis. In contrast, some S. aureus strains enhanced the oxidative reaction, and this priming capacity was linked to p38‐mitogen‐activated‐protein‐kinase (p38‐MAPK) activation and induction of apoptosis. Our results may explain why S. epidermidis is a weak inducer of inflammation compared to S. aureus, and therefore responsible for the indolent and chronic course of S. epidermidis biomaterial infections.
Macroeconomic Conditons and HRM-IR Practice

Although macroeconomic developments may seem removed from the world of micro-level HRM-IR practices, such practices are heavily influenced by the macro economy. Wage and price inflation, for example, are closely related, and the general state of the economy influences decisions on hiring, layoffs, and hours. The labor market's tendency toward periods of extended labor surplus or shortage condition the nature of the employer-employee relationship. Economic circumstances affect the labor relations climate and that climate has a bearing on national productivity trends. Government policy in the future may seek to encourage certain kinds of compensation systems, such as profit sharing, for macro reasons. HRM-IR practitioners, too, may benefit by reconsidering policies which make wages relatively inflexible.
Venous catheter-associated bacteremia caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria at a medical center in central Taiwan.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Infections due to rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are increasing worldwide, especially in immunocompromised hosts, but data on the clinical features of patients with RGM bacteremia are limited in Taiwan. This study was performed to determine the features associated with RGM. METHODS The medical records of 12 patients with RGM bacteremia admitted to the Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan, from April 2001 to March 2003 were retrospectively studied. Clinical data were reviewed and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of blood isolates by the agar disk elution method was performed. RESULTS RGM bacteremia was caused by Mycobacterium fortuitum in 5 patients, Mycobacterium smegmatis in 3, Mycobacterium flavescens in 2, and Mycobacterium abscessus in 2. There were 5 men and 7 women (age range, 4-75 years). All patients had underlying diseases and all of the infections were associated with an indwelling vascular catheter. The time to onset of bacteremia ranged from 1 to 24 months. Fever (n = 11) was the most common presenting symptom. Susceptibility testing revealed a different antibiogram for each species of RGM. The rate of relapsing bacteremia was significantly higher in patients with delayed catheter removal and for whom the catheter was not removed (6/8; 75%) than in patients with timely catheter removal (0/4; 0%) [p = 0.03]. CONCLUSIONS RGM bacteremia is rare but should be considered in immunocompromised patients with an indwelling venous catheter and undifferentiated fever. Identifying RGM at the species level and performing susceptibility testing are useful for guiding management. The catheter should be removed as soon as possible.
Free Trade Area of the Americas: Good for Latin America?

The following sections are included:IntroductionMercantilist Bias in the Effects of Discriminatory LiberalizationPreferential Tariff Liberalization: The Basic CaseBeyond the Basic CaseFTAs under QuotasNon-traditional Gains from North-South IntegrationNAFTAStatic Welfare GainsNon-traditional GainsMarket AccessShelter from New Protectionism in the United StatesCredibility to and Lock on the ReformsA Digression to the European UnionThe Free Trade Area of the AmericasRegionalism and HarmonizationA Summary of ConclusionsReferences