Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HIV-1 Infection of Human Intestinal Lamina Propria CD4+ T Cells In Vitro Is Enhanced by Exposure to Commensal Escherichia coli

Microbial translocation has been linked to systemic immune activation in HIV-1 disease, yet mechanisms by which microbes may contribute to HIV-associated intestinal pathogenesis are poorly understood. Importantly, our understanding of the impact of translocating commensal intestinal bacteria on mucosal-associated T cell responses in the context of ongoing viral replication that occurs early in HIV-1 infection is limited. We previously identified commensal Escherichia coli-reactive Th1 and Th17 cells in normal human intestinal lamina propria (LP). In this article, we established an ex vivo assay to investigate the interactions between Th cell subsets in primary human LP mononuclear cells (LPMCs), commensal E. coli, and CCR5-tropic HIV-1Bal. Addition of heat-killed E. coli to HIV-1–exposed LPMCs resulted in increases in HIV-1 replication, CD4 T cell activation and infection, and IL-17 and IFN-γ production. Conversely, purified LPS derived from commensal E. coli did not enhance CD4 T cell infection. E. coli exposure induced greater proliferation of LPMC Th17 than Th1 cells. Th17 cells were more permissive to infection than Th1 cells in HIV-1–exposed LPMC cultures, and Th17 cell infection frequencies significantly increased in the presence of E. coli. The E. coli-associated enhancement of infection was dependent on the presence of CD11c+ LP dendritic cells and, in part, on MHC class II-restricted Ag presentation. These results highlight a potential role for translocating microbes in impacting mucosal HIV-1 pathogenesis during early infection by increasing HIV-1 replication and infection of intestinal Th1 and Th17 cells.
Hyperandrogenemia in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: prevalence, characteristics and association with body mass index

Abstract Background: Hyperandrogenemia is one of the major diagnostic features for the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and the characteristics of hyperandrogenemia in women with PCOS and to investigate the association of clinical and biochemical characteristics with body mass index (BMI) according to the presence of hyperandrogenemia. Materials and methods: We studied 266 women diagnosed with PCOS. Hyperandrogenemia was defined by testosterone (T) and/or free testosterone (FT) and/or ∆4 androstenedione (Δ4-A) higher than 75% of the upper limits of each hormone. Patients were stratified in two groups according to a BMI threshold of 25 kg/m2. Results: Hyperandrogenemia was present in 78.2% of the patients. Elevated levels of T were found in 58.4%, while elevated levels of FT and Δ4-A were found in 42.5% and 34.1% of patients. In normal weight women (BMI≤25 kg/m2) with hyperandrogenemia lower values of hip circumference and HOMA-IR and increased levels of T, FT, Δ4-A, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), white blood cells (WBC) and neutrophils were observed compared to women without hyperandrogenemia. Also, in overweight women higher levels of T, FT, Δ4-A, 17-OHP, DHEAS and cortisol were measured, while lower thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were comparable to women without hyperandrogenemia. Conclusion: This study showed high prevalence of hyperandrogenemia in PCOS women. Women with BMI≤25 kg/m2 have significant differences in androgens, WBC, neutrophils and HOMA-IR and women with BMI≥25 kg/m2 in androgens, TSH and cortisol according to the presence or not of hyperandrogenemia.
Value Relevance of Book Value, Retained Earnings and Dividends: Premium vs. Discount Firms

This paper argues that from the perspective of both the residual income and option-style valuation models, the relative valuation roles of earnings, book value and dividends should differ fundamentally between firms that trade at a premium vis-a-vis discount to book value. We hypothesise and find that earnings (book value) have a more important role in equity valuation when firms trade at a premium (discount) to book value. We also find that if one controls for the premium/discount condition of the firm, other known influential conditions, such as the sign of earnings (Collins et al. 1999) and relative levels of earnings and book value (Burgstahler and Dichev 1997), become inconsequential. The discovered relationships between the discount/premium characteristic of the firm and the relative valuation roles of book value, earnings and dividends are robust to the effect of time, informational environment and the industry of the firm.
Humanized mouse G6 anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody has therapeutic potential against IGHV1-69 germline gene-based B-CLL

ABSTRACT In 10–20% of the cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia of B-cell phenotype (B-CLL), the IGHV1-69 germline is utilized as VH gene of the B cell receptor (BCR). Mouse G6 (MuG6) is an anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody discovered in a screen against rheumatoid factors (RFs) that binds with high affinity to an idiotope expressed on the 51p1 alleles of IGHV1-69 germline gene encoded antibodies (G6-id+). The finding that unmutated IGHV1-69 encoded BCRs are frequently expressed on B-CLL cells provides an opportunity for anti-idiotype monoclonal antibody immunotherapy. In this study, we first showed that MuG6 can deplete B cells encoding IGHV1-69 BCRs using a novel humanized GTL mouse model. Next, we humanized MuG6 and demonstrated that the humanized antibodies (HuG6s), especially HuG6.3, displayed ∼2-fold higher binding affinity for G6-id+ antibody compared to the parental MuG6. Additional studies showed that HuG6.3 was able to kill G6-id+ BCR expressing cells and patient B-CLL cells through antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). Finally, both MuG6 and HuG6.3 mediate in vivo depletion of B-CLL cells in NSG mice. These data suggest that HuG6.3 may provide a new precision medicine to selectively kill IGHV1-69-encoding G6-id+ B-CLL cells.
Bending of blood vessel wall: stress-strain laws of the intima-media and adventitial layers.

In order to determine the stress-strain relationship of the inner (intima and media) and outer (adventitia) layers of blood vessels in the neighborhood of the zero-stress state, bending experiments were performed on aortic strips of rats. In the experiments, one end of a strip was clamped, and a force was applied on the other end. The deflection curves of the strips were measured. By regarding the aortic strip as a curved beam, the classical beam theory was employed to analyze the strain distribution from the experimental data. A computer program dealing with nonlinear equations and nonlinear least squares optimization was developed. Strains were referred to the zero-stress state. The load-deflection relationship was then used to determine the stress-strain relationship. Certain forms of the stress-strain laws were assumed. The linear laws fit the experimental data accurately, probably because the strains during bending are quite small, although the rotations are large. The Young's modulus of the inner layer, which consists of endothelial and smooth muscle cells and elastic lamina, was found to be three to four times larger than that of the outer layer which consists of collagen with a small amount of fibroblasts and elastin. The residual stresses and strains at the no-load state were calculated from the deduced stress-strain relationship. It is shown that large errors (up to 50 percent) in the values of the residual strains will occur if the wall material was treated as homogeneous, i.e., if the layered constitution was ignored.
Factors Explaining Charges in European Airports: Competition, Market Size, Private Ownership and Regulation

This paper examines factors determining airport charges. Using data for 100 large airports in Europe, we find that they charge higher prices when they move more passengers. Additionally, competition from other transport modes and nearby airports imposes some discipline on the pricing behavior of airports. Low-cost carriers and airlines with a high market share seem to have a stronger countervailing power. We also find that private airports not regulated charge higher prices than public or regulated airports. Finally, the regulation mechanism does not seem to influence substantially the level of airport charges.
Regulation a: Small Business' Search for a Moderate Capital

Small businesses are an important part of our national economy, accounting for as much as 40% of our total economic activity and providing society with important services and products. Small businesses face daunting economic, structural, and legal impediments when they attempt to acquire external capital. The absence of financial intermediation services means that they are almost always on their own to find investors. Their small capital needs mean that their relative offering costs are often sky high. Federal and state securities rules significantly exacerbate these economic and structural disadvantages by imposing onerous and unwarranted conditions on their search for external capital. While, initially, one may view these rules as a matter of unfairness to small entrepreneurs, more broadly, and perhaps more importantly, society is a loser when small businesses are denied the right to compete fairly for capital. Regulation A appears on its face to offer small businesses a way out of this dilemma. It provides an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 for small issuers who offer their securities publicly. The exemption is conditioned upon the issuer's disclosure to investors of prescribed investment information. Regulation A, however, is almost never used by small entrepreneurs, even though it is the only federal exemption generally available that allows a broad, efficient search for investors. The SEC and state securities regulators are to blame for the impotency of Regulation A. For their part, the SEC seems never to have understood small businesses, their capital needs, their importance to our economy, and the special circumstances they face when they attempt to access external capital. States, on their side, seem always to resist attempts to formulate exemptions that allow small issuers to search widely and efficiently for capital. The irony is that the Commission's current iteration of Regulation A provides a framework upon which to construct a sensible and appropriate exemption for public offerings by small issuers. The Commission has the power to transform Regulation A from its present fallow state into a useable tool that promotes efficient capital formation by small businesses and appropriately protects investors. In this article the author offers data demonstrating the non-use of Regulation A and makes the case for a revision of Regulation A. His data show the importance of small businesses to the national economy, small businesses' need for external capital and the underuse of Regulation A. He explains the economic, structural and legal impediments that small businesses face in their capital formation and the reasons why Regulation A is so underutilized today. The author concludes by expressing faith in the fundamental theory of Regulation A and explaining steps the Commission could take to take to make Regulation A an effective tool for small business capital formation, benefitting both small entrepreneurs and society.
Korzystanie z rynku depozytowo-kredytowego przez rolników w Polsce

W opracowaniu przedstawiono zmiany poziomu i struktury kredytów oraz depozytów rolników w monetarnych instytucjach finansowych w okresie 1996-2012 w Polsce. Wartość zarówno kredytów, jak i depozytów rolników zwiększyła się wraz z napływem dofinansowania z Unii Europejskiej. W strukturze kredytów rolników dominują kredyty inwestycyjne, natomiast w strukturze depozytów największy jest udział depozytów bieżących.
What Determines Goodwill Impairment

This study investigates determinants of goodwill impairment decisions and their disclosure quality. Under IAS36 goodwill is subject to an annual impairment test in which the carrying amount of goodwill is not allowed to exceed the recoverable amount. However, valuing this recoverable amount is subject to substantial managerial discretion. Therefore, we predict that ownership concentration, corporate governance quality and firm performance provide incentives for managers to engage in goodwill impairment or not, and thus determine financial reporting quality. We construct a sample of firms that should engage in goodwill impairment. Our results convey that better performing firms and firms with stronger corporate governance mechanisms are more likely to impair. Further, ownership structure and governance have a weak impact on the degree of impairment disclosure.
Differential PsaA-, PspA-, PspC-, and PdB-Specific Immune Responses in a Mouse Model of Pneumococcal Carriage

ABSTRACT Larger numbers of pneumococci were detected in the nasal tract compared to the lung, cervical lymph nodes, and spleen 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, and 21 days after nasal challenge with Streptococcus pneumoniae strain EF3030. In this mouse model of pneumococcal carriage, peripheral S. pneumoniae pneumococcal surface adhesin A (PsaA)-specific humoral responses (immunoglobulin G2a [IgG2a] ≫ IgG1 = IgG2b > IgG3) were significantly higher than pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA)-specific, genetic toxoid derivative of pneumolysin (PdB)-specific, or pneumococcal surface protein C (PspC)-specific serum antibody levels. However, PspA-specific mucosal IgA antibody levels were significantly higher than those against PsaA, PdB, and PspC. In general, both PsaA- and PspA-specific lung-, cervical lymph node-, nasal tract-, and spleen-derived CD4+ T-cell cytokine (interleukin-4, interleukin-6, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, gamma interferon, and tumor necrosis factor alpha) and proliferative responses were higher than those for either PspC or PdB. Taken together, these findings suggest that PsaA- and PspA-specific mucosal responses as well as systemic humoral and T helper cell cytokine responses are predominantly yet differentially induced during pneumococcal carriage.
Huffman coding with an infinite alphabet

A new type of sufficient condition is provided for a probability distribution on the nonnegative integers to be given an optimal D-ary prefix code by a Huffman-type algorithm. In the justification of our algorithm, we introduce two new (essentially one) concepts as the definition of the "optimality" of a prefix D-ary code, which are shown to be equivalent to that defined in the traditional way. These new concepts of the optimality are meaningful even for the case where the Shannon entropy H(P) diverges.
Exploring Surface Display Technology for Enhancement of Delivering Viable Lactic Acid Bacteria to Gastrointestinal Tract

© 2013 Tarahomjoo, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Exploring Surface Display Technology for Enhancement of Delivering Viable Lactic Acid Bacteria to Gastrointestinal Tract
Helsingin seudun klusterit sekä erikoistuminen bioteknologiaan ja logistiikkaan

Production and employment have grown faster in the Helsinki Region and in the Province of Uusimaa compared to growth rates for Finland as a whole. At the same time, the extent of specialisation has diminished. The production structure of this region is now much more similar to that of the overall Finnish economy than it was in earlier decades. Still, the region continues to specialise heavily in business services, finance and insurance, and in wholesale trade. In addition to these, regional activity is also specialised in logistics, hotel and restaurant services, and other social and personal services. With respect to industrial production, the region has maintained its specialisation only in electrical equipment and electronics manufacturing. Specialisation in these rapidly growing sectors partially explains why growth in the Helsinki Region has outpaced that in the rest of Finland. On the basis of industrial linkages, one can say that there are four clusters in the Helsinki Region : a business services (KIBS) cluster, an ICT cluster, a wholesale trade cluster and a logistics cluster. This study examines the logistics cluster in more detail. The new harbour and fast growth in air traffic, together with their firm agglomerations, will have a positive effect on the future development of the cluster. The waning importance of the shipyard may have a negative effect on the marine technology industrynew companies may not emerge while existing ones could leave the area. Another area examined more carefully in this study is biotechnology, which still appears to be in the infant stage of its development. The Helsinki Region will definitely be the sectors most important R&D and business centre in Finland
The Effect of Menu Nutrition Labels on Consumers' Dietary Decision Making

has been a great supporter of this research, and Dr. Assaf and Professor Enghagen provided invaluable insight. Without them this would not have been possible. I'd like to acknowledge Professor Judy Flohr, a member of my committee, whose encouragement will always be remembered. I would like to express gratitude to Mark Groza for his patience and assistance in analyzing the data and his advisor, Dr. Thomas Brashear-Alejandro, who expressed consistent interest and advice throughout this project. I'd like to thank Michael Davis, the business librarian, for always finding the hard to obtain articles. I wish to thank my family, especially my parents, for their constant support, guidance, patience, and love throughout this process, and my whole life. Finally, I'd like to thank my close friends for their encouragement, assistance, and distraction from school. To help combat the growing obesity problem in the United States, the Menu Labeling Act was passed in 2010 as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. However, little research has been conducted to determine the optimal format and content of the imminent label. A between-subjects experiment was conducted with a non-probability sample that was provided with three nutrition label treatments and surveyed to determine the labels' effect on accuracy in dietary judgments and nutrition evaluations, level of certainty and confusion while completing those tasks, and perceived label comprehension and utility. The presence of a label had a positive relationship with all the dependent measures, while the addition of percent daily values to the label had a nonsignificant increase in accuracy but a negative effect on confusion and comprehension.
How relevant is government championing behavior for technology development

Many studies emphasize the importance of government support in technology development. However, this study is among the first to provide empirical findings of the relevance of government roles for the performance of technology development projects. Based on earlier research and the strategic management literature, a theoretical model and hypotheses are developed to study the relevance of government roles and project teams' strategic behavior for technology development projects. Our results show that government championship is an important positive factor for the performance of technology development projects. Government championing behavior overcomes regulatory barriers, enthusiastically promotes the technology's advantages, and gets key decision makers involved. As such, government championship has more impact than government financial/technical assistance on both project performance and benefits to customers. The findings also show that both the proactiveness and defensiveness dimensions of project teams' strategic behavior contribute positively to project performance and benefits to customers. The paper concludes with implications for practice: From a policy perspective, government should extend its technology policies by taking on the role as a champion, while companies should invest in building professional relations with champions in government.
An Empirical Assessment of Models of the Value Premium

Recent models of the value premium typically endogenously link B/M to firm-specific attributes. The value firms earn higher subsequent returns because these firms command a higher risk premium due to a higher default probability, lower profitability, higher operating leverage, shorter cash flow duration, or higher cash flow risk. In this paper, we first sort the entire sample into several groups of firms based on different levels of limits to arbitrage, across which the value premium varies substantially. We find that among the low limits-to-arbitrage groups in which the value premium is relatively small, there is indeed a significant desired relation between B/M and firm-specific attributes. In sharp contrast, among the high limits-to-arbitrage groups in which the value premium is the most pronounced, there is no significant desired relation between B/M and firm-specific attributes. These results are robust to exclusion of small stocks. Our findings suggest that risk may play a role in the value premium only among the low limits-to-arbitrage group, whereas mispricing plays a significant role among the high limits-to-arbitrage group.
Health-Related Quality of Life in a Multiethnic Sample of Middle-Aged Women: Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN)

Background. Relatively little is known about the association between menopause and health-related quality of life (HRQL) across ethnic groups. Objectives. To examine the association between HRQL and early perimenopause and ethnicity, adjusting for health, lifestyle, psychosocial, and sociodemographic factors. Research Design. Questionnaires were administered to pre- and early perimenopausal women. Subjects. We studied a cohort of 3302 black, Chinese, Hispanic, Japanese, and white women aged 42 to 52 years from the multisite Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Measures. We measured HRQL, menstrual regularity, and a variety of covariates. HRQL was assessed with 5 subscales from the Short Form-36; impaired functioning was defined as being in the 25% most impaired on a subscale. Results. In unadjusted, but not adjusted, analyses, significantly more early perimenopausal women, as compared with premenopausal women, were classified as having impaired functioning on each of the 5 subscales. For 4 of the subscales, the effect of menopausal status was explained by menopause-related symptoms. There were significant ethnic group differences across all 5 subscales in unadjusted analyses. Ethnicity was no longer significant for the Vitality or Role–Emotional subscales when adjusted for health variables or for the Role–Physical subscale when analyses were adjusted for socioeconomic status, health, lifestyle, or social circumstances. Ethnicity remained significant for the Bodily Pain and Social Functioning subscales, even in adjusted analyses. Conclusions. Early perimenopause is not associated with impaired functioning when adjusted for symptoms. Significant ethnic differences in HRQL exist. Some, but not all, differences can be explained by differences in health, lifestyle, and social circumstances.