Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Interaction of Two Tethering Factors, p115 and COG complex, is Required for Golgi Integrity

The vesicle‐tethering protein p115 functions in endoplasmic reticulum–Golgi trafficking. We explored the function of homologous region 2 (HR2) of the p115 head domain that is highly homologous with the yeast counterpart, Uso1p. By expression of p115 mutants in p115 knockdown (KD) cells, we found that deletion of HR2 caused an irregular assembly of the Golgi, which consisted of a cluster of mini‐stacked Golgi fragments, and gathered around microtubule‐organizing center in a microtubule‐dependent manner. Protein interaction analyses revealed that p115 HR2 interacted with Cog2, a subunit of the conserved oligomeric Golgi (COG) complex that is known another putative cis‐Golgi vesicle‐tethering factor. The interaction between p115 and Cog2 was found to be essential for Golgi ribbon reformation after the disruption of the ribbon by p115 KD or brefeldin A treatment and recovery by re‐expression of p115 or drug wash out, respectively. The interaction occurred only in interphase cells and not in mitotic cells. These results strongly suggested that p115 plays an important role in the biogenesis and maintenance of the Golgi by interacting with the COG complex on the cis‐Golgi in vesicular trafficking.
Evaluation of Cognitive Function in Healthy Older Subjects Treated with Fesoterodine

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the cognitive effects of fesoterodine 4 and 8 mg versus placebo in healthy older adults. Methods: This was an active– and placebo–controlled, double–blind, double–dummy crossover study conducted using healthy volunteers (aged 65–85 years) with baseline Mini–Mental State Examination score ≥ 26. The study comprised 4 treatment periods: fesoterodine 4 mg for 6 days; fesoterodine 4 mg for 3 days followed by fesoterodine 8 mg for 3 days; placebo for 6 days; and placebo for 6 days with alprazolam 1 mg on day 6. The treatment sequence was randomized, with a 3– to 6–day washout between periods. Subjects completed computer–based cognitive assessments and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test on day 1 (before dosing) and day 6 (after dosing) of each period. The primary endpoint was the Detection task; secondary endpoints were the Identification task, 1–card learning task, Continuous Paired Associate Learning task, Groton Maze Learning Task, and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Results: Among 18 subjects in the per protocol set, changes from baseline to day 6 with fesoterodine 4 and 8 mg were not significantly different from placebo for any endpoint (P < 0.05); alprazolam produced significant impairment in all endpoints versus placebo (P < 0.05). No serious adverse events were reported; the most common adverse events were dry mouth for fesoterodine and sedation for alprazolam. No sedation was reported with fesoterodine. Conclusion: In healthy older adults, fesoterodine 4 and 8 mg once daily had no statistically significant effects versus placebo on any cognitive function assessed, including memory; alprazolam 1 mg produced statistically significant deterioration.
Joint Source-Channel Decoder for H.264 Coded Video Employing Fuzzy Adaptive Method

The latest video compression standard H.264 is an efficient coding technique for video applications. However, H.264 video streams are sensitive to errors which occur in the transmission of data over noisy channels. In this paper, a new error concealment technique is proposed to provide error resilience based on the source decoder of H.264 and the channel decoder of LDPC. The proposed method employs the fuzzy adaptive scheme to improve the error correction capability which utilizes the extrinsic information from the channel decoder to update the log-likelihood ratio (LLR) after each iteration. Experiment results indicate that the proposed JSCD has significant improvements than other JSCD for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel.
Age‐dependent response of primary human dermal fibroblasts to oxidative stress: cell survival, pro‐survival kinases, and entrance into cellular senescence

A central question in cell biology is how cells become senescent. After a finite number of cell divisions, normal cultured human cells enter a state of irreversible growth arrest, termed “replicative senescence. ” Alternatively, oxidative stress in the form of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) can render human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) nonproliferative and quiescent, a phenomenon known as stress‐induced premature senescence (SIPS). Although critical to the understanding of the pathophysiological basis of many diseases, there is no research to date that has simultaneously examined the interactions between age, oxidative stress, and SIPS. Therefore, the goals of this study were to examine in concert the interactions between these three factors in primary HDFs, and to test our central hypothesis that aging lowers the ability of primary HDFs to respond to oxidative stress. Our data provide, for the first time, evidence that aging dramatically reduces the capacity of primary HDFs to respond to the challenge of hydrogen peroxide. Specifically, aged HDFs showed decreased cell viability, decreased phosphorylation (activation) of pro‐survival kinases (Akt and ERK 1/2), and increased entrance into a senescent state when compared with their younger counterparts. Another important conclusion of this study is that blockade of transforming growth factor‐β1 had a pronounced “rescue effect” in the aged, preventing entrance of HDFs into cellular senescence.
University administration and effective academic leadership; Nigerian perspective

University education is a critical level of education that is saddled with the responsibility of providing the much needed skilled manpower for any society. University administrators are the engine room of universities they form the vital workforce within these institutions and are made up of human resources who utilize material and financial resources to accomplish set academic goals. In order to ensure effective academic leadership in these universities, it is important to determine the conditions under which university administrators currently operate and measures that can be adopted to improve their standard of operation in federal and state universities in South-South Nigeria. This paper was designed to clarify these issues on university administration in South-South Nigeria and its effect on academic leadership. The study population consisted of lecturers in 11 federal and state universities in South-South Nigeria, from which a total of 880 respondents were sampled. A descriptive survey research was used to discover the opinion of lecturers on three research questions which bothered the researcher on this issue. The study revealed that university administrators in federal universities adopted democratic style of leadership, while in state universities the participation style of leadership was the most commonly used style. The research also revealed that there is a need to improve the funding mechanism of university administration in South-South Nigeria for enhanced teaching, learning and research to take place. Also better remuneration and compensation for administrators are seen as important strategies to transform university administration and provide effective academic leadership in South-South Nigeria.
Home and Host country determinants of financial investment flows to Pakistan

This study examines the home and host-country economic, geographical and institutional factors that determine the volume of foreign direct investments (FDI) coming to Pakistan from the country's major investment partners. We find that host-country GDP, government spending, financial development, shared language and geographical distance play a significant role in driving FDI inflows. Regulatory environment and efficient and accountable government too are important. In contrast, infrastructure availability, current growth rates and occurrence of natural catastrophes do not appear to significantly influence FDI. Distance and linguistic affinity are stronger determinants of FDI than home or host GDP.
Human Capital in Mexico: Estimating Externalities with the Constant-Composition Approach

Understanding a country’s human capital externalities is an important part of understanding economic phenomena and implementing national economic policy. However, externalities are difficult to estimate. Measurement error can cause a misinterpretation of economic models and result in misguided policies. The two methods of calculating human capital externalities are the Mincer Equation and Constant-Composition approach. The author estimates human capital externalities in Mexico with the Constant-Composition approach because the Mincer approach often finds externalities where none are present. Using the Constant-Composition method, the author finds no indication of human capital externalities in Mexico.
Reproducibility of registration-based measures of lung tissue expansion.

PURPOSE Lung function depends on lung expansion and contraction during the respiratory cycle. Respiratory-gated CT imaging and 3D image registration can be used to locally estimate lung tissue expansion and contraction (regional lung volume change) by computing the determinant of the Jacobian matrix of the image registration deformation field. In this study, the authors examine the reproducibility of Jacobian-based measures of lung tissue expansion in two repeat 4DCT acquisitions of mechanically ventilated sheep and free-breathing humans. METHODS 4DCT image data from three white sheep and nine human subjects were used for this analysis. In each case, two 4DCT studies were acquired for each subject within a short time interval. The animal subjects were anesthetized and mechanically ventilated, while the humans were awake and spontaneously breathing based on respiratory pacing audio cues. From each 4DCT data set, an image pair consisting of a volume reconstructed near end inspiration and a volume reconstructed near end exhalation was selected. The end inspiration and end exhalation images were registered using a tissue volume preserving deformable registration algorithm and the Jacobian of the registration deformation field was used to measure regional lung expansion. The Jacobian map from the baseline data set was compared to the Jacobian map from the followup data by measuring the voxel-by-voxel Jacobian ratio. RESULTS In the animal subjects, the mean Jacobian ratio (baseline scan Jacobian divided by followup scan Jacobian, voxel-by-voxel) was 0.9984±0.021 (mean ± standard deviation, averaged over the entire lung region). The mean Jacobian ratio was 1.0224±0.058 in the human subjects. The reproducibility of the Jacobian values was found to be strongly dependent on the reproducibility of the subject's respiratory effort and breathing pattern. CONCLUSIONS Lung expansion, a surrogate for lung function, can be assessed using two or more respiratory-gated CT image acquisitions. The results show that good reproducibility can be obtained in anesthetized, mechanically ventilated animals, but variations in respiratory effort and breathing patterns reduce reproducibility in spontaneously-breathing humans. The global linear normalization can globally compensate for breathing effort differences, but a homogeneous scaling does not account for differences in regional lung expansion rates. Additional work is needed to develop compensation procedures or normalization schemes that can account for local variations in lung expansion during respiration.
Warming alters the body shape of European perch Perca fluviatilis.

The consequences of elevated temperature on body shape were investigated by comparing European perch Perca fluviatilis from the Forsmark area of the Baltic Sea to P. fluviatilis from a nearby Biotest enclosure. The Biotest is a man-made enclosure within the Baltic Sea that has received warm water from a nuclear power plant since 1980, resulting in temperatures that are elevated 5-10 °C relative to the surrounding Baltic Sea. Sampled fish ranged from young-of-the-year to 14 years. Geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistical analysis revealed significant morphological differences between individuals of P. fluviatilis from these two habitats. Most importantly, relative shape changed with size, with small individuals of P. fluviatilis from Biotest being characterized by a deeper body shape and a larger caudal peduncle than the smaller Baltic individuals. In large specimens, smaller differences were found with Biotest individuals being more slender than Baltic individuals. These results show that, in order to have a full understanding of the biological effects of elevated temperatures, studies that cover the entire size range of organisms will be important. Apart from the direct influence of temperature on growth rate and body shape, other ecological factors affected by temperature are discussed as possible contributors to the observed differences between the two populations.
Immune Responses in Infants Whose Mothers Received Tdap Vaccine During Pregnancy

Background: The effect of maternal Tdap vaccination on infant immunologic responses to routine pediatric vaccines is unknown. Methods: This was a cohort study of infants whose mothers received or did not receive Tdap vaccine during pregnancy. Maternal and cord blood samples were collected at delivery; infant blood samples were collected before and after primary series and booster dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) and other vaccines. Geometric mean antibody concentrations or titers to pertussis, hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b and polio antigens were measured. Mean maternal-to-cord blood antibody ratios were calculated. Results: At delivery, maternal and cord antibody concentrations to pertussis antigens were higher in the Tdap group (n = 16) than control group (n = 54; maternal: 1.9- to 20.4-fold greater; cord: 2.7- to 35.5-fold greater). Increased antibody concentrations persisted for infants at first DTaP (3.2- to 22.8-fold greater). After primary series, antibody concentrations to pertussis antigens were lower in Tdap group (0.7- to 0.8-fold lower), except for fimbriae types 2 and 3 (FIM) (1.5-fold greater). Antibody concentrations to pertussis antigens before and after booster dose were comparable (prebooster: Tdap group 1.0- to 1.2-fold higher than controls; postbooster: 0.9- to 1.0-fold lower). Differences in FIM values at these time points are difficult to interpret, due to varying FIM content among DTaP vaccines administered to infants in both groups. Conclusions: Maternal Tdap immunization resulted in higher pertussis antibody concentrations during the period between birth and the first vaccine dose. Although slightly decreased immune responses following the primary series were seen compared with controls, differences did not persist following the booster.
An effective semi-static interference coordination scheme for wireless cellular systems

In recent years, interference management designing has been studied widely for high data-rate wireless systems in next generation cellular systems such as 3GPP long term evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced, and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), where highly dense reuse of spectrum is required. Interference management includes receiver processing, interference randomization by frequency hopping, and interference coordination through resource usage restrictions imposed by frequency and power planning. In this paper, we present a novel semi-static interference coordination scheme for cellular systems to improve the cell-edge performance with little penalty to the overall system throughput. The proposed scheme consists of two stages, semi-static distributed resource pre-allocation and power control. Here, power control with a fixed adjusting factor and an adaptive power control algorithm are both considered. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme outperforms a number of reference conventional interference coordination schemes in terms of cell-edge and overall system throughput especially in high-load scenarios.
Effect of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment: on Economic Growth in Africa

This study aims to examine the quantitative effect and direction of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on economic growth in Africa using a sample of 20 African countries from 2003 to 2012 with data obtained from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Bank. ,The study used panel least squares regression, specifically fixed effect model to examine the quantitative effect of Chinese FDI on economic growth in Africa. The study also used Granger causality test to examine whether a causal relationship exists between economic growth and China’s FDI in Africa. ,The study finds that a 1 per cent increase in China’s FDI stock in Africa significantly increases Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.607 per cent, all things being equal. Furthermore, the study finds that a causal link exists between GDP growth in Africa and China’s FDI and the nature of causality is unidirectional. ,The study recommends that to stimulate Chinese FDI in Africa, free visas must be given to Chinese investors coming into the continent, low tariffs should be imposed on inputs and intermediate goods from China and grant of business operation permit to Chinese investors must be made less bureaucratic. ,This research has not been presented to any journal for publication and is originally written by the authors.
Complete mitochondrial genome organization of Schizothorax plagiostomus (Heckel, 1838)

Abstract The complete mitochondrial genome of Schizothorax plagiostomus, an endemic coldwater fish of Himalayas, was determined for the first time. The genome is 16,576 bp in length and consists of 13 protein coding genes, 22 tRNAs, 2rRNA genes and 1 putative control region. The gene organization and its order were similar to other vertebrates. The overall base composition was A 30%, G 17.4%, C 26.8%, T 25.8%, A + T content 55.8% and the G + C content 44.2%. The control region consists of a microsatellite locus (TA)12 between 16,460 and 16,483 bp. The present study will provide the rationale for the management and conservation of S. plagiostomus.
Islet amyloid polypeptide inhibits insulin secretion in conscious rats.

To investigate the effect of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP, amylin) exposure on insulin secretion in vivo, the plasma glucose level of conscious rats was clamped at 11.1 mmol/l (hyperglycemic clamp) during the last 2 h of a 24-h infusion study. Group parameters were A, 24-h saline; B and C, 22-h saline followed by 2-h IAPP (B, 8.5 pmol/min; C, 85 pmol/min), and D, 24-h IAPP (85 pmol/min). Induced hyperglycemia increased plasma insulin concentration by 426 +/- 34 pmol/l in control rats (group A). This effect on plasma insulin was reduced by 31% and 53% during short-term IAPP infusion (group B, 8.5 pmol/min, 294 +/- 41 pmol/l; C, 85 pmol/min, 202 +/- 25 pmol/l; short-term effect, P < 0.0001), whereas insulin levels tended to increase after 24 h of continuous IAPP exposure (group D, 682 +/- 120 pmol/l; P < 0.05 vs. group A). Glucose infusion rate required to maintain constant hyperglycemia fell dose dependently during short-term but not during long-term IAPP infusion (mumol.kg-1.min-1: group A, 203 +/- 11; B, 154 +/- 7; C, 119 +/- 7; D, 212 +/- 9; short-term effect, P < 0.0001). In parallel, muscle glycogen content was dose dependently reduced by short-term IAPP exposure. We conclude that IAPP inhibits glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and decreases muscle glycogen storage in conscious rats in vivo.
Treatment of experimental rabbit liver tumours by selectively targeted hyperthermia

Experimental rabbit liver tumours were preferentially heated to therapeutic temperatures without compromising the surrounding normal hepatic parenchyma. This was achieved by the use of hepatic arterially infused ferromagnetic microspheres that heat as a result of magnetic hysteresis loss when exposed to an alternating magnetic field. Treatment sessions involving a single 20-min exposure to the alternating field resulted in total suppression of tumour growth at 14 days compared to controls, in which tumour sizes increased dramatically over the same period. Histopathological examination of treated tumour sections showed total tumour destruction in some cases. Separate animal groups used to control for the effects of the embolized microspheres alone and for the effect of the applied magnetic field yielded similar tumour growth responses to a control group with no intervention whatsoever. The achievement of positive temperature differentials between tumour and normal liver and the consequent therapeutic responses encourages further development of this technology for the treatment of liver cancer in humans.
A pilot study of electronic directly observed therapy to improve hydroxyurea adherence in pediatric patients with sickle‐cell disease

Poor hydroxyurea (HU) adherence limits effective HU use in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Electronic directly observed therapy (DOT) may limit costs and achieve high HU adherence in children with SCD. This study aimed to determine if electronic DOT was feasible, acceptable, and could achieve ≥90% HU adherence.
Cumulative Evidence of Randomized Controlled and Observational Studies on Catheter-Related Infection Risk of Central Venous Catheter Insertion Site in ICU Patients: A Pairwise and Network Meta-Analysis

Background: Selection of central venous catheter insertion site in ICU patients could help reduce catheter-related infections. Although subclavian was considered the most appropriate site, its preferential use in ICU patients is not generalized and questioned by contradicted meta-analysis results. In addition, conflicting data exist on alternative site selection whenever subclavian is contraindicated. Objective: To compare catheter-related bloodstream infection and colonization risk between the three sites (subclavian, internal jugular, and femoral) in adult ICU patients. Data Source: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials, CINAHL, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Study Selection: Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials and observational ones. Data Extraction: Extracted data were analyzed by pairwise and network meta-analysis. Data Synthesis: Twenty studies were included; 11 were observational, seven were randomized controlled trials for other outcomes, and two were randomized controlled trials for sites. We evaluated 18,554 central venous catheters: 9,331 from observational studies, 5,482 from randomized controlled trials for other outcomes, and 3,741 from randomized controlled trials for sites. Colonization risk was higher for internal jugular (relative risk, 2.25 [95% CI, 1.84–2.75]; I 2 = 0%) and femoral (relative risk, 2.92 [95% CI, 2.11–4.04]; I 2 = 24%), compared with subclavian. Catheter-related bloodstream infection risk was comparable for internal jugular and subclavian, higher for femoral than subclavian (relative risk, 2.44 [95% CI, 1.25–4.75]; I 2 = 61%), and lower for internal jugular than femoral (relative risk, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.34–0.89]; I 2 = 61%). When observational studies that did not control for baseline characteristics were excluded, catheter-related bloodstream infection risk was comparable between the sites. Conclusions: In ICU patients, internal jugular and subclavian may, similarly, decrease catheter-related bloodstream infection risk, when compared with femoral. Subclavian could be suggested as the most appropriate site, whenever colonization risk is considered and not, otherwise, contraindicated. Current evidence on catheter-related bloodstream infection femoral risk, compared with the other sites, is inconclusive.