Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bcl‐2, tissue transglutaminase and p53 protein expression in the apoptotic cascade in ribs of premature infants

Apoptotic cells of the human growth plate have not previously been demonstrated in situ. We have investigated the distribution of apoptotic cells in costosternal growth plates and bone of premature infants aged 4–11 d with a gestational age of ∼ 26 wk. In addition, we investigated the immunolocalisation of apoptosis‐related proteins within the growth plates and associated bone. A proportion of late hypertrophic chondrocytes and osteocytes within newly formed primary spongiosa showed evidence of highly fragmented DNA. The incidence of osteocyte apoptosis decreased as the distance from the chondroosseous junction increased. Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) expression was associated with apoptosis of osteocytes and hypertrophic chondrocytes. In contrast the presence of tTG was demonstrated in osteoblasts and bone lining cells but it did not colocalise with evidence of apoptosis. The anti‐apoptotic gene product Bcl‐2 was absent from the growth plate but was present in osteocytes. Visual assessment indicated a greater occurrence of the protein in cells occupying regions of low apoptosis. P53 was not demonstrated in the growth plate or bone. These findings would indicate that human growth plate chondrocytes appear to show little provision for ensuring cell longevity. In contrast osteocyte apoptosis appears negatively correlated with the skeletal distribution of Bcl‐2 protein in the human infant, implying a potential selective vulnerability in individual cells. Lack of Bcl‐2 and the high incidence of osteocyte apoptosis in the more rapidly remodelling bone of the human infant suggest a potential role of osteocyte apoptosis in the remodelling process.
German Foreign Direct Investment in the UK and Ireland: Survey Evidence

HOOD N. and TAGGART, J. H. (1997) German foreign direct investment in the UK and Ireland: survey evidence Reg. Studies 31, 139‐150. This paper explores the characteristics and development patterns of German manufacturing subsidiaries in the UK and Ireland. It is based on a sample of 102 companies which were surveyed during 1994. A series of hypotheses are tested relating both to the literature on subsidiary development and to the previous limited knowledge of intra-EU investment at the level of firms. A number of policy issues are considered, from the perspectives of regional economic development agencies, for German multinational companies and for intrapreneurial activity leading to the potential expansion of these types of subsidiary. HOOD N. et TAGGART J. H. (1997) L'investissement direct au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande en provenance de l'Allemagne: les resultats des enquetes, Reg. Studies 31, 139-150. L'article examine les caracteristiques et la physionomie des filiales industrielles allemandes implantee.
Mobility in Ambulant Adults with Cerebral Palsy — Challenges for the Future

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a lifelong cause of disability, with an incidence of around 2 per 1000 people (Himmelmann 2013). It is the most common cause of physical disability in childhood, and children are commonly treated by specialized pediatric services from a broad range of disciplines. Adults with CP are a growing community who are now recognised as outnum‐ bering children 3:1 in some countries (Access Economics 2008). With advances in healthcare, it is now usual for those who walk during childhood to have a relatively normal life expectancy (Strauss, Brooks, Rosenbloom and Shavelle 2008). Over recent times, the need to consider CP as a lifespan, rather than childhood condition has been highlighted, with particular interest in the reported difficulties that emerge during the adult years (Tosi et al. 2009; Morgan and McGinley 2013).
Gender and Social Policy: Family Law and Women’s Economic Citizenship in the Middle East

This article examines the gendered nature of social policy and its evolution since the 1950s in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It argues that the MENA region’s experience with development and social policy, and the gender dynamics of these processes and policies, were greatly influenced by the imperatives of state- and nation-building, by the characteristics of the regional oil economy, and by the rentier and neopatriarchal nature of the states. The article also draws attention to how family law as a social policy has had implications for social development and for women’s economic citizenship. While analyzing the specificities of the gender/social policy regime for the region as a whole, it highlights and compares the cases of Iran, Jordan, and Tunisia.
The Role of Acquisitions in Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from the U.S. Stock Market

This paper examines foreign direct investment by studying shareholder wealth gains for 1273 U.S. firms acquired during the period 1970-1987. Three findings stand out. First, cross-border takeovers are more frequent in research and development intensive industries than are domestic acquisitions; furthermore, in three-fourths of cross-border transactions the buyer and seller are in related industries. These industry patterns suggest that costs and imperfections in product markets play an important role in foreign direct investment. Second, targets of foreign buyers have significantly higher wealth gains than do targets of U.S. firms. This cross-border effect is comparable in size to the wealth effects of all-cash and multiple bids, two effects receiving substantial attention in the finance literature, and is robust to inclusion of these two variables. Third, while the cross-border effect on wealth gains is not well explained by industry and tax variables, it is positively related to the weakness of the U.S. dollar, indicating a significant role for exchange rate movements in foreign direct investment.
Pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms in a population of airport workers.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and to measure spirometry in a sample of employees of Birmingham International Airport, United Kingdom, to examine whether occupational exposure to aircraft fuel or jet stream exhaust might be associated with respiratory symptoms or abnormalities of lung function. METHODS: Cross sectional survey by questionnaire and on site measurement of lung function, skin prick tests, and exhaled carbon monoxide concentrations. Occupational exposure was assigned by job title, between group comparison were made by logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: 222/680 full time employees were studied (mean age 38.6 y, 63% male, 28% current smokers, 6% self reported asthma, 19% self reported hay fever). Upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms were common and 51% had one or more positive skin tests. There were no significant differences in lung function tests between exposure groups. Between group comparisons of respiratory symptoms were restricted to male members of the medium and high exposure groups. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for cough with phlegm and runny nose were found to be significantly associated with high exposure (OR 3.5, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.23 to 9.74 and 2.9, 1.32 to 6.40 respectively) when the measured confounding effects of age and smoking, and in the case of runny nose, self reported hay fever had been taken into account. There was no obvious association between high exposure and the presence of shortness of breath or wheeze, or for the symptoms of watering eyes or stuffy nose. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support an association in male airport workers, between high occupational exposures to aviation fuel or jet stream exhaust and excess upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms, in keeping with a respiratory irritant. It is more likely that these effects reflect exposure to exhaust rather than fuel, although the effects of an unmeasured agent cannot be discounted.
Troublesome Leisure Travel

Sustainable passenger transport policies are most often directed towards everyday travel and ignore the large and expanding amount of leisure travel. The paper examines whether policies aimed at reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions for everyday travel may have the opposite effect on leisure travel by reviewing studies of three sustainable passenger transport policies: developing more compact cities, building pro-environment awareness and attitudes, and promoting the growth of information and communication technologies. We found that the policies may indeed have unintended effects and suggest several mechanisms that could explain why this opposite effect occurs. Consideration is also given to the implications for developing more comprehensive sustainable transport policies.
Scoring strategy goals: Measuring corporate social responsibility in professional European football

In this article, we develop a model for measuring corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the club level in European professional football. Modern CSR management and activities have advanced considerably throughout most industries since the late 1990s. However, CSR has only gained recognition in the sports management literature very recently, and models to evaluate CSR programs and activities in the sports context hardly exist. Hence, we conceptualize a CSR Performance Scorecard based on literature on CSR and sports management as well as empirical exploration into particularities of the football business. Relevant to scholars and managers alike, this article seeks to motivate the strategic CSR engagement of professional football. This is achieved through an innovative and context-specific way for its organizational measurement along quantifiable economic, integrative-political, and ethical-emotional dimensions. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Clinical isolates of Mycobacterium abscessus in Guangzhou area most possibly from the environmental infection showed variable susceptibility

Background Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) can cause a variety of human infections, involving the lung, skin and soft tissues, and is generally believed to be acquired from environmental sources. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular diversity and antibiotic susceptibility of M. abscessus isolates as the basis for strategies to improve control and management of infection. Methods Seventy M. abscessus isolates from patients attending the Guangzhou Thoracic Hospital were identified from 2003 to 2005 by biochemical tests, gas chromatography, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐restriction analysis (PRA) of heat shock protein gene hsp65, and sequencing of the quinolone resistance determining regions (QRDRs) of gyrA. Susceptibilities to six antibiotics were determined by micro‐broth dilution. Isolates were genotyped using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. Results Most isolates (63/70; 90%) were susceptible to amikacin but rates of susceptibility to other antibiotics varied from moderate, clarithromycin (60%) and imipenem (43%), to low for ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin (3%), and 87% of isolates had intermediate susceptibility to cefoxitin. RAPD analysis showed that the 70 clinical isolates displayed 69 unique RAPD patterns. Conclusions The high genetic diversity of isolates suggests that they are not transmitted from person to person but, presumably, are acquired independently from environmental sources. M. abscessus isolates displayed variable levels of susceptibility to all antibiotics tested, other than amikacin, indicating a need for routine susceptibility testing to guide treatment.
PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF BOUNDED RATIONALITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR DECISION‐MAKING STRATEGIES

In this paper the implications of cognitive strain for decision-making effectiveness are explored. Literature concerning the psychological processes of decisionmakers which underlie the operation of cognitive strain and which predispose them to the effects of cognitive strain, is reviewed. Next, the impact of cognitive strain on narrowly constraining or “bounding” rational decision-making is examined, and the choice strategies of satisficing and incrementalizing are criticized as failing to broaden the bounds of rational decision-making. Finally, elements of an eclectic choice strategy designed to assist decision-makers handle the informational demands of complex decision problems are discussed.
Sex‐Based Differences in School Content and the Male‐Female Wage Gap

In high school and college, men and women take significantly different courses. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the National Longitudinal Study class of 1972, we relate these differences in school content to sex differences in adult wages. Differences in field of highest degree account for a significant part of the male‐female wage gap among college graduates, but differences in coursework account for little of the equally large wage gap between men and women with less schooling. Among college graduates there is some evidence that the reward for taking male majors is larger for men.
A broader view on vertical coordination: lessons from German pork production

In the literature it is often hypothesised that contracts and vertical integration are of paramount importance for the future competitiveness of meat supply chains. The continued coexistence of two different types of pork production chains throughout the world - less integrated systems in, for instance, many Western European countries and stricter coordinated systems based on contracts and vertical integration in countries such as the U.S.A. and Denmark - is rarely discussed in the agribusines literature. Some authors expect a trend towards more intense vertical coordination and consider the loose relationships in some European markets as an obsolescent model. Based on an overview of theoretical approaches towards the organisation of meat supply chains, we confront the contract and integration hypothesis with current developments at the slaughterhouse level and in quality assurance systems as well as results from a recent survey among German pig producers concerning their attitudes towards contracts. A bi.
An Examination of Cross‐Sectional Realized Stock Returns using a Varying‐Risk Beta Model

Using the dual-beta model of Bhardwaj and Brooks (1993), this study examines the cross-section of realized stock returns. Bull-market betas are significantly positively related to returns and, except for some models in January, bear-market betas are significantly negatively related to returns. These relationships are not lost even after other independent variables, including size, book-to-market equity, and an earnings-price ratio, are added to the cross-sectional regressions. Book-to-market equity is an important factor in bear, but not bull, markets. Size is important in January and in bear markets during February through December. Copyright 1998 by MIT Press.
Impact of Leadership Style on Channel Partner Motivation

Abstract While channel decision makers can expend considerable effort in designing efficient and effective distribution channel systems to serve their target markets, success in achieving the firm's distribution objectives may not be realized without implementing a systematic program for motivating distribution channel partners. This places a premium on the identification and use of effective channel strategies for motivating channel partners as well as the capacity of the channel captain to provide leadership as a means of attaining a differential advantage. Thus, channel leadership style has become a critical issue in the administration of distribution channels. Despite the importance of motivating channel partners, there is a paucity of research on this construct. To augment the existing knowledge on channel partner motivation-a fundamental area of interorganizational management-this study empirically examined the influence of participative, supportive, and directive leadership styles on channel partner motivation. Moreover, the relationship between channel partner motivation and channel partner performance is also investigated. The linkages among the constructs were empirically tested on data drawn from a sample of distributive institutions for new automobiles. The findings from this investigation indicate that participative, supportive and directive leadership styles are statistically significant predictors of channel partner motivation, which, in turn, is a determinant of channel partner performance. Distribution channel management implications are discussed, the limitations of the study are identified, and directions for future research are proffered.
Commodity Contracts and Common Stocks as Hedges against Relative Consumer Price Risk

Abstract Evidence provided here suggests that investors could have identified, ex ante, portfolios that hedge against uncertainty in the prices of three major categories of consumption: food, shelter, and transportation. This finding has implications for the practical importance of multi-period capital asset pricing theories that assume investors can identify such hedge portfolios. The study also provides some surprising evidence about the usefulness of common stocks and commodity futures contracts in hedging against specific price inflation. Certain combinations of common stocks serve as effective hedges, but combinations of commodity futures contracts contribute nothing to hedging ability.
Explaining group membership in the European Parliament: the British Conservatives and the Movement for European Reform

Abstract This article examines the decisions behind group membership in the European Parliament (EP) using a rational-choice institutionalist framework. Following the goals ascribed to them by Strøm (1990) in other settings, national parties should join the largest group that matches their socioeconomic preferences. Yet, whilst explanations taking national parties as the basic unit of analysis might sometimes suffice, we argue that it is often necessary to consider the influence of individual parliamentarians and existing EP groups. The scope open to these various actors to pursue their interests determines the attractiveness of the various options available to a national party. We illustrate our conceptual framework by reference to the attempt by the British Conservative Party to leave the European People's Party-European Democrats (EPP-ED) group, an effort ending in the formation of an extra-parliamentary federation, the Movement for European Reform.
Age-dependent Responses to Nerve Injury– induced Mechanical Allodynia

Background:Developmental differences in responses to acute and chronic nerve injury have received minimal attention. This study examines developmental differences in behavioral responses to a proximal (closer to the spinal cord) (L5 and L6 spinal nerve root ligation) or to a more distal (closer to peripheral innervation) (partial sciatic nerve ligation) nerve injury in rats paralleling the infant to young adult human. Methods:Withdrawal thresholds to von Frey filament testing in the hind paw were determined before and various times after either spinal nerve root ligation or partial sciatic nerve ligation in rats aged 2, 4, and 16 weeks. Control rats of these ages were observed serially without surgery. Times for withdrawal thresholds to mechanical stimuli to return to 80% of that of the hind paw in the control animals were compared among the different ages in the two models. Results:Baseline withdrawal thresholds in younger rats were lower (P < 0.05). In the 2-week-old animals, distal injury partial sciatic nerve ligation did not cause a reduction in withdrawal threshold from baseline. This was different from the spinal nerve root ligation group and the older animals in the partial sciatic nerve ligation group. However, when compared with age-matched control animals, both nerve injuries resulted in reduced withdrawal thresholds (P < 0.05). The resolution of hypersensitivity to mechanical stimulation, as measured by return of threshold to 80% of controls, occurred more quickly in 2-week-old than in 4- and 16-week-old animals in both injury models (P < 0.05). Conclusion:These data suggest that resolution of sensitization to A-fiber input occurs more rapidly in young animals. In addition, distal injury has less of a sensitizing effect on A-fiber input than proximal injury in the younger animals. The authors speculate that neuroimmune responses, especially at the site of injury, are developmentally regulated and less likely to produce chronic pain when injury occurs at a young age.
Fairness in Extended Dictator Game Experiments

Abstract We test the robustness of behavior in dictator games by offering allocators the choice to play an unattractive lottery. With this lottery option, mean transfers from allocators to recipients substantially decline, partly because many allocators now keep the entire endowment for themselves (without playing the lottery). In our standard dictator game, the median transfer amounts to 41% of the dictators' endowment. Once the lottery option is present, the median transfer falls to zero. Introducing an additional unattractive choice thus leads subjects to violate the weak axiom of revealed preference (WARP).
ASSESSING THE PROBABILISTIC FUZZY NET PRESENT VALUE FOR A CAPITAL INVESTMENT CHOICE USING FUZZY ARITHMETIC

ABSTRACT This work applies fuzzy theory to capital budgeting and combines with a probability method in developing the fuzzy net present value algorithms for evaluating the investment projects. The estimation of cash flows in fuzzy numbers catches the vague characteristics of estimation, and the forecast of probabilities of economic prospects describes the randomness of outcomes. Using α-cuts and the interval of confidence of fuzzy numbers, this study defines the fuzzy net present value (FNPV), expected FNPV, and deviation, and derives their membership functions. The fuzzy performance index (FPI), the fuzzy expected value to standard deviation, is then proposed to be the decision indicator. After a ranking procedure, the higher-FPI project is a better choice. The situations of unequal durations and unequal costs of capital for mutually exclusive projects, which are seldom discussed in previous studies, are considered by estimating the fuzzy equivalent annuity (FEA) and fuzzy equivalent annuity to infinity (FEAI). The ranking of their FPIs is also derived. The proposed step-by-step operational algorithms of the membership functions hopefully conduce to more convenient practical implementation. Finally, a numerical example demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed algorithms.
Identification of Hypertension Susceptibility Loci on Rat Chromosome 12

Previous studies have identified multiple blood pressure and renal disease quantitative trait loci located on rat chromosome 12. In the present study, we narrowed blood pressure loci using a series of overlapping Dahl salt-sensitive/Mcwi (SS)-12 Brown Norway (BN) congenic lines. We found that transferring 6.1 Mb of SS chromosome 12 (13.4–19.5 Mb) onto the consomic SS-12BN background significantly elevated blood pressure on 1% NaCl (146 ± 6 versus 127 ± 1 mm Hg; P<0.001) and 8% NaCl diets (178 ± 7 versus 144 ± 2 mm Hg; P<0.001). Compared with the SS-12BN consomic, these animals also had significantly elevated albumin (218 ± 31 versus 104 ± 8 mg/d; P<0.001) and protein excretion (347 ± 41 versus 195 ± 12 mg/d; P<0.001) on a 1% NaCl diet. Elevated blood pressure, albuminuria, and proteinuria coincided with greater renal and cardiac damage, demonstrating that SS allele(s) within the 6.1 Mb congenic interval are associated with strong cardiovascular disease phenotypes. Sequence analysis of the 6.1 Mb congenic region revealed 12 673 single nucleotide polymorphisms between SS and BN rats. Of these polymorphisms, 293 lie within coding regions, and 18 resulted in nonsynonymous changes in conserved genes, of which 5 were predicted to be potentially damaging to protein function. Syntenic regions in human chromosome 7 have also been identified in multiple linkage and association studies of cardiovascular disease, suggesting that genetic variants underlying cardiovascular phenotypes in this congenic strain can likely be translated to a better understanding of human hypertension.