Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cellular Function and Regulation of the Translationally Controlled Tumour Protein TCTP

The 'translationally controlled tumour protein' TCTP was originally discovered 30 years ago by researchers in- terested in proteins regulated at the translational level. Cloning and sequencing confirmed the conservation of this protein among all eukaryotic kingdoms, but did not reveal any functional clue, and TCTP was listed in the databases as a 'family' of its own. The functional characterisation of this protein extended over more than a decade, leading to a plethora of indi- vidual functions and interactions that have been ascribed to this protein. A major addition to the functional characterisa- tion of TCTP was the identification in 1995 of its histamine releasing factor (HRF) activity in allergic conditions, which for the first time described an extracellular activity for TCTP in human disease. This triggered a host of additional publi- cations aimed at characterising this HRF activity, which are discussed in other articles of this issue. Another milestone in the elucidation of TCTP's function was the demonstration of its anti-apoptotic activity in 2001. Evidence is also accumu- lating for a role of TCTP in the cell cycle and in early development. This article provides an overview of the main cellular activities of TCTP. The second part will summarise our current knowledge on the mechanisms involved in regulating in- tracellular TCTP levels.
The Effect of Financial Development on Economic Growth in the

This paper provides new evidence that sheds light on the effect of financial development on economic growth in nine MENA countries over the period of 1991–2009. The empirical results using the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) estimators reveal financial development is a statistically significant determinant of economic growth, but the impact is more apparent on stock market development than banking sector development. This finding suggests that improving the functioning of the banking sector is crucial to spur economic growth in MENA countries.
A Resolved Circumstellar Disk around the Herbig Ae Star HD 100546 in the Thermal Infrared

We present mid-infrared nulling interferometric and direct imaging observations of the Herbig Ae star HD 100546 obtained with the Magellan I (Baade) 6.5 m telescope. The observations show resolved circumstellar emission at 10.3, 11.7, 12.5, 18.0, and 24.5 μm. Through the nulling observations (10.3, 11.7, and 12.5 μm), we detect a circumstellar disk, with an inclination of 45° ± 15° with respect to a face-on disk, a semimajor axis position angle of 150° ± 10° (east of north), and a spatial extent of about 25 AU. The direct images (18.0 and 24.5 μm) show evidence for cooler dust with a spatial extent of 30-40 AU from the star. The direct images also show evidence for an inclined disk with a similar position angle as the disk detected by nulling. This morphology is consistent with models in which a flared circumstellar disk dominates the emission. However, the similarity in relative disk size that we derive for different wavelengths suggests that the disk may have a large inner gap, possibly cleared out by the formation of a giant protoplanet. The existence of a protoplanet in the system also provides a natural explanation for the observed difference between HD 100546 and other Herbig Ae stars.
Modelling the Value of the S&P 500 - a System Dynamics Perspective

This paper seeks to model the adjustment process in the stock market by a continuous time state space model focusing on input-out relations. The value of the S&P 500 is generated as the output of the model with earnings and the interest rate as input. The model is found to fit the data well, and indicates that the stock price dynamics can be considered as a price-following-value process. The value determines the time varying trend of price, and random buy-sell pressure drives price fluctuations about value. The 1987 stock price bubble shows up clearly as a gap between price and value.
Authorship Attribution and Optical Character Recognition Errors

Stylometric authorship attribution is a fundamental problem. The basic idea behind the research is that one can determine the authorship of a document on the basis of cognitive and linguistic quirks that uniquely identify a person. In many cases, however, noise in the original documents can make this analysis more difficult and less reliable. We investigate the errors introduced by a typical optical character recognition (OCR) process. Using simulated (random) errors in a standard benchmark corpus, we test to see how sensitive the authorship attribution process is to character mis-recognition. Our results indicate that, while accuracy decreases measurably with noise, the decrease is not substantial. RESUME. Le probleme de l'attribution stylometrique d'auteur est un probleme fondamental. L'idee fondamentale derriere cette recherche est que l'on peut determiner la paternite d'un do- cument sur la base d'un ensemble de trait cognitifs et linguistiques qui permettent d'identifier de maniere unique le style d'ecriture d'une personne. Dans de nombreux cas, cependant, le bruit present dans les documents originaux peut rendre cette analyse plus difficile et moins fiable. Nous etudions les erreurs introduites par un processus typique de reconnaissance op- tique de caracteres (OCR). En utilisant des erreurs simulees (aleatoirement) dans un corpus de reference standard, nous evaluons la sensibilite au bruit du processus d'attribution d'auteur. Nos resultats indiquent que, bien que la precision diminue avec un niveau de bruit, cette baisse n'est pas substantielle.
Parallel solution-adaptive method for two dimensional non-premixed combusting flows

A parallel Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) algorithm is proposed and applied to the predictions of both laminar and turbulent steady non-premixed compressible combusting flows. The parallel solution-adaptive algorithm solves the system of partial-differential equations governing two-dimensional axisymmetric laminar and turbulent compressible flows for reactive thermally perfect gaseous mixtures using a fully coupled finite-volume formulation on body-fitted multi-block quadrilateral mesh. Numerical results for co-flow laminar and turbulent diffusion flames are described and compared to available experimental data. The numerical results demonstrate the validity and potential of the parallel AMR approach for predicting both fine-scale features of laminar and complex turbulent non-premixed flames.
On optimality of interpolation-based low-rank approximations of large-scale matrix equations

In this paper, we will discuss some optimality results for the approximation of large-scale matrix equations. In particular, this will include the special case of Lyapunov and Sylvester equations, respectively. We show a relation between the iterative rational Krylov algorithm and a Riemannian optimization method which recently has been shown to locally minimize a certain energy norm of the underlying Lyapunov operator. Moreover, we extend the results for a more general setting leading to a slight modification of IRKA. By means of some numerical test examples, we will show the efficiency of the proposed methods.
Temporal markers of prosodic boundaries in children's speech production

It is often thought that the ability to use prosodic features accurately is mastered in early childhood. However, research to date has produced conflicting evidence, notably about the development of children's ability to mark prosodic boundaries. This paper investigates (i) whether, by the age of eight, children use temporal boundary features in their speech in a systematic way, and (ii) to what extent adult listeners are able to interpret their production accurately and unambiguously. The material consists of minimal pairs of utterances: one utterance includes a compound noun, in which there is no prosodic boundary after the first noun, e.g. ‘coffee-cake and tea’, while the other utterance includes simple nouns, separated by a prosodic boundary, e.g. ‘coffee, cake and tea’. Ten eight-year-old children took part, and their productions were rated by 23 adult listeners. Two phonetic exponents of prosodic boundaries were analysed: pause duration and phrase-final lengthening. The results suggest that, at the age of 8, there is considerable variability among children in their ability to mark phrase boundaries of the kind analysed in the experiment, with some children failing to differentiate between the members of the minimal pairs reliably. The differences between the children in their use of boundary features were reflected in the adults' perceptual judgements. Both temporal cues to prosodic boundaries significantly affected the perceptual ratings, with pause being a more salient determinant of ratings than phrase-final lengthening.
Public partnerships, governance and user involvement: a service user perspective

This paper explores public partnerships and governance from a service user perspective, drawing both on the author's own involvement in service user organizations and movements and on material associated with and produced by these organizations and movements. It addresses the ambivalent relationship between service user organizations and movements and the idea and practice of ‘partnerships’, and explores their preference for ideas of ‘alliance’. It charts the different approaches to and ideologies underpinning user involvement and their implications for partnership between state and service users and their organizations. It offers a set of components for improving such partnerships as well as highlighting the growing interest of service users' organizations and movements in developing and extending alliances.
The Genetic Etiology of Tourette Syndrome: Large-Scale Collaborative Efforts on the Precipice of Discovery

Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by multiple motor and phonic tics. It has a complex etiology with multiple genes likely interacting with environmental factors to lead to the onset of symptoms. The genetic basis of the disorder remains elusive. However, multiple resources and large-scale projects are coming together, launching a new era in the field and bringing us on the verge of discovery. The large-scale efforts outlined in this report are complementary and represent a range of different approaches to the study of disorders with complex inheritance. The Tourette Syndrome Association International Consortium for Genetics (TSAICG) has focused on large families, parent-proband trios and cases for large case-control designs such as genomewide association studies (GWAS), copy number variation (CNV) scans, and exome/genome sequencing. TIC Genetics targets rare, large effect size mutations in simplex trios, and multigenerational families. The European Multicentre Tics in Children Study (EMTICS) seeks to elucidate gene-environment interactions including the involvement of infection and immune mechanisms in TS etiology. Finally, TS-EUROTRAIN, a Marie Curie Initial Training Network, aims to act as a platform to unify large-scale projects in the field and to educate the next generation of experts. Importantly, these complementary large-scale efforts are joining forces to uncover the full range of genetic variation and environmental risk factors for TS, holding great promise for identifying definitive TS susceptibility genes and shedding light into the complex pathophysiology of this disorder.
Interaction between lexical and syntactic structures in transcoding from verbal to Arabic numerals

We explore the relationship between the lexical structure and the syntactical structure of numerical expressions in number transcoding from the oral verbal format to the Arabic digital format. The experimental setup included asking six to eight-year old Spanish-speaking children attending elementary school to write in Arabic format a set of dictated numerals. The method of analysis includes the construction of a relational representation of children's production and the use of clustering techniques to identify patterns. The model relates children and dictated numerals by children's accomplishment and generates a subsidiary similitude relation between dictated numerals with patterns that show differentiated structures. We find that the presence or absence of a verbal expression for the Hundred position digit in the dictated numeral marks one of the structures. The second structure comes from the role of two digit numbers (e.g. 20 or 34): homogeneous in the Decade position and heterogeneous in the Thousand position. We interpret these results as consistent with the semantic-lexical internal number representation model by R.J.D. Power and M.F. Dal Martello, The dictation of Italian numerals, Language and Cognitive Processes, 5, 237-254; 1990.
The Employment Effects of Lower Minimum Wage Rates for Young Workers: Canadian Evidence

Between 1986 and 1998, six of the ten Canadian provinces abolished their lower minimum wage rates for younger teenage workers. Using data from the Canadian Labour Force Survey, this paper evaluates the effects of abolition on the employment and weekly hours worked of 15‐ to 16‐year‐olds using teenagers in provinces where there is no legislative change and young people above the age to which youth rates applied as control groups. The results provide some evidence that abolishing these youth rates significantly lowered employment and work hours of 15‐ to 16‐year‐olds, but the lack of evidence for some jurisdictions and patterns of effects using age controls do raise some questions regarding the interpretation of the results.
From ICT coordination to ICT integration: a longitudinal case study

This study utilizes a school-improvement perspective to examine the role of curriculum coordination in the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into primary schools. The nature and impact of this role is examined in seven primary schools in Australia. These seven schools were drawn from a longitudinal intervention that provided additional ICT-related resources and personnel to the schools. An instrument, referred to as the Learning Outcomes and Pedagogy Attributes (LOPA) measure, was developed and charted for the seven schools over the 4-year data collection period. The changes in LOPA score over time were then analysed in terms of the conditions at the school with regard to curriculum ICT coordination. The study concludes that the coordinator role and school leadership in general, play critical but varying roles in the complex process of ICT integration into schools. Success appeared to be associated with the support provided for the role, the extent to which the role was connected to school leadership, personal leadership characteristics of those in the role and the strategies employed within the role.
Exclusive Preferential Placement as Search Diversion : Evidence from Flight Search

We analyze the incentives for a two-sided intermediary to divert consumers to its favored destinations. Using a quasi-experiment to control for search intent, we identify and measure the impact of a search engine’s exclusive award of preferential placement to its own service. We find that Google’s differential placement of its Flight Search service led to a 65% decrease in click-through rates for non-paid algorithmic links and an 85% increase in click-through rates for paid advertising listings of competing online travel agencies. Moreover, the exclusive integration of search engine services into search results disproportionately impacted traffic to popular sites. JEL classification: L21, L40, L86
Consumer Expenditures: New Measures and Old Motives

Changing consumer choices have built microchip factories where cotton fields used to be and have doomed cities from New Bedford to Detroit, while the impact of these choices on jobs and tax revenues have stimulated the creation of models of consumer behaviour. Even finely tuned econometric models, however, have not served well as guides for policy choices, for they have relied chiefly on data for the Great Depression and the Cold War era, or on biased budget surveys. This text aims to provide the way to greater economic realism with new data for the 20th century, including the decades of peaceful prosperity. The new measures also permit moving from the level of the nation to the state. Analyzing our individual economic well-being, the book argues that consumer expenditure provides a better guide than the usual data on money income before tax. It also challenges continued reliance on a single consumption function in macro models. In other essays, the author uses the new data to demonstrate that the supposed "flawed prosperity" of the 1920s was not responsible for the Great Depression; points out the limitations of the usual consumer budget surveys; and contrasts the role of age, nativity and other factors in creating interstate differences.
Effect of Oxidative Stress on Lecithin Cholesterol Acyl Transferase Activity in Newly Detected Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Oxidative Stress and Lecithin Cholesterol Acyl Transferase (LCAT) activity is widely accepted participant in the development and progression of diabetes and its complications. Aim and Objectives: The present study has been undertaken to evaluate the effect of oxidative stress on LCAT activity in newly detected type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM), and its role in development and progression of diabetes and its complications. Materials and Methods: 200 participants were enrolled in the study, 100 with newly detected type 2 DM were taken as study group and 100 age and sex matched healthy participants were taken as control group. Biochemical parameters like serum Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), LCAT activity, Total cholesterol, Triacylglycerol, HDL, LDL, VLDL and erythrocyte reduced glutathione levels were analyzed in all the participants. Results: The patients with type 2 DM showed increased oxidative stress (p<0.05) and decreased LCAT activity (p<0.001) and HDL levels (p<0.001). Conclusion: Study concludes that increased oxidative stress might be responsible for the reduced LCAT activity. This may be involved in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and could be an alarming finding for the risk of atherosclerosis in newly detected type 2 DM.
Quercetin Improves Postischemic Recovery of Heart Function in Doxorubicin-Treated Rats and Prevents Doxorubicin-Induced Matrix Metalloproteinase-2 Activation and Apoptosis Induction

Quercetin (QCT) is flavonoid that possesses various biological functions including anti-oxidative and radical-scavenging activities. Moreover, QCT exerts some preventive actions in treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of present study was to explore effects of prolonged administration of QCT on changes induced by repeated application of doxorubicin (DOX) in rat hearts. We focused on the ultrastructure of myocardium, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), biometric parameters, and apoptosis induction. Our aim was also to examine effects of QCT on ischemic tolerance in hearts exposed to chronic effects of DOX, and to determine possible mechanisms underlying effects of QCT. Our results showed that QCT prevented several negative chronic effects of DOX: (I) reversed DOX-induced blood pressure increase; (II) mediated improvement of deleterious effects of DOX on ultrastructure of left ventricle; (III) prevented DOX-induced effects on tissue MMP-2 activation; and (iv) reversed effects of DOX on apoptosis induction and superoxide dismutase inhibition. Moreover, we showed that rat hearts exposed to effects of QCT were more resistant to ischemia/reperfusion injury. Effects of QCT on modulation of ischemic tolerance were linked to Akt kinase activation and connexin-43 up-regulation. Taken together, these results demonstrate that prolonged treatment with QCT prevented negative chronic effects of DOX on blood pressure, cellular damage, MMP-2 activation, and apoptosis induction. Moreover, QCT influenced myocardial responses to acute ischemic stress. These facts bring new insights into mechanisms of QCT action on rat hearts exposed to the chronic effects of DOX.
Ability in daily activities after early supported discharge models of stroke rehabilitation

Abstract More knowledge is needed about how different rehabilitation models in the municipality influence stroke survivors’ ability in activities of daily living (ADL). Objectives: To compare three models of outpatient rehabilitation; early supported discharge (ESD) in a day unit, ESD at home and traditional treatment in the municipality (control group), regarding change in ADL ability during the first three months after stroke. Methods: A group comparison study was designed within a randomized controlled trial. Included participants were tested with the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) at baseline and discharged directly home. Primary and secondary outcomes were the AMPS and the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Results and conclusions: Included were 154 participants (57% men, median age 73 years), and 103 participants completed the study. There were no significant group differences in pre–post changed ADL ability measured by the AMPS. To find the best rehabilitation model to improve the quality of stroke survivors’ motor and process skills needs further research. Patients participating in the ESD rehabilitation models were, compared with traditional treatment, significantly associated with improved ADL ability measured by the mRS when controlling for confounding factors, indicating that patients with social needs and physical impairment after stroke may benefit from ESD rehabilitation models.
Disappearing Dividends in Emerging Markets?: Evidence from India

This study examines the dividend behavior of Indian corporate firms in an emerging market (India), identifying characteristics of dividend payers and nonpayers from 1991 to 2001. Dividend trends for a large sample of stocks traded on Indian markets indicate that the percentage of companies paying dividends declined, from over 57 percent in 1991 to 32 percent in 2001, and that only a few firms paid regular dividends. Even though regular payers consistently paid higher dividends than did other firms, on average, Indian firms became less likely to pay dividends by the close of the century. Dividend-paying companies were likely to be larger and more profitable than nonpaying companies, though growth opportunities do not seem to have significantly influenced the dividend policies of Indian firms.
Opportunity Costs of Providing Crop Diversity in Organic and Conventional Farming

Targeted environmental policies for farmlands may improve the cost-efficiency of conservation programs if one can identify those farms that produce public goods with the least cost. We derive shadow values of producing crop diversity for a sample of Finnish conventional and organic crop farms in the period 1994-2002 in order to examine their opportunity costs of conservation. Our results of Data Envelopment Analysis show that there is variation in the shadow values between farms and between the technologies adopted. The degree of cost heterogeneity and farms’ potential for specialization in the production of environmental outputs determine whether voluntary programs such as auctions for conservation payments are economically reasonable.
Dissecting the 2007-2009 Real Estate Market Bust: Systematic Pricing Correction or Just a Housing Fad?

We use a flexible Bayesian model averaging method to estimate a factor pricing model characterized by structural uncertainty and instability in macro-financial factor loadings and idiosyncratic risks. We propose such a framework to investigate key differences in the pricing mechanism that applies to residential versus non-residential real estate investment trusts (REITs). An analysis of cross-sectional mispricings reveals no evidence of pure housing/residential real-estate abnormal returns inflating between 1999 and 2007, to subsequently collapse. In fact, all REITs sectors record increasing alphas during this period, and show important differences in the dynamic evolution of risk factors exposures.