Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Orchid Fleck Virus Structural Proteins N and P Form Intranuclear Viroplasm-Like Structures in the Absence of Viral Infection

ABSTRACT Orchid fleck virus (OFV) has a unique two-segmented negative-sense RNA genome that resembles that of plant nucleorhabdoviruses. In infected plant cells, OFV and nucleorhabdoviruses induce an intranuclear electron-lucent viroplasm that is believed to be the site for virus replication. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism by which OFV viroplasms are produced in vivo. Among OFV-encoded proteins, the nucleocapsid protein (N) and the putative phosphoprotein (P) were present in nuclear fractions of OFV-infected Nicotiana benthamiana plants. Transient coexpression of N and P, in the absence of virus infection, was shown to be sufficient for formation of an intranuclear viroplasm-like structure in plant cells. When expressed independently as a fluorescent protein fusion product in uninfected plant cells, N protein accumulated throughout the cell, while P protein accumulated in the nucleus. However, the N protein, when coexpressed with P, was recruited to a subnuclear region to induce a large viroplasm-like focus. Deletion and substitution mutagenesis demonstrated that the P protein contains a nuclear localization signal (NLS). Artificial nuclear targeting of the N-protein mutant was insufficient for formation of viroplasm-like structures in the absence of P. A bimolecular fluorescence complementation assay confirmed interactions between the N and P proteins within subnuclear viroplasm-like foci and interactions of two of the N. benthamiana importin-α homologues with the P protein but not with the N protein. Taken together, our results suggest that viroplasm formation by OFV requires nuclear accumulation of both the N and P proteins, which is mediated by P-NLS, unlike nucleorhabdovirus viroplasm utilizing the NLS on protein N.
Caspase regulation of genotoxin‐induced neural precursor cell death

Neural precursor cells (NPCs) critically regulate brain morphogenesis and recent studies have revealed an unexpectedly high frequency of NPC chromosomal abnormalities and apoptosis in the developing brain. We have shown previously that the apoptotic response of NPCs to genotoxic agents is dependent on p53 and caspase‐9, but not Bax or caspase‐3 expression. In this study, we found that NPCs deficient in Apaf‐1, or both the pro‐apoptotic multidomain Bcl‐2 family members Bax and Bak, were resistant to cytosine arabinoside and γ‐irradiation‐induced apoptosis. Inhibitors of gene transcription, protein translation, and caspase activity also blocked genotoxin‐induced NPC apoptosis. Although caspase‐3 and caspase‐6 were both cleaved in response to DNA damage, neither of these effector caspases was critical for apoptosis. Genotoxin‐induced NPC death was accompanied by the generation of reactive oxygen species and could be inhibited by several known antioxidants. Conversely, DNA damage‐induced reactive oxygen species generation was inhibited significantly by gene disruption of p53, Apaf‐1, or caspase‐9, and combined deficiency of Bax and Bak, but not by caspase‐3 or caspase‐6 deficiency. These studies suggest that caspase‐9 activation is both necessary and sufficient for genotoxin‐induced neural precursor cell reactive oxygen species generation and death. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Examining the marketing‐corporate social responsibility nexus

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how corporate social responsibility is incorporated into marketing strategy for a leading telecommunications firm (MTN) in Ghana. The paper examines the corporate social responsibility practices of this firm by focussing on various dimensions of stakeholder interests, norms and values.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework was adopted from the extant literature and used as the basis for the single case study analysis. The authors interviewed senior management of the company and also analysed corporate social responsibility (CSR) information posted on the company's website.Findings – MTN has a strong commitment to social responsibility programmes. A separate independent unit, dubbed, “MTN Foundation”, has been established with its own Board of Directors and management team to manage CSR‐related programmes. However, there seems to be lack of coordination of activities of other departments such as marketing and human resources which are of equal.
Residents' Perception of Tourism Impacts: A Case Study of Homestay Operators in Dachangshan Dao, North-East China

ABSTRACT Dachangshan Dao represents one of China's latest moves to develop tourism in the coastal zone. This paper examines how homestay operators on Dachangshan Dao perceive the tourism impact on their community and how their social demographics influence their perception towards tourism. Using factor analysis the impacts on the local community perceived by the homestay operator were condensed into seven factors: economic impacts, the interaction between tourism and other sectors, life quality improvement, general physical environment deterioration, beach degradation, sea water pollution, and interruption to quiet life. Concurrently, all respondents were segmented into four groups according to social demographics (gender, age, education level and occupation) by cluster analysis and the relationship between seven factors concerning tourism's impacts and those four cluster groups with different social demographics were established.
Hair cells use active zones with different voltage dependence of Ca2+ influx to decompose sounds into complementary neural codes

Significance We hear sounds varying in intensity over six orders of magnitude using spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), each of which changes its firing rates over only a fraction of this range. Somehow, the SGNs with different dynamic ranges collectively encode the full range of sound levels represented in the receptor potential of the inner hair cell (IHC) in the mammalian cochlea. Our study, combining subcellular imaging, mouse genetics, and auditory systems physiology, offers a unifying synaptic hypothesis for wide dynamic range sound encoding in the spiral ganglion. We propose that IHCs, from one receptor potential but via presynaptic active zones that vary in the voltage dependence of Ca2+ influx, generate complementary codes on sound pressure level in functionally distinct SGNs. For sounds of a given frequency, spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) with different thresholds and dynamic ranges collectively encode the wide range of audible sound pressures. Heterogeneity of synapses between inner hair cells (IHCs) and SGNs is an attractive candidate mechanism for generating complementary neural codes covering the entire dynamic range. Here, we quantified active zone (AZ) properties as a function of AZ position within mouse IHCs by combining patch clamp and imaging of presynaptic Ca2+ influx and by immunohistochemistry. We report substantial AZ heterogeneity whereby the voltage of half-maximal activation of Ca2+ influx ranged over ∼20 mV. Ca2+ influx at AZs facing away from the ganglion activated at weaker depolarizations. Estimates of AZ size and Ca2+ channel number were correlated and larger when AZs faced the ganglion. Disruption of the deafness gene GIPC3 in mice shifted the activation of presynaptic Ca2+ influx to more hyperpolarized potentials and increased the spontaneous SGN discharge. Moreover, Gipc3 disruption enhanced Ca2+ influx and exocytosis in IHCs, reversed the spatial gradient of maximal Ca2+ influx in IHCs, and increased the maximal firing rate of SGNs at sound onset. We propose that IHCs diversify Ca2+ channel properties among AZs and thereby contribute to decomposing auditory information into complementary representations in SGNs.
Environmental Costs of Electricity

The so-called Pace Study' (Pace University Center for Environmental Legal Studies) is becoming a landmark for the measurement of environmental costs for the generation of electricity. It will be a reference concerned with measuring and incorporating the environmental damages into utility ratemaking. There are several reasons for this. The first is conceptual. Rather than associating the environmental costs with the clean-up costs, it addresses the damage function of various emissions resulting from electric generation by type of generation. Second, it presents damage cost estimates. Additionally, it will serve as a reference concerning calculations of environmental damage by type of generation in a variety of settings. Sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the US Department of Energy, it serves as an extensive review of the literature on the subject. The authors present the material in an easy-to-reference manner according to, first, emissions source, and then by generation source. The authors recognize the need for further research and, apparently, the size of the task. They state simply, the report is intended to assist utilities, government regulators, legislators, policy analysts and public interest groups in estimating the costs of the environmental impacts of pollutants. It will domore » that. « less
The Home Market Effect in Models with Multinational Enterprises

Trade patterns in new trade theory models and agglomeration patterns in new economic geography models crucially depend on the effect that a higher local demand leads to a larger share of production of these products, namely the home market effect. Multinationals can exploit higher foreign demand without incurring transport costs by setting up a plant abroad. This paper demonstrates that in the presence of multinationals the home market effect appears even in cases where it otherwise would not. But it works via a different channel, relying on the repatriation of profits rather than on interindustry trade.
Poverty, Women and Child Health in Rural Romania: Uninformed Choice or Lack of Services?

This article explores the barriers that poor rural women encounter in the process of accessing health care for themselves and for their children in Romania. The literature shows that although the availability of health, sanitation and other social services is important in determining child health outcomes, its interaction with household characteristics determines the actual outcomes. Specifically, my aim is to document the pathways through which maternal education affects child health in interaction with ethnicity and with the availability of health care services. Based on extensive qualitative research in Romania, I argue that the barriers that rural women encounter appear mostly because these women lack access to appropriate health care information. They are not able to make informed choices about their fertility and their childcare practices. Furthermore, their choices are limited because of the scarcity of basic health services in rural areas and lack of information provided through the current health care system. Minority Roma women face additional barriers due to social exclusion and discrimination. This research identifies areas of concern for public health policy in Romania, and it opens new doors for inquiry in this field.
Suppression of Viral Replication by Stress-Inducible GADD34 Protein via the Mammalian Serine/Threonine Protein Kinase mTOR Pathway

ABSTRACT GADD34 is a protein that is induced by a variety of stressors, including DNA damage, heat shock, nutrient deprivation, energy depletion, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Here, we demonstrated that GADD34 induced by vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection suppressed viral replication in wild-type (WT) mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs), whereas replication was enhanced in GADD34-deficient (GADD34-KO) MEFs. Enhanced viral replication in GADD34-KO MEFs was reduced by retroviral gene rescue of GADD34. The level of VSV protein expression in GADD34-KO MEFs was significantly higher than that in WT MEFs. Neither phosphorylation of eIF2α nor cellular protein synthesis was correlated with viral replication in GADD34-KO MEFs. On the other hand, phosphorylation of S6 and 4EBP1, proteins downstream of mTOR, was suppressed by VSV infection in WT MEFs but not in GADD34-KO MEFs. GADD34 was able to associate with TSC1/2 and dephosphorylate TSC2 at Thr1462. VSV replication was higher in TSC2-null cells than in TSC2-expressing cells, and constitutively active Akt enhanced VSV replication. On the other hand, rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, significantly suppressed VSV replication in GADD34-KO MEFs. These findings demonstrate that GADD34 induced by VSV infection suppresses viral replication via mTOR pathway inhibition, indicating that cross talk between stress-inducible GADD34 and the mTOR signaling pathway plays a critical role in antiviral defense.
Women's past-year prostitution status and receipt of substance abuse treatment services.

OBJECTIVE The study compared services received in substance abuse treatment programs by women who reported involvement in prostitution and by those who did not. METHODS Women (N=1,604) in a national study of substance abuse programs completed a structured interview assessing substance abuse, demographic characteristics, and past-year prostitution at program entry. At discharge, information was gathered on treatment modality (residential including inpatient, or outpatient), duration, and amounts of medical, mental health, and psychosocial services received during treatment. Analyses compared women involved in prostitution and those not involved. RESULTS Women involved in prostitution were more likely to enter residential treatment. No differences between involvement groups were found in residential treatment duration, services received in residential treatment, or length of outpatient enrollment. In outpatient programs, women involved in prostitution received more psychosocial services. CONCLUSIONS Substance abuse treatment programs appear responsive to the greater needs of women involved in prostitution. However, more research is needed on outcomes.
The effects of audit partner pre-client and client-specific experience on audit quality and on perceptions of audit quality

We examine the associations between audit partner pre-client and client-specific experience and audit quality using data from Taiwan, where signing audit partner names are disclosed. Using discretionary accruals and interest rate spreads to proxy for audit quality and perceptions of audit quality, respectively, we find that both pre-client and client-specific experience improve audit quality and creditor perceptions of audit quality. We also find that audit partner pre-client experience is positively associated with audit quality early in the engagement, but not when the partner has been with the client for at least five years. Our findings provide evidence consistent with the assumption underlying the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s decision to require the disclosure of engagement partner names. They also suggest that pre-client experience cannot completely mitigate the loss of client-specific knowledge when partner or audit firm turnover occurs.
An Assessment of the EU Proposal for Ceilings on the Use of Kyoto Flexibility Mechanisms

The Kyoto Protocol is the first international environmental agreement that sets legally binding greenhouse gas emissions targets and timetables for Annex I countries. It incorporates emissions trading, joint implementation and the clean development mechanism. Because each of the Articles defining the three flexibility mechanisms carries wording that the use of the mechanism must be supplemental to domestic actions, the supplementarity provisions have been the focus of the international climate change negotiations subsequent to Kyoto. Whether the supplementarity clauses will be translated into a concrete ceiling, and if so, how should a concrete ceiling on the use of the three flexible mechanisms be defined remain to be determined. To date, the European Union (EU) has put forward a proposal for ceilings on the use of these flexibility mechanisms. Given the great policy relevance to the ongoing negotiations on the overall issues of flexibility mechanisms, this paper has provided a quantitative assessment of the implications of the EU ceilings with and without considering the however clause. Our results suggest that such ceilings are less restrictive to the EU than to the US and Japan in terms of levels of restriction on permits imports, and can prevent one third of the amount of hot air from entering the market. Our results also demonstrate that although the US and Japan are firmly opposed to such a restriction, they tend to benefit more from it than the EU which strongly advocates such ceilings, in terms of the reductions in the total abatement costs relative to the no trading case. Moreover, their gains can increase even further, provided that the however clause would operate as intended.
The importance of dietary phosphorus and highly unsaturated fatty acids for sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) growth in Lake Washington — a bioenergetics approach

Juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Lake Washington experience very high growth rates, but the mechanisms regulating their growth rates are poorly understood. The potential for food quality limitation of growth was tested using a coupled bioenergetics and mass balance model. Sockeye and zooplankton prey species were analyzed for their fatty acid composition. Ratios of phosphorus to carbon (P:C) for both sockeye and zooplankton were obtained from the literature. Based on sockeye stomach contents and zooplankton weights, diets of zooplankton biomass were calculated and monthly values of specific fatty acids and P:C ratios in the diet were derived. An increase in highly unsaturated fatty acids, especially in the liver, was observed with increased fork length up to smoltification size, with a subsequent decrease in smolts and kokanee. Measurements of docosahexaenoic (DHA) in daphnids were significantly lower than in cyclopoids. Model predictions suggest that sockeye are not limited by the availability of phosphorus or eicosapentaeinoic acid (EPA) in their diet but may experience limited growth because of DHA deficien- cies. Thus, the ability and efficiency of sockeye at elongating 18:3 ω 3, 18:4 ω 3, and EPA to DHA may be of critical importance to lacustrine growth and production. Resume : Les jeunes saumons rouges (Oncorhynchus nerka) du lac Washington ont des taux de croissance tres eleves, mais les mecanismes qui controlent ces taux restent mal connus. Nous avons evalue la possibilite d'une limitation de la
The determinants of actuarial costs in the New Zealand life insurance industry

The financial economics literature suggests that the extent to which surrogate monitors such as actuaries are employed by owners of the firm depends upon organizationspecific factors such as size and ownership structure. Using 1991-1993 data drawn from New Zealand's life insurance industry, an empirical examination is conducted to see whether the demand for actuarial services is distinguished by the characteristics of life insurance firms. The empirical results indicate that, consistent with expectations, expenditure on actuarial services was positively associated with large and multiproduct firms and those with high underwriting risk. However, organizational form and the substitutive effects of auditing on actuarial costs, were found not to be statistically significant.
Job Queues and Layoffs in Labor Markets with Flexible Wages

Models of a heterogeneous labor market are presented in which a worker's acceptance wage is an increasing function of his ability, and in which firms have imprecise information concerning the labor endowment of particular workers.Because the expected labor endowment of a hiree is an increasing function of the firm's wage offer, industrial firms may choose not to lower wages when confronted with a queue of job applicants. Rejected job applicants will not be able to increase their probability of employment by lowering their acceptance wages. Firms may choose to simultaneously hire and fire workers.
The Proliferative Response of NB69 Human Neuroblastoma Cells to a 50 Hz Magnetic Field is mediated by ERK1/2 Signaling

A number of studies have reported that extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) can modulate proliferative processes in vitro; however, the transduction mechanisms implicated in such phenomena remain to be identified. The present study was aimed to determine whether a 50 Hz, 100 µT MF can induce cell proliferation in the human neuroblastoma line NB69, and whether the signaling pathway MAPK-ERK1/2 (Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase - Extracellular-Signal-Regulated Kinase 1 and 2) is involved in that proliferative response. The cultures were exposed intermittently or continuously to the MF for a 63-hour duration. The continuous treatment did not induce significant changes in cell proliferation. In contrast, intermittent exposure caused statistically significant increase in the percent of cells in phase S of the cell cycle, followed by a significant increase in cell number. The intermittent treatment also induced an early, transient and repetitive activation of ERK1/2 that could be involved in the proliferative effects. In fact, both the proliferative response and the repeated activation of ERK1/2 were blocked by PD98059, the specific inhibitor of MEK (ERK kinases 1 and 2). Taken together, the described results indicate that a 50 Hz, 100 µT MF can stimulate proliferation in NB69 cells by triggering MAPK-ERK1/ 2 signaling at each of the “On” periods of an intermittent exposure.
Sparse Bayesian Inference for Dense Semantic Mapping

Despite impressive advances in simultaneous localization and mapping, dense robotic mapping remains challenging due to its inherent nature of being a high-dimensional inference problem. In this paper, we propose a dense semantic robotic mapping technique that exploits sparse Bayesian models, in particular, the relevance vector machine, for high-dimensional sequential inference. The technique is based on the principle of automatic relevance determination and produces sparse models that use a small subset of the original dense training set as the dominant basis. The resulting map posterior is continuous, and queries can be made efficiently at any resolution. Moreover, the technique has probabilistic outputs per semantic class through Bayesian inference. We evaluate the proposed relevance vector semantic map using publicly available benchmark datasets, NYU Depth V2 and KITTI; and the results show promising improvements over the state-of-the-art techniques.
Monetary Policy Surprises and Interest Rates: Evidence from the Fed Funds Futures Market

This paper estimates the impact of monetary policy actions on bill, note, and bond yields, using data from the futures market for federal funds to separate changes in the target funds rate into anticipated and unanticipated components. Bond rates' response to anticipated changes is essentially zero, while their response to unanticipated movements is large and highly significant. Surprise policy actions have little effect on near-term expectations of future actions, which helps explain the failure of the expectations hypothesis on the short end of the yield curve.