Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Redundant and Opposing Functions of Two Tyrosine Kinases, Btk and Lyn, in Mast Cell Activation1

Protein-tyrosine kinases play crucial roles in mast cell activation through the high-affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI). In this study, we have made the following observations on growth properties and FcεRI-mediated signal transduction of primary cultured mast cells from Btk-, Lyn-, and Btk/Lyn-deficient mice. First, Lyn deficiency partially reversed the survival effect of Btk deficiency. Second, FcεRI-induced degranulation and leukotriene release were almost abrogated in Btk/Lyn doubly deficient mast cells while singly deficient cells exhibited normal responses. Tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins including phospholipases C-γ1 and C-γ2 was reduced in Btk/Lyn-deficient mast cells. Accordingly, FcεRI-induced elevation of intracellular Ca2+ concentrations and activation of protein kinase Cs were blunted in the doubly deficient cells. Third, in contrast, Btk and Lyn demonstrated opposing roles in cytokine secretion and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. Lyn-deficient cells exhibited enhanced secretion of TNF-α and IL-2 apparently through the prolonged activation of extracellular signal-related kinases and c-Jun N-terminal kinase. Potentially accounting for this phenomenon and robust degranulation in Lyn-deficient cells, the activities of protein kinase Cα and protein kinase CβII, low at basal levels, were enhanced in these cells. Fourth, cytokine secretion was severely reduced and c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation was completely abrogated in Btk/Lyn-deficient mast cells. The data together demonstrate that Btk and Lyn are involved in mast cell signaling pathways in distinctly different ways, emphasizing that multiple signal outcomes must be evaluated to fully understand the functional interactions of individual signaling components.
The immunosuppressive effect of mycoplasma infection. I. Effect on the humoral and cellular response.

Mycoplasma-induced immunosuppression in rats was demonstrated with Mycoplasma arthritidis strain PN. Immunosuppression involving the humoral antibody response was complete or partial when mycoplasma was injected concurrently with the antigen. Mycoplasma did not interfere with the antibody response when injected after primary immunization. Inhibition of blast transformation was shown to occur in lymphocytes derived from rats infected with the above mycoplasma. The inhibition was partial or complete depending on the interval between the infection and the time when the lymphocytes were taken from the animal, and blast transformation reverted to normal when the infection was over. Although the question of mechanism remains open, it was concluded that immunosuppression might be the result of the effect of M. arthritidis on a particular population of cells.
Landsat MSS Coordinate Transformations

Abstract : A number of image analysis tasks require the registration of a surface model with an image. In the case of satellite images, the surface model may be a map or digital terrain model in the form of surface elevations on a grid of points. An affine transformation is developed between coordinates of Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS) images produced by the LANDSAT satellites, and coordinates of a system lying in a plane tangent to the earth's surface near the sub-satellite (Nadir) point.
Perceptions of Circular Business Models in SMEs

Testing circular economy business models is crucial in understanding Circular Economy features across various industries. This paper analyses Circular Economy perceptions in Romanian SMEs by investigating entrepreneurs from PVC joinery industry. Using a multidimensional framework, ReSOLVE, as a conceptual model, and Lewandowski systematization, we measured 6 business actions and their relations with Value creation. The results of our survey can be described as mixed. Of the 6 business actions of ReSOLVE framework, for half of them (Regenerate, Optimize and Exchange) we can definitely conclude that these are correlated with Circular Economy in terms of Value Creation, while for a fourth there are variables significantly correlated without being able to conclude its overall contribution in terms of Value creation. Our empirical investigation contributes to literature development on Circular Economy research in SMEs and a step forward to shape future research initiatives.
ROLE OF SEROTONIN-1A RECEPTORS IN RESTRAINT-INDUCED BEHAVIORAL DEFICITS AND ADAPTATION TO REPEATED RESTRAINT STRESS IN RATS

8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), a selective 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (5-HT; serotonin)-1A agonist was used to evaluate the role 5-HT-1 A receptors in restraint-induced behavioral deficits and adaptation to repeated restraint stress in rats. Animals were injected with 8-OH-DPAT at a dose of 0.25 mg/kg 1 h before exposing to an episode of 2 h/day restraint stress daily for 5 days. Effects of drug administration and restraint stress on 24 h cumulative food intakes were monitored daily. Intensity of 8-OH-DPAT-induced serotonin syndrome was also monitored each day before submitting animals to the episode of stress. Exposure to the first episode of 2 h restraint stress resulted in a decrease in 24 h cumulative food intake and an attenuation of 8-OH-DPAT-induced serotonin syndrome monitored next day. The deficits attenuated following 2nd and 3rd 2 h/day restraint were not observed following the 4th and 5th 2 h/day restraint. The decreases of food intake following 1st and 2nd day restraint sessions were smaller in 8-OH-DPAT than saline-injected animals. Administration of 8-OH-DPAT on day 6 elicited comparable serotonin syndrome in unrestrained and repeatedly restrained groups. Brain 5-HT metabolism decreased in unrestrained but not repeatedly restrained animals. The results suggest that a decrease in serotonergic neurotransmission is involved in restraint-induced behavioral deficits while a normalization of serotonin neurotransmission due to desensitization of somatodendritic 5-HT-1A receptors may help cope with the stress demand to produce adaptation to stress.
Notch receptors: a new target in glomerular diseases.

In 1919 the geneticist Thomas Morgan was the first to describe notched wings in fruit flies and in 1985 a novel class of single trans-membrane receptors relating to this intriguing phenotype was cloned [1]. Since then, the interest in these receptors involved in cell–cell communication has spilled over into multiple clinical disciplines and has paved the way to novel insights, ranging from Alzheimer’s disease [2] and CADASIL syndrome [3] to cancer [4]. Specific inhibitors that selectively target the activation of the Notch-signalling pathway are now available and enter the stage of clinical trials. These components bear also great potential for the treatment of renal diseases, given that experimental data link this signalling pathway to diverse glomerular diseases. The Notch receptor family includes four members in mammalians that are all anchored in the cell membranes as heterodimers and are involved in short-range cell–cell communication, cell-fate decision, patterning and cell polarity [5]. Classical Notch ligands, e.g. those of the Serrate or Delta family, also contain a transmembrane domain and are anchored in the cell membranes. Receptor occupation by ligands promotes two proteolytic changes of the receptor protein, exerted by an ADAM metalloprotease [6] and a γ-secretase [7], the latter belonging to the presenilin family. Proteolytic cleavage of the receptor releases the intracellular domains, which are targeted to the cell nucleus and associate with other transcriptional regulators, most importantly Rbpj. As a result, the gene transcription of a family of transcription factors belonging to the hairy enhancer of split (HES) and Hey family is altered [8] (see Figure 1).
Direct and indirect effects of perceived social support on health-related quality of life in persons living with HIV/AIDS

Abstract Research has established a link between perceived social support and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among persons living with HIV/AIDS. However, little is known about the ways through which social support influences HRQOL. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of perceived social support on physical and mental HRQOL in a sample of 602 adults living with HIV in Ontario, Canada. Participants completed the Medical Outcomes Study-HIV (MOS-HIV) health survey, the MOS-HIV Social Support Scale (MOS-HIV-SSS), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression-Revised scale. Data on demographic and clinical characteristics were also collected. The direct and indirect effects of social support on the two MOS-HIV HRQOL summary measures, that is, physical health summary (PHS) and mental health summary (MHS), were estimated in multiple linear regression analyses. Perceived social support had significant direct effects on PHS (B=0.04, p<0.01) and MHS (B=0.05, p<0.01). It also had significant indirect effect on both PHS (B=0.04, p<0.01) and MHS (B=0.11, p<0.01), mediated by depressive symptoms. Interventions that enhance social support have the potential to contribute to better HRQOL either directly or indirectly by decreasing the deleterious effect of depressive symptoms on HRQOL.
Efficiency and Sustainability of CSR Projects

The progressive expansion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been accompanied by an increasing interest from regulators and market analysts. Governments and supra-national organisations have issued guidance rules on CSR, while market analysts have created a set of gatekeepers focused on its evaluation, publishing rankings and comparative reports. The UN Global Compact and the sustainability indexes are two relevant examples. The complexity and some of the functions of this CSR infrastructure have common features with the financial system. Information is at the core of both. The distinction between information and noise is central for building up efficient financial markets. The aim of this paper is to analyse how information can be separated from noise in CSR. To this end, we develop a qualitative model that centres on the following variables: the CSR features of the project under consideration, its financial features, its relationship with corporate strategy, the performance metrics for its analysis, the different kinds of risk it involves, and its impact on value creation. This model relies on two common functions that we identify in the CSR infrastructure and the financial system: the defining function and the performance information function. The model is applied to Adidas’ CSR policy.
An Empirical Investigation to analyse the Factors influencing the Consumer Perception regarding Life Insurance policies using Path Analysis

The insurance companies in the country play a significant facet in enhancing the welfare of the individuals which protects the welfare and life of millions of individuals. The life insurance industry is growing at greater speed after the increase in the FDI limit sanctioned by the government. This research intends to understand the factors influencing the consumer perception regarding Life Insurance Policies.The researcher used convenience sampling method in collating the data from the respondents and the researcher used various statistical tools to analyse the data collated. It is concluded that company perception and client-company relationship are considered as the prime factors in influencing the consumer perception towards life insurance policies. Keywords: Consumer perception, company reputation, Path model
The influence of 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal on proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of human osteosarcoma cells

The product of lipid peroxidation, 4‐hydroxy‐2‐nonenal (HNE) is known to cause cell death at high concentrations, while at lower concentrations it can influence cell proliferation and differentiation. In our experiments we used human osteosarcoma cells (HOS), to test the influence of HNE on cell proliferation, differentiation and induction of apoptosis. Apoptosis induction was estimated by TiterTACS™ TUNEL test. The cells were in parallel counted and the DAPI staining method was used to distinguish between apoptotic and necrotic cells as well as to define the proportion of cells in mitosis. To test the influence of HNE on HOS cell differentiation, cells were treated every second day with HNE. After 10 days, the cells were stained for alkaline phosphatase, a marker for osteoblast differentiation. Cell growth inhibition was caused by supraphysiological concentrations of 10 or 100 μM HNE, while apoptosis was induced with supraphysiological as well as by the physiological amount of the aldehyde (1 μM). Necrosis appeared when cells were treated with 10 or 100 μM, but not with 1 μM HNE. The proportion of cells in mitosis gradually declined with increased HNE concentration. Multiple exposures of HOS cells to 10 μM HNE prevented HOS cell differentiation. These results indicated that HNE inhibits proliferation and differentiation of HOS cells in the same concentration dependent manner as it causes apoptosis. We thus assume that HNE might be one of the important signaling molecules regulating the growth of the human osteosarcoma cells.
An Empirical Study on the Changes of Internet Privacy Concern：Differences Between American and Chinese Cultures

This study examines if there is any significant change in the level of concern about security or privacy among online populations over time, and demographics influences (age, gender, etc.) on privacy concerns, as well as the cross-cultural differences in the perception of privacy concerns while people are using the Internet between American and Chinese. The research was conducted based on various sources, which consisted of library searches and resources, news media, the Internet, scholarly articles, academic texts and other academic books, online databases, etc. The research results showed that people’s privacy concerns may change a lot as time goes on. And unlike the age, gender does not have much influence on Internet users’ privacy concern. The relationship between privacy concerns and gender of respondent was not statistically significant. Therefore, gender demographics do not have significant influence on net user’s privacy concerns. But the relationship between privacy concerns and the age of respondent was found to be statistically significant.Moreover, the study roughly found that Chinese respondents disclose more personal information than the U.S. And why is there difference between the U.S. and Chinese Internet users’ level of concerns about privacy? Through the research, the research believes that different culture and value play the most important role among all the possible reasons. The study tries to analyze the possible reasons from the perspective of culture and value.The western points of views in this study are mainly based on the United States and do not involve other countries. Keywords : privacy concerns, internet, culture and value, demographics
A calculation method for the reliability of a complex k-out-of-n system

In this paper, a complex k-out-of-n system reliability model based on expandable reliability block diagram is established. Moreover, a reliability calculation method is provided for this system. This method can accurately and efficiently forecast and estimate the reliability of product containing such system. Starting from model simplification and combining with minimal path set (MPS) method and improved binary decision diagram (BDD) disjoint algorithm, it's very efficient and convenient for engineering application. Finally an example is discussed to describe its calculation process and prove its effectiveness.
Metal-insulator transition in 1D Hubbard model.

For the one-dimensional Hubbard model we extended the bosonization technique, away from half-filling, in such a way that a general formula is obtained for the zero temperature single-particle Green function with validity over the whole doping range. Our method allows us to calculate, for the first time, the one-body Green function in both Tomonaga-Luttinger and Luther-Emery universality classes, to characterize the crossover between these two behaviors and thus, to describe the metal-insulator transition. We have found that the transition can be characterized as a Brinkman-Rice transition with a diverging effective mass.
Market Orchestrators: The Effects of Platform Certification on Complementor Behavior

: Multisided platforms serve two or more sets of users who are connected via an indirect network effect. Beyond pricing, the extent and scope of the interactions between the platform’s users depend on various other factors including product quality, exclusivity and users’ heterogeneous preferences. Platforms thus have to carefully balance the needs of their users through the enactment of governance strategies. Certification of a subset of the platform’s users through badging is often part of this “market orchestration” process. We study how a platform’s certification of supply-side users (or, complementors ) affects the bundle of products offered by complementors and we describe conditions under which complementors may have heterogeneous responses to certification. We use a unique dataset of Kiva’s microfinance platform to take advantage of a quasi-exogenous shock: Kiva’s unexpected introduction of the Social Performance badging program in December, 2011. We show that Kiva’s certification leads badged microfinance institutions to reorient their loan portfolio composition to align with the dimension of the certification and that the extent of portfolio reorientation varies across microfinance institutions, depending on underlying supply-side and demand-side factors. We further show that microfinance institutions who do align their loan portfolios with the certification enjoy stronger demand-side benefits than certified microfinance institutions who do not align their loan portfolios.
Some aspects of citation behavior: A pilot study in business administration

This study addressed certain aspects of citation behavior: How many of the sources cited has the author really consulted? How many did the author consult specifically for the preparation of the citing paper? How many of the sources cited does the author consider essential to the development of his own theme? Nineteen members of the faculty from the Department of Business Administration, College of Commerce, University of Illinois, each of whom had published at least one periodical article in the preceding two years, were subjects of the study. Each was given a self‐administered questionnaire, along with the bibliography from one of his articles, and each participated in a follow up interview. Ninety‐six percent of the sources cited had been consulted by the authors, which indicates little evidence of secondhand citation. However, just 63% were consulted specifically in the preparation of the article; and only less than a third were judged essential raw material by those who cited them. If an item is of critical importance, it is likely to be owned by the author. Also, it is likely to have been consulted specifically in the preparation of the article, but criticality is no guarantee that it has been used heavily by the author.
Enhancement-mode GaN HEMT power electronic device with low specific on resistance

An enhancement-mode GaN HEMT on silicon substrate was obtained by using p-type GaN Cap. P-type GaN cap was obtained by Mg doping. The activation concentration of the p-GaN cap was 3e17cm<sup>−3</sup> with a thickness of 60nm. Selective dry etching was used to fabricate the device. Back metal and substrate thinning was used for improving the cooling capacity. A threshold voltage (V<inf>h</inf>) of 1.2V was obtained with a maximum forward gate voltage of 7V. An output current (I<inf>D</inf>) of 12A was obtained at V<inf>D</inf> and V<inf>G</inf> were 1V and 6V, respectively. The breakdown voltage of this device was larger than 350V, and the specific on resistance was 0.45 mΩ·cm<sup>2</sup>.
Salvage Endoscopic Angiolytic KTP Laser Treatment of Early Glottic Cancer after Failed Radiotherapy

Objectives: Management of early glottic cancer subsequent to failed radiotherapy is challenging, especially in balancing oncological control and function preservation. Patients frequently have been incentivized against surgical management and thus have undergone radiotherapy as initial treatment. This history compounds the difficulty of discussions about surgical management after recurrence. Typically, endoscopic salvage has less morbidity than transcervical partial laryngectomy and is clearly desirable over total laryngectomy. However, there are appropriate concerns about the efficacy of endoscopic salvage and the overarching impact on larynx preservation and survival. Given our success with endoscopic angiolytic KTP laser treatment of previously nonirradiated T1 and T2 glottic cancers, we examined our results from treating similar-sized lesions after failed radiotherapy. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 20 patients from our cancer database who had undergone failed radiation therapy elsewhere for early glottic cancer and then underwent endoscopic angiolytic KTP laser treatment. Results: Analysis of the geographic tumor recurrence of the 20 patients revealed T1a N0 M0 cancer in 4 patients, T1b N0 M0 cancer in 1 patient, T2a N0 M0 cancer in 1 patient, and T2b N0 M0 cancer in 14 patients. After KTP laser salvage treatment, 4 patients (20%) had local recurrence (all T2b) and required subsequent total laryngectomy, and 3 of these patients (15%) ultimately died of disease. The remaining 16 patients (80%) were free of disease at least 2 years after endoscopic salvage (average follow-up, 39 months). Conclusions: Our investigation provides preliminary evidence that angiolytic KTP laser salvage treatment of early glottic cancer is an effective treatment after failed irradiation. Studies with larger cohorts and longer follow-up will be necessary to establish incontrovertible evidence of its efficacy.
Medical audit of diagnostic mammography examinations: comparison with screening outcomes obtained concurrently.

OBJECTIVE We performed a medical audit of our diagnostic mammography practice and compared clinical outcomes with those of screening mammography examinations performed concurrently. MATERIALS AND METHODS We analyzed 46,857 consecutive mammography examinations (10,007 diagnostic, 36,850 screening) from 1997 to 2000, including data on demographics, image interpretation, and biopsy (including size, nodal status, and cancer stage). RESULTS The mean age at diagnostic mammography was 55.8 years (mean age at screening mammogram, 59.1 years; p < 0.0001). Among patients who underwent diagnostic examinations, 14.7% had a strong or very strong family history of breast cancer (screening, 11.6%; p < 0.0001). Examination findings were interpreted as abnormal in 14.4% (screening, 5.2%; p < 0.0001). Biopsy was performed in 11.9% (screening, 1.4%; p < 0.0001). Forty-six percent of the biopsies were positive for malignancy (screening, 38%; p < 0.0001). The cancer detection rate was 55 per 1000 (screening, 5/1000; p < 0.0001). Of cancers found, 74.4% were stage 0 or I (screening, 89.3%; p < 0.0001), average size was 18.0 mm (screening, 12.9 mm; p < 0.0001), and axillary nodes were positive for malignancy in 19.9% of invasive cancers (screening, 6.3; p < 0.0001). Differences between diagnostic and screening outcomes were attributable predominantly to the subgroup of diagnostic examinations performed for evaluation of palpable masses. CONCLUSION Medical auditing of diagnostic mammography examinations yields substantially different results compared with those of screening examinations, including different patient demographics; higher number of positive biopsies; higher cancer detection rates; and larger, more advanced-stage cancers. Diagnostic and screening data should be segregated during auditing, or if this is not possible, analysis of combined results should be based on known differences between diagnostic and screening outcomes.