Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of Methylation Sites and Effects of Phototaxis Stimuli on Transducer Methylation in Halobacterium salinarum

ABSTRACT The two transducers in the phototaxis system of the archaeonHalobacterium salinarum, HtrI and HtrII, are methyl-accepting proteins homologous to the chemotaxis transducers in eubacteria. Consensus sequences predict three glutamate pairs containing potential methylation sites in HtrI and one in HtrII. Mutagenic substitution of an alanine pair for one of these, Glu265-Glu266, in HtrI and for the homologous Glu513-Glu514 in HtrII eliminated methylation of these two transducers, as demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis autofluorography. Photostimulation of the repellent receptor sensory rhodopsin II (SRII) induced reversible demethylation of HtrII, while no detectable change in the extent of methylation of HtrI was observed in response to stimulation of its cognate sensory rhodopsin, the attractant receptor SRI. Cells containing HtrI or HtrII with all consensus sites replaced by alanine still exhibited phototaxis responses and behavioral adaptation, and methanol release assays showed that methyl group turnover was still induced in response to photostimulation of SRI or SRII. By pulse-chase experiments with in vivol-[methyl-3H]methionine-labeled cells, we found that repetitive photostimulation of SRI complexed with wild-type (or nonmethylatable) HtrI induced methyl group turnover in transducers other than HtrI to the same extent as in wild-type HtrI. Both attractant and repellent stimuli cause a transient increase in the turnover rate of methyl groups in wild-type H. salinarum cells. This result is unlike that obtained withEscherichia coli, in which attractant stimuli decrease and repellent stimuli increase turnover rate, and is similar to that obtained with Bacillus subtilis, which also shows turnover rate increases regardless of the nature of the stimulus. We found that a CheY deletion mutant of H. salinarum exhibited theE. coli-like asymmetric pattern, as has recently also been observed in B. subtilis. Further, we demonstrate that the CheY-dependent feedback effect does not require the stimulated transducer to be methylatable and operates globally on other transducers present in the cell.
Evaluation of the Brucella Abortus Species–Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay, an Improved Version of the Brucella AMOS Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Cattle

In a blind test, 344 samples representing 80 bacterial isolates were analyzed by the Brucella abortus species–specific polymerase chain reaction (BaSS PCR) assay for the identification and discrimination of B. abortus field strains (wild-type biovars 1, 2, and 4) from 1) B. abortus vaccine strains, 2) other Brucella species, and 3) non-Brucella bacteria. Identical samples were tested in 2 laboratories. Half the samples were fully viable, and half were bacteria that had been killed by methanol fixation. The results in 1 laboratory correctly identified 100% of the samples, resulting in a predictive value of 100% for all categories and 100% sensitivity and specificity under the prescribed conditions. The second laboratory misidentified 31 samples, resulting in a range of 66.7–100% sensitivity, 93.2–99.7% specificity, and 77.3–98.2% predictive values depending on the category. There was no significant difference in viable versus fixed bacteria for either laboratory. Subsequent review of the protocol indicated that contamination was the likely cause of 26 of the 31 erroneous identifications. The results show that the BaSS PCR assay has the potential to be a very reliable screening tool for B. abortus identification. However, the data also provide a cautionary reminder of the importance of preventing contamination in diagnostic PCR.
Global Climate Change Perception, Local Risk Awareness, and Community Disaster Risk Reduction: A Case Study of Cartago City, Costa Rica

Cartago City, Costa Rica has observed an increase in the damages and losses due to floods and landslides in recent decades. The city faces a challenge to enhance disaster risk management (DRM) capacity in order to reduce increasing disaster risk. This research identifies factors that enhance local DRM capacity in the context of increasing climate-related events, focusing on the ability of communities that can complement local government's DRM initiative. The study involved 240 household surveys in four high flood risk communities in Cartago and found positive outcomes stemming from communities' perception of global climate change and awareness of local climate-related disaster risk. Furthermore, the study identified two factors that increase awareness. Despite the communities' higher local climate-related disaster risk awareness, however, the study found that communities take few disaster risk reduction (DRR) actions. Hence, the study identified three factors for promoting greater community DRR action.
Soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors: a patent review

Importance of the field: Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) inhibitors have been shown to effectively increase the levels of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids and reduce the levels of dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids, which may be translated to therapeutic potentials for multiple disease indications. It has been claimed that sEH inhibitors can be used to treat hypertension, diabetes, stroke, dyslipidemia, pain, immunological disorders, eye diseases, neurological diseases and other indications. Areas covered in this review: A comprehensive synopsis of patent literature on sEH inhibitors is provided. What the reader will gain: A total of more than 100 patent publications describing multiple classes of sEH inhibitors are analyzed. These include amides, ureas, thioamides, thioureas, carbamates, acyl hydrazones, chalcone oxdies, etc. In addition to selected in vitro and in vivo data of representative sEH inhibitors, a wide range of proposed applications of sEH inhibitors are also summarized. Take home message: Several sEH inhibitors with potent in vitro and in vivo target inhibition appear promising, including one Phase II clinical candidate. The clinical evaluation will be critical to assess the proclaimed therapeutic utility of sEH inhibition.
The 'Expansionary Fiscal Contraction Hypothesis' and Uncertainty About the Permanence of Fiscal Consolidations

This paper contrasts the effects of balanced-budget reductions in government consumption on private consumption in the permanent income model and a model allowing for precautionary savings. We compare impulse responses of private consumption to temporary and permanent shocks to government consumption when agents do not observe the shocks directly or can distinguish between temporary and permanent shocks. Our simulations suggest that uncertainty about the permanence of government consumption reductions affect both the impact and the duration of private consumption whereas precautionary saving motives only affect the impact.
Economic Growth, Technical Change Biases, and the Elasticity of Substitution: A Test of the De La Grandville Hypothesis

A recent development in microeconomic theory suggests that the size of the elasticity of substitution between factors is relevant to economic growth. This study undertakes an empirical investigation of this proposition, comparing two economies--the United States and South Korea. The authors' test results support the de la Grandville hypothesis that the elasticity of substitution is a potent explanatory variable of economic growth. This inquiry also provides a clue to the puzzle that the U.S. elasticity of substitution between labor and capital is well below unity whereas that of South Korea is close to unity; nonetheless, the U.S. Factor shares have tended to remain fairly stable whereas the distributive shares of South Korea seem to have changed in favor of capital. Their findings indicate that a high elasticity of substitution is a bad signal for the distribution of income under the paradigm of modern technology. Copyright 1991 by MIT Press.
Corporate governance and company performance in Australia

This study tests whether the adoption of Australian best practice corporate governance recommendations is associated with financial performance measured by return on assets (ROA) and Tobin's Q. Results suggest that recommended corporate governance structures relating to the adoption of board sub-committees are sound policy recommendations that enhance performance using the accounting measure ROA and the market-based measure Tobin's Q. In contrast, the emphasis on board independence guidelines, specifically having outside independent directors, has a negative impact on ROA and Tobin's Q. However, there are conflicting significant results between the accounting and market measures for having a dual CEO/chairperson and board size.
Contrattazione aziendale integrativa e differenziali salariali territoriali: informazioni dall'indagine sulle imprese della Banca d'Italia

Collective bargaining at company level has not been particularly widespread, especially at small firms and in the South. The Bank of Italy’s survey shows that performancerelated wage premia have been paid irregularly and have involved only small amounts. Nevertheless they have fostered a gradual widening of regional and skill-based wage differentials. In 2002-07 the earnings items set at company level, in addition to the contractual minimums, averaged 14.9 per cent in industrial firms; 6.7 per cent only for firms below 50 workers. Controlling for firm size and characteristics, the company-level component of earnings was some 5-6 percentage points lower in the South than in the North for production workers and 8-9 points for clerical workers. The original finding of the study is that just 10 per cent of employees in the North earn only the nationally fixed contractual minimum, compared with 30 per cent in the Centre and over 40 per cent in the South. A short examination of geographical wage differentials, controlling for sector, and firm size concludes
The Effect of Heterogeneous Risk on the Early Adoption of Internet Banking Technologies

Financial service providers have increasingly offered customers new remote access to such services, with Internet banking being the latest example. While Internet banking has been available for years, the early adoption by customers of this technology was disappointing to most. This paper examines the demand for remote access to banking accounts by consumers and finds that when the technology is new, the traditional risk return models including variables allowing for heterogeneous risk add power in modeling the adoption decision. Perceived risks in Internet banking are seen to be responsible for some of the hesitation to adopt. Ironically, older consumers are found to be less likely to adopt Internet banking regardless of their risk tolerances. However, younger consumers are found to be early adopters only when they have relatively high levels of risk tolerance.
The Effect of Homogeneous Stock Groupings on Portfolio Risk

Recent evidence concerning the presence of significant "extramarket" sources of covariation in common-stock returns has raised serious questions as to the usefulness of the single-index market model. ' These sources of covariation have been variously described as "industry effects"2 or, in more general terms, as simply "group effects. "3 Regardless of their origin, the presence of important systematic nonmarket sources of covariation in common-stock returns seriously impairs the usefulness of the single-index market model as a tool for constructing efficient portfolios. In an attempt to isolate the industry factor as an extramarket source of covariation in common-stock returns, King4 studied the returns of a sample of 63 firms chosen from six industry groups where industries were defined in terms of the SEC two-digit industry code. Using both cluster and factor analysis, he found that the factor loadings of the individual securities conformed very closely to their a priori industry classes. Campanella' also found evidence to support the existence of industry effects by observing the significant covariances among the residual returns of the market model for 100 common stocks covering a 246-month period. The evidence regarding the importance of industry effects has not gone unchallenged. Based on what he believed to be serious limitations in
Designing a Class Activity to Enhance Business Students’ Learning of Management Information Systems

To understand what happened when students were given the power of being able to choose what to learn and how to learn, using a qualitative approach, this paper has evaluated a business classroom activity. Based on the philosophy of learning as a process, we have found that two students team up to work on an IT trend report and presentation is a meaningful learning experience. Students have brought a variety of new IT topics to the classroom that the textbook even does not cover. This exercise also offer three ways of learning, learning individually, learning from others and learning by doing, which support three learning outcomes: interaction, collaboration and critical thinking. The activity is also meaningful in that the process of learning is relevant to students as future managers and business professionals, and that it facilitates critical thinking. We conclude the paper with implications for and recommendations to researchers, educators and students as well as the challenges we, as educators, may face in the future.
How does increased competition on the housing market affect rents? an empirical study concerning sweden

The aim of the study is to investigate if more competition leads to lower rents on the housing market. Data about the rent level for similar apartments in 30 cities in Sweden were available. Three hypotheses were formulated: (H1) Increased ‘internal’ competition, measured by the market share of the municipal housing company (that dominates the market and is price-leader according to the Swedish system of rent regulation), leads to lower rents. (H2) Increased ‘external’ competition measured by the price level on the market for single-family owner occupied housing, leads to lower rents. (H3) Lower capital expenditure in the municipal housing company leads to lower rents. The statistical analysis showed a strong correlation between the rent level and the level of external competition, but no relation was found for the level of internal competition and the level of capital expenditure. A possible conclusion is that policies that make it easier for households to leave the rental market are important for increasing the pressure on the firms in the rental sector and reducing rents.
Smart cities from scratch? A socio-technical perspective

This paper argues that contemporary smart city visions based on ITs (information and tele- communication technologies) configure complex socio-technical challenges that can benefit from strategic niche management to foster two key processes: technological learning and societal embedding. Moreover, it studies the extent to which those processes started to unfold in two paradigmatic cases of smart city pilots ‘from scratch’: Songdo (South Korea) and PlanIT Valley (Portugal). The rationale and potentials of the two pilots as arenas for socio-technical experimentation and global niche formation are analysed, as well as the tensions and bottlenecks involved in nurturing socially rich innovation ecosystems and in maintaining social and political support over time.
Outpatient mental health care, self-help groups, and patients' one-year treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between the duration and amount of outpatient mental health care, participation in self-help groups, and patients' casemix-adjusted one-year outcomes. METHODS A total of 2,376 patients with substance use disorders, 35% of whom also had psychiatric disorders, were assessed at entry to treatment and at a one-year follow-up. Information about the duration and amount of outpatient mental health care was obtained from a centralized health services utilization database. RESULTS Patients who obtained regular outpatient mental health care over a longer interval and patients who attended more self-help group meetings had better one-year substance use and social functioning outcomes than did patients who were less involved in formal and informal care. The amount of outpatient mental health care did not independently predict one-year outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The duration of outpatient mental health care and the level of self-help involvement are independently associated with less substance use and more positive social functioning. The provision of low intensity treatment for a longer time interval may be a cost-effective way to enhance substance abuse and psychiatric patients' long-term outcomes.
The impact of labour resources on business R&D

This paper empirically examines the impact of labor resource composition on private research and development (R&D). A model is considered in which a sector of the economy, intensive in skilled labor, endogenously produces technological change through intentional R&D activities. Provided factor complementarity, the model predicts that a relative increase in the supply of unskilled labor culminates in a contraction of the private research sector, while a relative increase in the supply of skilled labor has the opposite effect. Those expectations are tested using a panel data set of OECD countries (1971-2003). New estimators are developed to assess the elasticity of R&D outlays with respect to factor supplies, distinguishing between relative endowment effects and scaling effects. Overall, the results are shown to be consistent with theoretical expectations, and stylized policy implications are discussed. This study brings forth an important qualification to the conclusions of recent papers emphasizing a positive relationship between population and innovation. The findings suggest that business R&D can thrive with a slow growing population, notably when the intensity of unskilled labor declines, as was the case during the past decades in OECD countries.JEL codes: O30, J11, J21
Electron Microscopic Localization of Herpesvirus-type Particles in Marek's Disease

Upon cultivation of chicken lymphoid tumors induced by Georgia isolate of Marek's disease, clusters of refractile rounded cells appeared consistently in the cell cultures. Intranuclear mature, immature, enveloped, and empty herpesvirus-type particles, usually associated with smaller particles, were observed in all rounded cells in the affected areas. Cytoplasmic inclusions containing mature enveloped virus particles were also seen in the rounded cells. Often fibroblasts growing in the vicinity of the cytopathic effect area contained a few herpesvirus-type particles. The original tumors prior to cultivation did not reveal any virus particles, and the virus in infected cultures was always cell-associated. Control cell cultures neither developed the rounded cells nor demonstrated the presence of any type of virus particles.
State Adoption of Environmental Audit Initiatives

This article examines the factors that affect state adoption of environmental audit legislation and self-policing policies. The results of both a cross-section probit and a Weibull proportional hazard model suggest that political context and state-federal relationships are key factors in adoption decisions while environmental conditions are less significant and institutional capacity is the least important. Overall, the results for audit privilege and immunity legislation are very similar, but several explanatory factors affect adoption of audit legislation and self-policing policies in opposite ways. Finally, these results also suggest that EPA opposition to audit legislation has had a significant deterrent effect. (JEL "D78", "Q28", "K32") Copyright 2006 Western Economic Association International.
Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas L.) Juices as a Source of Minerals in Human Diet

The aim of this study was to determine the mineral content of Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.), as this fruit and its preservatives may be considered as important nutritional supplements. Potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) were present in Cornelian cherry juice as measured by atomic absorption. Compared to other juices obtained from plum, pear, and apple, Cornelian cherry juice contained high levels of Ca, reaching 10-fold higher (323 mg/L) levels than other juices (14–77 mg/L). With respect to the remaining elements, K, Na, Fe, Zn, and Mn, the levels noted for Cornus mas juice were also higher than in other juices studied. The reverse was true for Cu, for which levels were lower. Data indicate that Cornelian cherry juices are rich in various essential elements and might be considered as an important dietary mineral supplementation for individuals deficient in nutritional elements.
The Battle for Influence: The Politics of Business Lobbying in the European Parliament

The European Parliament (EP) has become an increasingly important lobbying venue for business due to the recent enhancement of its regulatory powers. Existing research, however, disagrees on the extent to which the intensified business lobbying has resulted in increased business influence on EP policy outcomes. Some studies find a ‘business bias’ in the EP, while others still perceive it to be a forceful promoter of diffuse interests (such as consumer and environmental groups). This article examines the conditions under which business groups shape policy outcomes in the EP. The article uses a comparative qualitative case study design of four recent legislative dossiers, and draws on process-tracing of EU documents and lobbying letters, and 145 interviews. It finds that the ability of business to leave its fingerprints on EP reports depends on a number of factors – most notably business unity, low issue salience and dossiers being dealt with by mainstream committees.
Seasonality in the Cross Section of Stock Returns: The International Evidence

Abstract This paper studies seasonal predictability in the cross section of international stock returns. Stocks that outperform the domestic market in a particular month continue to outperform the domestic market in that same calendar month for up to 5 years. The pattern appears in Canada, Japan, and 12 European countries. Global trading strategies based on seasonal predictability outperform similar nonseasonal strategies by over 1% per month. Abnormal seasonal returns remain after controlling for size, beta, and value, using global or local risk factors. In addition, the strategies are not highly correlated across countries. This suggests they do not reflect return premiums for systematic global risk.
The Structure of the Carboxyl Group: I. The Investigation of Formic Acid by the Diffraction of Electrons.

The electronic structure of a carboxylic acid has been ordinarily written as [diagram]. It has been recognized,(1) however, that the structure O:- R:C::O+:H also may make a significant contribution to the normal state of the molecule, and the existence of such resonance of the double bond between the two oxygen atoms has been supported by thermochemical data,(2) the resonance energy being 1.20 v.e. for the carboxyl group in acids and in esters. During the investigation reported in this paper we have verified the resonating structure by the determination of interatomic distances in formic acid, and have also shown that in the dimer of formic acid the molecules are joined together by hydrogen bonds between the oxygen atoms of the carboxyl groups.