Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environmental Sustainability in Practice? A Macro-scale Profile of Tourist Accommodation Facilities in Australia's Coastal Zone

While methods have been developed to measure progress towards sustainability in a tourism setting, a shortage still exists of research that examines the integration of environmental sustainability into the existing built environment, particularly across a macro-scale. In an attempt to advance research in this area, this paper profiles the self-acknowledged implementation of environmental initiatives by managers of tourist accommodation facilities along Australia's east coast. An original and empirical approach, based on quantitative surveys, was undertaken for 536 accommodation facilities located within one kilometre of the coastline. Broad trends were that larger accommodation facilities were more likely to be in close proximity to coastlines, yet were also more likely to have formal mechanisms to implement environmental initiatives. Regional variation in implementation was apparent, and possible explanations included the role of local cultures and state regulation. Overall, however, results indicate poor uptake of environmental initiatives. We conclude by arguing that such results are a consequence of barriers including the inheritance of older built environments and the poor communication to the managers of facilities of the benefits of implementing environmental initiatives.
The Big Society and Community Development: Neighbourhood Planning under the Localism Act

Bringing into force crucial aspects of the Coalition's ‘Big Society’, the Localism Act 2011 introduces changes to neighbourhood planning through which it seeks to decentralise power to the lowest possible level and afford local communities the opportunities to take the initiative with regards to developing local areas in line with local needs and issues. This article examines the neighbourhood planning provisions of the Act and considers the extent to which they achieve their aims and realise the objectives of the Big Society. It argues that, whilst seeking to decentralise power and empower communities to lead forward local development, the Act leaves a great deal of autonomy in the hands of central government and local authorities, meaning that the communities themselves are constrained by higher authority; it fails also to tackle sufficiently, issues relating to citizen and community engagement.
Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-Bisphosphate Regulates Adipocyte Actin Dynamics and GLUT4 Vesicle Recycling*

To investigate the potential role of phosphatidylinositol 4, 5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) in the regulation of actin polymerization and GLUT4 translocation, the type I phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinases (PIP5Ks) were expressed in 3T3L1 adipocytes. In preadipocytes (fibroblasts) PIP5K expression promoted actin polymerization on membrane-bound vesicles to form motile actin comets. In contrast, expression of PIP5K in differentiated 3T3L1 adipocytes resulted in the formation of enlarged vacuole-like structures coated with F-actin, cortactin, dynamin, and N-WASP. Treatment with either latrunculin B (an inhibitor for actin polymerization) or Clostridium difficile toxin B (a general Rho family inhibitor) resulted in a relatively slower disappearance of coated F-actin from these vacuoles, but the vacuoles themselves remained unaffected. Functionally, the increased PI(4,5)P2 levels resulted in an inhibition of transferrin receptor and GLUT4 endocytosis and a slow accumulation of these proteins in the PI(4,5)P2-enriched vacuoles along with the non-clathrin-derived endosome marker (caveolin) and the AP-2 adaptor complex. However, these structures were devoid of early endosome markers (EEA1, clathrin) and the biosynthetic membrane secretory machinery markers p115 (Golgi) and syntaxin 6 (trans-Golgi Network). Taken together, these data demonstrate that PI(4,5)P2 has distinct morphologic and functional properties depending upon specific cell context. In adipocytes, altered PI(4,5)P2 metabolism has marked effects on GLUT4 endocytosis and intracellular vesicle trafficking due to the derangement of actin dynamics.
The use of bootstrapping by women entrepreneurs in positioning for growth

Abstract The number of women entrepreneurs is rising rapidly and many are creating substantial businesses. For most women-led ventures, growth is funded by personal investment and debt, although a small percentage draw on private equity investment to fuel high growth. Of those that seek growth, not only do they face higher obstacles in obtaining capital, but little is known about ways they position ventures for growth. This paper addresses the question: ‘How do women develop financing strategies to prove the business concept, meet early stage milestones, and demonstrate to external investors the value and potential of their businesses? ’ Data are drawn from phone interviews with 88 US female entrepreneurs seeking an equity investment to grow their businesses. The analysis examines the correspondence between bootstrapping and stage of business development. Results show significant differences in the use of bootstrap options utilized by women-led ventures depending on stage of business development. Companies that have not achieved sales were more likely to emphasize bootstrapping to reduce labour, while those companies with greater sales were more likely to minimize cost of operations. Implications for future research and education are suggested.
Investor Herds and Regime-Switching: Evidence from Gulf Arab Stock Markets

This paper proposes a dynamic herding approach which takes into account herding under different market regimes, with concentration on the Gulf Arab stock markets – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Our results support the presence of three market regimes (low, high and extreme or crash volatility) in those markets with the transition order ‘low, crash and high volatility’, suggesting that these frontier markets have a different structure than developed markets. The results also yield evidence of herding behavior under the crash regime for all of the markets except Qatar which herds under the high volatility regime. The findings of the cross-GCC herding model also demonstrate herding comovements and not spillovers and are also robust to the cross-GCC volatility shocks. The tests that underline the cross-volatility shocks suggest that the crash regime is a true regime and not a statistical artifact. Policy and portfolio diversification implications are discussed.
Some features of Dividend Policy in Japan

This paper reviews the singular aspects of the dividend policies pursued by Japanese companies. The most notable feature of this is the customary practice of paying a dividend which is 10 per cent on the par value of the share. The paper begins by discussing some relevant and unique features of Japanese company practices. These may conceivably condition managements' attitudes to shareholders and influence their dividend policies.
The Economics of Experiences, the Arts and Entertainment

The Economics of Experiences, the Arts and Entertainment serves as a welcome and unique introduction to various economic aspects of the production and consumption of art and entertainment products. The book begins with analyses and discussion of neoclassical production and utility functions, with a focus on art and entertainment as instances of experience goods or services. The authors then go on to present alternative Austrian and institutional approaches which focus on the role of creative entrepreneurs in the market process. Aesthetic and psychological theories are also discussed with a focus on their impact on producers’ and consumers’ decisions, as well as historical examples of creative centres, such as Renaissance Florence and Post World War II New York.
The Effects of Salaries and Opportunity Costs on Length of Stay in Teaching: Evidence from North Carolina.

This paper shows that teachers who are paid more stay longer in teaching, that teachers with high opportunity costs, as measured by test scores and subject specialties, stay in teaching less long than other teachers do, and that salaries influence duration less for teachers with high test scores than for teachers with lower scores. The research is based on a new longitudinal dataset providing information on the career histories of 13,890 North Carolina teachers. The empirical work uses a generalized least squares estimation technique that accommodates censored observations, time-varying covariates, and fixed effects.
Board Diversity in the United Kingdom and Norway: An Exploratory Analysis

This paper examines the evolving pattern of gender diversity of the boards of directors of leading Norwegian and British companies on a longitudinal basis. The period covered by the study covers the run up to proposed affirmative action legislation in Norway and, as such, affords an insight into corporate actions in this emerging institutional context. The findings demonstrate that, while board diversity has grown substantially in both countries in recent years, it has done so considerably more rapidly in Norway than in the United Kingdom. The analysis highlights the sectoral variation between the countries in the pattern and growth of board diversity and suggests that the vast majority of the overall growth in board diversity is the result of changing firm behaviour rather than sectoral shift in the United Kingdom or Norwegian economies. It is also shown that as diversity has increased there has been no fall in how experienced female directors are; neither is there evidence of a rise in the number of boards that female directors sit on. This suggests that the rapid growth in board diversity has been achieved without any fall in the quality of female directors.
Pyrazinamide and rifampin vs isoniazid for the treatment of latent tuberculosis: improved completion rates but more hepatotoxicity.

CONTEXT American Thoracic Society guidelines recommend a 9-month course of therapy with isoniazid for treatment of persons with latent tuberculosis infection who are at high risk for reactivation of disease. Major liver injury has been reported with the alternative regimen, a 2-month course of pyrazinamide and rifampin. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the rate of completion and incidence of hepatotoxicity of a short regimen of pyrazinamide and rifampin for latent tuberculosis as compared with standard isoniazid therapy before and after instituting an intensive monitoring program. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective cohort study of 224 patients in a community setting between 1999 and 2001. INTERVENTIONS Daily pyrazinamide and rifampin for 2 months or daily isoniazid for 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Treatment completion, hepatotoxicity (fourfold increase of alanine transaminase [ALT]), severe hepatotoxicity (40-fold increase in ALT). RESULTS Treatment was completed by 71% (78 of 110 patients) in the pyrazinamide/rifampin group and by 59% (67 of 114 patients) in the isoniazid group (p = 0.07). Hepatotoxicity (ALT > 160 U/L) was documented in 13% (14 of 110 patients) in the pyrazinamide/rifampin group and in 4% (5 of 114 patients) in the isoniazid group (p = 0.03). Severe hepatotoxicity (ALT > 1,600 U/L) occurred in 2 of 43 patients (5%) receiving pyrazinamide/rifampin prior to instituting intensive monitoring. Once more intensive monitoring of liver enzymes was implemented, severe hepatotoxicity occurred in none of 67 patients. CONCLUSION The risk of hepatitis in patients receiving pyrazinamide/rifampin for prevention of latent tuberculosis is increased threefold as compared to patients receiving isoniazid. When patients were monitored more intensively, severe hepatotoxicity did not develop, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.15).
The human element in airline service quality: contact personnel and the customer

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the dimension of personal touch and its elements of individual attention, helpfulness, courtesy, and promptness as determinants of customer satisfaction for passenger airlines.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from 437 individuals and a hierarchical approach to structural equation modeling are used to systematically evaluate four alternative measurement models. A second‐order measurement model of personal touch appeared to represent the data very well and can be supported from a theoretical point of view.Findings – Personal touch is found to statistically and substantively affect passenger satisfaction explaining about 54 percent of the variance. In other words, collectively, individual attention, helpfulness, courtesy, and promptness are found to have a significant effect on airline passenger satisfaction.Research limitations/implications – This research examines the satisfaction of customers of US passenger airlines. Future research s.
Learning to Avoid Collisions: A Functional State Space Approach

Two experiments examined performance in collision avoidance situations. In both experiments participants were asked to initiate a discrete maneuver to avoid a collision at the last possible moment. The affordances of the situations were varied as a function of vehicle dynamics and the functional consequences associated with responding too late or too early. The results were examined in the context of a 2-dimensional functional state space with dimensions associated with optical angle and optical expansion rate. The patterns of performance showed that the actions were consistent with decision rules that could be specified in terms of linear functions of the two optical variables. In most cases, performance at early stages of learning suggested that people were using an Expansion Rate Criterion. With practice, people would tune to a decision rule that was appropriate for the specific vehicle dynamics tested. The results are discussed in relation to the role of three factors in shaping ultimate performance: (a) tasks constraints (i.e., affordances), (b) information constraints (i.e., optical structure), and (c) experience (i.e., learning).
An Important Role of CDK Inhibitor p18INK4c in Modulating Antigen Receptor-Mediated T Cell Proliferation1

The inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4 (INK4) bind CDK4/6 to prevent their association with D-cyclins and G1 cell cycle initiation and progression. We report here that among the seven CDK inhibitors, p18INK4c played an important role in modulating TCR-mediated T cell proliferation. Loss of p18INK4c in T cells led to hyperproliferation in response to CD3 stimulation. p18INK4c-null mice developed lymphoproliferative disorder and T cell lymphomas. Expression of IL-2, IL-2R-α, and the major G1 cell cycle regulatory proteins was not altered in p18-null T cells. Both FK506 and rapamycin efficiently inhibited proliferation of p18-null T cells. In activated T cells, p18INK4c remained constant, and preferentially associated with and inhibited CDK6 but not CDK4. We propose that p18INK4c sets an inhibitory threshold in T cells and one function of CD28 costimulation is to counteract the p18INK4c inhibitory activity on CDK6-cyclin D complexes. The p18INK4c protein may provide a novel target to modulate T cell immunity.
A Metropolitan Transaction-Based Commercial Price Index: A Time-Varying Parameter Approach

This study examines the usefulness of time-varying parameter techniques for constructing reliable transaction-based commercial price indices for metropolitan areas. Time-varying parameter techniques allow the implicit prices of differing quality characteristics to vary intertemporally, overcoming the potential bias imposed by holding implicit prices fixed and simply interpreting time dummy variables as in a conventional hedonic approach. This paper empirically investigates three time-varying parameter methods (Chained, Laspeyres, and Paasche) and considers the potential for sample selection bias. Precision measures are constructed to examine the reliability of the respective indices. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2001.
[Usefulness of fentanyl patch (Durotep) in cancer patients when rotated from morphine preparations].

BACKGROUND [corrected] The transdermal fentanyl patch (Durote patch) is an opioid preparation requiring replacement once in three days, which is occasionally prescribed to replace morphine preparations. The conversion ratio from morphine to fentanyl has been claimed to be 100:1 or 150:1, but there may exist individual variations. METHODS We retrospectively evaluated the analgesic effects and adverse effects of fentanyl patch in 24 cases among 22 patients (11 men and 11 women). RESULTS There were some reasons for switching; the major one was for home-care. In most cases rotation was completed in a few days and the side effects disappearance or were reduced, but 4 cases of them showed severe diarrhea or exhibited exacerbation of the pain, and had to go back to morphine. There were a wide variations of conversion ratio with a mean of 96.6. CONCLUSIONS The fentanyl patch is a useful agent to control severe cancer pain because of excellent analgesic effect, less adverse effects and more convenience as well as itsundesirable characteristics when transition of patients to home-care is considered or oral administration should be avoided. Above all it offers a great possibility to improve cancer patient's quality of life.
Motivation to Reduce Risk Behaviors While in Prison: Qualitative Analysis of Interviews with Current and Formerly Incarcerated Women.

Prison is an environment in which programs can be implemented to change harmful behaviors among high-risk populations. Incarcerated women experience high rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), yet little research has examined women's motivation to reduce risky behaviors during incarceration. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with former and current women prisoners in two North Carolina correctional facilities and analyzed to identify barriers and facilitators of behavior change while in prison. Analyses revealed key motivators of behavior change: Viewing prison as a place to recover from past trauma, removing oneself from negative social networks, gaining access to needed mental and physical health services, and engaging in self-care and self-reflection. Barriers to behavior change include fear of recidivism, stigma of being in prison, and return to undesirable social networks post-release. Moreover, women noted that the provision of mental health services, educational enhancement and housing assistance could help them reduce engagement in high-risk behaviors after their incarceration. These findings can be incorporated into HIV/STD risk reduction interventions to facilitate positive behavior change among incarcerated women prisoners. Prison itself is a tremendous education in the need for patience and perseverance. It is above all a test of one's commitment. -Nelson Mandela, 1995.
In Vivo Calpain/Caspase Cross-talk during 3-Nitropropionic Acid-induced Striatal Degeneration

The role of caspases and calpains in neurodegeneration remains unclear. In this study, we focused on these proteases in a rat model of Huntington's disease using the mitochondrial toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3NP). Results showed that 3NP-induced death of striatal neurons was preceded by cytochrome c redistribution, transient caspase-9 processing, and activation of calpain, whereas levels of the active/processed form of caspase-3 remained low and were even reduced as compared with control animals. We evidenced here that this decrease in active caspase-3 levels could be attributed to calpain activation. Several observations supported this conclusion. 1) Pharmacological blockade of calpain in 3NP-treated rats increased the levels of endogenous processed caspase-9 and caspase-3. 2) Cell-free extracts prepared from the striatum of 3NP-treated rats degraded in vitro the p34 and p20 subunits of active recombinant caspase-9 and caspase-3, respectively. 3) This degradation of p34 and p20 could be mimicked by purified μ-calpain and was prevented by calpain inhibitors. 4) μ-Calpain produced a loss of the DEVDase (Asp-Glu-Val-Asp) activity of active caspase-3. 5) Western blot analysis and experiments with 35S-radiolabeled caspase-3 showed that μ-calpain cleaved the p20 subunit of active caspase-3 near its catalytic site. 6) μ-Calpain activity was selectively inhibited (IC50 of 100 μm) by a 12 amino acid peptide corresponding to the C terminus of p20. Our results showed that calpain can down-regulate the caspase-9/caspase-3 cell death pathway during neurodegeneration due to chronic mitochondrial defects in vivo and that this effect may involve, at least in part, direct cleavage of the caspase-3 p20 subunit.
ENZYME PATTERNS IN HUMAN TISSUES. 3. GLYCOLYTIC ENZYMES IN NORMAL AND MALIGNANT TISSUES OF THE COLON AND RECTUM.

Summary Enzyme patterns for the glycolytic enzymes in human carcinoma of the colon and rectum are presented and compared with the patterns of the corresponding nonmalignant counterparts. Rectal and colon carcinomas, though similar, were treated separately because in general rectal carcinomas contain a higher proportion of malignant cells. The data presented indicate that the enzyme patterns of the various segments of the unaffected colon are similar. The relative patterns of the mucosal and smooth muscle elements of both colon and rectum were alike, but with respect to the absolute activities, the enzymes of the mucosal tissue were approximately 1.5-fold higher than those found in the undissected colon or rectum. The activities of the enzymes of the straight glycolytic pathway (except for phosphofructokinase) in the rectal and colon carcinomas were 2.5-fold greater than those of apparently uninvolved colon and rectal tissues and 1.7-fold greater than those of the mucosal elements. The most pronounced difference between the malignant and nonmalignant tissues was the decreased α-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase activity in the tumors. Also decreased on a relative but not absolute basis were fructose-1,6-diphosphatase, and phosphofructokinase. The extent of the increased glycolytic capacity of the tumors is limited by phosphofructokinase, and alterations in the activity of this enzyme could profoundly influence the glycolytic rate.
Memory coding in individuals with Down syndrome

Previous research has identified a deficit in phonological short-term memory in individuals with Down syndrome. The present work aimed to analyze how a group of 30 individuals with Down syndrome performed in a picture span task compared with 30 typically developing children of the same mental age. The task involved four conditions (i.e., dissimilar, phonologically similar, visually similar, and long-name items) chosen to analyze the strategy used by individuals with Down syndrome to code visually presented nameable items. Individuals with Down syndrome performed less well than typically developing children. Both groups showed the visual similarity effect. Taken together, our results confirm that individuals with Down syndrome have a verbal working memory deficit, even when nameable items are presented visually. Mental age appears to be an important determinant of memory coding stage in individuals with Down syndrome.