Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of PDI Overexpression on Recombinant Protein Secretion in CHO Cells

In eukaryotic cells, protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) found in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) catalyzes disulfide bond exchange and assists in protein folding of newly synthesized proteins. PDI also functions as a molecular chaperone and has been found associated with proteins in the ER. In addition, PDI functions as a subunit of two more complex enzyme systems: the prolyl‐4‐hydroxylase and the triacylglycerol transfer proteins. Increasing PDI activity in bacterial, yeast, and insect cell expression systems can lead to increased secretion of heterologous proteins containing disulfide bridges. Since Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are widely used for the expression of recombinant proteins, we expressed recombinant human PDI (rhu PDI) in CHO cells to increase cellular PDI levels and examined its effect on the secretion of two different recombinant proteins: interleukin 15 (IL‐15) and a tumor necrosis factor receptor:Fc fusion protein (TNFR:Fc). Secretion of TNFR:Fc (a disulfide‐rich protein) is decreased in cells overexpressing PDI; the TNFR:Fc protein is retained inside these cells and colocalizes with the overexpressed rhu PDI protein in the endoplasmic reticulum. PDI overexpression did not result in intracellular retention of IL15. The nature of the interaction between PDI and TNFR:Fc was further investigated by expressing a disulfide isomerase mutant PDI in CHO cells to determine if the functional activity of PDI is involved in the cellular retention of TNFR:Fc protein.
CAP Subsidies and the Productivity of EU Farms

The paper investigates the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies on farm total factor productivity (TFP) in the European Union (EU). We employ a structural semi-parametric estimation algorithm directly incorporating the effect of subsidies into a model of unobserved productivity. We empirically study the effects using the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) samples for the EU-15 countries. Our main findings are clear: subsidies impact negatively on farm productivity in the period before the decoupling reform was implemented; after decoupling the effect of subsidies on productivity is more nuanced and in several countries it turned positive.
Physician Training Ultrasound and Accuracy of Diagnosis in Rotator Cuff Tears.

INTRODUCTION Ultrasonography offers a fast and inexpensive method to evaluate the rotator cuff in the office setting. However, the accuracy of ultrasound is highly user dependent. The purpose of this study is to investigate the learning curve of an orthopaedic surgeon in using ultrasound to diagnose rotator cuff tears. METHODS A sports medicine fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon was taught how to perform and interpret an ultrasound examination of the shoulder by a musculoskeletal radiologist. In this prospective study, subjects were patients who presented to the office with shoulder pain suspected to be consistent with rotator cuff pathology, either complete or partial tears. The surgeon was blinded to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results and performed the ultrasound after performing a physical exam. Based on ultrasound and exam, the surgeon assessed if the rotator cuff was intact (no tear) or torn (having a partial or full thickness tear). Results were compared to MRI findings and arthroscopic findings (when available), and accuracy was evaluated over time to determine overall accuracy and if significant learning and improvement in accuracy took place over the time period studied. RESULTS Eighty patients were enrolled in the study; seventy-four had an MRI within 3 months of the ultrasound and were available for evaluation. Nineteen patients underwent ultrasound, MRI, and arthroscopy. Ultrasound was able to accurately diagnose the correct rotator cuff pathology (no tear, a partial thickness tear, or a full thickness tear) in 61% of patients. Ultrasound accurately diagnosed simply the presence or absence of a tear in 74% of patients. There was a general trend toward improved accuracy as the investigator gained experience, with accuracy rates of approximately 51% for the first 40 patients, and 69% for the last 40 patients evaluated, although this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.154). DISCUSSION Ultrasound imaging requires significant training and practice to provide a clinically useful level of diagnostic accuracy. The applicability of this procedure for diagnosing primary rotator cuff tears in an orthopaedic office setting may be limited by the time and volume required for the practitioner to approach the accuracy reported for diagnostic ultrasound and MRI in the literature.
Effect of anti-VEGF antibody on retinal ganglion cells in rats

Aim: Intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody (bevacizumab, Avastin) has become one of the chief choices for the treatment of macular oedema and neovascular age-related macular degeneration. However, the effect of blocking the VEGF function has not been thoroughly explored in vivo. A previous study has reported that intravitreal injection of bevacizumab had no retinal toxicity on rats; however, bevacizumab is human-specific and does not react with rat VEGF. In this study, the authors examined the effect of anti-rat VEGF antibody and bevacizumab on rat retina in vivo and in vitro, especially focusing on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Methods: In vitro, rat RGCs were purified by a two-step immunopanning procedure, and incubated in the presence of VEGF, bevacizumab, anti-rat VEGF antibody, and control-IgG for three days. The number of viable RGCs was counted. In vivo, after intravitreal injections of bevacizumab, anti-rat VEGF antibody, and control-IgG, viable RGCs were visualised by retrolabelling with Fluo-gold and enumerated to examine the toxicity. Results: In vivo, the mean (standard deviation) number of viable RGCs in the VEGF-treated group (0.99 (0.29) vs control), the bevacizumab-treated group (1.0 (0.23) vs control), the anti-rat VEGF antibody-treated group (0.98 (0.18) vs control) and the control IgG-treated group (0.98 (0.19) vs control) was not statistically different from that of the control group after 3 days. In vitro, the mean (SD) number of viable RGCs in the bevacizumab-treated group (2613 (230)/mm2), the anti-rat VEGF antibody-treated group (2600 (140)/mm2) and the control IgG-treated group (2656 (150)/mm2) was not statistically different from that of the control group (2656 (150)/mm2) after 7 days. There were no apparent histological abnormalities. Conclusion: This study suggests that bevacizumab and anti-rat VEGF antibody have no short-term, direct retinal toxicity using the rat model. Intravitreal injection of bevacizumab shows no short-term, direct toxicity on RGCs.
Riemannian Optimal Control and Model Matching of Linear Port-Hamiltonian Systems

This paper presents a unified controller design method for $H^2$ optimal control and model matching problems of linear port-Hamiltonian systems. The controller design problems are formulated as optimization problems on the product manifold of the set of skew symmetric matrices, the manifold of the symmetric positive definite matrices, and Euclidean space. A Riemannian metric is chosen for the manifold in such a manner that the manifold is geodesically complete, i.e., the domain of the exponential map is the whole tangent space for every point on the manifold. In order to solve these problems, the Riemannian gradients of the objective functions are derived, and these gradients are used to develop a Riemannian steepest descent method on the product manifold. The geodesic completeness of the manifold guarantees that all points generated by the steepest descent method are on the manifold. Numerical experiments illustrate that our method is able to solve the two specified problems.
Four essays on optimal antitrust enforcement

This thesis consists of four essays related to optimal antitrust enforcement. The first essay provides a case study of EC ringleader cartels and discusses by means of a theoretical model the effect of excluding ringleaders from leniency programmes on collusive prices. The second essay adds an experimental investigation of the former, and examines in particular the effects on cartel formation, prices and stability. The third essay experimentally explores the substitutability of antitrust detection rates and fines, and test whether different fine and detection rate combinations with constant expected fines achieve an equal level of deterrence. Lastly, the final essay discusses the role of antitrust enforcement on collusion when firms can engage in avoidance activities.
A Comparison of Syndicated Loan Pricing at Investment and Commercial Banks

We reject the hypothesis that investment and commercial banks have identical loan-pricing policies. We find that compared to commercial banks, investment banks lend to less profitable, more leveraged firms, price riskier classes of term loans more generously, and offer relativelylonger-term credits, usually with term, not commitment contracts. Investment banks typically establish higher credit spreads, although the premium declines when a commercial bank joins as syndicate co-arranger. Investment banks also price riskier classes of term loans more generously to borrowers than do commercial banks. Commercial-bank funding advantages do not appear to be a source of the pricing differences.
The Persistent Effect of Colonialism on Corruption

type="main" xml:id="ecca12123-abs-0001"> This paper argues that corruption in developing countries has deep historical roots that go all the way back to their colonial experience. We substantiate our thesis with empirical evidence where the degree of European settlement during colonial times is a powerful explanatory factor of present-day corruption. Interestingly, our mechanism is different from the prevailing view in the literature on institutions and growth, where European settlement has only positive effects. We argue that European settlement leads to higher levels of corruption for all countries where Europeans remained a minority in the population, i.e. for all developing countries.
Cabinets in the Netherlands (1918–1990): The importance of ‘dominant’ and ‘central’ parties

Coalition theory has provided political scientists interested in cabinets in West European multiparty democracies with interesting theoretical concepts. These concepts have been applied on their own, in connection with other theoretical approaches but also in descriptively oriented empirical research. Both large scale cross-national and country specific analyses have been conducted. In this article I will examine the importance of the recently developed concepts of dominant and central players for cabinets in the Netherlands (1918-1990). I will show that especially the concept of the central player has important applications.
Influence of Tin Deposition Methods on Tin Whisker Formation

The effect of pure tin deposition method on the propensity to form tin whiskers was studied over the course of one year. Deposition methods employed include matte and bright electroplating, electroless plating, sputtering, and evaporation (crucible resistive and electron beam). Films produced under high vacuum, via electron beam evaporation or DC sputtering, were found to whisker immediately, while matte electroplated and electroless plated films took 9 weeks to form whiskers. Films formed by resistive evaporation and bright electroplating displayed no whisker starts after more than a year of ambient aging. Film thickness and average grain size were not found to impact whisker propensity.
The effects of changes in competition, technology and strategy on organizational performance in small and medium manufacturing companies

Purpose - This study aims to examine how the relationship among competitive environment, manufacturing technology and organisational strategy affect organisational performance. Design/methodology/approach - Using a contingency approach, this study investigates the changes in competitive environment, manufacturing technology and organisational strategy in small and medium Malaysian manufacturing companies. The data is collected using a mailed questionnaire survey of manufacturing companies in the Klang Valley. Findings - Results of the study show that the majority of responding companies have recognised changes in their competitive business environment and advanced manufacturing technology, which have impacted on organisational strategic behaviour. Structural equation modelling shows positive relationships among competitive environment, manufacturing technology and organisational strategy, with a positive impact on performance. Research limitations/implications - These outcomes provide useful insights into our knowledge of how organisational change has taken place in small and medium companies. Practical implications - The study provides useful guidelines to small and medium sized companies facing changes to their business environment. Originality/value - The study makes an incremental contribution to the existing organisational change literature for SMEs in developing countries.
Some new, simple and efficient stereological methods and their use in pathological research and diagnosis

Stereology is a set of simple and efficient methods for quantitation of three‐dimensional microscopic structures which is specifically tuned to provide reliable data from sections. Within the last few years, a number of new methods has been developed which are of special interest to pathologists. Methods for estimating the volume, surface area and length of any structure are described in this review. The principles on which stereology is based and the necessary sampling procedures are described and illustrated with examples. The necessary equipment, the measurements, and the calculations are invariably simple and easy.
TWENTY‐FIVE YEARS OF TAX LAW CHANGES AND INVESTOR RESPONSE

Ex-dividend day research detects dividend-clientele effects that the tax-clientele hypothesis attributes to peronal taxation. In this study I examine all ten personal tax changes between 1963 and 1988 and find little support for the tax-clientele hypothesis. Few tax changes are accompanied by significant changes in the ex-day ratio, and more than half are opposite the direction predicted. In particular, the largest tax changes, in 1982 and 1987, fail to support the tax-clientele hypothesis. The results are consistent with some unknown, non-tax-induced clientele effect(s).
Induction of social dominance by L‐dopa treatment in Arctic charr

THE effect of L-dopa on social dominance was studied in the juvenile Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). L-dopa is the immediate precursor of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that has been connected with aggressive behaviour in fish as well as mammals. Arctic charr were placed in pairs. One individual in each pair was given L-dopa orally, while the other was given vehicle. The results showed that 18 out of 22 fish given 10 mg L-dopa kg-1 became dominant (p = 0.004, binomial test). A higher dose of L-dopa (200 mg kg-1) induced dyskinesia. L-dopa was found to cause a dose-dependent increase in the brain levels of dopamine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC, a major dopamine metabolite), as well as an increase in the DOPAC/dopamine ratio (an index of dopaminergic activity).
An Ebbing Tide Lowers all Boats

In this paper we explore the impact of the economic recession of 2008 on gender inequality in the labor force in Central and Eastern European countries. We argue that job and occupational segregation protected women’s employment more than men’s in the CEE region as well, but unlike in more developed capitalist economies, women’s level of labor force participation declined and their rates of poverty increased during the crisis years. We also explore gender differences in opinions on the impact of the recession on people’s job satisfaction. For our analysis we use published data from EUROSTAT and our own calculations from EU SILC and ESS 2010.
Management, clinical outcomes, and complications of acute cannula-related peripheral vein phlebitis of the upper extremity: A retrospective study

Objective Acute phlebitis due to peripheral vein catheter use is frequently observed in clinical practice, and requires surgical therapy in severe cases. In this retrospective study, we aimed to increase awareness, evaluate current treatment options, and develop recommendations to optimize treatment outcomes. Methods A total of 240 hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of upper extremity phlebitis from 2006 to 2011 were evaluated in terms of initial clinical features, parameters, co-morbidities and treatment regimes. Severity of phlebitis was graded according to the Baxter scale by assessing clinical symptoms such as pain, erythema, induration, swelling, or palpable venous cord (grade 0–5). Patients were divided in two subgroups: conservative (n = 132) and operative (n = 108) treatment. Results Surgical intervention rates and severity were higher for cannula insertion in the cubital fossa region than for cannula insertion in the forearm and hand region (p < 0.05). Baxter scale grades were higher in the surgical treatment group than in the conservative treatment group (4.47 vs. 2.67, respectively). Conclusions The cubital fossa region is vulnerable to severe phlebitis and is not recommended as the first site of choice for cannulation. Phlebitis of Baxter scale grade 4 or 5 should be considered for early surgical intervention.
MULTILATERAL COMPARISONS OF OUTPUT, INPUT, AND PRODUCTIVITY USING SUPERLATIVE INDEX NUMBERS*

Early in this century economists began to give serious attention to making comparisons using index number techniques. There was extensive debate as to which index number formulas were the most appropriate for carrying out comparisons.1 The debate was extensive in no small part due to the lack of agreement as to criteria for preferring one formula over another. In recent decades there has been a resurgence of interest in index numbers, resulting from discoveries that the properties of index numbers can be directly related to the properties of the underlying aggregator functions that they represent. The underlying functions - production functions, utility functions, etc. - are the building blocks of economic theory, and the study of relationships between these functions and index number formulas has been referred to by Samuelson and Swamy (I974) as the economic theory of index numbers.2 A key development in the economic theory of index numbers has been the demonstration that numerous index number formulas can be explicitly derived from particular aggregator functions. This development provides a powerful new basis for selecting an index number procedure. Rather than starting the selection process with a number of plausible index number formulas, one can specify an aggregator function with desirable properties and derive the corresponding index number procedure. The resulting index is termed exact for that particular aggregator function. Diewert (I976) makes a strong case for limiting the consideration of aggregator functions to those which are flexible, i.e. those which can provide a second order approximation to an arbitrary aggregator function. He has termed index numbers that are exact for flexible aggregator functions 'superlative '. There are two superlative index numbers that are of particular interest - the Fisher Ideal index and the Tornqvist-Theil-translog index. Fisher (I 922) dubbed the following index Ideal since it best satisfied his several criteria for choosing among index numbers:
Tolerance of Minor Setbacks in a Challenging Reentry Experience

The Federal Probation Office and the Board of Judges for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania initiated a pilot reentry court program, called the Supervision to Aid Reentry (STAR) program in 2007. The impact evaluation used a quasi-experimental research design to compare the reentry success of the first 60 STAR participants to a matched comparison group of 60 probationers in the 18 months postrelease. While logistic regression results indicated that STAR participants were no less likely to be arrested than the comparison group, STAR participation was associated with a significant reduction in the likelihood of supervision revocation. With insight from a previous process evaluation of the STAR program, implications of these findings for the STAR program and other reentry programs are discussed.
Seasonality of Deaths in the U.S. by Age and Cause

In this paper, we analyze seasonality of deaths by age and cause in the U.S. using public use files for the years 1994 to 1998 by the methods of regression and a variation of Census Method II. We answer the following questions: For each age cohort, how much does each cause of death contribute to seasonality of deaths? What is the reason for the variation in seasonality of deaths with respect to age? We also analyze death records of Social Security Administration over a longer time period to examine how seasonality of deaths has changed since the mid-1970’s. We found that in general, the degree of seasonality in deaths has decreased over time for younger cohorts and has increased over time for older cohorts.
Top Management Ties with Board Members: How They Affect Pay-Performance Sensitivity and IPO Performance

This paper is the first study on the effects of pay–performance sensitivity (PPS) on the performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the presence of social ties and family ties of the top managers with board members. We find that both social ties and family ties increase PPS. In turn, PPS improves IPO performance. More importantly, greater PPS increases the positive effect of social ties on IPO performance whereas it reduces the negative effect of family ties.
Tiled EvoLisa image evolution with blending triangle brushstrokes and gene compression DE

This paper proposes a set of tiled image evolution approaches for the EvoLisa challenge, where an image is to be approximated using artistic elements, such as brushstrokes. Using differential evolution (DE) optimization algorithm, a lossy image representation with variable number of brushstrokes is evolved thereby. Several different methods to represent or combine a brushstroke on an image canvas are studied, including the control parameters of the proposed methods. An image is tiled and a DE is run on each tile separately. The proposed blending joins multiple brushstrokes over several pixels, while gene compression strives to select only the effective part of the potential full genome, the rendered codon with a limited subset number of brushstrokes. The results show that different proposed algorithms differ significantly in performance, however through a prolonged evolution they all obtain evolved images fairly closely resembling the reference images, which was not demonstrated yet at any previous experiments with EvoLisa.