Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stability of blocked replication forks in vivo

Replication of chromosomal DNA must be carried out to completion in order for a cell to proliferate. However, replication forks can stall during this process for a variety of reasons, including nucleoprotein ‘roadblocks’ and DNA lesions. In these circumstances the replisome copying the DNA may disengage from the chromosome to allow various repair processes to restore DNA integrity and enable replication to continue. Here, we report the in vivo stability of the replication fork when it encounters a nucleoprotein blockage in Escherichia coli. Using a site-specific and reversible protein block system in conjunction with the temperature sensitive DnaC helicase loader and DnaB replicative helicase, we monitored the disappearance of the Y-shaped DNA replication fork structures using neutral-neutral 2D agarose gels. We show the replication fork collapses within 5 min of encountering the roadblock. Therefore, the stalled replication fork does not pause at a block in a stable confirmation for an extended period of time as previously postulated.
Economic Cycles and Expected Stock Returns

We construct daily real-time indices capturing the public information on realized and anticipated economic activity. The one-month change in realized fundamentals predicts US stock returns across horizons with strongest results between a month and a quarter. The information in anticipated fundamentals that is orthogonal to the realized data predicts returns even more strongly particularly at longer horizons up to two quarters. Splitting the sample into times of high versus low uncertainty, as measured by the cross-sectional dispersion of economist forecasts, we show that the predictability is largely concentrated in high-uncertainty times. Finally, extending the analysis internationally, we find similar results that are curiously much stronger when US data are used as predictors than global composites or local data.
The Contingency Theory of Organizations

Core Paradigm and Theoretical Integration Organic Theory and Research Bureaucracy Theory and Research Causality and Contingency in Bureaucracy Theory Controversies in Contingency Theory Research Challenges from Other Theories Fit Concept and Analysis Fit Affects Performance Neo-Contingency Theory Future Opportunities
Scaling Relationship of Patent Counts vs. Population Size - Regional and Population Subgroup Analyses of 50 States in the U.S.

We examine the scaling relationship between the number of patents granted and the population size of individual states in the U.S. over the period of 1992-2010. We find an increasing return to scale or superlinear relationship for the total sample of 50 states. And this relationship is relativity stable during the time period. When the relationship is examined by the subgroups of more populous vs. less populous states, we find that the subgroup of more populous states shows a more pronounced superlinear relation. On the other hand, the subgroup of less populous states displays a sublinear relation. When the relationship is analyzed among the four regions, the West shows a superlinear, while the other three regions display sublinear relations.Next to population size, income per capita and population density often influence positively the outcome of patent counts. Implications from these findings will be presented.
Regional Migration, Insurance and Economic Shocks: Evidence from Nicaragua

Abstract In developing countries most migrants are internal migrants, yet there is limited evidence to show whether internal migrants represent a source of insurance to the original household or vice versa. I test the insurance role of transfers sent and received by young migrants by estimating the causal impact of income shocks in the migrants’ locations of origin and destination on inter-household transfers. Rainfall shocks are found to lead to changes in income but not in consumption, indicating that households are able to smooth consumption. I find that young migrants provide insurance to their original households and that the level of insurance increases when migrants and households are exposed to low correlated rainfall shocks. This article shows evidence of bilateral insurance between rural migrants and their original households when the differences in the intensity of the shocks increase. These results provide new evidence of risk-sharing strategies among households geographically spread around a country.
Comparison of the Biomedica NT-proBNP enzyme immunoassay and the Roche NT-proBNP chemiluminescence immunoassay: implications for the prediction of symptomatic and asymptomatic structural heart disease.

The amino-terminal fragment of the B-type natriuretic peptide prohormone (NT-proBNP) is a marker for functional cardiac impairment and is increased in heart disease with or without symptoms of heart failure (HF) (1). There are indications that currently used assays for NT-proBNP may differ in their cross-reactivity with circulating NT-proBNP split products and may also be affected by breakdown products of NT-proBNP produced after blood collection (2). A newer generation assay, a commercially available competitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for NT-proBNP (Biomedica Gruppe) (3) that does not require sample pretreatment, has been used in various methodologic and clinical studies (4)(5)(6), but noncompetitive immunoassays may offer advantages of better speed, sensitivity, precision, and possibly specificity over competitive immunoassays (7). Recently, a noncompetitive immunoassay for NT-proBNP has been developed (8). A fully automated version of this assay (Roche Diagnostics) has now been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration. Our aim was to compare the Biomedica and Roche NT-proBNP assays, addressing whether the predictive values of both assays are similar with respect to structural heart disease with or without symptoms of HF. The present study, carried out at the Division of Internal Medicine, St. John of God Hospital (Linz, Austria), was approved by the local ethics committee in accordance to the Helsinki Declaration. We prospectively recruited 157 consecutive patients admitted for extensive cardiac evaluation (including performance of bicycle ergometry) and 23 consecutive patients with symptomatic HF admitted for inpatient treatment; all participants gave written informed consent. Study participants were classified according to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines for the evaluation and management of chronic HF in the adults (9) to one of the four following categories: ( a ) healthy individuals (n = 42); ( b ) patients at high risk for developing HF but without structural disorders of the …
Post-Civil War Democratization: Domestic and International Factors in Movement Toward and Away from Democracy

Post-civil war democratization is a critical element of building sustainable peace in the post-civil war states. At the same time, studies of democratic transition and survival suggest that the post-civil war environment is not hospitable to either the transition to or survival of democracy. The post-civil war environment is contentious. Former protagonists are fearful about their security and at the same time they want to protect their political and economic interests. The central argument of this study is that former rivals can agree to a transition toward democracy to the extent that a stable balance of power exists between the government and rebel groups, a balance that eliminates the sort of security dilemma that would encourage one or both to resume armed conflict. And the balance should ensure access to political power and economic resources. This study identifies factors that contribute to the establishment of such a balance of power between former protagonists and factors that affects its stability. These factors should affect the decision of former protagonists on whether or not they can achieve their political and economic interests if they agree to a transition toward democracy once civil war ends. Factors that are conducive to a transition toward democracy are different from factors that sustain that transition in post-civil war states. Post-civil war democracies are fragile. The side that won the democratic election can dismantle institutions of democracy and repress oppositions. The fear of being repressed could create stronger incentives for the opposition groups to return to conflict. To address this puzzle, I develop a conceptual framework that explains how costs of the previous civil war, the establishment of inclusive institutions and the higher level of economic development create incentives for the former rivals to sustain democracy. Hypotheses derived from the theoretical implications are tested by using survival analysis.
ICT2TSK: An improved clustering algorithm for WSN using a type-2 Takagi-Sugeno-Kang Fuzzy Logic System

The routing protocol in the network layer has played a decisive role in the WSN (Wireless Sensor Network). Balance the network load, improve energy efficiency, and consequently increase the lifespan of the network are the main purpose of these protocols. For these, this paper proposes the ICT2TSK (Improved Clustering Algorithm Using a Type-2 Takagi-Sugeno-Kang Fuzzy Logic System) protocol. Compare with the classical LEACH protocol and the recently developed CHEATS protocol, two aspects of improvements are concerned: on one hand, a type-2 TSK FLS (Takagi-Sugeno-Kang Fuzzy Logic System) is employed to choose the cluster-head by calculating the probability of every node, which can deal with the rule uncertainties better than a type-1 TSK FLS; on the other hand, a fixed competition radius for each cluster-head is introduced to balance the network load and improve energy efficiency. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed protocol ICT2TSK performs much better than LEACH and CHEATS, and also better than the unequal clustering algorithm named EEUC, according to metrics such as FND (First Node Dies) and HND (Half the Nodes Die) and ECPR (Energy Consumption Per Round).
Dispelling the modern myth - employee satisfaction and loyalty drive service profitability

This paper reports some empirical findings which appear to challenge the received wisdom prevailing in the operations management, service management, TQM and HRM literatures, namely, that employee satisfaction and loyalty are key drivers of productivity, efficiency and profit. An empirical study of one of the UK’s four large supermarket chains reveals an inverse correlation between employee satisfaction and the measures of productivity, efficiency and profitability, the most profitable stores being those in which employees are least satisfied. Employee loyalty, measured in terms of length of service, also appears to be inversely correlated with productivity and profitability. It also emerges that the pressure to maximise store efficiency may be leading to dysfunctional managerial behaviour at store level. These preliminary findings suggest two imperatives for managers and academics. For managers, it is advocated that they analyse the relationship between employee satisfaction, loyalty and financial performance in their own organisations rather than assuming that the rhetoric of the management literature applies in all operational contexts. For academics, four contingent variables are proposed which distinguish those service contexts in which the assumed relationship may pertain: services where customer contact with staff is high; services where there is little opportunity for technological substitution; services where staff contact is critical to the customer value proposition; and services with high labour costs.
Benchmark cool companions: ages and abundances for the PZ Telescopii system

We present new ages and abundance measurements for the pre-main-sequence star PZ Telescopii (more commonly known as PZ Tel). PZ Tel was recently found to host a young and low-mass companion. Such companions, whether they are brown dwarfs or planetary systems, can attain benchmark status by detailed study of the properties of the primary, and then evolutionary and bulk characteristics can be inferred for the companion. Using Fibre-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph spectra, we have measured atomic abundances (e.g. Fe and Li) and chromospheric activity for PZ Tel and used these to obtain the metallicity and age estimates for the companion. We have also determined the age independently using the latest evolutionary models. We find PZ Tel A to be a rapidly rotating (v sin i = 73 ± 5 km s −1 ), approximately solar metallicity star [log N(Fe) =− 4.37 ± 0.06 dex or [Fe/H] = 0.05 ± 0.20 dex]. We measure a non-local thermodynamic equilibrium lithium abundance of log N(Li) = 3.1 ± 0.1 dex, which from depletion models gives rise to an age of 7 +4 −2 Myr for the system. Our measured chromospheric activity (log R � HK of −4.12) returns an age of 26 ± 2 Myr, as does fitting pre-main-sequence evolutionary tracks (τ evol = 22 ± 3 Myr), both of these are in disagreement with the lithium age. We speculate on reasons for this difference and introduce new models for lithium depletion that incorporate both rotation and magnetic field effects. We also synthesize solar, metal-poor and metal-rich substellar evolutionary models to better determine the bulk properties of PZ Tel B, showing that PZ Tel B is probably more massive than previous estimates, meaning the companion is not a giant exoplanet, even though a planetary-like formation origin can go some way to describing the distribution of benchmark binaries currently known. We show how PZ Tel B compares to other currently known age and metallicity benchmark systems and try to empirically test the effects of dust opacity as a function of metallicity on the near-infrared colours of brown dwarfs. Current models suggest that in the near-infrared observations are more sensitive to low-mass companions orbiting more metal rich stars. We also look for trends between infrared photometry and metallicity amongst a growing population of substellar benchmark objects, and identify the need for more data in mass–age–metallicity parameter space.
Reactive power optimization with artificial bee colony algorithm

Reactive power optimization (RPO) is an important issue for providing the secure and economic run of the power systems. The importance of reactive power planning on economic profit and secure running has been increasing, because of the increasing fuel costs and investment funds. It is also quite important for an electric operator to provide voltage in a specified range for the customers. As such, RPO provides voltage control in power systems. Furthermore, it is used for decreasing active power loss and making better power coefficents. In this study, multi-objective RPO was used considering voltage deviations of buses, active power losses and reactive power generator costs. In this study, a new metaheuristic optimization method, which is an artificial bee colony (ABC), was used for the optimization. However, ABC was applied on ten bus system and the results were compared with the improving strength pareto evolutionary algorithm. It was observed that the system runs more effectively and economically with the results found with ABC.
Current Challenges and Limitations in Antibody-Based Detection of Citrullinated Histones

Studies on NETosis demand reliable and convenient markers to monitor the progress of this form of cell death. Because a determining step in the release of nuclear chromatin NETs requires the conversion of arginine residues to citrulline residues in histones by peptidylarginine deiminase, citrullinated histones can provide such a marker. Here, we evaluate antibody reagents for the detection of citrulline residues in histones and observe alarming differences between commercial antisera and mouse and rabbit monoclonal antibodies in their ability to detect their nominal target residues. Differences between antibodies that are currently used to detect citrulline residues in histones could jeopardize efforts to reach a scientific consensus and instead lead to inconsistent and even conflicting conclusions regarding the regulation of histone deimination. Our results will assist others in planning their initial or ongoing studies on peptidylarginine deiminase activity with the use of currently available antibodies. Furthermore, we argue that, along with the careful attention to experimental conditions and calcium concentrations, validated antibody reagents are urgently needed to avoid possible setbacks in the research on NETosis.
The Mildest Recession: Output, Profits, and Stock Prices as the U.S. Emerges from the 2001 Recession

This paper examines the state of the United States economy as it emerges from the 2001 recession. A comparison of several central economic variables indicates that the 2001 recession was the mildest recession in the postwar period. In light of highly differentiated characteristics of recessions, the paper suggests that we differentiate among downturns by a five-category 'recession severity scale,' analogous to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. According to this approach, the 2001 recession fits in the least severe box, a 'category I recession,' along with the 1963 and 1967 non-recessions. The paper next examines the behavior of profits in recent years and shows that financial finagling has infected the aggregate profits numbers. Finally, the study constructs a measure of the forward-looking return on equities and concludes that the prospective real yield on equities in early 2002 is at its low point of the last half-century.
Residential Energy Consumption for Space Heating in Norwegian Households A Discrete-Continuous Choice Approach

In this paper the demand for space heating energy is estimated by using a discrete-continuous choice model which focuses on the relationship between the choice of heating equipment and energy consumption. The model is estimated on Norwegian micro data, and the two stages of the model are estimated simultaneously. The capital cost and the operating cost of the heating systems are both found to have a significant impact on the choice of heating system. Furthermore, the results show that household characteristics are important variables in residential energy models. Energy price elasticities and income elasticities are estimated.
Review of head‐to‐head comparisons of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists

Currently, six glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RAs) are approved for treating type 2 diabetes. These fall into two classes based on their receptor activation: short‐acting exenatide twice daily and lixisenatide once daily; and longer‐acting liraglutide once daily, exenatide once weekly, albiglutide once weekly and dulaglutide once weekly. The phase III trial of a seventh GLP‐1RA, taspoglutide once weekly, was stopped because of unacceptable adverse events (AEs). Nine phase III head‐to‐head trials and one large phase II study have compared the efficacy and safety of these seven GLP‐1RAs. All trials were associated with notable reductions in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, although liraglutide led to greater decreases than exenatide formulations and albiglutide, and HbA1c reductions did not differ between liraglutide and dulaglutide. As the short‐acting GLP‐1RAs delay gastric emptying, they have greater effects on postprandial glucose levels than the longer‐acting agents, whereas the longer‐acting compounds reduced plasma glucose throughout the 24‐h period studied. Liraglutide was associated with weight reductions similar to those with exenatide twice daily but greater than those with exenatide once weekly, albiglutide and dulaglutide. The most frequently observed AEs with GLP‐1RAs were gastrointestinal disorders, particularly nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Nauseaoccurred less frequently, however, with exenatide once weekly and albiglutide than exenatide twice daily and liraglutide. Both exenatide formulations and albiglutide may be associated with higher incidences of injection‐site reactions than liraglutide and dulaglutide. GLP‐1RA use in clinical practice should be customized for individual patients, based on clinical profile and patient preference. Ongoing assessments of novel GLP‐1RAs and delivery methods may further expand future treatment options.
Winter Movements of Louisiana Pine Snakes (Pituophis ruthveni) in Texas and Louisiana

Abstract Despite concerns that the Louisiana Pine Snake (Pituophis ruthveni) has been extirpated from large portions of its historic range, only a limited number of studies on their movement patterns have been published. Winter movement patterns are of particular interest since it has been hypothesized that impacts of management practices would be reduced during the winter. Using radiotelemetry, we determined winter movement patterns of Louisiana Pine Snakes (11 males, 8 females) in 5 study areas (2 in Louisiana and 3 in Texas). Movements during winter (November—February) were greatly curtailed compared to the remainder of the year; however, snakes occasionally undertook substantial movements. Relocations were typically within the snake's previous active-season home range, and movements were more frequent in the early portion of winter. All hibernation sites were within Baird's Pocket Gopher (Geomys breviceps) burrow systems at depths ranging from 13–25 cm. Louisiana Pine Snakes did not use communal hibernacula, nor did individual snakes return to previously used sites in successive years.
Divide-and-conquer approximation algorithms via spreading metrics

We present a novel divide-and-conquer paradigm for approximating NP-hard graph optimization problems. The paradigm models graph optimization problems that satisfy two properties: First, a divide-and-conquer approach is applicable. Second, a fractional spreading metric is computable in polynomial time. The spreading metric assigns fractional lengths to either edges or vertices of the input graph, such that all subgraphs on which the optimisation problem is non-trivial have large diameters. In addition, the spreading metric provides a lower bound, /spl tau/, on the cost of solving the optimization problem. We present a polynomial time approximation algorithm for problems modelled by our paradigm whose approximation factor is O (mi.
HD 179949b: a close orbiting extrasolar giant planet with a stratosphere?

We have carried out a search for the 2.14 µm spectroscopic signature of the close orbiting extrasolar giant planet, HD 179949b. High cadence time series spectra were obtained with the CRIRES spectrograph at VLT1 on two closely separated nights. Deconvolution yielded spectroscopic profiles with mean S/N ratios of several thousand, enabling the near infrared contrast ratios predicted for the HD 179949 system to be achieved. Recent models have predicted that the hottest planets may exhibit spectral signatures in emission due to the presence of TiO and VO which may be responsible for a temperature inversion high in the atmosphere. We have used our phase dependent orbital model and tomographic techniques to search for the planetary signature under the assumption of an absorption line dominated atmospheric spectrum, where T and V are depleted from the atmospheric model, and an emission line dominated spectrum, where TiO and VO are present. We do not detect a planet in either case, but the 2.120 µm-2.174 µm wavelength region covered by our observations enables the deepest near infrared limits yet to be placed on the planet/star contrast ratio of any close orbiting extrasolar giant planet system. We are able to rule out the presence of an atmosphere dominated by absorption opacities in the case of HD 179949b at a contrast ratio of Fp/F� � 1/3350, with 99 per cent confidence.