Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TGF-beta signaling in A549 lung carcinoma cells: lipid second messengers.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a potent inducer of numerous extracellular matrix components, largely through a transcriptional mechanism. To define the postreceptor signaling pathways used by TGF-beta in the induction of extracellular matrix gene expression, we have utilized the human lung carcinoma cell line, A549, in transfection experiments with the TGF-beta inducible reporter construct, p3TP-Lux. Previous work from this laboratory using pharmacologic agents suggested that a phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C and protein kinase C may be involved in early aspects of TGF-beta signaling. Here we provide evidence that TGF-beta induces a rapid and transient increase in diacylglycerol (DAG) production. When cells transfected with the p3TP-Lux reporter plasmid are simultaneously treated with TGF-beta and a DAG kinase inhibitor, we observed a higher level of luciferase than with TGF-beta alone. We also find elevated levels of phosphocholine in cells following TGF-beta treatment. Further, exogenously added bacterial phosphatidylcholine phospholipase C (PC-PLC) is capable of inducing expression of the p3TP-Lux reporter to the same extent as TGF-beta indicating that the bacterial PC-PLC can mimic the TGF-beta effect. In contrast, neither hexanoyl sphingosine (a ceramide analogue) nor arachadonic acid induce expression of the p3TP-Lux reporter. Measurements with the fluorescent, calcium-sensitive dye, FURA2, indicated that there was no change in intracellular calcium in response to TGF-beta. Furthermore, buffering intracellular calcium with the calcium chelating agent BAPTA/AM failed to block TGF-beta induction of the p3TP-Lux reporter. Thus the TGF-beta signaling pathway appears to involve the production of diacylglycerol but is independent of calcium.
Analysis of NMDA Receptors in the Human Spinal Cord

NMDA receptors in postmortem human spinal cord were analyzed using [3H]MK-801 ligand binding and immunoblotting with NMDA receptor subunit-specific antibodies. The average KD for [3H]MK-801 binding was 1.77 nM with a Bmax of 0.103 pmol/mg. The EC50 for stimulation of -3H-MK-801 binding with L-glutamate was 0.34 microM. None of these parameters were affected by postmortem intervals up to 72 h. Immunoblotting of native NMDA receptors showed that NR1, NR2A, NR2C, and NR2D subunits could all be found in the human spinal cord of which NR1 was preferentially located to the dorsal half. Immunoprecipitation of solubilized receptors revealed that NR1, NR2C, and NR2D subunits coprecipitated with the NR2A subunit, indicating that native human spinal cord NMDA receptors are heteroligimeric receptors assembled by at least three different receptor subunits. These results provide a basis for the development of drugs selectively aimed at spinal cord NMDA receptors for the future treatment of spinal cord disorders.
Economic Structure and Policy for External BalanceStructure ??conomique et politique d'??quilibre ext??rieurFunci??n de la estructura y pol??tica econ??micas en el equilibrio de los pagos

La macroeconomia tradicional posterior a la segunda guerra mundial, asi como los enfoques mas recientes, el basado en la expectativa racional y el neokeynesiano, analizan las economias monoproductoras. La version internacional de este modelo, simplificado al maximo, es el modelo monetario de la balanza de pagos o, mas recientemente, del tipo de cambio. En la decada de 1970 la investigacion se oriento hacia la oferta y el papel que desempena la estructura en la transmision de las perturbaciones economicas y los efectos de politica. En este estudio se examinan algunos de los resultados mas significativos con respecto al papel que desempena la estructura economica en la determinacion de la forma en que se transmiten las perturbaciones. Se expone al principio el modelo monetario de la balanza de pagos, que supone la ausencia practicamente total de estructura. Esta descripcion ofrece un marco de referencia para las secciones siguientes del estudio, en las cuales se incorporan una a una las diferencias estructurales en el modelo. Los resultados basicos pueden resumirse brevemente. En primer lugar, las rigideces de la oferta o una elevada relacion entre los bienes intermedios importados y el valor agregado en la produccion pueden hacer que la devaluacion resulte contraproducente. Esto puede tener especial importancia en el caso de un pais en desarrollo que desee aplicar un programa de estabilizacion. En segundo lugar, los efectos de las variaciones de los tipos de cambio pueden ser asimetricos entre Europa y Estados Unidos. El efecto principal de las variaciones del tipo de cambio en el comercio exterior de Estados Unidos es la variacion de los precios relativos. Esto hace del tipo de cambio un instrumento eficaz para el ajuste de los pagos en Estados Unidos. En cambio, en Europa las variaciones del tipo de cambio pueden tener su efecto principal en los precios internos, con lo cual el tipo de cambio resulta un instrumento deficiente para lograr el equilibrio de los pagos. En tercer lugar, la politica de demanda en los paises con salarios reales inflexibles eleva el nivel de precios en dichos paises, pero solo influye en el producto de los paises en los cuales haya inflexibilidad de los salarios nominales. Tambien en este caso puede haber una diferencia entre Europa, con salarios reales inflexibles, y Estados Unidos, pais con salarios nominales inflexibles. Finalmente, solo los paises con mercado financiero desarrollado y abierto pueden esperar que sea estable un tipo de cambio flotante. Esta podria ser la razon por la cual los paises industriales tienden a poner su moneda en flotacion, en tanto que los paises en desarrollo tienden a vincular el tipo de cambio de sus monedas.
3-D Coverage Beam-Scanning Antenna Using Feed Array and Active Frequency-Selective Surface

This paper presents the design of a smart antenna that can achieve 3-D beam-scanning coverage. The antenna consists of a novel planar feed array and a cylindrical active frequency-selective surface (AFSS). First, an array fed metallic reflector is studied as a reference antenna to validate the beam-scanning characteristics in the elevation plane. Then, the AFSS is assessed through simulation and measurement results. Finally, the complete structure containing the planar collinear array and the AFSS is analyzed. A prototype at S-band has been designed, manufactured, and measured. The resulting antenna is shown to be able to operate at the 2.4–2.5 GHz frequency band and switch beams in both the azimuth and elevation planes. In the azimuth plane, the proposed antenna is capable of sweeping beams toward different directions to cover a full range of 360°. In the elevation plane, it can achieve beam steering within an angle range of +16°/ − 15°. The measured maximum gain of the antenna is 9.2 dBi. This is the first report of a low-cost 3-D coverage beam-scanning antenna based on AFSS.
Railroads and Reform: How Trains Strengthened the Nation State

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between the coming of the railroads, the expansion of primary education, and the introduction of national school curricula. Using fine-grained data on local education outcomes in Sweden in the nineteenth century, the paper tests the idea that the development of the railroad network enabled national school inspectors to monitor remote schools more effectively. In localities to which school inspectors could travel by rail, a larger share of children attended permanent public schools and took classes in nation-building subjects such as geography and history. By contrast, the parochial interests of local and religious authorities continued to dominate in remote areas school inspectors could not reach by train. The paper argues for a causal interpretation of these findings, which are robust for the share of children in permanent schools and suggestive for the content of the curriculum. The paper therefore concludes that the railroad, the defining innovation of the First Industrial Revolution, mattered directly for the state's ability to implement public policies.
Comparison of Oral and Intravenous Glucose Tolerance Test Derived Sensitivity and Secretory Indices in Obese Adolescents

Background. Insulin resistance increases type 2 diabetes risk in obese adolescents. Thus, quantitative tools measuring insulin sensitivity and secretion are important for risk assessment. Methods. Forty-four obese pubertal adolescents underwent oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIGT). We correlated OGTT-derived whole body sensitivity index (WBISI) with FSIGT-derived insulin sensitivity index (Si). Insulinogenic index (IGI) from OGTT was compared with acute insulin response to glucose (AIRg) from FSIGT. Results. Fasting insulin (r = −.64, P < .0005) and glucose (r = −.39 P ≤ .0005) predicted Si. The OGTT-derived index WBISI correlated with the FSIGT-derived Si (r = .608, P < .0005). IGI correlated with AIRg from FSIGT (r = .704, P < .0005). Conclusions. OGTT-based measures correlated with FSIGT-derived measures of insulin sensitivity and secretion. In particular, we demonstrated that WBISI can be a reliable alternative to FSIGT-derived Si in clinical settings where OGTT is a more feasible option.
Arterial puncture using insulin needle is less painful than with standard needle: a randomized crossover study.

OBJECTIVES Arterial punctures are important procedures performed by emergency physicians in the assessment of ill patients. However, arterial punctures are painful and can create anxiety and needle phobia in patients. The pain score of radial arterial punctures were compared between the insulin needle and the standard 23-gauge hypodermic needle. METHODS In a randomized controlled crossover design, healthy volunteers were recruited to undergo bilateral radial arterial punctures. They were assigned to receive either the insulin or the standard needle as the first puncture, using blocked randomization. The primary outcome was the pain score measured on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, and secondary outcomes were rate of hemolysis, mean potassium values, and procedural complications immediately and 24 hours postprocedure. RESULTS Fifty healthy volunteers were included in the study. The mean (±standard deviation) VAS score in punctures with the insulin needle was lower than the standard needle (23 ± 22 mm vs. 39 ± 24 mm; mean difference = -15 mm; 95% confidence interval = -22 mm to -7 mm; p < 0.001). The rates of hemolysis and mean potassium value were greater in samples obtained using the insulin needle compared to the standard needle (31.3% vs. 11.6%, p = 0.035; and 4.6 ±0.7 mmol/L vs. 4.2 ±0.5 mmol/L, p = 0.002). Procedural complications were lower in punctures with the insulin needle both immediately postprocedure (0% vs. 24%; p < 0.001) and at 24 hours postprocedure (5.4% vs. 34.2%; p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS Arterial punctures using insulin needles cause less pain and fewer procedural complications compared to standard needles. However, due to the higher rate of hemolysis, its use should be limited to conditions that do not require a concurrent potassium value in the same blood sample.
Circulating insulin and leptin in women with and without premenstrual disphoric disorder in the menstrual cycle

Abstract Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a syndrome related with mood and appetite changes during the late luteal phase. Leptin and insulin are the hormones related to appetite, and leptin may have a role in reproductive functions and mood. Our aim was to determine whether there are differences in serum leptin and insulin levels between women with and without PMDD during the follicular and luteal phases. In this study, 20 women with PMDD and 18 women without PMDD were included. Fasting blood glucose, insulin, leptin, progesterone levels and HOMA-IR were measured in the follicular and luteal phases separately. Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed significant interactions for serum leptin, insulin and HOMA-IR levels between the diagnosis of PMDD and menstrual phases (F = 5.4, p = 0.025; F = 5.4, p = 0.026; and F = 4.7, p = 0.036, respectively). A significant correlation was found between progesterone and insulin levels in subjects without PMDD in the luteal phase (r = 0.58, p = 0.01). Whether the alterations in serum leptin and insulin are related with the changes of appetite and mood in PMDD or secondary to other factors should be clarified.
Correlation as probability: applications of Sheppard’s formula to financial assets

In this paper, a result for bivariate normal distributions from statistics is transformed into a financial asset context in order to build a tool which can translate a correlation matrix into an equivalent probability matrix and vice versa. This way, the correlation coefficient parameter is more understandable in terms of joint probability of two stocks’ returns, and much more useful in terms of the information it provides. We validate, empirically, our result for a sample covering the three market capitalization categories in the S&P 500 index over a ten-year period. Finally, the accuracy of this new tool is measured theoretically and some applications from the practitioners’ point of view are offered. Such applications include, for instance, the calculation of the number of trading days in a year in which two stocks have same sign returns and how to split the average return of weighted stocks into four orthants.
Cerebral Microembolization During Aortic Valve Replacement Using Minimally Invasive or Conventional Extracorporeal Circulation: A Randomized Trial.

To compare intraoperative cerebral microembolic load between minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC) and conventional extracorporeal circulation (CECC) during isolated surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR), we conducted a randomized trial in patients undergoing primary elective SAVR at a tertiary referral hospital. The primary outcome was the procedural phase-related rate of high-intensity transient signals (HITS) on transcranial Doppler ultrasound. HITS rate was used as a surrogate of cerebral microembolism in pre-defined procedural phases in SAVR using MiECC or CECC with (+F) or without (-F) an oxygenator with integrated arterial filter. Forty-eight patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to MiECC or CECC. Due to intraprocedural Doppler signal loss (n = 3), 45 patients were included in final analysis. MiECC perfusion regimen showed a significantly increased HITS rate compared to CECC (by a factor of 1.75; 95% confidence interval, 1.19-2.56). This was due to different HITS rates in procedural phases from aortic cross-clamping until declamping [phase 4] (P = 0.01), and from aortic declamping until stop of extracorporeal perfusion [phase 5] (P = 0.05). Post hoc analysis revealed that MiECC-F generated a higher HITS rate than CECC+F (P = 0.005), CECC-F (P = 0.05) in phase 4, and CECC-F (P = 0.03) in phase 5, respectively. In open-heart surgery, MiECC is not superior to CECC with regard to gaseous cerebral microembolism. When using MiECC for SAVR, the use of oxygenators with integrated arterial line filter appears highly advisable. Only with this precaution, MiECC confers a cerebral microembolic load comparable to CECC during this type of open heart surgery.
Pro-apoptotic Bim Induction in Response to Nerve Growth Factor Deprivation Requires Simultaneous Activation of Three Different Death Signaling Pathways*

Bim is a pro-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family that is induced and contributes to neuron death in response to nerve growth factor (NGF) deprivation. Past work has revealed that Bim is downstream of multiple independent transcriptional pathways in neurons, including those culminating in activation of the c-Jun, FoxO, and Myb transcription factors. This study addresses the issue of whether the three signaling pathways are redundant with respect to Bim induction or whether they act cooperatively. Examination of the proximal Bim promoter reveals binding sites for FoxO, Mybs, and, as shown here, c-Jun. We find that mutation of any one of these types of sites abolishes induction of a Bim promoter-driven reporter in response to NGF deprivation. Moreover, down-regulation of either c-Jun, FoxOs, or Mybs by short hairpin RNAs blocks induction of Bim promoter-reporter activity triggered by withdrawal of NGF. This was the case for reporters driven by either the proximal promoter or a promoter that also includes additional regulatory elements in the first intron of the Bim gene. Such short hairpin RNAs also suppressed the induction of endogenous Bim protein. These findings thus indicate that the Bim promoter acts as a coincidence detector that optimally responds to the simultaneous activation of three different pro-apoptotic transcriptional pathways. Such a mechanism provides a “fail-safe” that prevents neurons from dying by accidental activation of any single pathway. It also permits neurons to utilize individual pathways such as JNK signaling for other purposes without risk of demise.
Laparoendoscopic single‐site surgery using a multi‐functional miniature in vivo robot

Existing methods used to perform laparoendoscopic single‐site surgery (LESS) require multiple laparoscopic tools that are inserted into the peritoneal cavity through a single, specialized port. These methods are inherently limited in visualization and dextrous capabilities by working through a single access point. A miniature in vivo robotic platform that is completely inserted into the peritoneal cavity through a single incision can address these limitations, providing more intuitive manipulation capabilities and improved visualization.
Synchronization in complex networks with blinking interactions

We propose a new model of small-world networks of cells with a time-varying coupling and study its synchronization properties. In each time interval of length /spl tau/ such a coupling is switched on with probability p and the corresponding switching random variables are independent for different links and for different times. At each moment the coupling corresponds to a small-world graph, but the shortcuts change from time interval to time interval, which is a good model for many real-world dynamical networks. We prove that for the blinking model, a few random shortcut additions significantly lower the synchronization threshold together with the effective characteristic path length. Short interactions between cells, as in the blinking model, are important in practice. To cite prominent examples, computers networked over the Internet interact by sending packets of information, and neurons in our brain interact by sending short pulses, called spikes. The rare interaction between arbitrary nodes in the network greatly facilitates synchronization without loading the network much. In this respect, we believe that it is more efficient than a structure of fixed random connections.
The U.S.–China trade imbalance and the theory of free trade: debunking the currency manipulation argument

ABSTRACT The U.S.–China trade imbalance is commonly attributed to a Chinese policy of currency manipulation. However, empirical studies failed to reach consensus on the RMB misalignment. We argue that this is not a consequence of poor measurement but of theory. At the most abstract level the conventional principle of comparative cost advantage suggests real exchange rates will adjust so as to balance trade. Therefore, the persistence of trade imbalances tends to be interpreted as arising from currency manipulation facilitated by foreign exchange interventions. By way of contrast, the absolute cost theory explains trade imbalances as the outcome of free trade among nations that have unequal real costs. We argue that a disparity in real costs is the root cause of the U.S.–China trade imbalance.
A Model of the Learning of Arm Trajectories from Spatial Deviations

Unconstrained point-to-point reaching movements performed in the horizontal plane tend to follow roughly straight hand paths with smooth, bell-shaped velocity profiles. The objective of the research reported here was to explore the hypothesis that these data reflect an underlying learning process that prefers simple paths in space. Under this hypothesis, movements are learned based only on spatial errors between the actual hand path and a desired hand path; temporally varying targets are not allowed. We designed a neural network architecture that learned to produce neural commands to a set of muscle-like actuators based only on information about spatial errors. Following repetitive executions of the reaching task, the network was able to generate point-to-point horizontal arm movements and the resulting muscle activation patterns and hand trajectories were found to be similar to those observed experimentally for human subjects. The implications of our results with respect to current theories of multijoint limb movement generation are discussed.
Notch filtering-based stabilization of PFC AC-DC pre-regulators

Power factor correction converters are nonlinear power electronics circuits used as AC-DC power supplies and due to their nonlinearity they exhibit nonlinear phenomena such as sub-harmonic oscillations and chaotic regimes. These undesirable behaviors increase the total harmonic distortion and therefore can jeopardize enormously the system performances. In this paper, a notch filter based controller is added to the voltage control loop to stabilize a power factor correction AC-DC boost pre-regulator. This control technique is simple and it introduces many advantages to the most and widely used average current mode control through widening the stability domain of the system and being its experimental implementation possible by using standard devices such as OAs and passive elements.
Couples' careers, self selection, and fertility in Italy

The degree of compatibility between the role of mother and the role of worker has to be regarded as a key feature when discussing the Italian lowest-low fertility. Besides, the gender system prevailing in a society is deeply related to the way these aspects are managed within the couple (Baizán, 2005). From this perspective, it is significant to analyse the labour force status of each partner within the couple, as fertility and labour force options are closely related. Few studies, however, have been focusing on the couplelevel. This paper aims at investigating the impact of both partners’ labour force status on fertility outcomes. A number of social scientists are now emphasising the important role of attitudes in determining demographic behaviour. Here, the hypothesis of “Self Selection” in contemporary Italian fertility development is also tested. Namely, because the intensity of second and third birth concerns the selected group of women who already have one child, it can be advocated that this group has shown a preference for motherhood and committed to a child-oriented “life plan”. In order to investigate the “self-selection” hypothesis we will proceed by estimating the transition to the first, second and third child jointly, including a common unobserved heterogeneity factor, similarly to Kravdal (2001) and Kreyenfeld (2002). The study is based on a retrospective survey conducted in Italy by the Italian National Statistical Office (ISTAT) “Families and Social Subjects” (FSS) 2003.