Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect on transmission of HIV-1 resistance of timing of implementation of viral load monitoring to determine switches from first to second-line antiretroviral regimens in resource-limited settings

Background:There is concern that antiretroviral therapy (ART) use with only clinical monitoring for failure will result in high rates of transmission of virus with resistance to drugs currently in use. Methods:A stochastic simulation model of transmission of HIV, natural history and the effect of ART, was developed and used to predict the proportion of new infections with resistance according to whether and when viral load monitoring is introduced. Results:In our base model, there was predicted to be 12.4% of new HIV infections with primary antiretroviral resistance in 2020 if clinical monitoring is used throughout, compared with 5.4 and 6.1% if viral load-guided switching (based on viral load measured every 6 months, with switch determined by a value >500 copies/ml) was introduced in 2010 or 2015, respectively. The death rate for those on ART was lowest when viral load monitoring was used, but the overall death rate in all infected people was higher if viral load monitoring was introduced at the expense of scale-up in HIV diagnosis and ART initiation beyond their 2010 coverage levels (4.7 compared with 3.1 per 100 person-years). Interpretation:To preserve current first-line drugs for the long term there is an eventual need for some form of cheap and practical viral load monitoring in resource-limited settings. However, a delay in introduction of 5 years has limited consequences for resistance transmission so the current priority for countries’ ART programmes is to increase HIV testing and provide treatment for all those in need of ART.
Do parties matter in internationalised policy areas? The impact of political parties on environmental policy outputs in 18 OECD countries, 1970-2000

This article analyses the extent to which national policies in the highly internationalised environmental sector are influenced by the policy preferences of political parties. The focus is on policy outputs rather than environmental performance as the central indicator of policy change. Based on a discussion of the relevant theoretical literature competing hypotheses are presented. For an empirical test, a dataset is used that includes information on the number of environmental policies adopted in 18 OECD countries at four points in time between 1970 and 2000. The results show that not only international integration, economic development and problem pressure, but also aspects of party politics, influence the number of policies adopted. The number of environmental measures increases if the governmental parties adopt more pro-environmentalist policy positions. This effect remains robust even when controlling for the institutional strength of governments, the left-right position of parties in government, the inclusion of an ecological or left-libertarian party inside the (coalition) government, and the presence of a portfolio that deals exclusively with environmental issues.
Dimerization of Toc-GTPases at the Chloroplast Protein Import Machinery*

Import of chloroplast precursor proteins is controlled by the coordinate action of two homologous GTPases, Toc159 and Toc33, located at the cytosol-outer membrane interface. Recent studies in Arabidopsis showed that the cytosolic form of the precursor binding protein Toc159 is targeted to its receptor at the import machinery, Toc33, via heterodimerization of their GTP-binding domains. Toc33 may also form GDP-bound homodimers, as suggested by the crystal structure of its pea ortholog. Moreover, the structural data suggested that arginine 130 (Arg130) of Arabidopsis Toc33 may function as a GTPase-activating “arginine-finger” at the other monomer in the Toc33 dimer. Here, we demonstrate that Arg130 of Toc33 does not function as an Arginine-finger. A mutant, Toc33-R130A, binds and hydrolyzes GTP like the wild type. However, we demonstrate that Arg130 is involved in both homodimerization of Toc33 and in heterodimerization with the GTP-binding domain of Toc159. The dependence of Toc33 homodimerization on Arg130 is mutual, requiring the presence of Arg130 at both monomers. As the GTPase is not activated by dimerization, it may be activated independently at either monomer, possibly even before dimerization. Independent regulation of GTPase activity may serve to coordinate the interactions of the GTPases during the import of proteins into the chloroplast.
Valuation of species and nature conservation in Asia and Oceania: a meta-analysis

We conduct a meta-analysis (MA) of around 100 studies valuing species and nature conservation in Asia and Oceania, using both revealed and stated preferences methods. Dividing our dataset into two levels of heterogeneity in terms of good characteristics (species vs. nature conservation more generally) and valuation methods, we show that the degree of regularity and conformity with theory and empirical expectations is higher for the more homogenous dataset of contingent valuation of species. For example, we find that willingness to pay (WTP) for preservation of mammals tends to be higher than other species and that WTP for species preservation increases with income (elasticity below one). For the full dataset we find that marine habitats are valued significantly higher than other habitat types in the region. Despite some encouraging results, more research is required to answer the question of how homogenous is homogenous enough in MA, especially when moving towards using MA for benefit transfer and policy use.
The Dynamic Changes of Tonoplasts in Guard Cells Are Important for Stomatal Movement in Vicia faba1

Stomatal movement is important for plants to exchange gas with environment. The regulation of stomatal movement allows optimizing photosynthesis and transpiration. Changes in vacuolar volume in guard cells are known to participate in this regulation. However, little has been known about the mechanism underlying the regulation of rapid changes in guard cell vacuolar volume. Here, we report that dynamic changes in the complex vacuolar membrane system play a role in the rapid changes of vacuolar volume in Vicia faba guard cells. The guard cells contained a great number of small vacuoles and various vacuolar membrane structures when stomata closed. The small vacuoles and complex membrane systems fused with each other or with the bigger vacuoles to generate large vacuoles during stomatal opening. Conversely, the large vacuoles split into smaller vacuoles and generated many complex membrane structures in the closing stomata. Vacuole fusion inhibitor, (2s,3s)-trans-epoxy-succinyl-l-leucylamido-3-methylbutane ethyl ester, inhibited stomatal opening significantly. Furthermore, an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutation of the SGR3 gene, which has a defect in vacuolar fusion, also led to retardation of stomatal opening. All these results suggest that the dynamic changes of the tonoplast are essential for enhancing stomatal movement.
Relations between Galaxy Formation and the Environments of Quasars

We investigate the environments of quasars such as number distribution of galaxies using a semi-analytic model which includes both galaxy and quasar formations based on the hierarchical clustering scenario. We assume that a supermassive black hole is fueled by accretion of cold gas and that it is a source of quasar activity during a major merger of the quasar host galaxy with another galaxy. This major merger causes spheroid formation of the host galaxy. Our model can reproduce not only general form of the galaxy luminosity functions in the local Universe but also the observed relation between a supermassive black hole mass and a spheroid luminosity, the present black hole mass function and the quasar luminosity functions at different redshifts. Using this model, we predict the mean number of quasars per halo, bias parameter of quasars and the probability distribution of the number of galaxies around quasars. In our model, analysis of the mean number of quasars per halo shows that the spatial distribution of galaxies is different from that of quasars. Furthermore, we found from calculation of the probability distribution of galaxy numbers that at 0.2 < z < 0.5, most quasars are likely to reside in galaxy groups. On the other hand, at 1 < z < 2 most quasars seem to reside in more varied environments than at a lower redshift; quasars reside in environments ranging from small groups of galaxies to clusters of galaxies. Comparing these predictions with observations in future will enable us to constrain our quasar formation model.
Exploring the Role of Leadership in Enabling Contextual Ambidexterity

Sustainable success calls for contextually ambidextrous organizing. According to theory, this entails enabling simultaneous high levels of exploration and exploitation within a subsystem. The practices involved in enabling contextual ambidexterity form a major and relatively unexplored leadership challenge. Our main aim is to draw on a combination of ambidexterity and complexity theory insights to understand how contextual ambidexterity emerges in dynamic contexts. We contribute to the literature on the role of leadership in enabling contextual ambidexterity by exploring the daily practices leaders enact to stimulate exploration and exploitation as well as to shift dynamically between them to (re)gain contextual ambidexterity. We present the results of two qualitative studies exploring leadership in project-based organizations where the pressure for contextual ambidexterity is relevant. We show that in responding adaptively to environmental stimuli, leaders shift between practices to emphasize exploitation or exploration to (re)gain the needed high levels of both, and their enactments are bounded by the conditions of keeping exploration and exploitation simultaneously high. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding contextual ambidexterity as a dynamic accomplishment that emerges in everyday interactions, the role of leaders in enabling contextual ambidexterity, and the need for HR managers to support leaders in enacting this dynamic form of leadership.
How Do Restatements Begin? Evidence of Earnings Management Preceding Restated Financial Reports

Most earnings restatements are blamed on error, or misunderstanding of GAAP, but suspicion persists that many of these restatements are instead due to intentional earnings management. We analyze balance sheet bloat, or unusually high levels of working capital account balances, for evidence of sustained, income-increasing earnings management "prior" to initial non-GAAP financial reports. We establish a pattern of systematically increasing balance sheet bloat for firms later issuing clearly fraudulent financial reports. Next, we compare bloat for apparently non-fraud restatements to fraud and control samples. We find non-fraud restatement companies' bloat is higher than control companies for two years preceding the initial misstated financial report. But, these firms accumulate less balance sheet bloat than companies with restatements clearly involving fraud. This suggests meaningful, but not pervasive, earnings management underlying even apparently non-fraudulent restatements. We extend our analysis to discretionary accruals and real activity earnings management. Copyright (c) 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Cardiovascular Reflexes and Hypertension

Both arterial baroreceptor reflexes and cardiopulmonary reflexes are modified in human hypertension. The arterial baroreceptor reflex regulation of heart rate, when tested by both vasoactive drug injection and the neck chamber technique, has been shown to be reset and blunted. Arterial baroreceptor reflex control of blood pressure, studied by the neck chamber technique, has been found to be reset to more effectively buffer increases in blood pressure than blood pressure falls, but without any loss of overall reflex sensitivity. Cardiopulmonary reflexes, tested by passive leg raising and by application of lower body negative pressure, are also blunted, and their dysfunction involves not only control of peripheral vasoconstriction but also that of renin release. These readjustments of arterial and cardiopulmonary reflexes make buffering of blood pressure falls or of blood volume changes less effective in hypertension. These readjustments appear to be a consequence, rather than a cause, of hypertension. In particular, the blunting of cardiopulmonary reflexes is induced more by left ventricular hypertrophy than by hypertension. It is very marked in hypertensive patients with echocardiographlc evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy and very significantly improves when left ventricular hypertrophy is made to regress by prolonged antihypertensive therapy, significant blunting of cardiopulmonary reflexes has also been found in young athletes with marked left ventricular hypertrophy but normal blood pressure. Whether structural changes in the carotid and aortic wall and possibly in the heart are equally important in the readjustment of arterial baroreceptor reflexes is incompletely clarified at the moment, although there are indications that functional and structural modifications may both be involved.
Household food security and the role of women

Improving household food security in Africa means focusing on the role of women because they play a critical role as food producers and income earners for their families. Unless the production and productivity of these women is increased, efforts to improve household food security in Africa will not succeed. In turn, increasing production and productivity of women farmers and entrepreneurs means removing the obstacles they face in doing their work, and improving their access to resources and information so that they can help themselves. In short, women must not be marginalized, but must be brought into the mainstream of economic and social life so that they can fully use their productive capacity and contribute more to the welfare of their families and the nation. In seeking to improve household food security in Africa, it is also important that consideration be given to increasing the benefits that women receive and improving their decision-making authority. However, care must be taken that new policies and programs do not add to women's already large burden of providing food and care for their households.
Corporate governance ratings and financial performance: evidence from Australia

This study investigates the relationship between the corporate governance ratings of Australian publicly listed companies and their financial performance. The data used in the study includes all companies listed in the Horwath Corporate Governance Report across the years 2006 to 2008. Company financial performance was measured by three alternative variables, while the main independent variables of interest were the company rankings and star ratings from the Horwath Report. The results of the study provide consistent evidence over the three years that companies with higher quality corporate governance have higher levels of financial performance. The study therefore makes important contributions to the existing literature and will be of value to investors, companies and regulators in assessing the extent to which a corporate governance ratings system explains variations in company financial performance.
‘Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth’: Key Persons and Their Roles in Inter‐Organizational Innovations

Key persons can play an important role in the development and diffusion of new products, processes or technologies. Their functions, contributions and interactions within companies have been subject to numerous investigations. From a theoretical point of view, promotor theory focuses on several specialists to overcome different barriers to innovation, while champion theory concentrates on generalists playing multiple roles. Empirical results point to generalists being better suited for highly innovative projects, but on the other hand different roles should preferably be played by different key persons. A central gap in the literature is that this issue has not been investigated sufficiently so far in an inter‐organizational context. The questions are: Is role accumulation beneficial for innovation project performance with respect to the key persons? Is role accumulation even more advantageous with increasing degrees of innovativeness? A sample of 107 innovation projects where small and medium‐sized enterprises take part is used as a unit of analysis. The network manager served as the respondent. A measurement approach based on an extended Rasch scale was introduced for this purpose. The results show that indeed ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’: Instead of many single‐role players in each organization, we need a few multiple role players in an inter‐organizational context.
The Adoption of Environmental Innovations in the Hotel Industry of Gran Canaria

Managing environmental attributes of the tourist product is increasingly important for the success of tourist destinations. The authors consider how producers manage environmental attributes in the hotel industry. An environmental quality index is formulated, based on the possible environmental measures a representative unit can adopt, given the technological frontier. Several aspects of environmental quality within the hotel's influence are considered, such as the management of energy, water, solid waste, noise, and urban landscape. These measures can have effects on costs and demand. Thus their adoption represents an opportunity for firms to raise net benefits. Empirical evidence comes from a sample of hotels and apartments in Gran Canaria. Results show that the most frequently adopted environmental measures are those involving low investment and operational cost reductions. The environmental quality index is significantly determined by the category of the facilities, production capacity, integration into a larger management chain, the environmental perception of managers, and the preoccupation of clients with the environment.
DNA origami nanopatterning on chemically modified graphene.

thus far.Here we demonstrate that chemically modified grapheneis an excellent substrate material for adsorption and also forspatial patterning of DNA origami structures. Our strategy isto integrate the top-down patterning of chemically modifiedgraphene through conventional photolithography withbottom-up self-assembly of DNA origami structures uponthe patterned chemically modified graphene. Because of thesmoothness at atomic scale and chemical diversity of chemi-cally modified graphene, including GO, reduced grapheneoxide (rGO), and nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide(NrGO), the adsorption of DNA origami structures can besystematically tuned to allow spatial patterning on chemicallymodified graphene.Figure 1 illustrates the procedure for patterning of DNAorigami structures. A GO film was spin-cast from aqueoussolution onto an NH
Integrated analysis of competing endogenous RNA network revealing lncRNAs as potential prognostic biomarkers in human lung squamous cell carcinoma

Accumulating evidence shows the important role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks for predicting survival in tumor patients. However, prognostic biomarkers for lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) are still lacking. The objective of this study is to identify a lncRNA signature for evaluation of overall survival (OS) in 474 LUSC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. A total of 474 RNA sequencing profiles in LUSC patients with clinical data were obtained, providing a large sample of RNA sequencing data, and 83 LUSC-specific lncRNAs, 26 miRNAs, and 85 mRNAs were identified to construct the ceRNA network (fold change>2, P<0.05). Among these above 83 LUSC-specific lncRNAs, 22 were assessed as closely related to OS in LUSC patients using a univariate Cox proportional regression model. Meanwhile, two (FMO6P and PRR26) of the above 22 OS-related lncRNAs were identified using a multivariate Cox regression model to construct a risk score as an independent indicator of the prognostic value of the lncRNA signature in LUSC patients. LUSC patients with low-risk scores were more positively correlated with OS (P<0.001). The present study provides a deeper understanding of the lncRNA-related ceRNA network in LUSC and suggests that the two-lncRNA signature could serve as an independent biomarker for prognosis of LUSC.
Macrophage/Microglia-specific Protein Iba1 Enhances Membrane Ruffling and Rac Activation via Phospholipase C-γ-dependent Pathway*

Iba1 is a macrophage/microglia-specific calcium-binding protein that is involved in RacGTPase-dependent membrane ruffling and phagocytosis. In this study, we introduced Iba1 into Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts and demonstrated the enhancement of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced membrane ruffling and chemotaxis. Wortmannin treatment did not completely suppressed this enhanced membrane ruffling in Iba1-expressing cells, whereas it did in Iba1-nonexpressing cells, suggesting that the enhancement is mediated through a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-independent signaling pathway. Porcine aorta endothelial cells transfected with expression constructs of Iba1 and PDGF receptor add-back mutants were used to analyze the signaling pathway responsible for the Iba1-induced enhancement of membrane ruffling. In the absence of Iba1 expression, PDGF did not induced membrane ruffling in cells expressing the Tyr-1021 receptor mutant, which is capable of activating phospholipase C-γ (PLC-γ) but not PI3K. In contrast, in the presence of Iba1 expression, membrane ruffling was formed in cells expressing the Tyr-1021 mutant. In addition, Rac was shown to be activated during membrane ruffling in cells expressing Iba1 and the Tyr-1021 mutant. Furthermore, dominant negative forms of PLC-γ completely suppressed PDGF-induced Iba1-dependent membrane ruffling and Rac activation. These results indicate the existence of a novel signaling pathway where PLC-γ activates Rac in a manner dependent on Iba1.
Enhancing Nitrate Removal from Freshwater Pond by Regulating Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio

Nitrogen accumulation is a serious environmental problem in freshwater ponds, which can lead to massive death of fish and shrimps as well as the eutrophication. The removal of nitrate by regulating the carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. The nitrate removal system comprised 530-mL medium containing 5 mg/L NO3−-N and 0–66.6 mg/L COD (i.e., C/N ratio of 0–13.3) and 20 g ponds sediments. When the C/N ratio was higher than 8, the nitrate removal efficiency nearly reached 100% during the incubation period and the accumulation of nitrite was negligible. When the C/N ratio was below 8, the nitrate removal efficiency was lower and significant nitrite accumulation occurred. The nitrate removal rate increased with the C/N ratio increased, which was ascribed to the increase in the absolute abundance of denitrifiers (nirS, nirK, and nosZ). Although both nirS-type and nirK-type denitrifiers were found in the sediments of freshwater pond, nirS-type denitrifiers were predominant. Dechloromonas was the major nirS-type denitrifier for nitrate removal in nirS-type with the C/N ratios above 5.33, while the majority of the nirK-type denitrifiers were unclassified. Thus, this study implied that the appropriate C/N ratio played an important role on the removal of excess nitrate from freshwater ponds.