Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ultrastructural Insights into the Biological Significance of Persisting DNA Damage Foci after Low Doses of Ionizing Radiation

Purpose: Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) enables the delivery of high doses to target volume while sparing surrounding nontargeted tissues. IMRT treatment, however, substantially increases the normal tissue volume receiving low-dose irradiation, but the biologic consequences are unclear. Experimental Design: Using mouse strains that varied in genetic DNA repair capacity, we investigated the DNA damage response of cortical neurons during daily low-dose irradiation (0.1 Gy). Using light and electron microscopic approaches, we enumerated and characterized DNA damage foci as marker for double-strand breaks (DSBs). Results: During repeated low-dose irradiation, cortical neurons in brain tissues of all mouse strains had a significant increase of persisting foci with cumulative doses, with the most pronounced accumulation of large-sized foci in repair-deficient mice. Electron microscopic analysis revealed that persisting foci in repair-proficient neurons reflect chromatin alterations in heterochromatin, but not persistently unrepaired DSBs. Repair-deficient SCID neurons, by contrast, showed high numbers of unrepaired DSBs in eu- and heterochromatin, emphasizing the fundamental role of DNA-PKcs in DSB rejoining, independent of chromatin status. In repair-deficient ATM−/− neurons, large persisting damage foci reflect multiple unrepaired DSBs concentrated at the boundary of heterochromatin due to disturbed KAP1 phosphorylation. Conclusion: Repeated low-dose irradiation leads to the accumulation of persisting DNA damage foci in cortical neurons and thus may adversely affect brain tissue and increase the risk of carcinogenesis. Multiple unrepaired DSBs account for large-sized foci in repair-deficient neurons, thus quantifying foci alone may underestimate extent and complexity of persistent DNA damage. Clin Cancer Res; 22(21); 5300–11. ©2016 AACR.
Keynesian Dynamics and the Wage-Price Spiral: A Baseline Disequilibrium Model

We reformulate and extend the standard AS-AD growth model of the Neoclassical Synthesis (stage I) with its traditional microfoundations. The model retains an LM curve in the place of a Taylor interest rate rule, exhibits sticky wages as well as sticky prices, myopic perfect foresight of current inflation rates and adaptively formed medium-run expectations concerning the investment and the inflation climate in which the economy is operating. The resulting nonlinear 5D model of labor and goods market disequilibrium dynamics avoids the striking anomalies of the standard AS-AD model of the Neoclassical synthesis (stage I). It exhibits instead Keynesian feedback dynamics proper with, in particular, asymptotic stability of its unique interior steady state for low adjustment speeds and with cyclical loss of stability ? by way of Hopf bifurcations ? when some adjustment speeds are made suciently large, eventually leading to purely explosive dynamics. In such cases, downward money wage rigidity serves to make the overall dynamics bounded and thus viable. We thus obtain and analyze a baseline D(isequilibrium)AS-AD model characterised by Keynesian feedback channels with a rich set of stability/instability features as the sources of the business cycle. The outcomes of the model stand in stark contrast to those of the currently fashionable baseline model of the New Keynesian alternative (the Neoclassical Synthesis, stage II) that we suggest is more limited in scope.
Building “21st Century Sewer Socialism”: Sanitation and Venezuela’s Technical Water Committees

This thesis assesses the potential of Venezuela’s technical water committees (mesas técnicas de agua, MTAs) to address governance and logistical challenges for improving sanitation in the barrios (low income settlements) of Caracas. The MTAs are a radical experiment in urban planning whereby beneficiary communities map their own water and sanitation needs and help to plan infrastructure development, which is financed by the state. In addition to improving services, the MTAs aim to promote “popular” or “citizen power” as part of a broader political transformation, the Bolivarian Process (1999-present). Based on Hickey and Mohan’s (2005) four criteria for “transformative participation,” the paper argues that the MTAs have opened spaces for citizen empowerment and improved services in the barrios; however, participation at the local scale cannot resolve many of the challenges for improving sanitation such as institutional overlap and the financing gap, especially given that sanitation is the least profitable form of service provision in terms of economic and political
Accommodating nomadism? An examination of accommodation options for gypsies and travellers in England

The policy approach towards Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in England is currently being reviewed. In this context, the paper explores issues around accommodating nomadism. Drawing primarily on the findings of research carried out by the author on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, it establishes that a number of Gypsies/Travellers actively pursue a traditional travelling lifestyle. Culturally‐specific accommodation, mainly in the form of residential Gypsy sites, is inadequate to accommodate the desired amount of movement without unauthorised encampments. Unauthorised encampments fail to provide adequate standards for Gypsies/Travellers, tend to perpetuate their social exclusion and lead to friction with the settled community. A network of transit sites and stopping places is needed to accommodate travelling. The main barrier to provision is the planning system and, more fundamentally, resistance from the settled population to the idea of new sites for Gypsies and Travellers. The nature of nomadism itself also makes its accommodation difficult, especially in a society where settled ‘sedentarist’ interests are paramount and other lifestyles may be viewed as deviant. Several proposals are made which might assist policy making.
What Drives Banking Sector Fragility in the Eurozone? Evidence from Stock Market Data

This article explores the determinants of banking sector fragility in the eurozone. For this purpose, a stock-market-based banking sector fragility indicator is calculated for eight member countries from 1999 to 2009 using the Merton model (1974). Using a panel framework, it is found that the macroeconomic environment, the structure of the banking sector and the intensity of banking regulation all have an effect on banking sector fragility in the eurozone.
Coupling Optimization and Dynamic Simulation for Preventive-Corrective Control of Voltage Instability

This paper proposes an approach coupling security-constrained optimal power flow with time-domain simulation to determine an optimal combination of preventive and corrective controls ensuring a voltage stable transition of the system towards a feasible long-term equilibrium, if any of a set of postulated contingencies occurs. A security-constrained optimal power flow is used to adjust the respective contribution of preventive and corrective actions. Furthermore, information is extracted from (quasi steady-state) time-domain simulations to iteratively adjust the set of coupling constraints used by a corrective security-constrained optimal power flow until its solution is found dynamically secure and viable. Numerical results are provided on a realistic 55-bus test system.
The Precarious Nature of Peace: Resolving the Issues, Enforcing the Settlement, and Renegotiating the Terms

In this article, I identify three explanations for postwar instability and the failure of peace settlements and test hypotheses derived from each perspective. The first explanation identifies the failure to resolve the issues in dispute as a key source of instability. The second explanation highlights the well-known problem of enforcement that often plagues agreements in an anarchic environment. The final argument considers the belligerents' incentives to renegotiate the terms of the settlement. Using a hazard model, I test hypotheses derived from each explanation with data on the duration of peace between dyads formerly at war between 1816 and 1992. I find little support for the resolution argument, only mixed support for the enforcement argument, and much more consistent support for the renegotiation argument.
Transforming Rural Economies: Migration, Income Generation and Inequality in Rural Mexico

Abstract We analyse how migration shapes the distribution and sources of rural income using nationally representative panel data from Mexico. Income source Gini decompositions provide some support for the migration diffusion hypothesis. Nevertheless, migration's influence on other income sources and household re-ranking substantially alter distributional impacts. We find significant impacts of migration on non-remittance income, as well as changes in the effects of non-migration activities on inequality over time. We conclude that migration is transforming rural economies in ways that go beyond the scope of most past research on migration and inequality.
PROFILE - Like Déjà Vu All Over Again: The Hungarian Parliamentary Elections of 2002

On 7 and 21 April 2002, Hungary went to the polls to vote in its fourth competitive election since the transition to a multi-party system in 1989. Voting took place in two rounds, first on 7 April in 176 single-member districts and 20 proportional list districts, and then on 21 April in a run-off in the 131 single-member districts that had not yielded a majority candidate in the first round. The result was a surprise to nearly everyone. First, surpassing all expectations, turnout exceeded 70 per cent of the registered electorate, higher than in any previous election in Hungary. Second, although the governing coalition of the Fidesz–Hungarian Civic Party and its junior partner the Hungarian Democratic Forum was widely predicted to win a majority of the 386 seats in the Hungarian single-chamber legislature, it performed poorly in the first round of elections, and failed to recapture enough lost ground in the second round to win the 194 seats need to maintain power. Hence the alliance of the Hungarian Socialist Party and its former junior coalition partner the Alliance of Free Democrats went on to form a government with a narrow ten-seat lead. The 2002 election outcome recalls another French adage: ‘plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose’. The government turnover following the Fidesz–HDF defeat reinforced the pattern noted by many observers of Hungarian politics: the most striking regularity of Hungarian voting
Energy expenditure and withdrawal of sedation in severe head‐injured patients

ObjectivesTo determine the outcome of oxygen consumption (Vo2) and energy expenditure after cessation of sedation in severe head-injured patients and to assess its usefulness as a predictor of neurologic severity. DesignProspective, descriptive study. SettingNeurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU) in a university hospital. PatientsFifteen severe head-injured patients with tracheostomies and who were mechanically ventilated and sedated at the time of the study. InterventionsNone. Measurements and Main ResultsVo2 and energy expenditure were measured, using indirect calorimetry during and after discontinuation of sedation. After the measurement period, the patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 included patients who were completely weaned from sedation; group 2 included patients who had to be sedated again using predetermined criteria. In both groups, energy expenditure was close to basal energy expenditure during sedation, and increased to 150% of basal energy expenditure during the recovery period, with maximum hourly values 80% above basal energy expenditure. In group 1, Vo2 and energy expenditure changed from 284 ± 44 mL/min and 1833 ± 261 kcal/day during sedation to 390 ± 85 mL/min and 2512 ± 486 kcal/day for the period without sedation. During this period, there was a significant correlation between Vo2 and mean arterial pressure. For the recovery period, there was no difference in mean or maximum Vo2 between the two groups of patients. At 24 and 48 hrs after cessation of sedation, Vo2 and energy expenditure decreased to 30% above basal energy expenditure. These changes may be due to the recovery of muscular activity, weaning from mechanical ventilation, or an increase in the amount of circulating catecholamines. ConclusionIn severe head-injured patients, during the first 12 hrs after the discontinuation of sedation, the patients experienced a large increase in Vo2, energy expenditure, and mean arterial pressure. Although these changes have no prognostic value in our study, they have potential deleterious effects in head-injured patients. Methods that blunt these changes which have proven efficacious in anesthesia may be effective for intensive care patients. (Crit Care Med 1994; 22:1114–1119)
Reliability and validity of a soccer-specific test of prolonged repeated-sprint ability.

PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to assess the reliability and validity of a newly developed laboratory protocol to measure prolonged repeated-sprint ability (RSA) during soccer-specific exercise. METHODS To assess reliability, 12 youth soccer players age 15.2 +/- 0.3 y performed 2 trials of a soccer-specific intermittent-exercise test (SSIET) separated by 3 months. The test was performed on a nonmotorized treadmill. A separate sample of 12 youth soccer players (15.2 +/- 0.3 y) completed the SSIET while simultaneously HR, VO2, and blood lactate (BLa) were monitored. The SSIET was designed to replicate the demands of competing in one half of a soccer match while sprint performance was monitored. The test included a 5-s sprint every 2 min. RESULTS The mean coefficient of variation was 2.5% for the total distance covered during the SSIET and 3.8% for the total distance sprinted; measures of power output were less reliable (=5.9%). Participants covered 4851 +/- 251 m during the SSIET, working at an average intensity of 87.5% +/- 3.2% HRpeak and 70.2% +/- 3.1% VO2peak, with ~7mmol/L BLa accumulation. A significant reduction (P < .05) in sprint performance was observed over the course of the SSIET. CONCLUSION The SSIET provided a reliable method of assessing prolonged RSA in the laboratory. The distance covered and the physiological responses during the SSIET successfully recreated the demands of competing in a soccer match.
Evidence on the relationship between Takaful insurance and fundamental perception of Islamic principles

One of the complexities overarching the concept of Islamic insurance is anchored in the belief system pertaining to fundamental Islamic Law, while another is embedded in the role of profit within the takaful contract. The purpose of this study is to empirically explore the association between the awareness of the existence of Islamic insurance (takaful) and religious perceptions of this financial service. I think the way to move will be to identify more people within the Malay/Muslim community who have an interest in this type of insurance. Perhaps AMP [Association of Muslim Professionals] can do a survey to produce statistics to show that there is a potential demand for this type of service before approaching the banks and insurance companies. Up to now my impression is that the demand is either unknown or not sufficiently known for the insurance companies themselves to initiate something. Dr Richard Hu Former Finance Minister, Republic of Singapore1 1 ‘Window of Opportunities for Islamic Financing’, Karayawan, Volume 3.
Antecedents to Indian customers attitude towards online insurance services

Proliferation of internet and its usage in services has endowed customers with multiple channels of service delivery. Online insurance refers to the selling of insurance products via the internet and is fast gaining momentum across the world as an alternative delivery channel. In India, however, with little IT penetration and awareness, a huge percentage of the population remains skeptical about online insurance. To facilitate quicker and easier transactions, insurance companies have jumped into the bandwagon of modifying their service delivery channels. The research focuses on deciphering the attitude of Indian customers towards online insurance services being adopted by Indian insurance companies.
End of the spectacular decrease in fall-related mortality rate: men are catching up.

OBJECTIVES We determined time trends in numbers and rates of fall-related mortality in an aging population, for men and women. METHODS We performed secular trend analysis of fall-related deaths in the older Dutch population (persons aged 65 years or older) from 1969 to 2008, using the national Official-Cause-of-Death-Statistics. RESULTS Between 1969 and 2008, the age-adjusted fall-related mortality rate decreased from 202.1 to 66.7 per 100,000 older persons (decrease of 67%). However, the annual percentage change (change per year) in mortality rates was not constant, and could be divided into 3 phases: (1) a rapid decrease until the mid-1980s (men -4.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -4.9, -3.2; women -6.5%; 95% CI, -7.1, -5.9), (2) flattening of the decrease until the mid-1990s (men -1.4%; 95% CI = -2.4, -0.4; women -2.0%; 95% CI = -3.4, -0.6), and (3) stable mortality rates for women (0.0%; 95% CI = -1.2, 1.3) and rising rates for men (1.9%; 95% CI = 0.6, 3.2) over the last decade. CONCLUSIONS The spectacular decrease in fall-related mortality ended in the mid-1990s and is currently increasing in older men at similar rates to those seen in women. Because of the aging society, absolute numbers in fall-related deaths are increasing rapidly.
Hedging short‐term interest risk under time‐varying distributions

We investigate the performance of conditional hedging strategies in the context of banker's acceptance positions. This strategy is based on the GARCH methodology developed by Engle (1982) and Bollerslev (1986), and incorporates information contained in past return innovations as well as past conditional variances. We extend previous research byallowing asymmetries in the volatility response to positive shocks and to negative shocks in the construction of our hedged positions, and by relaxing the constant conditional correlation assumption imposed by previous researchers. Our evidence not only supports earlier findings suggesting that the conditional hedging strategy outperforms the constant hedge model, both statistically and economically, but also shows that even greater risk reduction may be achieved by accounting for asymmetries in the spot-futures joint dynamics. Our results also indicate that the constant hedging model is superior to the widely based duration-based approach. This study represents the first investigation of the Montreal Exchange's BA futures contract (BAX).
PROJECTED COSTS AND RETURNS - SUGARCANE, LOUISIANA, 2001.

This report presents estimates of costs and returns associated with sugarcane production practices in Louisiana for 2001. It is part of a continuing effort to provide farmers, researchers, extension personnel, lending agencies and others working in agriculture and/or agribusiness timely planning information. Sugarcane production is unique in that it is a perennial crop grown in a rotation; processing, storage and marketing services are provided by a single entity and payments for said services are "in kind. " Further, the large majority of growers are tenants, paying approximately 20 percent of the "after milling crop proceeds" (12.2% of gross production) for land. Returns shown in Table 1A-3C and in the whole farm analysis in Appendix A reflect returns to management and risk. No charges for family living expenses or management are included as a cost in this analysis.
Non-contractual relations in business: a preliminary study

Most larger companies, and many smaller ones, attempt to plan carefully and completely. Important transactions not in the ordinary course of business are handled by a detailed contract. For example, recently the Empire State Building was sold for $65 million. More than 100 attorneys, representing thirty-four parties, produced a 400-page contract. Another example is found in the agreement of a major rubber company in the United States to give technical assistance to a Japanese firm. Several million dollars were involved and the contract consisted of eighty-eight provisions on seventeen pages. The twelve house counsel – lawyers who work for one corporation rather than many clients – interviewed said that all but the smallest businesses carefully planned most transactions of any significance. Corporations have procedures so that particular types of exchanges will be reviewed by their legal and financial departments. More routine transactions commonly are handled by what can be called standardized planning. A firm will have a set of terms and conditions for purchases, sales, or both printed on the business documents used in these exchanges. Thus the things to be sold and the price may be planned particularly for each transaction, but standard provisions will further elaborate the performances and cover the other subjects of planning. Typically, these terms and conditions are lengthy and printed in small type on the back of the forms. For example, twenty-four paragraphs in eight-point type are printed on the back of the purchase order form used by the Allis Chalmers Manufacturing Company.
The association between benchmarking and organizational performance: an empirical investigation

This study examines the effect of four measures related to benchmarking and its successful implementation on organizational performance, controlling for size and industry. The four benchmarking measures are (1) internal preliminary competitive analysis, (2) external preliminary competitive analysis, (3) degree of organizational commitment, and (4) prior benchmarking experience (Elnathan et al. 1996). Data for the study was obtained from 157 U.S. manufacturing business units using a questionnaire instrument. The results indicate that three of the benchmarking measures have a positive effect on organizational performance that is significant. Prior experience with benchmarking, the commitment of the organization to benchmarking and internal preliminary competitive analysis meaningfully enhance firm performance.
Connexin43 and connexin47 alterations after neural precursor cells transplantation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Exogenous transplanted neural precursor cells (NPCs) exhibit miscellaneous immune‐modulatory effects in models of autoimmune demyelination. However, the regional interactions of NPCs with the host brain tissue in remissive inflammatory events have not been adequately studied. In this study we used the chronic MOG‐induced Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) model in C57BL/six mice. Based on previous data, we focused on neuropathology at Day 50 post‐induction (D50) and studied the expression of connexin43 (Cx43) and Cx47, two of the main glial gap junction (GJ) proteins, in relation to the intraventricular transplantation of GFP+NPCs and their integration with the host tissue. By D50, NPCs had migrated intraparenchymally and were found in the corpus callosum at the level of the lateral ventricles and hippocampus. The majority of GFP+ cells differentiated with simple or ramified processes expressing mainly markers of mature GLIA (GFAP and NogoA) and significantly less of precursor glial cells. GFP+NPCs expressed connexins and formed GJs around the hippocampus more than lateral ventricles. The presence of NPCs did not alter the increase in Cx43 GJ plaques at D50 EAE, but prevented the reduction of oligodendrocytic Cx47, increased the number of oligodendrocytes, local Cx47 levels and Cx47 GJ plaques per cell. These findings suggest that transplanted NPCs may have multiple effects in demyelinating pathology, including differentiation and direct integration into the panglial syncytium, as well as amelioration of oligodendrocyte GJ loss, increasing the supply of potent myelinating cells to the demyelinated tissue. GLIA 2015;63:1772–1783