Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HIV Transcription is Independent of Mediator Kinases.

While the roles in HIV transcription of many cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) have been well defined, little is known about the impact of mediator kinases (MDKs), CDK8 and CDK19, in this process. Mediator complexes containing CDK8 or CDK19 repress or activate the expression of selected genes. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of MDKs in HIV transcription. siRNA knockdown of both MDKs had no effect on HIV transcription. This result was confirmed using two MDK inhibitors, Cortistatin A (CA) and Senexin A (SnxA). Furthermore, neither CA nor SnxA inhibited viral reactivation in Jurkat cell models of HIV latency. Taken together, these results indicate that MDKs are not required for HIV transcription.
Alliance Addiction: Do Alliances Create Real Benefits?

Although their advantages are well known, technology alliances may not always positively affect innovative performance. Previous studies have found several explanations for this problem. Technology alliances often require excessive resources and capabilities to create and maintain relationships with partners. In addition, they divert managerial attention and functions from internal research and development (R&D) activities. In this study, we hypothesize that firms often execute inefficient technology alliance strategies, thus affecting their innovative capabilities negatively and consequently reducing their subsequent innovation performance. Specifically, we test whether firms with greater prior experience in technology alliance are more likely to execute inefficient technology alliance strategies. Second, we attempt to investigate the negative effects of technology alliances on firms' internal R&D capabilities. To test our hypotheses, we employ data from 1,036 technology alliances in the US nanobiotechnology sector. Implications from the analyses are offered for executives and technology alliance strategies. Specifically, we propose that firms should adopt technology alliance but with due consideration of its negative aspects and the firms' limited resources.
MAYASTROUN: A Multilanguage Handwriting Database

To test the performance of handwriting on-line or offline recognition system, to measure and experimenting handwriting, to valid psychologist's laws, to compare and to make competitions between existing handwriting system, we must use databases. In this paper, we present the new dual handwriting database: "MAYASTROUN". The developed database contains a large lexicon of unconstrained cursive Arabic and Latin texts, words, characters, digits, mathematical expressions and signatures. The collected data contains more than 67825 and written by 355 writers. To facilitate experiments and research, this database offers four different extensions of each file and interactive software. The database architecture is described in details in this paper. The MAYASTROUN-database is available for the purpose to improve handwriting research filed.
The impact of regional and functional integration on the post-entry performance of knowledge intensive business service firms

Knowledge intensive business service firms (KIBS) are an important element of modern economies and thus attracting increasing interest in scientific research. In the existing literature it is argued that due to the important role of knowledge, innovation and user-producer interaction in the KIBS sector, functional and regional integration are particularly decisive for the firmsÂ’ post-entry development. Nevertheless, few existing studies are dealing with questions of entrepreneurship in the KIBS sector using micro firm data. This contribution gives an empirical analysis of the determinants of post-entry performance of KIBS in three German metropolitan regions. Due to the lack of suitable firm micro data, telephone interviews with 547 firm founders have been conducted. By applying multivariate estimation methods it can be shown that functional linkages to knowledge providers, customers and co-operation partners indeed matter for the performance of young KIBS. Regarding regional integration, however, especially a high diversification of spatial reach is proved to be crucial. JEL-Classification: D21, J23, L80, O30 Keywords: Employment growth; Entrepreneurship; Entry; Innovation; Knowledge-intensive business services; Post-entry performance
Anti-microbial Activity of Aristolochic Acid from Root of Aristolochia bracteata Retz

The present research was designed to investigate the anti-microbial activity of aristolochic acid from the root of Aristolochia bracteata. From the methanolic & ethyl extract extracts of Aristolochia bracteata aristolochic acid I was isolated and conformed through IR, NMR & MS. The percentage purity of aristolochic acid I was determined by UV & HPLC method. Antibacterial activity of extracts of Aristolochia bracteata and the isolated compound was determined by disc diffusion method. The results reveled that the isolated aristolochic acid from methanolic extract was more pure than the compound from ethyl acetate extract. The various extracts (500μg/disc) of Aristolochia bracteata showed moderate antibacterial activity with the average zone of inhibition of 7-18 mm by disc diffusion method. Among the extracts, ethyl acetate & methanol extracts were shown good anti-microbial activity and the growth of E.coli (18 mm) was strongly inhibited. Microbial assay of isolated compound (Aristolochic acid I) from ethyl acetate & methanol extracts were shown good antimicrobial activity and the zone of inhibition of both at higher concentration 50 μg/ml was similar with the standard aristolochic acid. It may be concluded that the isolated compound of aristolochic acid I has good anti-bacterial activity. Keywords—Aristolochic acid I, Anti-microbial activity, Aristolochia bracteata, Bacillus subtilis, E.coli
TAX COMPOSITION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH. A PANEL-MODEL APPROACH FOR EASTERN EUROPE

In this paper, we investigate the impact of tax composition on economic growth, based on a panel-model approach. The dataset includes six East-European countries and covers the period 1995-2012. Specifically, the study explores the relative impact of different components of tax revenue (direct and indirect tax revenue, as percentage of total tax revenue) on economic growth. The paper adds marginally to the empirical literature, showing how the two types of tax revenue influence economic growth in Eastern Europe, under an extended set of economic and sociopolitical control variables. The most important empirical output, for the 6 investigated East-European countries during 1995-2012, suggests that direct taxes are significant and negatively correlated with economic growth, while indirect taxes exert a positive influence on the dependent variable, though insignificant. As for the control variables, it seems that only freedom from corruption and political stability have a significant impact on economic growth. The study suggests that the design of tax systems in Eastern European countries is in accordance with the Commission’s priorities regarding its growth-friendliness. As for policy implications, governments should continue shifting the tax burden away from labour on to tax bases linked to consumption, property, and combating pollution, with potential positive effects both for growth and for fighting against tax evasion.
Research and Alzheimer's disease: an epidemiological perspective

Psychological Medicine / Volume 23 / Issue 02 / May 1993, pp 287 296 DOI: 10.1017/S003329170002835X, Published online: 09 July 2009 Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge. org/abstract_S003329170002835X How to cite this article: C. Brayne (1993). Research and Alzheimer's disease: an epidemiological perspective. Psychological Medicine, 23, pp 287-296 doi:10.1017/S003329170002835X Request Permissions : Click here
Tackling falsely-declared salaries in Bulgaria: evidence from a 2015 survey

Recently, there has been growing interest in the illegal wage practice where formal employers pay their formal employees two wages, namely an official declared wage plus an additional undeclared (envelope) wage, which reduces the tax and social contributions that are paid to the authorities. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence and nature of this illegal practice in Bulgaria and the effectiveness of different policy approaches for tackling this practice. Until now, two competing policy approaches have been advocated, namely a conventional rational economic actor approach which seeks to increase the perceived or actual penalties and probability of being caught, and an emergent social actor approach that seeks to improve tax morale. Reporting a 2015 nationally representative survey comprising 2,004 face-to-face interviews conducted in Bulgaria, the finding is that just under 1 in 7 formal employees (14.4 per cent) reported receiving an additional undeclared (envelope) wage from their formal employer, with the mean amount of their net income unreported amounting to 29.8 percent. Contrary to the widely-held assumption that this illegal wage practice is always purely the decision of employers, a key finding is that this is the case in less than two-thirds (65.3 per cent) of reported cases. Employees in some one-third of cases asserted that it was either a joint idea or that they had suggested this illegal arrangement. Adopting an evidence-based approach to evaluating how this should be tackled, a logit marginal effects regression analysis reveals little support for the rational economic actor approach that seeks to reduce falselydeclared salaries by increasing the penalties and probability of being caught, but strong support for the social actor approach that decreases instances of falsely-declared salaries by improving tax morale. The paper concludes by discussing implications for theory and policy.
Reflecting on neoliberal natures: An exchange

A decade – more or less – past the publication of the edited collection Neoliberal Environments and Neil Smith’s ‘Nature as an Accumulation Strategy’, this forum aims to revisit and reflect on neoliberal natures, both out in the world and in the scholarly literature. In this time, there have been a number of advances in our conceptual apparatus for interpreting capital’s productions of nature, ranging from financialization to vital materialism to world ecology. Further, the world has not stood still in the intervening decade. Various schemes for neoliberalizing nature have come and gone while others have launched, and the financial crisis led to widespread and often retrenched austerity even as extractivism showed no sign of abating. In light of these developments, we convened this forum to ask: what are the failures and accomplishments of neoliberal natures? Our use of the world accomplishments is not normative. We have gathered insights to reflect on the material-semiotic effects of neoliberal hegemony in the environmental register, and how critical scholars interpret, and even intervene in, those effects. The forum begins with an introduction that parses some trends in the world ‘out there’ and then turns ‘in’ to examine the neoliberal natures literature. Reflecting on a bibliometric analysis and broader trends in the literature, we argue that there remain critical gaps in explanatory frameworks driven in part by geography’s troubling lack of racial and gender diversity.
Strategies for genetic inactivation of long noncoding RNAs in zebrafish

The number of annotated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) continues to grow; however, their functional characterization in model organisms has been hampered by the lack of reliable genetic inactivation strategies. While partial or full deletions of lncRNA loci disrupt lncRNA expression, they do not permit the formal association of a phenotype with the encoded transcript. Here, we examined several alternative strategies for generating lncRNA null alleles in zebrafish and found that they often resulted in unpredicted changes to lncRNA expression. Removal of the transcription start sites (TSSs) of lncRNA genes resulted in hypomorphic mutants, due to the usage of either constitutive or tissue-specific alternative TSSs. Deletions of short, highly conserved lncRNA regions can also lead to overexpression of truncated transcripts. In contrast, knock-in of a polyadenylation signal enabled complete inactivation of malat1, the most abundant vertebrate lncRNA. In summary, lncRNA null alleles require extensive in vivo validation, and we propose insertion of transcription termination sequences as the most reliable approach to generate lncRNA-deficient zebrafish.
The risk assessment index for tooth mobility through bone density analysis in the pre-elderly and elderly

Bone mineral density is the amount of bone mineral content in cm 2 , and it can be classified as normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis. This study conducted a risk assessment of tooth mobility using bone density analysis. Low bone density, which is associated with osteopenia/osteoporosis, can directly affect the alveolar bone’s micro architecture and cause tooth mobility. This study consisted of 22 men and 56 women participants aged ≥ 50 years. Mandibular bone density measurements were performed using panoramic radiographs and periapical Direct Digital Intraoral Radiograph (DDIR) analysis. Bone mineral density measurements were performed using a Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS). The results showed a relationship between tooth mobility and both oral hygiene and bone mineral density ( P =.000, P =.035, respectively). An index was created to estimate mobility greater than or equal to 50% of mandibular teeth. Clinical article
RELATIONAL ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY : PRELIMINARY EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FOR A RELATIONAL THEORY OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY IN SUPPLY CHAINS

Relational Absorptive Capacity (RAC) is presented as an extension of the theory of Absorptive Capacity for the purpose of understanding innovation in supply chain relationships. RAC is the ability of a firm to recognize the value of new knowledge from a supply chain partner, assimilate it, and apply it for mutual benefit. The paper builds theory by developing a comprehensive multi-facet model of RAC that elaborates structural, cultural, psychological and policy facets of learning. The model is illustrated by two case studies, which more precisely show how the facets are manifested throughout the different stages of RAC.
Prevalence and influences on self-reported smoking among adolescents with mild learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and their typically developing peers

Many adolescents take up the smoking habit despite its well-documented adverse health effects. This study explores the prevalence and influences on smoking among 89 adolescents with mild learning disabilities, 108 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 124 typically developing peers aged 12—16 years. All the participants were attending mainstream secondary schools and they were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire on smoking. It was found that adolescents with ADHD smoked more than adolescents with mild learning disabilities, who in turned smoked more than adolescents not diagnosed with any disability. More adolescents with ADHD reported that the majority of their friends smoked and they were less well informed about the health effects of smoking. No differences were identified between the three groups in terms of the smoking behaviour of their parents and the perceived attitudes of their parents and friends towards smoking. Findings are discussed and suggestions are made for further research.
Is oxidative stress an issue in peritoneal dialysis?

During the last two decades, oxidative stress (OS) has emerged as a novel risk factor for a variety of adverse events, including atherosclerosis and mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Increased OS occurs even in early stages of the disease, progresses with deterioration of renal function and is further aggravated by hemodialysis (HD), due to the bioincompatibility of the method. Compared to HD, peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a more biocompatible dialysis modality, characterized by a significantly reduced, but still high, OS status. The culprit for OS in PD is mainly the composition of PD solutions (low pH, lactate buffer, increased osmolarity and high glucose concentration). After heat sterilization of PD solutions, formation of glucose degradation products (GDPs) and advanced glycation end‐products (AGEs) trigger inflammation and enhance OS. Chronic exposure of the peritoneum to this toxic, hyperglycemic environment leads to OS‐derived morphologic damage of peritoneal cells, loss of ultrafiltration capacity and decreased technique survival. Moreover, OS is linked with peritonitis, loss of residual renal function, inflammation, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular (CV) disease, and increased mortality. To ameliorate OS status in PD, a multitargeted approach is necessary that includes use of neutral pH, low GDP, low lactate and iso‐ismolar PD solutions, strict glycemic control, optimal volume management and, probably supplementation with antioxidants, N‐acetylcysteine being the most promising among them.
Creativity under task conflict: The role of proactively increasing job resources

textabstractThe present daily diary study among employees from various occupational sectors used conflict and creativity theories to hypothesize that task conflict has an inverted U-shaped relationship with employee creativity (i.e., creativity is higher at moderate than low or high levels of conflict). In addition, we argue that this curvilinear effect is likely to occur when employees proactively increase their job resources. A total of 92 employees filled out a diary survey at the end of five consecutive days. Results of multilevel analyses revealed that, as predicted, task conflict had an inverted U-shaped link with creativity when employees increased their structural job resources. However, when employees increased their social job resources, the link was linear and positive. Our findings also showed that increasing job resources related positively to employee creativity – this effect was found for both increasing structural and social job resources. We discuss the theoretical contributions of these findings and conclude that moderate task conflict has the potential to benefit organizations. Practitioner points: Task conflict should not be eliminated because when employees deal with it in a constructive way, it can be a creative force of change. Allow employees to increase their job resources so as to become more creative. Especially encourage increasing job resources when employees encounter task conflict.
Oleocanthal Modulates LPS-Induced Murine Peritoneal Macrophages Activation via Regulation of Inflammasome, Nrf-2/HO-1, and MAPKs Signaling Pathways.

The present study was designed to investigate the role of the canonical and noncanonical inflammasome, MAPKs and NRF-2/HO-1, signaling pathways involved in the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of oleocanthal in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine peritoneal macrophages. Isolated cells were treated with oleocanthal in the presence or absence of LPS (5 μg mL-1) for 18 h. Oleocanthal showed a potent reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) (25 μM, 50. 612 ± 0.02; 50 μM, 53. 665 ± 0.09; 100 μM, 52. 839 ± 0.02), nitrites (25 μM, 0.631 ± 0.07; 50 μM, 0.652 ± 0.07; 100 μM, 0.711 ± 0.08), and pro-inflammatory cytokines levels when compared with LPS-DMSO-treated control cells. In terms of enzymes protein expression, oleocanthal was able to downregulate iNOS (25 μM, 0.173 ± 0.02; 50 μM, 0.149 ± 0.01; 100 μM, 0.150 ± 0.01; p < 0.001), COX-2 (25 μM, 0.482 ± 0.08; 50 μM, 0.469 ± 0.05; 100 μM, 0.418 ± 0.06; p < 0.001), and mPGES-1 (25 μM, 0.185 ± 0.11; 50 μM, 0.218 ± 0.13; 100 μM, 0.161 ± 0.15; p < 0.001) as well as p38 (25 μM, 0.366 ± 0.11; 50 μM, 0.403 ± 0.13; 100 μM, 0.362 ± 0.15; p < 0.001), JNK (25 μM, 0.443 ± 0.11; 50 μM, 0.514 ± 0.13; 100 μM, 0.372 ± 0.15; p < 0.001), and ERK (25 μM, 0.294 ± 0.01; 50 μM, 0.323 ± 0.01; 100 μM, 0.274 ± 0.01; p < 0.001) protein phosphorylation, which was accompanied by an upregulation of Nrf-2 (25 μM, 1.57 ± 0.01; 50 μM, 1.54 ± 0.01; 100 μM, 1.63 ± 0.05; p < 0.05) and HO-1(25 μM, 2.12 ± 0,03; 50 μM, 2.24 ± 0.01; 100 μM, 1.92 ± 0.05; p < 0.01) expression in comparison with LPS-DMSO cells. Moreover, oleocanthal inhibited canonical and noncanonical inflammasome signaling pathways. Thus, oleocanthal might be a promising natural agent for future treatment of immune-inflammatory diseases.
Professional capacity and organizational change as measures of educational effectiveness: assessing the impact of postgraduate education in Development Policy and Management

We tend to measure educational performance by students' attainment in coursework or examinations. In the case of professional education, the impact of the educational programme on the students' own capacities to enhance their work practices, and the wider organizational effects of the students' education and training, are also key ‘products’ of the educational process. This is particularly important with education for Development Policy and Management (DPAM), which is directly concerned with capacity‐building. This article adopts a work‐related approach to educational effectiveness and examines four professional programmes in DPAM—three in Southern Africa and one in the UK. Through the analysis of the results of surveys and case studies, the article demonstrates how a positive learning experience is related to the application of learning at work. However the conditions for applying learning also depend strongly on organizational context, as do the wider organizational impacts of learning. The article presents a broad approach to assessing educational effectiveness in professional programmes which incorporate these factors.
A Matter of Principle: Accounting Reports Convey Both Cash-Flow News and Discount-Rate News

This paper identifies cash-flow news and expected-return news in financial statements and shows that stock returns are increasing with positive cash-flow news in the statements and decreasing in the news about increasing expected returns. The identified news measures differ significantly from those identified from decomposing returns based on the Vuoltennaho (2002) framework. The paper points to the realization principle, associated as it is with the resolution of uncertainty, as the accounting feature that conveys expected-return news, a feature that is not captured by the accounting implicitly assumed in the Vuolteenaho framework. The expected-return news we identify forecasts changes in both stock return betas and earnings betas. The expected-return news also predicts future returns while cash-flow news (appropriately) does not. Financial statements distinguish expected-return news associated with operations from that associated with financing activities, and both exhibit properties required of cash-flow news and expected-return news variables. In contrast, the measures from the return decomposition approach fail consistency requirements for variables to be identified as cash-flow news and expected-return news.