Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
2-(8-Hydroxy-6-Methoxy-1-Oxo-1H-2-Benzopyran-3-yl) Propionic Acid, an Inhibitor of Angiogenesis, Ameliorates Renal Alterations in Obese Type 2 Diabetic Mice

One of the mechanisms involved in the progression of diabetic nephropathy, the most common cause of end-stage renal failure, is angiogenic phenomenon associated with the increase of angiogenic factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and angiopoietin (Ang)-2, an antagonist of Ang-1. In the present study, we examined the therapeutic efficacy of 2-(8-hydroxy-6-methoxy-1-oxo-1H-2-benzopyran-3-yl) propionic acid (NM-3), a small molecule isocoumarin with antiangiogenic activity, using diabetic db/db mice, a model of obese type 2 diabetes. Increases in kidney weight, glomerular volume, creatinine clearance, urinary albumin excretion, total mesangial fraction, glomerular type IV collagen, glomerular endothelial area (CD31+), and monocyte/macrophage accumulation (F4/80+) observed in control db/db mice were significantly suppressed by daily intraperitoneal injection of NM-3 (100 mg/kg, for 8 weeks). Increases in renal expression of VEGF-A, Ang-2, fibrogenic factor transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, and chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 but not tumor necrosis factor-α were also inhibited by NM-3 in db/db mice. Furthermore, decreases of nephrin mRNA and protein levels in db/db mice were recovered by NM-3. In addition, treatment of db/db mice with NM-3 did not affect body weight, blood glucose, serum insulin, or food consumption. NM-3 significantly suppressed the increase of VEGF induced by high glucose in cultured podocytes and also suppressed the increase of VEGF and TGF-β induced by high glucose in cultured mesangial cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate the potential use of NM-3 as a novel therapeutic agent for renal alterations in type 2 diabetes.
Do Employers Have More Monopsony Power in Slack Labor Markets?

This article confronts monopsony theory’s predictions regarding workers’ wages with observed wage patterns over the business cycle. Using German administrative data for the years 1985 to 2010 and an estimation framework based on duration models, the authors construct a time series of the labor supply elasticity to the firm and estimate its relationship to the unemployment rate. They find that firms possess more monopsony power during economic downturns. Half of this cyclicality stems from workers’ job separations being less wage driven when unemployment rises, and the other half mirrors that firms find it relatively easier to poach workers. Results show that the cyclicality is more pronounced in tight labor markets with low unemployment, and that the findings are robust to controlling for time-invariant unobserved worker or plant heterogeneity. The authors further document that cyclical changes in workers’ entry wages are of similar magnitude as those predicted under pure monopsonistic wage setting.
Issues in smoothing empirical hazard rates.

"This chapter presents a smooth estimator of the hazard rate using a variable-span running loglinear specification that allows investigators to maintain only mild assumptions about the functional forms of population heterogeneity and time inhomogeneity in the rate. This estimator is useful both in exploratory data analyses (EDA) and in checking parametric assumptions. Examples drawn from data on the transition to first marriage for women in the U.S. show that several common parametric assumptions are violated in these data and illustrate that the smoothed hazard estimator can yield important insights not easily obtained from more conventional methods. "
Leisure activities and adolescent antisocial behavior: the role of structure and social context.

The goal of this study was to understand better how the structure and social context of adolescent leisure activities relates to antisocial behavior. A representative sample of 703 14-year-olds and their parents were assessed concerning adolescent involvement in community-based leisure activities, peer and adult social relations, and antisocial behavior. Results showed that participation in highly structured leisure activities was linked to low levels of antisocial behavior, while participation in activities with low structure (i.e. a youth recreation center) was associated with high levels of antisocial behavior. Overall the results were similar for boys and girls; however, the combination of involvement in a low structured activity and the absence of any highly structured participation appeared especially problematic for boys' antisocial behavior. Participants of low structured activities were also characterized by deviant peer relations, poor parent-child relations, and they received low support from their activity leader compared to adolescents engaged in more structured community activities. Findings are discussed in terms of their implication for prevention research.
V Domain of Human SLAM (CDw150) Is Essential for Its Function as a Measles Virus Receptor

ABSTRACT Human signaling lymphocytic activation molecule (SLAM; also known as CDw150) has been shown to be a cellular receptor for measles virus (MV). Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with a mouse SLAM cDNA were not susceptible to MV and the vesicular stomatitis virus pseudotype bearing MV envelope proteins alone, indicating that mouse SLAM cannot act as an MV receptor. To determine the functional domain of the receptor, we tested the abilities of several chimeric SLAM proteins to function as MV receptors. The ectodomain of SLAM comprises the two immunoglobulin superfamily domains (V and C2). Various chimeric transmembrane proteins possessing the V domain of human SLAM were able to act as MV receptors, whereas a chimera consisting of human SLAM containing the mouse V domain instead of the human V domain no longer acted as a receptor. To examine the interaction between SLAM and MV envelope proteins, recombinant soluble forms of SLAM were produced. The soluble molecules possessing the V domain of human SLAM were shown to bind to cells expressing the MV hemagglutinin (H) protein but not to cells expressing the MV fusion protein or irrelevant envelope proteins. These results indicate that the V domain of human SLAM is necessary and sufficient to interact with the MV H protein and allow MV entry.
Type 2 NADH Dehydrogenases in the CyanobacteriumSynechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803 Are Involved in Regulation Rather Than Respiration

ABSTRACT Analysis of the genome of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 reveals three open reading frames (slr0851,slr1743, and sll1484) that may code for type 2 NAD(P)H dehydrogenases (NDH-2). The sequence similarity between the translated open reading frames and NDH-2s from other organisms is low, generally not exceeding 30% identity. However, NAD(P)H and flavin adenine dinucleotide binding motifs are conserved in all three putative NDH-2s in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. The three open reading frames were cloned, and deletion constructs were made for each. An expression construct containing one of the three open reading frames, slr1743, was able to functionally complement anEscherichia coli mutant lacking both NDH-1s and NDH-2s. Therefore, slr0851, slr1743, andsll1484 have been designated ndbA,ndbB, and ndbC, respectively. Strains that lacked one or more of the ndb genes were created in wild-type and photosystem (PS) I-less backgrounds. Deletion ofndb genes led to small changes in photoautotrophic growth rates and respiratory activities. Electron transfer rates into the plastoquinone pool in thylakoids in darkness were consistent with the presence of a small amount of NDH-2 activity in thylakoids. No difference was observed between wild-type and the Ndb-less strains in the banding patterns seen on native gels when stained for either NADH or NADPH dehydrogenase activity, indicating that the Ndb proteins do not accumulate to high levels. A striking phenotype of the PS I-less background strains lacking one or more of the NDH-2s is that they were able to grow at high light intensities that were lethal to the control strain but they retained normal PS II activity. We suggest that the Ndb proteins in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 are redox sensors and that they play a regulatory role responding to the redox state of the plastoquinone pool.
Expect the unexpected: examining the shaping role of entrepreneurial orientation on causal and effectual decision-making logic during economic crisis

ABSTRACT While many firms operate in dynamic environments, the competitive conditions faced by firms during an economic crisis are especially unstable and turbulent. We examine firm strategic decision-making in this distinctive context and investigate the question of whether causal and effectual logic provide similar paths to performance during such challenging economic times. Further, we examine the potential impact that a firm’s level of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has upon the relationship between managers’ predominant decision-making logic and their firm’s overall performance in this crisis. To test these relationships, we employ a robust national random sample of 447 Russian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) collected from 2015 to 2016 during a period of economic crisis. Our results indicate that EO plays an important moderating role, shaping the nature of the relationships between managers’ decision-making logic and financial performance. Moreover, additional analysis identifies the presence of a non-linear relationship between both logics and the performance of SMEs.
Vibrotactile Perceived Intensity for Mobile Devices as a Function of Direction, Amplitude, and Frequency

Vibrotactile rendering is an emerging interaction method for information transmission in mobile devices, replacing or supplementing visual and auditory displays. To design effective vibrotactile actuators or display algorithms, an understanding of the perceived intensity (strength) of their vibrations is essential. This paper aims to build a robust model for the perceived intensities of mobile device vibrations, which can be immediately used by engineers and application designers. To this end, we carried out two psychophysical experiments using absolute magnitude estimation procedures. In Experiment I, we investigated the effects of vibration direction and device weight on the perceived intensity of mobile device vibrations. The vibration directions tested (height, width, and depth), and the device weights (90-130 g) were determined considering those of contemporary mobile devices. Only the vibration direction was found to be a statistically significant factor, showing the highest perceived intensities along the height direction of a mobile device. In Experiment II, we measured the perceived intensities of vibrations with various amplitudes and frequencies along the three vibration directions. Then, for each direction, a psychophysical magnitude function and equal sensation contours were constructed based on Stevens' power law, which clearly visualize the consequences of vibration parameter changes on the resulting perceptual strength. In addition, we found a monotonic relationship between the physical power of vibration absorbed by the hand and the resulting perceived intensity. This suggests that the former, which is greatly easier to acquire in practice, is a reliable predictor of the latter. We expect that the results of this study can provide immediate knowledge about the perceptual strength of vibrations that engineers and applications developers will find useful.
Steering from bismarck to beveridge: the french experience

Objective: To describe the roots of the French Health Care System. Data synthesis: Actually, three dynamics are hidden behind the word crisis. The first dynamic was already there from the start, while the second is the result of an internal dynamic and a third dynamic can be seen as the consequence of external causes. The main recent policies are made of a mix of constraints and incentives. Most of them improve the governance of the health care system. Adaptive as well as innovative, a pragmatic attitude has been applied through compromises. Four features of which can be found: To improve the division of labor amid professionals; to move towards Beveridge like Welfare State model, giving to the central State more power; to enhance expertise through Evidence Based Medicine; to open the internal and external frontiers of the health care system. Conclusion: Those changes were mainly pulled by the moving context rather than pushed by an ideology. Therefore, since its birth, the French health care system evolves more on a muddling through like move than according to a plan given in advance. This happened to be a rather good way to avoid the worst: marketization.
International equine gene mapping workshop report: a comprehensive linkage map constructed with data from new markers and by merging four mapping resources

A comprehensive male linkage map was generated by adding 359 new, informative microsatellites to the International Equine Gene Map half-sibling reference families and by combining genotype data from three independent mapping resources: a full sibling family created at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, United Kingdom, eight half-sibling families from Sweden and two half-sibling families from the University of California, Davis. Because the combined data were derived primarily from half-sibling families, only autosomal markers were analyzed. The map was constructed from a total of 766 markers distributed on the 31 equine chromosomes. It has a higher marker density than that of previously reported maps, with 626 markers linearly ordered and 140 other markers assigned to a chromosomal region. Fifty-nine markers (7%) failed to meet the criteria for statistical evidence of linkage and remain unassigned. The map spans 3,740 cM with an average distance of 6.3 cM between markers. Fifty-five percent of the intervals are ≤5 cM and only 3% ≧20 cM. The present map demonstrates the cohesiveness of the different data sets and provides a single resource for genome scan analyses and integration with the radiation hybrid map.
The dividends of diversity: the win-win-win model is taking over business and it necessitates diversity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show business leaders and human resource professionals that promoting diversity within any given organization is good for business. By demonstrating the concrete ways in which diversity is good for business, good for clients, good for customers and good for the larger community, this paper intends to convince readers to implement diversity, and provides them with a strong argument for doing so. Design/methodology/approach This paper outlines the necessary facets of being an ethical leader and provides an exploration of the role of diversity in ethical leadership and successful business. It also provides various case studies, including the company the author created, Sheppard Associates, which benefited enormously from focusing on diversity in the workplace. Findings Diversity is not just good for business, it is good for employees, clients and our society as a whole. Diversity means promoting and rewarding employees based on merit and not based on their gender, race, physical disabilities or any other physical attributes. To create a diverse workforce, leaders must be open to overcome their own unconscious bias. Leaders are key to encouraging and promoting diversity in any organization. It is their role and responsibility to ensure that the company’s ethical values become the moral compass for decent behavior throughout the workplace. Originality/value This paper uniquely focuses on the idea that “leadership excellence demands ethical business practices. ” A leader cannot achieve the highest standards without embracing ethics and integrity in everything he or she does. Furthermore, the primary function of leaders – business, political, military and community – is to inspire those around them. Failure to perform this function, especially when it comes to inspiring others to accept and celebrate differences in culture and race, is self-defeating.
Effects of sublethal doses of imidacloprid in malpighian tubules of africanized Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

In Brazil, imidacloprid is a widely used insecticide on agriculture and can harm bees, which are important pollinators. The active ingredient imidacloprid has action on the nervous system of the insects. However, little has been studied about the actions of the insecticide on nontarget organs of insects, such as the Malpighian tubules that make up the excretory and osmoregulatory system. Hence, in this study, we evaluated the effects of chronic exposure to sublethal doses of imidacloprid in Malpighian tubules of Africanized Apis mellifera. In the tubules of treated bees, we found an increase in the number of cells with picnotic nuclei, the lost of part of the cell into the lumen, and a homogenization of coloring cytoplasm. Furthermore, we observed the presence of cytoplasmic vacuolization. We confirmed the increased occurrence of picnotic nuclei by using the Feulgan reaction, which showed the chromatin compaction was more intense in the tubules of bees exposed to the insecticide. We observed an intensification of the staining of the nucleus with Xylidine Ponceau, further verifying the cytoplasmic negative regions that may indicate autophagic activity. Additionally, immunocytochemistry experiments showed TUNEL positive nuclei in exposed bees, implicating increased cell apoptosis after chronic imidacloprid exposure. In conclusion, our results indicate that very low concentrations of imidacloprid lead to cytotoxic activity in the Malpighian tubules of exposed bees at all tested times for exposure and imply that this insecticide can alter honey bee physiology. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:552–558, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effect of obesity on image quality: fifteen-year longitudinal study for evaluation of dictated radiology reports.

PURPOSE To retrospectively assess the effect of obesity on image quality, as determined from dictated radiology reports filed between 1989 and 2003. MATERIALS AND METHODS Institutional review board approval was obtained for this HIPAA-compliant study; informed consent was not required. Electronic records were searched for radiology reports with the phrase "limited due to body habitus" (hereafter, "habitus limited") filed between 1989 and 2003; reports were retrospectively reviewed. Habitus limited was qualified as the search phrase by auditing radiologic images and patient weights. Trends in the number of habitus-limited reports were calculated for each year, and linear regression analysis was performed. The number of habitus-limited reports was also compared between modalities within a year and within each modality across 15 years. The trend was correlated with the prevalence of obesity in Massachusetts by using the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS There was a significant difference (P < .001) between the weight of patients with habitus-limited reports and the weight of patients with reports that were not habitus limited. Overall, 7778 (0.15%) of 5 253 014 reports were habitus limited. Between 1989 and 2003, there was a linear increase of 0.010% per year (95% confidence interval: 0.007%, 0.013%; P < .001). There was a positive correlation between the increased number of habitus-limited reports and the increased prevalence of obese individuals in Massachusetts between 1991 and 2001. The modality most commonly associated with habitus-limited reports was abdominal ultrasonography. CONCLUSION There was a small but progressive increase in the number of habitus-limited radiology reports between 1989 and 2003.
Expression of protein phosphatase 2A mutants and silencing of the regulatory Bα subunit induce a selective loss of acetylated and detyrosinated microtubules

Carboxymethylation and phosphorylation of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) catalytic C subunit are evolutionary conserved mechanisms that critically control PP2A holoenzyme assembly and substrate specificity. Down‐regulation of PP2A methylation and PP2A enzymes containing the Bα regulatory subunit occur in Alzheimer’s disease. In this study, we show that expressed wild‐type and methylation‐ (L309Δ) and phosphorylation‐ (T304D, T304A, Y307F, and Y307E) site mutants of PP2A C subunit differentially bind to B, B′, and B′′‐type regulatory subunits in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and neuro‐2a (N2a) neuroblastoma cells. They also display distinct binding affinity for microtubules (MTs). Relative to controls, expression of the wild‐type, T304A and Y307F C subunits in N2a cells promotes the accumulation of acetylated and detyrosinated MTs. However, expression of the Y307E, L309Δ, and T304D mutants, which are impaired in their ability to associate with the Bα subunit, induces their loss. Silencing of Bα subunit in N2a and NIH 3T3 cells is sufficient to induce a similar breakdown of acetylated and detyrosinated MTs. It also confers increased sensitivity to nocodazole‐induced MT depolymerization. Our findings suggest that changes in intracellular PP2A subunit composition can modulate MT dynamics. They support the hypothesis that reduced amounts of neuronal Bα‐containing PP2A heterotrimers contribute to MT destabilization in Alzheimer’s disease.
Cdk2 and Cdk4 Activities Are Dispensable for Tumorigenesis Caused by the Loss of p53

ABSTRACT The loss of p53 induces spontaneous tumors in mice, and p53 mutations are found in approximately 50% of human tumors. These tumors are generally caused by a number of events, including genomic instability, checkpoint defects, mitotic defects, deregulation of transcriptional targets, impaired apoptosis, and G1 deregulation or a combination of these effects. In order to determine the role of proteins involved in G1 control in tumorigenesis, we focused on Cdk2 and Cdk4, two cyclin-dependent kinases that in association with cyclin E and cyclin D promote the G1/S phase transition. We analyzed the consequence of loss of Cdk2 in p53-null animals by generating Cdk2−/−p53−/− mice. These mice are viable and developed spontaneous tumors, predominantly lymphoblastic lymphomas, similar to p53−/− mice. In contrast, the genotypes Cdk4−/−p53−/− were mostly lethal, with few exceptions, and Cdk2−/−Cdk4−/−p53−/− mice die during embryogenesis at embryonic day 13.5. To study the oncogenic potential, we generated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and found that p53−/−, Cdk2−/−p53−/−, Cdk4−/−p53−/−, and Cdk2−/−Cdk4−/−p53−/− MEFs grew at similar rates without entering senescence. Ras-transformed MEFs of these genotypes were able to form colonies in vitro and induce tumors in nude mice. Our results suggest that tumorigenicity mediated by p53 loss does not require either Cdk2 or Cdk4, which necessitates considering the use of broad-spectrum cell cycle inhibitors as a means of effective anti-Cdk cancer therapy.
Citizen observatory for mobility: a conceptual framework

ABSTRACT Citizen observatories that incorporate participatory sensing can complement traditional and automated data collection methods for mobility planning and increase the level of participation of citizens in transport planning. The process of developing such an online environment is not only time-consuming and costly, but it would also require an extensive knowledge of computer programming. This is one of the main barriers to the proliferation of citizen observatories. Therefore, this paper develops a conceptual framework of a citizen observatory platform that does not require special skills or resources. It would enable the collection, analysis and exchange of quantitative and qualitative mobility-related data by citizens. We have reviewed 69 participatory sensing applications in the field of mobility to derive the essential building stones of such an observatory. We identified the requirements considering eight criteria: campaign management, objective, context, data types, sensing technology, motivation of data collectors, validation and representativeness, visualisation and reporting. Some concerns regarding representativeness of data, motivation of data collectors, accuracy of sensors and validated algorithms for indicators are also raised.