Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Attitudes towards the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in the European Union: The treaty partner heuristic and issue attention

Why has the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partisanship met with strong public resistance among some Europeans and in some European Union member states, but not in others? This article argues that one important perspective to explain the pattern of support for TTIP is the role of heuristic opinion formation and issue attention. Analysing multiple waves of Eurobarometer data, I find that views of the two treaty partners, the US and the European Union, shape attitudes towards TTIP and that the largely post-materialist concerns over TTIP resonated specifically in those European countries whose citizens’ attention was less focused on economic issues. In showing how opinions towards concrete real-world trade policy proposals are shaped by the political context, these findings complement previous research on citizens’ general stances towards trade.
Cardiovascular Damage by Airborne Particles: Are Diabetics More Susceptible?

Background. Convincing evidence now exists that particulate air pollution exacerbates heart and lung disease, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. The populations particularly susceptible to these exposures are still unclear. Recent work on potential mechanisms of action of particulate air pollution point to pathways also influenced by diabetes. Methods. We examined effect modification by concurrent diagnosis of diabetes overall and by age group in a hierarchical model for four U.S. cities. In the first stage, separate Poisson regressions were fit in each city and within each stratum of age and diabetes. In the second stage, the estimated effect size for PM10 (particulate air matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 microns) within city and strata was regressed against the stratification variables, allowing for a random effect. We used Medicare data for Chicago, IL, Detroit, MI, Pittsburgh, PA, and Seattle, WA, for the years 1988–1994. Results. We found that diabetics have double the risk of a PM10-associated cardiovascular admission compared with nondiabetics. We also found that persons 75 years of age and older had higher risk, and that the interaction between the two categories (diabetes and age) was less than additive. If the latter is confirmed, it may represent a survivor effect among diabetes, enhanced susceptibility among nondiabetics, or both. Conclusions. We conclude that diabetics are a population that is particularly susceptible to cardiovascular damage by airborne particles.
Are People Willing to Pay for Eco-Labeled Wild Seafood? An Overview

In the last two decades, eco-labeled seafood has been becoming an instrument of sustainability directed towards consumers, addressing a market-based incentive for better management of fisheries. In this context, several studies across the countries have been conducted about how much consumers are willing to pay for fish caught by certifiably sustainable fishing activities. In this direction, the aim of this study was to systematize the available information about the willingness-topay (WTP) more for eco-labeled wild seafood. Therefore, only papers published on ISI journals were searched on “Web of Knowledge” and “SciVerse Scopus” platforms, using the combinations of the following key words: seafood, ecolabel, willingness, WTP and premium. The results were organized considering the following variables: taxa, species’ family, English name of the species, survey’s country, data collection, brand and the WTP. A worldwide increasing interest on ecolabel seafood emerged clearly, empathizing the progressive affirmation of an eco-centrism vision, mainly in the developed countries. Keywords: Eco-label, Willingness to pay, Seafood
Degradations in balanced DPSK receivers

We discuss, both by simulation and experiment, the design of balanced differential phase-shift keying receivers. We study detector amplitude imbalance and phase imbalance, interferometer delay mismatch, interferometer extinction, and laser frequency offset. The most critical impairment in a practical receiver is found to be a mismatch between laser frequency and interferometer phase, which directly impacts the interference quality.
Routing in Wireless Networks of Varying Connectivity

We are concerned with routing data in networks where the topology ranges from dense to sparse and mostly connected to mostly disconnected. Connection orientated routing algorithms developed for connected environments fail in disconnected environments, due to the instability of these networks. Similarly, forwarding strategies designed to disseminate data hop-by-hop in disconnected environments fail in connected environments, as they send more packets than is required, resulting in congestion. Our algorithm exploits the re-occuring patterns in connectivity arising from the typical routine structure of day-to-day life. We present a functionality overview of the three components of our proposal: contact driven source routing, disconnection tolerant data forwarding and packet scheduling for energy efficiency. We evaluate our early emulations (simulations in ns-2 with real world data) of disconnection tolerant data forwarding, our results show that source routing can be extended to improve its performance in disconnected environments.
Placental syndecan-1 and sulphated glycosaminoglycans are decreased in preeclampsia

Abstract Glycosaminoglycans are found in extracellular matrix and on the cell surface in the form of proteoglycans. There is evidence that these molecules regulate biological processes, including cell survival, migration and angiogenesis. Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy disorder associated with insufficient placental development. This study aimed to determine the concentrations of glycosaminoglycans and the proteoglycan syndecan-1 within villous trophoblast and to investigate changes associated with preeclampsia. Seventy-five placental samples collected from third trimester singleton pregnancies were divided into term placentas following labour onset, gestational age-matched placentas prior to labour onset and preterm placentas. Preterm placentas were divided into three gestational age-matched groups, spontaneous preterm labour, preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) and preterm preeclampsia. Sulphated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) concentrations in placental extracts were quantified using a modified 1,9-dimethylmethylene blue assay. Syndecan-1 expression was localised using immunohistochemistry and concentrations in placental extracts determined by immunoassay. Preterm placentas had significantly lower sGAG concentrations compared to term tissues and concentrations were significantly lower in preeclampsia compared to spontaneous preterm labour (medians 5.80 and 10.0 μg/mg protein respectively, P<0.05). Syndecan-1 expression was localised to syncytiotrophoblast and median concentrations were lower in preeclampsia compared to PPROM material (preeclampsia median = 41.7, PPROM 74.4 ng/mg tissue) but not significantly different to concentrations in spontaneous preterm labour. Multivariate analysis revealed that decreased sGAG and syndecan-1 in preeclampsia were independent of labour, gestational age and birthweight centile. These findings may provide insights into a role for these molecules in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia.
Prevalence of foodborne pathogens in bulk tank milk.

Bulk tank milk from 131 dairy herds in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota was examined for the presence of for foodborne pathogens. Campylobacter jejuni, shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp. , and Yersinia enterocolitica were detected in 9.2, 3.8, 4.6, 6.1, and 6.1% of bulk tank milk samples, respectively. Thirty-five of 131 (26.7%) bulk tank milk samples contained one or more species of pathogenic bacteria. Isolates of Salmonella belonged to group D (n = 4), B (n = 2), C (n = 1), and E (n = 1) "O" serogroups. All six isolates of Listeria monocytogenes were identified as O antigen type 1. Four of five isolates of E. coli encoded for the shiga-toxin 2 gene, while one strain encoded for the shiga-toxin 1 gene. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was not isolated from bulk tank milk samples. Based on autoagglutination testing, it was inferred that all eight isolates of Yersinia enterocolitica were likely to be virulent. Non A-grade (manufacturing grade) raw milk producers were at a higher risk (odd's ratio, 4.98; confidence interval, 1.96 to 12.22) of having one or more pathogens in their bulk tank milk than were Grade A producers. It was observed that 21 of 79 (26.6%) dairy producers who consumed raw milk had one or more pathogenic bacteria in their bulk tank milk. The findings of the study warrant the need for educational programs for dairy producers about the risks associated with consumption of raw milk.
Chronic rejection with or without transplant vasculopathy

Abstract: Background: Chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) is defined and graded in the Banff ’97 scheme by the severity of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy. It has been denoted that chronic rejection can be diagnosed if the typical vascular lesions are seen, consisting of fibrointimal thickening. We observed several patients who developed CAN without vascular changes or signs of cyclosporine toxicity. Therefore, we assessed the risk factor profiles of CAN with and without transplant vasculopathy.
Binding of Cysteine Synthase to the STAS Domain of Sulfate Transporter and Its Regulatory Consequences*

The sulfate ion (SO42−) is transported into plant root cells by SO42− transporters and then mostly reduced to sulfide (S2−). The S2− is then bonded to O-acetylserine through the activity of cysteine synthase (O-acetylserine (thiol)lyase or OASTL) to form cysteine, the first organic molecule of the SO42− assimilation pathway. Here, we show that a root plasma membrane SO42− transporter of Arabidopsis, SULTR1;2, physically interacts with OASTL. The interaction was initially demonstrated using a yeast two-hybrid system and corroborated by both in vivo and in vitro binding assays. The domain of SULTR1;2 shown to be important for association with OASTL is called the STAS domain. This domain is at the C terminus of the transporter and extends from the plasma membrane into the cytoplasm. The functional relevance of the OASTL-STAS interaction was investigated using yeast mutant cells devoid of endogenous SO42− uptake activity but co-expressing SULTR1;2 and OASTL. The analysis of SO42− transport in these cells suggests that the binding of OASTL to the STAS domain in this heterologous system negatively impacts transporter activity. In contrast, the activity of purified OASTL measured in vitro was enhanced by co-incubation with the STAS domain of SULTR1;2 but not with the analogous domain of the SO42− transporter isoform SULTR1;1, even though the SULTR1;1 STAS peptide also interacts with OASTL based on the yeast two-hybrid system and in vitro binding assays. These observations suggest a regulatory model in which interactions between SULTR1;2 and OASTL coordinate internalization of SO42− with the energetic/metabolic state of plant root cells.
Quantitative analysis of signaling mechanisms controlling adult neural progenitor cell proliferation

Summary form only given. Tools of systems engineering and signal dynamics were employed to develop a quantitative model of the intracellular signaling systems involved in adult neural stem cell proliferation, based on pathways elucidated in our experimental systems. Neural progenitors isolated from the adult rat hippocampus are dependent on the basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. However, the intracellular effects of these stimuli were previously undetermined. We employed chemical inhibitors of known signal transduction molecules to identify important players in the FGF-2/ECM signal cascade, such as the cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein (CREB), protein kinase B/Akt, and several related molecules. Genetic mutants of these proteins were used to confirm their role in adult neural progenitor proliferation. Proliferation was assayed using the incorporation of a thymidine analog to determine cell doubling rate under various stimuli. Such assays have also uncovered novel synergistic signaling between FGF-2 and ECM components. This research is, to our knowledge, the first to elucidate intracellular signaling pathways for adult neural stem cell proliferation. Upon determination of the pertinent intracellular signaling pathways, quantitative immunoblots were employed to examine the dynamics of these systems. These data, as well as enzyme kinetics information from the literature, are being used to parameterize a dynamic mathematical model of progenitor proliferation events induced by FGF-2. This computational model will be used to predict the biochemical and mechanical signaling inputs necessary to achieve a desired proliferative output from the cells, based on specific extracellular stimuli. It is our hope that this essential quantitative understanding will facilitate the use of adult neural stem cells in medical applications.
Mitochondria in traumatic brain injury and mitochondrial‐targeted multipotential therapeutic strategies

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health and socioeconomic problem throughout the world. It is a complicated pathological process that consists of primary insults and a secondary insult characterized by a set of biochemical cascades. The imbalance between a higher energy demand for repair of cell damage and decreased energy production led by mitochondrial dysfunction aggravates cell damage. At the cellular level, the main cause of the secondary deleterious cascades is cell damage that is centred in the mitochondria. Excitotoxicity, Ca2+ overload, reactive oxygen species (ROS), Bcl‐2 family, caspases and apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) are the main participants in mitochondria‐centred cell damage following TBI. Some preclinical and clinical results of mitochondria‐targeted therapy show promise. Mitochondria‐ targeted multipotential therapeutic strategies offer new hope for the successful treatment of TBI and other acute brain injuries.
Beta: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This paper decomposes aggregate and individual stock returns into cash flow news, interest rate news, and risk premium news. We then extend the “good beta, bad beta” approach of Campbell and Vuolteenaho (2004) by allowing for a third beta: exposure to interest rate news. Using various stock portfolio sorts, we find that interest rate betas carry a higher price of risk than the betas for cash flow news and risk premium news. We also find that interest rate news explains over 1/3rd of all variation in stock market returns, and that interest rates negatively affect future risk premiums.
High-severity fire: evaluating its key drivers and mapping its probability across western US forests

Wildland fire is a critical process in forests of the western United States (US). Variation in fire behavior, which is heavily influenced by fuel loading, terrain, weather, and vegetation type, leads to heterogeneity in fire severity across landscapes. The relative influence of these factors in driving fire severity, however, is poorly understood. Here, we explore the drivers of high-severity fire for forested ecoregions in the western US over the period 2002–2015. Fire severity was quantified using a satellite-inferred index of severity, the relativized burn ratio. For each ecoregion, we used boosted regression trees to model high-severity fire as a function of live fuel, topography, climate, and fire weather. We found that live fuel, on average, was the most important factor driving high-severity fire among ecoregions (average relative influence = 53.1%) and was the most important factor in 14 of 19 ecoregions. Fire weather was the second most important factor among ecoregions (average relative influence = 22.9%) and was the most important factor in five ecoregions. Climate (13.7%) and topography (10.3%) were less influential. We also predicted the probability of high-severity fire, were a fire to occur, using recent (2016) satellite imagery to characterize live fuel for a subset of ecoregions in which the model skill was deemed acceptable (n = 13). These ‘wall-to-wall’ gridded ecoregional maps provide relevant and up-to-date information for scientists and managers who are tasked with managing fuel and wildland fire. Lastly, we provide an example of the predicted likelihood of high-severity fire under moderate and extreme fire weather before and after fuel reduction treatments, thereby demonstrating how our framework and model predictions can potentially serve as a performance metric for land management agencies tasked with reducing hazardous fuel across large landscapes.
A comparison of Lucitraps® and sticky targets for sampling the blowfly Lucilia sericata

Abstract. The Lucitrap® (Miazma Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia) combined with a synthetic odour bait, Lucilure® (Miazma Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia), is a commercially available trap for sampling and control of Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann) in Australia. It was tested in Hungary against Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), a cause of sheep strike throughout temperate Europe. The standard Lucitrap was tested against black or yellow sticky target traps. Both trap types were baited with either Lucilure or liver and 10% w/v sodium sulphide solution. With Lucilure as bait, L. sericata were caught on sticky traps but not in Lucitraps. With liver and sodium sulphide as bait, sticky traps caught 500–1500 times more L. sericata than Lucitraps. An adhesive sheet fitted to the top of a Lucitrap captured 30–300 times more L. sericata then were captured inside an unaltered Lucitrap. Direct observation of metallic green calliphorids (92.1%L. sericata) alighting on Lucitraps indicated that most flies stayed for a short while (modal class 2–4 s) and only a few stayed longer, to an observed maximum of 28 s. Flies explored a mean of 1.5 entry holes (range 0–7) during a visit but only 6% entered the trap. Size of L. sericata was not a physical barrier to Lucitrap entry, because many larger species were captured. However, L. sericata captured inside Lucitraps were significantly smaller than those captured on sticky traps, demonstrating that size was of behavioural importance. The data demonstrate that the Lucitrap is not effective as a trap for L. sericata in Hungary, due mainly to a failure of flies to enter the trap in large numbers. In Australia and South Africa, L. sericata is commonly caught in Lucitraps baited with Lucilure, although L. cuprina is more numerous. Our study highlights the potential for diversity of fly behaviour between different geographical populations of the same species. Such diversity can have a significant effect on the functioning of systems for fly sampling and control, when these systems depend for their success on certain behavioural responses of the target species.
Melatonin: Role in Development

Melatonin is the mammalian fetus's window to periodicity of the outside world. Through melatonin, the fetus "knows" what time of year it is and, in all likelihood, also knows the time of day. The best known function of melatonin during development is to communicate information about photoperiod and thereby adaptively regulate reproductive development. A second likely function of melatonin during development, which may be related to but more widespread than the first, is to entrain the developing circadian pacemaker. Prenatal maternal entrainment occurs in all of the eutherian mammals in which it has been examined, and in Syrian hamsters exogenous melatonin during development causes entrainment. The broader distribution and greater abundance of melatonin receptors during development, relative to mature animals, suggests that developmental effects of melatonin are greater and more diverse. The human fetal suprachiasmatic nucleus expresses melatonin binding sites and is therefore likely to be affected by both endogenous and exogenous melatonin with consequences for the prenatal and postnatal expression and entrainment of circadian rhythms. Caution is warranted, not only concerning the use of exogenous melatonin during pregnancy and lactation but also concerning behavior that might disrupt the mother's endogenous melatonin rhythm.
Biological Activities of Synthetic Analogs of Halocidin, an Antimicrobial Peptide from the Tunicate Halocynthia aurantium

ABSTRACT Halocidin is a heterodimer antimicrobial peptide previously isolated from the tunicate Halocynthia aurantium. Based on the larger monomer (18Hc) of halocidin, nine halocidin congeners, including a series of 6 peptides truncated successively from the carboxyl-terminal end of 18Hc and 3 analogs (18HcKK, K19Hc, and K19HcKK), which have lysine residues in place of two internal histidines or have a lysine added to the amino terminus of the 18Hc molecule, were prepared. Each peptide was also converted into a homodimeric version. The antimicrobial activities of halocidin congeners truncated from the C terminus were dramatically decreased, suggesting that the full length of 18Hc is required for maintaining its maximum antimicrobial activity. Dimer forms of halocidin congeners exhibited stronger antimicrobial activities than the monomer of the corresponding peptide. Four dimer peptides (di-18Hc, di-18HcKK, di-K19Hc, and di-K19HcKK) were analyzed for antimicrobial activities against 10 clinically isolated antibiotic-resistant bacteria in elevated concentrations of NaCl or MgCl2. Of the peptides studied here, di-K19Hc retained invariably strong activity against all bacteria in diverse conditions and also showed much reduced hemolytic activity against human erythrocytes.
Opposition to immigration in contemporary Russia

ABSTRACT The study examines sources of opposition to immigration in contemporary Russia. It distinguishes between two types of opposition to immigration: exclusionary attitudes based on national membership and exclusionary attitudes based on race or ethnicity, directed exclusively at foreigners with non-Slavic or non-European origins. Findings indicate that a quarter of ethnic Russians can be classified as “racial exclusionists”; they are willing to admit immigrants who share a race/ethnic group with most of Russia’s people but object to the admission of racially/ethnically different immigrants. Another 42% of ethnic Russians are classified as “total exclusionists”; they object to immigration of all foreigners, regardless of their race/ethnicity. Multivariate analysis focuses on the impact of perceived collective vulnerability, human values, and socio-demographic attributes. Opposition to immigration in Russia is further situated within temporal and cross-national comparative perspectives. Apparently, exclusionary attitudes toward immigrants who share a race/ethnicity with most Russians increased between 2006 and 2016.