Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evidence of Reversible Bradycardia and Arrhythmias Caused by Immunogenic Proteins Secreted by T. cruzi in Isolated Rat Hearts

Rationale Chagas cardiomyopathy, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is characterized by alterations in intracellular ion, heart failure and arrhythmias. Arrhythmias have been related to sudden death, even in asymptomatic patients, and their molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Objective The aim of this study is to demonstrate the effect of proteins secreted by T. cruzi on healthy, isolated beating rat heart model under a non-damage-inducing protocol. Methods and Results We established a non-damage-inducing recirculation-reoxygenation model where ultrafiltrate fractions of conditioned medium control or conditioned infected medium were perfused at a standard flow rate and under partial oxygenation. Western blotting with chagasic patient serum was performed to determine the antigenicity of the conditioned infected medium fractions. We observed bradycardia, ventricular fibrillation and complete atrioventricular block in hearts during perfusion with >50 kDa conditioned infected culture medium. The preincubation of conditioned infected medium with chagasic serum abolished the bradycardia and arrhythmias. The proteins present in the conditioned infected culture medium of >50 kDa fractions were recognized by the chagasic patient sera associated with arrhythmias. Conclusions These results suggest that proteins secreted by T. cruzi are involved in Chagas disease arrhythmias and may be a potential biomarker in chagasic patients.
Implant-Supported Immediately Loaded Full-Arch Rehabilitations: Comparison of Resin and Zirconia Clinical Outcomes in a 5-Year Retrospective Follow-Up Study

Purpose:We analyzed complications and failures of final full-arch implant-supported rehabilitations, comparing resin and zirconia prosthesis materials. Prostheses were retrospectively followed up for 5 years. Materials and Methods:One hundred twenty-five patients who received one or two four to six implant-supported immediately loaded full-arch rehabilitations in resin (166 prostheses) or zirconia (48 prostheses) were analyzed. Results:One hundred thirteen patients (53 men, 60 women), with 214 full-arch prostheses (105 maxillary, 109 mandibular), were analyzed. During the follow-up interval, the prosthesis annual complication rate was 6.6%, free complications survival was 75.5% (60 months). Age, number of implants, and prosthesis material did not influence complication risk. Men had a higher risk of complications than women. Prosthesis annual failure rate was 4.6%, free survival was 85.5% (60 months). Age, number of implants, and prosthesis material did not influence failure risk. Men and maxillary arch prostheses had a higher risk of failures than women and mandibular arch prostheses. Conclusion:Implant-supported, immediately loaded full-arch rehabilitations supporting resin or zirconia based prostheses were clinically successful in a 5-year follow-up. Prosthesis material did not influence complication risk.
Is Value-Added and Opportunistic Real Estate Investing Beneficial? If So, Why ?

There has been a great deal of interest in whether value-added and opportunistic real estate investing has resulted in appropriate risk-adjusted returns. In this paper, data from the National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) property database are examined to bring new evidence to bear on the subject. Using these data, ex post returns are calculated for all sold properties. Then groups are formed based on these returns. A series of discriminant functions are then estimated to relate membership in these groups over time to value-added and opportunistic indicator variables (i.e., risk exposures) and market conditions. Results demonstrate that while value-added and opportunistic private equity real estate investments have higher returns than core investments, their superior returns are driven primarily by market conditions and the use of cheap debt rather than by risk exposure.
Children of treated substance-abusing mothers: A 10-year prospective study

This study examined children of substance-abusing mothers approximately 10 years after mothers’ admission to drug abuse treatment, and identified maternal characteristics that may be risk factors for child behavior problems on the Child Behavior Checklist. Data were obtained from 396 mothers who were included in a sample consecutively admitted to 44 treatment programs in 13 California counties during 2000–2002. The Addiction Severity Index was administered at both intake and follow-up. Each mother reported on one child 6–17 years of age. All of the children had been exposed to drugs, either in utero or postnatally. At follow-up about 22% of the children demonstrated borderline or clinical range problem behaviors. Child behavior problems were related significantly to the mothers’ ethnicity (lower among Hispanics relative to white), and problem severity in family/social relationship and mental health, marginally related to her prior medical/health problem, and not related to severity of alcohol, drug, legal and employment problems. Assisting mothers to address their family/social relationship and psychological problems may have an added value to prevent or reduce behavioral problems of their children.
Sport, health and the genesis of a physical activity policy in the Netherlands

Sport and physical activity have become prominent tools in governmental health policy in the Netherlands. This paper focuses on developments in dominant understandings of sport and physical activity in relation to notions of health in the field of sport policy since the 1950s. We show that ‘sport is good for health’ arguments were emphasized and mitigated by different stakeholders with diverging purposes at different moments in time, to stimulate or legitimize interference of the national government in the field of sport. By studying changes in the power balances between the state, the private sport sector and other stakeholders, we explain how, gradually, public health became a, and at times the, major legitimization for this interference. Furthermore, we demonstrate how these developments coincided with a narrowing of the vision of sport, as frequency and intensity became more important than what was actually practised. In this process, sport became blurred with other terms like physical activity and recreation, and new interest groups entered the field of sport and health. However, these developments had real consequences for the sport sector. This paper clearly illustrates the unintended and complex outcomes of a policy process with interdependent power relations and interests. Over the past decades, health-related aims gained dominance in Dutch sport policy, but certainly not in a straightforward way.
Electronic Structures, Magnetism, and Half-Metallicities of CrAs

We investigated the half-metallicity and magnetism at the (110) surface of zinc-blende CrAs by using the all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). It is found that the CrAs(110) surface keeps the half-metallicity from the calculated local density of states (LDOS). The band gaps (~1.2 ev) of the minority states for the surface Cr and As atoms were reduced from the bulk value (~1.7 eV). The magnetic moment (3.27 muB) of surface Cr atom was enhanced from the bulk value (3.00 muB)
Malicious Software Classification Using Transfer Learning of ResNet-50 Deep Neural Network

Malicious software (malware) has been extensively used for illegal activity and new malware variants are discovered at an alarmingly high rate. The ability to group malware variants into families with similar characteristics makes possible to create mitigation strategies that work for a whole class of programs. In this paper, we present a malware family classification approach using a deep neural network based on the ResNet-50 architecture. Malware samples are represented as byteplot grayscale images and a deep neural network is trained freezing the convolutional layers of ResNet-50 pre-trained on the ImageNet dataset and adapting the last layer to malware family classification. The experimental results on a dataset comprising 9,339 samples from 25 different families showed that our approach can effectively be used to classify malware families with an accuracy of 98.62%.
Value relevance of alternative accounting performance measures: Australian evidence

Purpose - The paper aims to examine the value relevance of alternative accounting performance measures in Australia. It also documents the relative and incremental value relevance of revenue Design/methodology/approach - The paper utilises data on Australian listed companies from 1992 to 2005 on the level of and changes in seven alternative accounting performance measures. Standard ordinary least square regression is conducted. Findings - Results reveal that: the coefficient estimates on all the performance measures are much higher for large firms compared to their small firm counterpart; the explanatory power of incremental revenue in explaining stock returns has declined significantly over the sample period; and life cycle analysis shows that the combined coefficients for both revenue and earnings are significant in the growth and maturity stages of the firm life cycle. Practical implications - When making equity valuation decisions investors consider firms' fundamentals as reflected in financial statements. However, which line item is more important for equity valuation is an important consideration. From a regulatory perspective, this stream of research is quite relevant because standard setters will have evidence from an investor viewpoint about whether certain line items, subtotals, and totals should be defined in standards and required to be displayed in financial statements. Originality/value - The paper adds to the existing capital market research in Australia by documenting differential persistence of alternative performance measures.
On the Distributional Conditions for a Consumption-oriented Three Moment CAPM

In this paper, we develop sufficient conditions on probability distributions for a three moment (mean, variance, and skewness) consumption-oriented capital asset pricing model (CAPM) to price correctly a subset of assets. The assumptions that individuals in an allocationally efficient capital market have identical probability beliefs and monotone increasing strictly concave utility functions displaying nonincreasing absolute risk aversion imply an aggregate preference function that exhibits preference for expected return, aversion to variance of return, and preference for positive skewness. For otherwise arbitrary preferences, we show that quadratic characteristic lines are sufficient for a subset of assets to be priced according to a three moment consumption-oriented CAPM.
MEK/ERK signaling directly and indirectly contributes to the cyclical self‐renewal of spermatogonial stem cells

Coordination of stem cell fate is regulated by extrinsic niche signals and stem cell intrinsic factors. In mammalian testes, spermatogonial stem cells maintain constant production of abundant spermatozoa by alternating between self‐renewal and differentiation at regular intervals according to a periodical program known as the seminiferous epithelial cycle. Although retinoic acid (RA) signaling has been suggested to direct the cyclical differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells, it remains largely unclear how their cycle‐dependent self‐renewal/proliferation is regulated. Here, we show that MEK/ERK signaling contributes to the cyclical activity of spermatogonial stem cells. We found that ERK1/2 is periodically activated in Sertoli cells during the stem cell self‐renewal/proliferation phase, and that MEK/ERK signaling is required for the stage‐related expression of the critical niche factor GDNF. In addition, ERK1/2 is activated in GFRα1‐positive spermatogonial stem cells under the control of GDNF and prevent them from being differentiated. These results suggest that MEK/ERK signaling directly and indirectly maintains spermatogonial stem cells by mediating a signal that promotes their periodical self‐renewal/proliferation. Conversely, RA signaling directly and indirectly induces differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells. We propose that temporally regulated activations of RA signaling and a signal regulating MEK/ERK antagonistically coordinates the cycle‐related activity of spermatogonial stem cells. Stem Cells 2013;31:2517–2527
Thirty Years of Mergers and Acquisitions Research: Recent Advances and Future Opportunities

The complex phenomenon that mergers and acquisitions (M&As) represent has attracted substantial interest from a variety of management disciplines over the past 30 years. Three primary streams of enquiry can be identified within the strategic and behavioural literature, which focus on the issues of strategic fit, organizational fit and the acquisition process itself. The recent achievements within each of these research streams are briefly reviewed. However, in parallel to these research advances, the failure rates of mergers and acquisitions have remained consistently high. Possible reasons for this dichotomy are discussed, which in turn highlight the significant opportunities that remain for future M&A research.
GA‐binding protein regulates KIS gene expression, cell migration, and cell cycle progression

The cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 arrests cell cycle progression through G1/S phases and is regulated by phosphorylation of serine/ threonine residues. Recently, we identified the serine/ threonine kinase, KIS, which phosphorylates p27Kip1 on serine 10 leading to nuclear export of p27Kip1 and protein degradation. However, the molecular mechanisms of transcriptional activation of the human KIS gene and its biological activity are not known. We mapped the transcription initiation site ~116 bp 5′ to the translation start site, and sequences extending to ‐141 were sufficient for maximal promoter activity. Mutation in either of two Ets‐binding sites in this region resulted in an approximately 75–80% decrease in promoter activity. These sites form at least 3 specific complexes, which contained GA‐binding protein (GABP). Knocking down GABPα by siRNA in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) diminished KIS gene expression and reduced cell migration. Correspondingly, in serum stimulated GABPα‐deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), KIS gene expression was also significantly reduced, which was associated with an increase in p27Kip1 protein levels and a decreased percentage of cells in S‐phase. Consistent with these findings, following vascular injury in vivo, GABPα‐heterozygous mice demonstrated reduced KIS gene expression within arterial lesions and these lesions were significantly smaller compared to GABP+/+ mice. In summary, serum‐responsive GABP binding to Ets‐binding sites activates the KIS promoter, leading to KIS gene expression, cell migration, and cell cycle progression. — Crook M. F. , Olive, M. , Xue, H. ‐H. , Lange‐nickel T. H. , Boehm, M. , Leonard, W. J., Nabel E. G. GA‐binding protein regulates KIS gene expression, cell migration, and cell cycle progression. FASEB J. 22, 225–235 (2008)
Is Japan's financial system efficient?

This paper puts forward some hypotheses to try and explain the recent fragility of the Japanese banking sector in a corporate-governance perspective. One hypothesis is that the banks themselves were not effectively monitored and disciplined. A second hypothesis is that the banks were able to show a good performance not because they monitored and disciplined their client firms, but because the firms were themselves disciplined by international competition. When those client firms reduced their reliance on bank credit in the 1980s, the banks were forced to extend their funds to non-traded-goods industries, such as real estate and finance, without having prepared themselves for this. The consequence was a serious non-performing-loan problem in the 1990s. Copyright 2000 by Oxford University Press.
Levels of Anti‐A and Anti‐B in Commercial Immune Globulins

Samples from 168 lots of immune serum globulin, tetanus immune globulin, and RhD (D) immune globulin produced by seven American manufacturers during the period 1973–1977 were analyzed for anti‐A and anti‐B content by saline and antiglobulin titration. There was appreciable variation among manufacturers, but between 1973 and 1975 all products showed a significant decrease in alloantibody titer. This trend did not continue during the interval 1975–1977; the titers of most manufacturers' products remained near the 1975 level. The anti‐A titer of a given product was approximately one dilution higher than the anti‐B; both titers were usually increased by anti‐human serum, though this occurred more often in the case of anti‐B.
The Threat Effect of Mandatory Programmes in Finland

This study focuses on the threat effect of the activation reform of the Finnish labour market support system in 2006. Mandatory programme participation may provide the incentive for some individuals to look for work in order to avoid the training programmes. The study examines whether the reform encouraged individuals in the target group to look for employment. According to the results, mandatory programme participation has no effect on the probability of finding a job or of leaving labour market support for some other reason. Conversely, long‐term recipients' participation in the labour market programmes has increased, owing to the activation reform.
Fundamental Indexation: An Australian Investigation

Capitalisation-weighted indexes provide the basis for passive investment strategies designed to capture market performance. However, these cap-weighted indexes are claimed to be sub-optimal because of their tendency to overweight overvalued shares and underweight undervalued shares. U.S. evidence suggests that fundamental indexes, which select, rank and weight stocks according to fundamental measures of size such as book value and revenue, outperform cap-weighted indexes. This study examines fundamental indexation in an Australian context over the period 1995 to 2006 and finds support for the U.S. results. However, we also find that the superiority of fundamental indexation is largely explained by its inherent bias towards value stocks, which raises the question as to whether a more overt value tilt may not provide a superior means for exploiting mispricings in markets.
Exploring the linkage between investment in manufacturing and environmental technologies

The popular business press, government regulators, environmentalists and the public are calling on operations managers to shift away from their traditional emphasis on pollution control toward pollution prevention when improving environmental performance. Yet, any managerial decision about the level and form of investment in these environmental technologies cannot be made in isolation, but instead must be implemented within the context of other manufacturing investments in process technologies and organizational systems. A survey of two Canadian industries – small machine tools and non‐fashion textiles – revealed evidence that environmental technologies have been regarded as ancillary investments; as investment in manufacturing increased, so did the proportion of that investment directed toward environmental technologies. Further, increased investment in advanced process technologies actually shifted investment away from pollution prevention. In contrast, increased investment in quality‐related organizational systems favored concurrent investment in recycling programs, along with pollution prevention and management systems. Thus, increased investment in quality management offered an important route to expand the implementation of pollution prevention.
Time of transforming growth factor beta 1 inoculation alters the incubation of BSE in mice

Groups of 20 C57BL/6J mice (10 males and 10 females) were given BSE strain 301C i.p. and subsequently given 2 μg recombinant human TGF&bgr;1 s.c. at single or multiple times. There was a significant positive correlation between the day of TGF&bgr;1 administration and incubation time; the later TGF&bgr;1 was administered after BSE inoculation the longer the incubation time became. The administration of TGF&bgr;1 at any time point did not significantly alter the distribution or severity of pathology. The effects of TGF&bgr;1 on BSE pathogenesis appears to be dependent upon its time of administration; early administration shortens the incubation time and late administration lengthens the incubation time.
Do Entry Conditions Vary across Markets

THE NUMBER OF FIRMS in a market is a primary determinant of market concentration and performance. In the long run the number of firms is affected by the ease with which they can enter and exit. Many recent theoretical models of entry have emphasized that strategic behavior by incumbents may have an important bearing on the number of firms that enter the market. For instance, these models illustrate how the extent of postentry competition and opportunities for erecting strategic entry barriers might affect the likelihood that another firm will enter a market.1 In contrast to these strategic models, other models of the long-run number of firms emphasize that technological factors, such as economies of scale, determine entry. These theories minimize the importance of strategic behavior in the long run and instead emphasize that highly concentrated industries are simply ones for which few firms will fit given the degree of returns to scale.
Political Determinants of Corporate Governance: Political Context, Corporate Impact

Before a nation can produce, it must achieve social peace. That social peace has been reached in different nations by differing means, some of which have then been embedded in business firms, in corporate ownership patterns, and in corporate governance structures. The large publicly held, diffusely owned firm dominates business in the United States despite its infirmities, namely the frequently fragile relations between stockholders and managers. But in other economically advanced nations, ownership is not diffuse but concentrated. It is concentrated in no small measure because the delicate threads that tie managers to shareholders in the public firm fray easily in common political environments, such as those in the continental European social democracies. Social democracies press managers to stabilize employment, to forego some profit-maximizing risks with the firm, and to use up capital in place rather than to downsize when markets no longer are aligned with the firm's production capabilities. Since managers must have discretion in the public firm, how they use that discretion is crucial to stockholders, and social democratic pressures induce managers to stray farther than otherwise from their shareholders' profit-maximizing goals. Moreover, the means that align managers with diffuse stockholders in the United States-incentive compensation, hostile takeovers, and strong shareholder-wealth maximization norms-are weaker and sometimes denigrated in continental social democracies. Hence, public firms there have higher managerial agency costs, and large-block shareholding has persisted as shareholders' best remaining way to control those costs. Social democracies may enhance total social welfare, but if they do, they do so with fewer public firms than less socially responsive nations. The author therefore uncovers not only a political explanation for ownership concentration in Europe, but also a crucial political prerequisite to the rise of the public firm in the United States, namely the weakness of social democratic pressures on the American business firm.