Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Third-degree price discrimination in oligopoly : evidence from Swedish newspapers

This dissertation contains four essays and is focused on evaluating, and to a lesser degree, extending, theories on monopoly and oligopoly pricing. The data in all of the essays originates from the Swedish daily newspaper markets. "Pricing Contracts With Different Duration: The Role of Switching Costs" analyzes how prices of contracts with different duration are affected by the degree of "lock-in". We extend a model by Glazer and Hassin (1982) by adding switching cost. We use the daily newspaper data to test propositions from the model. The essay also analyzes the use of second-degree price discrimination, in the form of different contract durations, by newspapers, and finds that more competition yields more discrimination. "Prices, Margins and Liquidity Constraints: Swedish Newspapers 1990-1996" analyzes an example of how the financial situation of firms may affect their product market pricing decisions. When consumers have switching costs, they are to some extent "locked in" and can be exploited. If a firm finds itself in financial distress it may have to resort to raising prices to cover short run expenses, thus sacrificing long run profits. This effect is found in subscription markets but not in advertising markets where consumers do not have switching costs. "Pricing Pre-Announcements and Price Leadership in the Swedish Daily Newspaper Industry" analyzes the publication of prices and price-setting behavior in the advertising markets. We find that large price increases and price cuts are published earlier. Duopolies exhibit publication behavior that differs from monopolies. Price leadership is prevalent in many of the duopoly markets and the price leadership observed in these markets is likely to be barometric. "Third-Degree Price Discrimination in Oligopoly: Evidence from Swedish Newspapers" addresses the question of how competition affects the use of third-degree price discrimination. We study the discounting behavior in subscription markets and find that duopolies and firms with weak market positions use more third-degree price discrimination. There is some indication that large immigration to the market and the firm being present in a large number of markets increases the use of discounts.
The Robustness of Dark Matter Density Profiles in Dissipationless Mergers

We present a comprehensive series of dissipationless N-body simulations to investigate the evolution of density distribution in equal-mass mergers between dark matter (DM) halos and multicomponent galaxies. The DM halo models are constructed with various asymptotic power-law indices ranging from steep cusps to corelike profiles and the structural properties of the galaxy models are motivated by the ΛCDM paradigm of structure formation. The adopted force resolution allows robust density profile estimates in the inner ~1% of the virial radii of the simulated systems. We demonstrate that the central slopes and overall shapes of the remnant density profiles are virtually identical to those of the initial systems, suggesting that the remnants retain a remarkable memory of the density structure of their progenitors, despite the relaxation that accompanies merger activity. We also find that halo concentrations remain approximately constant through hierarchical merging involving identical systems and show that remnants contain significant fractions of their bound mass well beyond their formal virial radii. These conclusions hold for a wide variety of initial asymptotic density slopes, orbital energies, and encounter configurations, including sequences of consecutive merger events, simultaneous mergers of several systems, and mergers of halos with embedded cold baryonic components in the form of disks, spheroids, or both. As an immediate consequence, the net effect of gas cooling, which contracts and steepens the inner density profiles of DM halos, should be preserved through a period of dissipationless major merging. Our results imply that the characteristic universal shape of DM density profiles may be set early in the evolution of halos.
The Post-Discharge Network Coordination Programme: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy of an Intervention Aimed at Reducing Rehospitalizations and Improving Mental Health

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy of a post-discharge intervention for psychiatric inpatients aimed at preventing hospital readmissions and at improving patients’ mental health and psychosocial functioning. Methods Randomized controlled trial using parallel group block randomization including 151 patients with ≤3 hospitalizations within the last 3 years, a GAF score ≤60, and aged 18–64 years, assessed at two psychiatric hospitals from the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, between September 2011 and February 2014. Primary outcomes were rate and duration of rehospitalization; secondary outcomes were mental health and functioning. Outcome measures were assessed before discharge from the index hospitalization (t0), 3 months after discharge when the intervention terminated (t1), and 12 months after discharge (t2). Participants received either a brief case management post-discharge intervention or treatment as usual. Results In the short-term (i.e., t0–t1), no significant effect emerged in any outcome. In the long term (i.e., t0–t2), the two groups did not differ significantly with respect to the rate and duration of rehospitalization. Also, the intervention did not reduce psychiatric symptoms, did not improve social support, and did not improve quality of life. However, it did slightly increase assessor-rated general (d = 0.30) and social functioning (d = 0.42), although self-reports revealed a deteriorative effect on symptom remission (d = −0.44). Conclusion This psychosocial post-discharge intervention showed no efficacy in the primary outcome of rehospitalization. With respect to secondary outcomes, in the long term it might lead to slightly increased social functioning but revealed no significant effect on psychopathology, social support, and quality of life. By contrast, with respect to self-reported symptom remission, it was revealed to have a negative effect. In this high-resource catchment area with comprehensive community psychiatric and social services, the intervention thus cannot be recommended for implementation in routine care.
Abl Kinases Regulate HGF/Met Signaling Required for Epithelial Cell Scattering, Tubulogenesis and Motility

Tight regulation of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) is crucial for normal development and homeostasis. Dysregulation of RTKs signaling is associated with diverse pathological conditions including cancer. The Met RTK is the receptor for hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and is dysregulated in numerous human tumors. Here we show that Abl family of non-receptor tyrosine kinases, comprised of Abl (ABL1) and Arg (ABL2), are activated downstream of the Met receptor, and that inhibition of Abl kinases dramatically suppresses HGF-induced cell scattering and tubulogenesis. We uncover a critical role for Abl kinases in the regulation of HGF/Met-dependent RhoA activation and RhoA-mediated actomyosin contractility and actin cytoskeleton remodeling in epithelial cells. Moreover, treatment of breast cancer cells with Abl inhibitors markedly decreases Met-driven cell migration and invasion. Notably, expression of a transforming mutant of the Met receptor in the mouse mammary epithelium results in hyper-activation of both Abl and Arg kinases. Together these data demonstrate that Abl kinases link Met activation to Rho signaling and Abl kinases are required for Met-dependent cell scattering, tubulogenesis, migration, and invasion. Thus, inhibition of Abl kinases might be exploited for the treatment of cancers driven by hyperactivation of HGF/Met signaling.
A Comparison of Food Inspection Practices of the U.S. Air Force and Ohio Local Public Health

Objective: As Americans consume more meals outside the home, food safety of restaurants is more critical. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of food service establishment (FSE) inspection frequency on FSE performance. In this study, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) public health system is compared to Ohio local public health departments (Ohio LPHDs). The USAF inspects FSEs more frequently than Ohio LPHDs do. The goal is to determine if this increased frequency leads to higher food safety in the FSEs. Methods: We reviewed 1482 reports from three USAF bases and 1909 reports from six Ohio LPHDs for the years 2011 and 2012. Data evaluated includes: total, critical, and non-critical food safety violations and inspection frequency. We looked at violations per inspection, which were determined by dividing violations (total, critical, and non-critical) by the total number of inspections. Annual frequency for both groups is determined by taking the total number of inspections for both years divided by two. Test for significance of the violations and frequency differences are performed by t-test using the 95% confidence level. Results: The USAF shows significantly lower rates in total, critical, and non-critical violations, and inspects at significantly higher frequency. Conclusion: The results show that frequent inspections coincide with fewer violations. The more frequent schedule affords greater opportunities to conduct food safety education. Further research might determine if an intermediate inspection schedule could offer similar protection as observed with the USAF schedule.
RENAL WATER REABSORPTION DURING SALINE AND UREA OSMOTIC DIURESIS IN THE DOG.

Free water reabsorption (Twc) was measured in conscious dogs during a long-term, reasonably steady-state osmotic diuresis induced either by sodium salts or by urea. After 4 to 8 hr the original solute was partially replaced by urea or by sodium salts. Both the replacement of sodium salts by urea and the converse procedure were associated with an augmentation in Twc. During sodium diuresis Twc always fell during the first 2 or 3 hr, a change which appeared unrelated to glomerular filtration rate (GFR) or to osmolar clearance. During the course of urea diuresis Twc steadily increased and showed a positive correlation with GFR. A possible basis for such a correlation is discussed.
Large-scale power spectrum and structures from the ENEAR galaxy peculiar velocity catalogue

We estimate the mass density fluctuations power spectrum (PS) on large scales by applying a maximum likelihood technique to the peculiarvelocity data of the recently completed redshift-distance survey of early-type galaxies (ENEAR). The general results are in agreement with the high amplitude power spectra found from similar analysis of other independent all-sky catalogs of peculiar velocity data such as MARK III and SFI. For Lambda & Open CDM COBE normalized PS models, the best-fit parameters are confined by a contour approximately defined by Omega h^{1.3}=0.377+-0.08 and Omega h^{0.88}=0.517+-0.083, respectively. Gamma-shape models, free of COBE normalization, resultsin the weak constraint of $\Gamma \geq 0.17$ and in the rather stringent constraint of sigma_8 Omega^{0.6}=1.0+-0.25. All quoted uncertainties refer to 3-sigma confidence-level. The calculated PS is used as a prior for Wiener reconstruction of the density field at different resolutions and the three-dimensional velocity field within a volume of radius ~80 Mpc/h. All major structures in the nearby universe are recovered and are well matched to those predicted from all-sky redshift surveys.
Recognition of remotely related structural homologues using sequence profiles of aligned homologous protein structures

In order to bridge the gap between proteins with three-dimensional (3-D) structural information and those without 3-D structures, extensive experimental and computational efforts for structure recognition are being invested. One of the rapid and simple computational approaches for structure recognition makes use of sequence profiles with sensitive profile matching procedures to identify remotely related homologous families. While adopting this approach we used profiles that are generated from structure-based sequence alignment of homologous protein domains of known structures integrated with sequence homologues. We present an assessment of this fast and simple approach. About one year ago, using this approach, we had identified structural homologues for 315 sequence families, which were not known to have any 3-D structural information. The subsequent experimental structure determination for at least one of the members in 110 of 315 sequence families allowed a retrospective assessment of the correctness of structure recognition. We demonstrate that correct folds are detected with an accuracy of 96.4% (106/110). Most (81/106) of the associations are made correctly to the specific structural family. For 23/106, the structure associations are valid at the superfamily level. Thus, profiles of protein families of known structure when used with sensitive profile-based search procedure result in structure association of high confidence. Further assignment at the level of superfamily or family would provide clues to probable functions of new proteins. Importantly, the public availability of these profiles from us could enable one to perform genome wide structure assignment in a local machine in a fast and accurate manner.
Spatio-temporal variations of vehicle traffic in VANETs: facts and implications

Via statistical analysis of several sets of empirical data collected from realistic scenarios, we realize that exponential model is a good fit for highway vehicle traffic. This model provides a single parameter (the exponent of vehicle density λs) to describe traffic variation. We reveal that highway traffic drastically varies over time (of different scales), across geographic locations and over technology adoption phases. Considering multi-hop geocast and single-hop broadcast, we show via both mathematical analysis and simulations the performance of path availability in the former, and packet delivery ratio in the latter, with respect to short- and long-term traffic variation. Therefore, we argue that the critical challenge in vehicular networking is dealing with traffic variation over the small scale (due to differences in vehicular density over space and time) and over the long term (due to market penetration).
Retention of a Bean Phaseolin/Maize γ-Zein Fusion in the Endoplasmic Reticulum Depends on Disulfide Bond Formation[W]

Most seed storage proteins of the prolamin class accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as large insoluble polymers termed protein bodies (PBs), through mechanisms that are still poorly understood. We previously showed that a fusion between the Phaseolus vulgaris vacuolar storage protein phaseolin and the N-terminal half of the Zea mays prolamin γ-zein forms ER-located PBs. Zeolin has 6 Cys residues and, like γ-zein with 15 residues, is insoluble unless reduced. The contribution of disulfide bonds to zeolin destiny was determined by studying in vivo the effects of 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) and by zeolin mutagenesis. We show that in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) protoplasts, 2-ME enhances interactions of newly synthesized proteins with the ER chaperone BiP and inhibits the secretory traffic of soluble proteins with or without disulfide bonds. In spite of this general inhibition, 2-ME enhances the solubility of zeolin and relieves its retention in the ER, resulting in increased zeolin traffic. Consistently, mutated zeolin unable to form disulfide bonds is soluble and efficiently enters the secretory traffic without 2-ME treatment. We conclude that disulfide bonds that lead to insolubilization are a determinant for PB-mediated protein accumulation in the ER.
Upper respiratory tract in cystic fibrosis

An ear-nose-throat survey was carried out on 50 children aged 4 to 10 years with cystic fibrosis. 10% were shown to be transiently deaf, associated with eustachian tube dysfunction. There were no confirmed cases of secretory otitis media. 10 children (20%) were found to have nasal polyps or gave a history of polypectomy. Though a high incidence of middle ear problems in children with cystic fibrosis has been reported from the U.S.A. , neither deafness nor secretory otitis media was found to be a problem in the group studied.
Coexpression of EGFR and CXCR4 Predicts Poor Prognosis in Resected Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Background Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is highly expressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and is involved in tumorigenesis and development. However, EGFR expression alone has limited clinical and prognostic significance. Recently, the cross-talk between EGFR and G-protein-coupled chemokine receptor CXCR4 has become increasingly recognized. Methods In the present study, immunohistochemical staining of EGFR and CXCR4 was performed on paraffin-embedded specimens from 131 patients with surgically resected PDAC. Subsequently, the associations between EGFR expression, CXCR4 expression, EGFR/CXCR4 coexpression and clinicopathologic factors were assessed, and survival analyses were performed. Results In total, 64 (48.9%) patients expressed EGFR, 68 (51.9%) expressed CXCR4, and 33 (25.2%) coexpressed EGFR and CXCR4. No significant association between EGFR and CXCR4 expression was observed (P = 0.938). EGFR expression significantly correlated with tumor differentiation (P = 0.031), whereas CXCR4 expression significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001). EGFR/CXCR4 coexpression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.026), TNM stage (P = 0.048), and poor tumor differentiation (P = 0.004). By univariate survival analysis, both CXCR4 expression and EGFR/CXCR4 coexpression were significant prognostic factors for poor disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Moreover, EGFR/CXCR4 coexpression significantly increased the hazard ratio for both recurrence and death compared with EGFR or CXCR4 protein expression alone. Multivariate survival analysis demonstrated that EGFR/CXCR4 coexpression was an independent prognostic factor for DFS (HR = 2.33, P<0.001) and OS (HR = 2.48, P = 0.001). Conclusions In conclusion, our data indicate that although EGFR expression alone has limited clinical and prognostic significance, EGFR/CXCR4 coexpression identified a subset of PDAC patients with more aggressive tumor characteristics and a significantly worse prognosis. Our results suggest a potentially important "cross-talk" between CXCR4 and EGFR intracellular pathways and indicate that the simultaneous inhibition of these pathways might be an attractive therapeutic strategy for PDAC.
The Perceived Care Needs of Breast Cancer Patients in Korea

By analyzing the data of 459 patients who completed the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS), the prevalence, medical and non-medical predictors of unmet needs were investigated. Breast cancer patients in Korea experienced high levels of unmet needs across the needs domains, particularly in the health system and information domain (56.9%). Various medical and non-medical variables were identified as significant predictors of unmet needs in each domain. By multivariate analyses, several predictors were identified across the domains including; less education (≤ 9 years) in the psychologic, chemotherapy, short post-surgical interval, and less education in the physical and daily living, younger age (< 50 years) in the sexuality, larger tumor size (> 2 cm) and younger age in the health system and information, and more education (≥ 13 years) in the care and support domain. The results of this study suggest medical professional should consider the complexity and dynamics of meeting patients' needs in providing supportive care services.
Ex Vivo Expansion of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Defined Serum-Free Media

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are presently being evaluated for their therapeutic potential in clinical studies to treat various diseases, disorders, and injuries. To date, early-phase studies have indicated that the use of both autologous and allogeneic hMSCs appear to be safe; however, efficacy has not been demonstrated in recent late-stage clinical trials. Optimized cell bioprocessing protocols may enhance the efficacy as well as safety of hMSC therapeutics. Classical media used for generating hMSCs are typically supplemented with ill-defined supplements such as fetal bovine serum (FBS) or human-sourced alternatives. Ideally, culture media are desired to have well-defined serum-free formulations that support the efficient production of hMSCs while maintaining their therapeutic and differentiation capacity. Towards this objective, we review here current cell culture media for hMSCs and discuss medium development strategies.
Juvenile delinquency in Romania: a comparison between minors in prisons and re-education services

ABSTRACT This article assesses the relationships between the individual and family characteristics of minors and juvenile delinquency in Romania. This cross-sectional study involved Romanian delinquent minors, 285 of whom were incarcerated in prisons in Romania and 280 subject to educational measures in re-education services in Romania. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that delinquency in incarcerated minors is associated with age, the offence committed, drug use, school dropout rates, recidivism, family alcoholism, the relationship with the biological parents, and the number of biological siblings. The study provides baseline data to identify at-risk minors in order to develop prevention programmes. We have adopted a public health approach to analysing delinquency and targets risk factors.
Piston-actuated active surge control of centrifugal compressor including integral action

An improvement in control performance of piston-actuated active surge control for centrifugal compressor by using integral action is presented in this paper. The active surge control is designed by using linear quadratic requlator (LQR) method based on the linearized system around the operating point. Simulation results show the active controller is able to stabilize the surge but not able to reach the desired operating point. The reason for this is the piston drift during surge stabilization. The surge control system is then enhanced by including integral action for counter acting the drift. Simulation results show the enhanced system is performing well in stabilizing surge without piston drift and reaching the desired operating point, but the piston position has non zero stationary value. One more integral is applied to the system to bring the piston position back to the origin. Applying double integrals action also results less required piston stroke for the surge stabilization.
Ofatumumab treatment in lupus nephritis patients

Rituximab is frequently used in systemic lupus erythematosus; however, side effects such as infusion-related reactions limit its use. In this case report, we describe, for the first time, treatment with ofatumumab in four patients with lupus nephritis. The treatment was well tolerated in three of the patients, and a reduction of proteinuria was seen in all cases. This emphasizes the importance of alternative B-cell-depleting therapies in patients with an initial good response to rituximab, but who develop side effects.