Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HLA-DRB1*04/*13 alleles are associated with vascular disease and antiphospholipid antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus

Background and objectives Vascular disease is common in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and patients with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are at high risk to develop arterial and venous thrombosis. Since HLA class II genotypes have been linked to the presence of pro-thrombotic aPL, we investigated the relationship between HLA-DRB1 alleles, aPL and vascular events in SLE patients. Methods 665 SLE patients of Caucasian origin and 1403 controls were included. Previous manifestations of ischaemic heart disease, ischaemic cerebrovascular disease (ICVD) and venous thromboembolism (together referred to as any vascular events (AVE)) were tabulated. aPL were measured with ELISA. Two-digit HLA-DRB1 typing was performed by sequence-specific primer-PCR. Results HLA-DRB1*04 was more frequent among SLE patients with ICVD compared to unaffected patients. This association remained after adjustment for known traditional cardiovascular risk factors. HLA-DRB1*13 was associated with AVE. All measured specificities of aPL—cardiolipin IgG and IgM, β2-glycoprotein-1 IgG, prothrombin (PT) IgG and a positive lupus anticoagulant test were associated with HLA-DRB1*04—while HLA-DRB1*13 was associated with IgG antibodies (β2-glycoprotein-1, cardiolipin and PT). In patients with the combined risk alleles, HLA-DRB1*04/*13, there was a significant additive interaction for the outcomes AVE and ICVD. Conclusions The HLA-DRB1*04 and HLA-DRB1*13 alleles are associated with vascular events and an aPL positive immune-phenotype in SLE. Results demonstrate that a subset of SLE patients is genetically disposed to vascular vulnerability.
Deinstitutionalization and Community Living: Intellectual disability services in Britain, Scandinavia and the USA

Part One: Service development in Scandinavia, Britain and the United States. Dissolution of institutions in the Nordic countries. Development of community services in Britain. Origins and development of mental retardation services in the United States. Part Two: Case studies of institutional closure. Closing institutions in Norway. The Darenth Park Hospital Project. Closing Laconia. Part Three: Models of community services. Models of community services in Sweden. Models of community services: the British perspective. The development of supported living programs and policies in the US. Part Four: Management issues in community services. Policy reform in Norway. Management issues in community services in Britain. Quality assurance in developmental disabilities residential services. Implementation and management issues in New York State. Part Five: The effects of institutional replacement on service users and families. The experience of clients and their families in Norway and Finland. The impact of institutional replacement on service users. Families and institutional replacement. The impact of community integration on clients and families. Conclusion: Integrating diverse experience.
Icelandic Nationalism and the Kyoto Protocol: an Analysis of the Discourse on Global Environmental Change in Iceland

The paper analyses the discourse on global environmental change in Iceland in official reports and newspaper discussions around the turn of the millennium. Three competing discursive positions were found. First, Iceland can provide clean energy for the world so that aluminium smelters do not need to burn as much fossil fuels as they would have to do otherwise. Second, Iceland is responsible to the world for the protection of its environment because Icelanders have a unique land to protect – the largest unpopulated and untouched area in western Europe. Third, Iceland can help the world by contributing its vast land areas to grow grass and forests and fix carbon dioxide, in part because some of these areas are especially well suited to soil reclamation and afforestation. The study focuses on the use of nationalistic arguments for the global role and responsibility of Iceland in environmental matters.
Toward Deep Reinforcement Learning Without a Simulator: An Autonomous Steering Example

We propose a scheme for training a computerized agent to perform complex human tasks such as highway steering. The scheme is designed to follow a natural learning process whereby a human instructor teaches a computerized trainee. It enables leveraging the weak supervision abilities of a (human) instructor, who, while unable to perform well herself at the required task, can provide coherent and learnable instantaneous reward signals to the computerized trainee. The learning process consists of three supervised elements followed by reinforcement learning. The supervised learning stages are: (i) supervised imitation learning; (ii) supervised reward induction; and (iii) supervised safety module construction. We implemented this scheme using deep convolutional networks and applied it to successfully create a computerized agent capable of autonomous highway steering over the well-known racing game Assetto Corsa. We demonstrate that the use of all components is essential to effectively carry out reinforcement learning of the steering task using vision alone, without access to a driving simulator internals, and operating in wall-clock time.
Modeling Hidden Alternatives in Random Utility Models: An Application to “Don’t Know” Responses in Contingent Valuation

We develop a multinomial logit model with missing information that can be used to test for hidden alternatives in random utility models and contingent valuation analysis. To illustrate our latent-choice technique, we focus on the “don’t know” responses in dichotomous choice contingent valuation questions. In this version of the latent-choice model, we probabilistically reassign “don’t know” responses to either the “yes” or “no” categories (or leave them in the “don’t know” category), if indicated by the data. We find that in our two studies a statistically significant number of the “don’t know” responses are actually “no” responses. (JEL C25, Q26)
Value Change Among Police Recruits in Mexico at a Time of Organizational Reform: A Follow‐Up Study Using Rokeach Value Indicators

Individual values are very much related to the successful implementation of community‐ oriented policing (COP) policies. Utilizing Rokeach value indicators, this study seeks to add to the very limited empirical research in this area by examining the values of police recruits in Mexico. This paper examines the values of police recruits in Mexico City during a time of major organizational reform and is formatted in line with the approach of Zhao, et al. (1998). Surveys were administered in 1998 and 2002 which focused on changes in recruit values in relation to community‐oriented policing. The findings of this paper suggest that police recruit values have not changed substantially over time, or across national lines, even in a department with active COP recruiting efforts and substantive institutional reforms. Further, the values of the recruits are not likely consistent with the implementation of community policing reforms. These results suggest that Mexico will continue to have difficulty implementing community‐based police reforms and is not likely to accomplish such through recruitment efforts alone. Policy implications are discussed.
Evaluation of thiol-disulphide homeostasis in radiation workers

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate thiol-disulphide homeostasis – a novel, easily calculated, readily available, and relatively cheap oxidative stress marker – in radiation workers and compare the results with healthy controls. Materials and methods: A total of 108 participants were enrolled in the study including 63 hospital workers occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation in the units of interventional radiology, interventional cardiology and nuclear medicine. A control group consisted of 45 individuals staff in the same hospital. Serum thiol-disulphide homeostasis measurement was investigated via the spectrophotometric method newly described by Erel and Neşelioğlu. Results: The mean serum native thiol levels of radiation workers (528.96 ± 86.42 μmol/l) was significantly lower than control subjects (561.05 ± 104.83 μmol/l) (p = .045). The mean serum total thiol levels of radiation workers (547.70 ± 91.50 μmol/l) was lower than control subjects (580.36 ± 112.24 μmol/l). Nevertheless, there was no significant difference between total thiol of exposed workers and controls. Conclusions: The results show that long-term low dose ionizing radiation may lead to oxidative stress and have side-effects in antioxidant thiol groups. We may suggest supporting radiation workers by safe antioxidant nutritional formulations and following up via both physical dosimetry and biodosimetric methods.
Surrender or resistance to the implementation of Local Agenda 21 in Portugal: the challenges of local governance for sustainable development

The aim of this paper is to understand how Local Agenda 21 (LA21) is contributing to update local policy and decision making towards sustainable development in Portugal. Departing from a theoretical view of governance for sustainable development – its core values and challenges – and the role of LA21 in its endorsement, the paper presents the main results of a questionnaire survey submitted to Portuguese municipalities, with the purpose of understanding how far LA21 is being incorporated into planning and management. The paper then tries to expose some of the main potential, limitations and challenges in the local Portuguese case for the short-term sustainable future.
How do Exchange Rates Co-Move? A Study on the Currencies of Five Inflation-Targeting Countries

This paper does three things. First, it explores the type of asymmetry in exchange rate correlation for five inflation-targeting countries. We show their currencies co-move more closely with the currencies of some influential foreign countries during joint appreciations than joint depreciations against a world currency. Second, it establishes empirically the linkage between interest rate differentials and exchange rate correlation. We find evidence that both widening and narrowing interest rate differentials will reduce the correlation. Third, it proposes a new version of the asymmetric dynamic conditional correlation model. The model proves to be capable of providing great insight into the two issues investigated.
Target‐specific differences in the dendritic morphology and neuropeptide content of neurons in the rat SCG during development and aging

Our purpose in this work was to investigate the role of target tissues in the regulation of dendritic morphology from sympathetic neurons during development and aging. Neurons were retrogradely labeled from three targets, the iris, the submandibular gland (SMG), and the middle cerebral artery (MCA). They were then fixed and intracellularly injected to demonstrate their dendritic arborizations. Dendritic geometry varied quantitatively in sympathetic neurons innervating different target tissues at all stages of development. Neurons innervating the iris had the largest cell bodies and most extensive dendritic arborizations, whereas the vasomotor neurons were the smallest. The number of primary dendrites, however, did not vary significantly between the different neuronal populations.
Phase and amplitude comparison between experiment and calculation of ultrabroad-band pulses generated in a taper fiber

Using a cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating apparatus, the phases and amplitudes of ultrabroad-band optical pulses from a taper fiber have been measured for various input pulse peak powers. The measured waveforms have been compared with calculated waveforms using a finite-difference in the frequency domain method, in which no envelope approximations were used and the variation of the taper shape was taken into account. Excellent agreement between the measured and the calculated waveforms was obtained when the additional dispersion of a normal fiber and an objective was considered.
Risk Sharing and Employee Motivation in Competitive Search Equilibrium

This paper incorporates a classical moral hazard problem with unobserved worker effort and bonus payments into a competitive search equilibrium environment with risk averse workers. The resulting framework permits an analysis of the effects of labour market competition and search frictions on individual contract setting. The paper demonstrates that the classical model of moral hazard with an ex-post wage setting regime may underestimate the optimal values of wages and bonus payments in competitive labour markets. The baseline model is extended to account for employer heterogeneity with respect to capital endowments. In the extended model, wage competition between employers serves as a source of positive correlation between wages and bonus payments reported in a number of empirical studies.
WESTERN MEDICINE AND MARKETING: CONSTRUCTION OF AN INADEQUATE MILK SYNDROME IN LACTATING WOMEN

I conducted a longitudinal phenomenological study in England to explore the perceptions of 10 lactating women related to the nature of their breast milk and their ability to exclusively breast-feed their babies. The women viewed breast-feeding as a mechanical manufacturing process, and they carefully monitored the output of breast milk. Health care professionals contributed to the women's perceptions and displayed mechanistic assumptions in relation to breastfeeding, reflecting their enculturation through the biomedical paradigm. I present personal accounts to highlight the influence of two dominant Western ideologies--biomedical science and capitalism--upon women's perceptions of their breast milk.
Black-Latino Political Relationships: Policy Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives

Political relations between racial/ethnic groups in America have (a) been commonly examined in terms of the degree of “cooperation” or “conflict” and (b) have most frequently been studied in the arena of urban politics; this has been especially so in the case of Hispanics/Latinos and African Americans. This article represents the first effort to pose and to systematically assess the question of inter—minority group relations in Congress by examining roll call behavior in the U.S. House of Representatives. Using Black and Latino interest group ratings and associated roll call votes from the 104th to 108th Congresses as indicators of Black and Latino interests, we show that Black representatives have voting records very supportive of the most salient concerns of Latinos and that Latino representatives have voting records at least modestly supportive of the most salient concerns of Blacks. At minimum, the findings suggest that Black and Latino representatives support the “other” group at the same level (or higher) than party affiliation alone would suggest and also indicate an absence of conflict that is found in local-level studies.
Expanding the meaning of standardisation within construction processes

Discusses the effectiveness of construction practices on standardisation based on six case studies developed both in Brazil and in the UK, focusing on the “bricklaying” process. The case studies showed a paradox: construction companies developing written standards but failing to implement and maintaining standard practices. Written standards were extremely ineffective in the case studies due to the lack of teamwork and problem solving activities. It became clear that the abstract meaning of standardisation has far larger possibilities than simply developing descriptions of practice in written documents. Information on standards could be displayed in the packing system or equipment, for instance. Most importantly, information on standard procedures should be available when and where the construction worker needs it, despite the great need for workstation mobility. Hence, concludes that there is an urgent need for promoting a more widespread use of “visual management” approaches in order to enable effective dissemination and use of standard practices within the construction environment.
An Institution-Based View of Ownership

textabstractThe past two decades have witnessed an exponential growth of research on corporate governance around the world and on the role of the ownership concentration more specifically. In line with a longer tradition of ownership studies in U.S. context, most corporate governance researchers have commonly taken a classical agency theoretical view of ownership concentration. The research presented in this dissertation show that classical view of ownership seems overly crude. I provide a more fine-grained understanding about the role of ownership in different contexts; one that takes into account the subtly different formal and informal institutional that can be found around the world on the one hand, and that distinguish between the identity of concentrated owners on the other. I show, first, that a crucial factor with respect to the ownership concentration – firm strategy and performance relationships involve owner identity: i.e. who owns a firm matters significantly for that firm’s objectives, strategies, and performance. Second, I contribute to emerging institution-based view of corporate governance by expanding its empirical domain and testing empirically the interaction between formal and informal institutions.
Activation of Helicobacter pylori CagA by tyrosine phosphorylation is essential for dephosphorylation of host cell proteins in gastric epithelial cells

Helicobacter pylori type I strains harbour the cag pathogenicity island (cag‐PAI), a 37 kb sequence, which encodes the components of a type IV secretion system. CagA, the first identified effector protein of the cag‐PAI, is translocated into eukaryotic cells and tyrosine phosphorylated (CagAP‐tyr) by a host cell tyrosine kinase. Translocation of CagA induces the dephosphorylation of a set of phosphorylated host cell proteins of unknown identity. CagA proteins of independent H. pylori strains vary in sequence and thus in the number and composition of putative tyrosine phosphorylation motifs (TPMs). The CagA protein of H. pylori strain J99 (CagAJ99) does not carry any of three putative tyrosine phosphorylation motifs (TPM‐A, TPM‐B or TPM‐C) predicted by the MOTIF algorithm in CagA proteins. CagAJ99 is not tyrosine phosphorylated and is inactive in the dephosphorylation of host cell proteins. By site‐specific mutagenesis, we introduced a TPM‐C into CagAJ99 by replacing a single lysine with a tyrosine. This slight modification resulted in tyrosine phosphorylation of CagAJ99 and host cell protein dephosphorylation. In contrast, the removal of the indigenous TPM‐C from CagAP12 did not abolish its tyrosine phosphorylation, suggesting that further phosphorylated sites are present in CagAP12. By generation of hybrid CagA proteins, a phosphorylation of the most N‐terminal TPM‐A could be excluded. Our data suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation at TPM‐C is sufficient, but not exclusive, to activate translocated CagA. Activated CagAP‐tyr might either convert into a phosphatase itself or activate a cellular phosphatase to dephosphorylate cellular phosphoproteins and modulate cellular signalling cascades of the host.
Market structure, efficiency and profitability of insurance companies in Ghana

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of the regulatory-driven market structure on firm pricing behaviour by testing the structure-conduct-performance (S-C-P) hypothesis for both life and non-life insurance markets in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – Using a panel data on 14 life and 22 non-life insurers from 2007 to 2011, the authors employed the Herfindahl Hirschman Index and concentration ratio as proxies for the S-C-P hypothesis while efficiency scores were estimated using the data envelopment analysis technique to proxy for the efficient structure (ES) hypothesis. The dependent variable, profitability was measured as return on assets while controlling for size, underwriting risk, leverage, GDP growth rate and inflation. The models were estimated using the panel corrected standard errors of Beck and Katz (1995) and random effects estimations. Findings – The results from the empirical estimation provide ample evidence in support for ES hypothesis for both life and non-life in.
The labour market in Switzerland: the end of a special case?

This paper presents a general survey of the Swiss economy. It emphasises the various factors that have been put forward to explain the very low unemployment rate recorded in Switzerland up to the beginning of the 1990s. It also analyses the factors which may be held responsible for the dramatic reversal of the Swiss labour market situation, by considering the modification in the employers’ and workers’ behaviour in Switzerland as well as the changes observed in the structure of the foreign labour force. It comes to the conclusion that the unemployment observed since 1991 is not simply a consequence of a deterioration in the functioning of the Swiss labour market compared with earlier periods, but rather a result of changes in immigration policies and also the reflection in the statistics of a truer picture of the labour market imbalance created by the restructuring of the economy.
The use of recombinant baculoviruses for sustained expression of human cytomegalovirus immediate early proteins in fibroblasts.

The isolation of viruses with mutations in essential genes requires that they be propagated in cells expressing the wild-type proteins. This has been a particularly challenging problem for studying mutations in the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) immediate early (IE) gene, IE2 86. In the past, we tried a number of approaches to derive human fibroblasts expressing wild-type IE2 86, but were unable to maintain expression of a fully functional protein. To overcome this obstacle, we developed a strategy whereby recombinant baculoviruses were used as vectors for the expression of HCMV IE proteins in primary human fibroblasts (FFs). The IE2 86 and IE1 72 cDNAs, as well as the genomic fragment of the UL122-123 region under the control of a chicken actin promoter, were introduced into the baculovirus genome by site-specific transposition in Escherichia coli. Recombinant "bacmid" DNAs were then transfected into Sf9 cells to generate recombinant baculoviruses. FFs infected at high m.o. i. with these baculoviruses expressed high levels of the HCMV protein for at least 1 week, as determined by immunofluorescence assays and Western blots. Moreover, the IE2 86 protein was found to be fully functional with respect to its ability to activate the HCMV UL112-113 early promoter. Recombinant baculoviruses expressing IE1 72 were also able to efficiently complement HCMV ie1 mutants. These data demonstrate the potential of using recombinant baculoviruses as vectors for the expression of toxic viral genes in human cells and for subsequent isolation of mutant HCMV lacking these essential genes.
Functions of non-suicidal self-injury in incarcerated men

The current study sought to identify clusters of incarcerated men based on history and functions of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Functions of NSSI are considered to be either automatic (i.e., intrapersonal) or social (i.e., interpersonal). NSSI is highly prevalent within forensic populations, and is associated with significant financial and psychological burden on the inmates and correctional institutions. However, few studies have examined men and none have examined function of NSSI within this population. Ninety-five incarcerated men completed measures of NSSI as well as pertinent environmental and personality variables. Approximately two-thirds of the sample reported a history of NSSI. Within the inmates with histories of NSSI, a model-based cluster analysis identified four groups comprising different levels, type counts, and functions of NSSI. Following external validation procedures, three of the groups reported higher general psychopathology, while one NSSI group was similar in profile to the Non-NSSI Comparison Group. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.