Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Involvement of the p38 pathway in the differential induction of heme oxygenase-1 by statins in Neuro-2A cells exposed to lipopolysaccharide

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression, in response to various stimuli, has been generally reported to protect against cellular stress. However, we previously demonstrated simvastatin-induced HO-1-exaggerated nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κβ) activation and superoxide production on exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The addition of the iron chelator, desferrioxamine, to reduce the accumulation of ferric iron from heme by HO-1 resulted in a blockade of aggravated superoxide production. In this study, we demonstrated that, unlike simvastatin, neither atorvastatin- nor rosuvastatin-induced HO-1 upregulation resulted in increased NF-κβ activation and superoxide production of Neuro-2A cells against LPS. Moreover, increased superoxide formation by either atorvastatin or rosuvastatin, in the presence or absence of LPS, could not be reduced by the addition of desferrioxamine, unlike simvastatin. In contrast to our previous experiment, in which simvastatin activated ERK and p38, but not JNK or Akt, both atorvastatin and rosuvastatin phosphorylated ERK, but not p38. Inhibition of p38 activation by 5 μM of SB203580 effectively reduced exaggerated HO-1 upregulation in cells pretreated with simvastatin, but not atorvastatin or rosuvastatin, plus exposure to LPS. The addition of an ERK inhibitor (50 μM of PD98059) did not decrease HO-1 upregulation in cells following any statin pretreatment. Further, the effect of simvastatin on primary cultures of cortical neurons was also different from that on Neuro-2A cells, as HO-1 upregulation did not result in exaggerated NF-κβ activation and superoxide production. This study demonstrated the involvement of p38 in the differential induction of HO-1 by different statins and showed the different physiological relevance of experiments on different cell types.
La gestión de riesgos en empresas no financieras

La mayoria de las empresas no financieras no han utilizado la gestion de riesgos por la ausencia de un conjunto de tecnicas que permitan gestionar los riesgos propios de su actividad, fundamentalmente en lo que respecta a la identificacion de los riesgos y a su cuantificacion. En este articulo se describen los riesgos basicos a los que se exponen las empresas no financieras y se muestra como se debe organizar y como se debe ejercer la gestion de riesgos en una empresa no financiera.
Transcriptional regulation of the human quinone reductase gene by antiestrogen-liganded estrogen receptor-alpha and estrogen receptor-beta.

We have previously reported that antiestrogens stimulate quinone reductase (NAD(P)H:(quinone-acceptor) oxidoreductase (QR or NQO1); EC 1.6. 99.2) enzymatic activity, an action that may provide protective effects against the toxicity and mutagenicity caused by quinones. We have now investigated the transcriptional regulation of the QR gene by antiestrogens. In transfection experiments employing the 5'-flanking (863-base pair) region of the human QR gene promoter with its electrophile/antioxidant response element (EpRE/ARE) or deleted or mutated constructs, we observe that antiestrogens induced an increase in QR gene promoter reporter activity in estrogen receptor (ER) negative breast cancer and endometrial cancer cells transfected with ER, and this induction by antiestrogens was repressed by estradiol. The stimulation of QR transcriptional activity required the 31-base pair electrophile-responsive region from the human QR gene promoter and a functional ER. Intriguingly, antiestrogens were stronger activators of the QR EpRE via the ER subtype ERbeta than ERalpha. Oligonucleotide gel mobility and antibody shift assays reveal that the ER binds to the EpRE but is only a minor component of the proteins bound to the EpRE in ER-containing MCF-7 breast cancer cells. While binding of ERbeta to the estrogen response element was weaker when compared with ERalpha, ERbeta and ERalpha showed similar binding to the EpRE. Together these findings provide evidence that QR gene regulation by the antiestrogen-occupied ER is mediated by the EpRE-containing region of the human QR gene and indicate that the ER is one of the complex of proteins that binds to the EpRE. In addition, that ERbeta is a more potent activator at EpRE elements than is ERalpha suggests that the different levels of these two receptors in various estrogen target cells could impact importantly on the antioxidant potency of antiestrogens in different target cells. These findings have broad implications regarding the potential beneficial effects of antiestrogens since EpREs mediate the transcriptional induction of numerous genes, including QR, which encode chemoprotective detoxification enzymes.
Agility and Architecture: Can They Coexist?

Agile development has significantly impacted industrial software development practices. However, despite its wide popularity, there's an increasing perplexity about software architecture's role and importance in agile approaches. Advocates of architecture's vital role in achieving quality goals for large software-intensive systems doubt the scalability of any development approach that doesn't pay sufficient attention to architecture. This article talks about software architecture being relevant to the basis of aspects such as communication among team members, inputs to subsequent design decisions, documenting design assumptions, and evaluating design alternatives. In a large software organization, implementing agile approaches isn't a straightforward adoption problem. Most likely, it will take several years to shorten the feedback cycles to benefit from the adaptability and earlier value-creation opportunities. Failure is a natural part of process improvement.
Depletion of the Trypanosome Pumilio Domain Protein PUF2 or of Some Other Essential Proteins Causes Transcriptome Changes Related to Coding Region Length

ABSTRACT Pumilio domain RNA-binding proteins are known mainly as posttranscriptional repressors of gene expression that reduce mRNA translation and stability. Trypanosoma brucei has 11 PUF proteins. We show here that PUF2 is in the cytosol, with roughly the same number of molecules per cell as there are mRNAs. Although PUF2 exhibits a low level of in vivo RNA binding, it is not associated with polysomes. PUF2 also decreased reporter mRNA levels in a tethering assay, consistent with a repressive role. Depletion of PUF2 inhibited growth of bloodstream-form trypanosomes, causing selective loss of mRNAs with long open reading frames and increases in mRNAs with shorter open reading frames. Reexamination of published RNASeq data revealed the same trend in cells depleted of some other proteins. We speculate that these length effects could be caused by inhibition of the elongation phase of transcription or by an influence of translation status or polysomal conformation on mRNA decay.
Agile Software Development and Service Science How to develop IT-enabled Services in an Interdisciplinary Environment

This paper shows the necessary steps, which should be taken in order to get the most out of agile software development in interdisciplinary settings involving scientific experts. If applied properly, Agile delivers increased productivity, higher quality and, last but not least, higher customer satisfaction. The task of developing high quality software is already difficult. Developing software for a new IT-enabled service in an interdisciplinary team however, is even more challenging. In interdisciplinary projects scientific experts from different fields need to work together with computer scientists, developers, testers, business analysts and domain experts. Software engineering is very time-consuming and scientific experts who have never been involved in a software project, often find it hard to understand why progress sometimes seems so slow. Therefore, it is important that they understand what it takes to write high-quality code, i.e. code that is clean, tested, documented and extendable at the right points. The best way to achieve this goal is to expand the software team, make the scientific experts an integral part of it and thus profit from their know-how.
A mutant androgen receptor from patients with Reifenstein syndrome: identification of the function of a conserved alanine residue in the D box of steroid receptors

Reifenstein syndrome is an eponymic term that describes partial androgen-insensitive disorders. Androgen receptor isolated from five patients with this syndrome contains a specific mutation in the DNA binding domain of the receptor. This mutation converts an alanine to a threonine at position 596 next to the zinc catenation site at the second finger. The threonine 596 mutant receptor mediated normal androgen response at promoters with closely positioned multiple regulatory elements for the androgen receptor and other transcription factors. Promoters with single isolated androgen response elements were not transactivated by the mutant receptor. In in vitro receptor-DNA binding studies, interaction with DNA by the mutant receptor was achieved only in the presence of an anti-androgen receptor antibody. Exchanging alanine 596 in the wild-type androgen receptor with serine or valine produced mutants with properties indistinguishable from those of the naturally occurring threonine 596 mutant receptor. These results indicate that an alanine residue at position 596 contributes important structural and functional activities to the androgen receptor. In the androgen receptor from the patients with Reifenstein syndrome, in which this alanine is converted to a threonine, wild-type receptor properties can be restored by exchanging an additional threonine at position 602 to an alanine. An alanine residue at position 596 or 602 in the DNA binding domain of the androgen receptor is therefore important for the full function of this receptor. In all steroid receptors that bind the core sequence AGAACANNNTGTTCT, an alanine residue is also present at a position equivalent to alanine 596 in the androgen receptor.
Intrinsic inference on the mean geodesic of planar shapes and tree discrimination by leaf growth

For planar landmark based shapes, taking into account the non-Euclidean geometry of the shape space, a statistical test for a common mean first geodesic principal component (GPC) is devised which rests on one of two asymptotic scenarios. For both scenarios, strong consistency and central limit theorems are established, along with an algorithm for the computation of a Ziezold mean geodesic. In application, this allows to verify the geodesic hypothesis for leaf growth of Canadian black poplars and to discriminate genetically different trees by observations of leaf shape growth over brief time intervals. With a test based on Procrustes tangent space coordinates, not involving the shape space's curvature, neither can be achieved.
Hepatitis B surface antigen seroclearance in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection: A clinical study

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seroclearance in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods Patients with chronic HBV infection who achieved sustained virological response (SVR) within 6 years of ceasing formal antiviral treatment were assessed for HBsAg seroclearance (defined as loss of serum HBsAg on repeated testing for a period of >6 months), using enzyme immunoassays. Phase of HBV infection and liver function (serum alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate aminotransferase [AST] levels) and HBV DNA levels were also assessed. Results In total, 272 patients with chronic HBV and SVR were included; HBsAg seroclearance was achieved in 42 patients and not achieved in 230 patients. Serum HBsAg and ALT levels, ratios of HBsAg to HBV DNA and ratios of AST to ALT were significantly different between patients achieving, and not achieving, HBsAg seroclearance. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of HBsAg levels for predicting the likelihood of HBsAg seroclearance was 0.85; the cut-off value was 203.86 IU/ml. Conclusions These data demonstrate that HBsAg seroclearance was independently associated with host immunity, serum HBsAg level, serum ALT level, serum HBsAg to HBV DNA ratio and timing of drug therapy within the course of chronic HBV infection.
The modern shift to below-replacement fertility: has Israel's population joined the process?

Fertility has declined to below replacement levels in many of the modern industrialized countries during the last three decades. This decline has been explained by various modern socio-economic characteristics, such as the change in women's status, their increased participation in non-familial activities, modern consumption patterns, and increasing costs of raising ‘quality’ children. The Jewish population of Israel is a modern society with such characteristics. Yet, total fertility in Israel during the 1980s was at least one child higher than in most European countries. It is shown that social heterogeneity makes this an over-simplified comparison. Indeed, it is the high fertility of the orthodox population among the two major ethnic groups, combined with the decline towards below-replacement fertility of the non-orthodox, which produces the high mean fertility of the entire population. While during the 1950s and 1960s the major explanations of fertility variation were concerned with ethnicity and socio-.
El futuro de los combustibles fósiles

El patron nuclear que mas que probablemente se producira tras Fukushima, no hace sino reforzar la necesidad de los combustibles fosiles, ya que la unica alternativa posible serian las renovables "modernas", cuyo nivel de desarrollo actual impide que sostengan el sistema energetico mundial.
Exploring user's compliance behavior towards Health Information System security policies based on extended Health Belief Model

Information security awareness is important among users because it can influence user's behavior towards complying with organization information security policies. Therefore, the current study was conducted to examine information security awareness factors affecting user's compliance behavior towards Health Information System (HIS) security policies based on extended Health Belief Model. The questionnaires were distributed to the respondents at selected public hospitals in Malaysia (N = 454). Statistical results confirm that perceived work experience, perceived severity, perceived benefit, cues to action, self-efficacy and perceived barrier were significant predictors of health information system's security policies compliance behaviour while perceived susceptibility was insignificant. Our findings will prove to be beneficial to fellow researchers and policy makers, especially related to the medical sectors in improving user's behavior toward practicing information security.
Motion, Not Masking, Provides the Medium for Feature Attribution

Understanding the dynamics of how separate features combine to form holistic object representations is a central problem in visual cognition. Feature attribution (also known as feature transposition and feature inheritance) refers to the later of two stimuli expressing the features belonging to the earlier one. Both visual masking and apparent motion are implicated in feature attribution. We found that when apparent motion occurs without masking, it correlates positively with feature attribution. Moreover, when apparent motion occurs with masking, feature attribution remains positively correlated with apparent motion after the contribution of masking is factored out, but does not correlate with masking after the contribution of apparent motion is similarly factored out. Hence, motion processes on their own provide the effective medium for feature attribution. Our results clarify the dynamics of feature binding in the formation of integral and unitary object representations in human vision.
One-Sided Fuzzy SVM Based on Sphere for Imbalanced Data Sets Learning

Learning from imbalanced data sets presents a new challenge to machine learning community, as traditional algorithms are biased to the majority classes and produce poor detection rate of the minority classes. This paper presents a one-sided fuzzy support vector machine algorithm based on sphere to improve the classification performance of the minority class. Firstly, the approach obtains the minimal hyper sphere of the majority class; secondly, it uses the center and radius of the hyper sphere to give the fuzzy membership of the majority instances, and thus effectively reduces the influence of majority noises and redundant instances in the classification process. Experiments show that our new approach improves not only the classification performance of the minority class more effectively, but also the classification performance of the whole data set comparing with other methods.
Pyropia plicata sp. nov. (Bangiales, Rhodophyta): naming a common intertidal alga from New Zealand

Abstract A commonly found red alga of the upper intertidal zone of New Zealand rocky coasts is described for the first time as Pyropia plicata sp. nov. This species has been incorrectly known as Porphyra columbina Mont. (now Pyropia columbina (Mont.) W.A. Nelson) for many years. Pyropia plicata is widespread and common, and it is readily distinguished from other species of bladed Bangiales in New Zealand by its distinctive morphology, with pleated blades attached by a central rhizoidal holdfast.
Saturating ultrafilters on N

Abstract We discuss saturating ultrafilters on N, relating them to other types of non-principal ultrafilter. (a) There is an (ω, c)-saturating ultrafllter on N iff 2λ ≤ c for every λ < c and there is no cover of R by fewer than c nowhere dense sets, (b) Assume Martin's axiom. Then, for any cardinal κ, a nonprincipal ultrafllter on N is (ω, κ)-saturating iff it is almost κ-good. In particular, (i) p(κ)-point ultrafilters are (ω, κ)-saturating, and (ii) the set of (ω, κ)-saturating ultrafilters is invariant under homeomorphisms of βN/N. (c) It is relatively consistent with ZFC to suppose that there is a Ramsey p(c)-point ultrafilter which is not (ω, c)-saturating.
Vibrational relaxation of trapped molecules

Vibrational relaxation of trapped molecules due to collisions with cold atoms is investigated using the results of quantum-mechanical scattering calculations. Trap loss is analyzed using an exactly solvable kinetic model that includes direct collisional quenching and an indirect process of vibrational predissociation. At low atom density, the relaxation is due primarily to collisional quenching. At high atom density, the relaxation involves additional time scales due to the formation and decay of van der Waals complexes. It is shown that the most weakly bound state of the van der Waals complex for a given diatomic vibrational level controls the relaxation at all atom densities. Possible experiments using trapped molecules are discussed. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}
C1–C2 Pedicle Screw Fixation with Rigid Cantilever Beam Construct: Case Report and Technical Note

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE Transarticular screw fixation of the C1–C2 complex provides immediate rigid fixation of the unstable spine. The technique is not feasible in a certain proportion of patients because of the position of the vertebral artery or the patient’s body habitus. CLINICAL PRESENTATION The authors describe a rigid screw technique for the surgical treatment of a woman who was excluded as a candidate for C1–C2 transarticular screw fixation. TECHNIQUE C1–C2 pedicle screw fixation was achieved using a fixed moment arm cantilever beam system. This system provided immediate rigid fixation of the C1–C2 complex in a patient who was not a candidate for transarticular screw fixation. CONCLUSION This technique is technically more forgiving than posterior transarticular screw fixation and may be applied to a broader spectrum of patients.
Extracellular signal e regulated kinase 1 / 2 is involved in a tamoxifen neuroprotective effect in a lateral fluid percussion injury rat model

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine whether tamoxifen (TMX) causes attenuation of traumatic brain injury (TBI) induced by fluid percussion injury. Materials and methods: Immediately after the onset of fluid percussion TBI, anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three major groups and intraperitoneally administered the vehicle solution (1 mL/kg), TMX (1 mg/kg), or TMX (1 mg/kg) plus the extracellular signaleregulated kinase 1/2 antagonist SL327 (30 mg/kg). Another group of rats were used as sham-operated controls. The functional outcomes, such as motor outcomes, were evaluated using an incline plane. The cellular infarction volume was evaluated by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Neuronal loss, apoptosis, and p-ERK1/2 and Bcl2 expression in neuronal cortex cells were evaluated by immunofluorescence methods. All the parameters were assessed on day 4 after injury. Results: Compared with the sham-operated controls, the TBI-induced motor deficits and cerebral infarction after TBI were significantly attenuated by TMX therapy. The TBIinduced neuronal loss and apoptosis were also significantly reduced by TMX therapy. The numbers of Bcl2and phospho-ERK1/2-positive neuronal cells in the ischemic cortex after TBI were significantly increased by TMX therapy. These TMX effects were significantly blocked by SL327 administration. Conclusions: Our results suggest that intravenous injection of TMX may ameliorate TBI in rats by increasing neuronal p-ERK1/2 expression, which might lead to an increase in neuronal Bcl2 expression and a decrease in neuronal apoptosis and cell infarction volume, and it might represent one mechanism by which functional recovery occurred. TMX may be a promising TBI treatment strategy. a 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ter, #901 Chung Hwa Road, Yung Kang City, Tainan, Taiwan. Tel. : þ886 6 281 2811; fax: þ886 (J.-R. Kuo). to this work. ier Inc. All rights reserved. j o u r n a l o f s u r g i c a l r e s e a r c h 1 8 9 ( 2 0 1 4 ) 1 0 6e1 1 6 107
A SQUID-Based Nondestructive Evaluation System for Testing Wires of Arbitrary Length

The high field sensitivity of superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), especially at low frequencies, makes them ideally suited for applications in nondestructive evaluation. For testing of conducting wires, such as aluminum bond wire, we developed a special cryostat, which allows for pulling a wire of arbitrary length (which is kept at room temperature) through a niobium flux transformer connected to a niobium dc SQUID. The wire is excited by either passing an alternating current through it, or by exciting eddy-currents in the wire. The cryostat is made from a stainless steel inner vessel; the outer tube is from fiberglass. The gradiometric pickup loops are wound on a German-silver tube. As the wire under test is at room temperature, thermal noise produced by the wire is limiting the sensitivity of the system, rather than thermal noise produced by the stainless steel dewar.