Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Complement Factor 3 Is Associated With Insulin Resistance and With Incident Type 2 Diabetes Over a 7-Year Follow-up Period: The CODAM Study

OBJECTIVE Immune dysregulation can affect insulin resistance (IR) and β-cell function and hence contribute to development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The complement system, as a regulator of immune and inflammatory homeostasis, may be a relevant contributor therein. However, longitudinal studies focusing on complement as a determinant of T2DM and IR are scarce. Therefore, we prospectively investigated the association of plasma complement factor 3 (C3) with (estimates of) IR in muscle, liver, and adipocytes, as well as with glucose tolerance, including incident T2DM. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Fasting C3, nonesterified fatty acids, glucose, and insulin (the latter two during oral glucose tolerance tests) were measured at baseline (n = 545) and after 7 years of follow-up (n = 394) in a prospective cohort study. RESULTS Over the 7-year period, C3 levels (per 0.1 g/L) were longitudinally associated with higher homeostasis model assessment of IR (HOMA2-IR; β = 15.2% [95% CI 12.9–17.6]), hepatic IR (β = 6.1% [95% CI 4.7–7.4]), adipocyte IR (β = 16.0% [95% CI 13.0–19.1]), fasting glucose (β = 1.8% [95% CI 1.2–2.4]), 2-h glucose (β = 5.2% [95% CI 3.7–6.7]), and area under the curve for glucose (β = 3.6% [95% CI 2.7–4.6]). In addition, greater changes in C3 (per 0.1 g/L) were associated with greater changes in HOMA2-IR (β = 0.08 [95% CI 0.02–0.15]) and greater changes in hepatic IR (β = 0.87 [95% CI 0.12–1.61]) over 7 years, but not glucose tolerance. Moreover, baseline C3 was associated with the 7-year incidence of T2DM (odds ratio 1.5 [95% CI 1.1–2.0]). CONCLUSIONS Changes in C3 were associated with changes in several measures of IR and may reflect progression of metabolic dysregulation, which eventually leads to abnormalities in glucose tolerance and T2DM.
Effects of Maternal Age and Environment on Offspring Vital Rates in the Oleander Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Abstract Maternal effects have the potential to affect population dynamics and evolution. To affect population dynamics, maternal effects must influence offspring vital rates (birth, death, or movement). Here, we explore the magnitude of nongenetic maternal influence on the vital rates of an insect herbivore and explore predictability of maternal effects with reference to published studies. We experimentally studied the effects of maternal age, host plant species (two Asclepias spp.), and density on offspring vital rates in Aphis nerii, the oleander aphid. Older mothers produced offspring that lived shorter lives, consistent with the “Lansing Effect. ” Older mothers also produced offspring that matured at a younger age. As maternal age increased, offspring mass at maturity decreased when mothers were on Asclepias syriaca. However, offspring mass was highest from intermediate aged mothers on A. viridis. The absence of maternal density effects seems to exclude maternal density as a potential source of delayed density dependence in A. nerii. Our results indicate that maternal effects have some influence on A. nerii vital rates. However, references to published studies suggest that only the Lansing Effect is a predictable response to maternal age in insects. Moreover, the magnitude of observed effects was generally low.
Hidden surface removal with respect to a moving view point

We give two algorithms for hidden surface removal with respect to a moving viewpoint. The first algorithm preprocesses the set A of scene polygons to build a certain cylindrical partition H(A) of R3 of at most quadratic, but typically much smaller, size. After this any given viewpoiut v can be located in H(A) in poly-logarithmic time, and the view visible from v can be constructed in time proportional to the size of the complex View(o) n H(A) (up to a log factor), where View(v) is the star shaped polyhedron consisting of the visible points in R3. The second algorithm is designed to exploit coherence between successive scenes in case the view point is moving on a linear trajectory. Once the scene at the initial viewpoint is constructed, it generates all successive scenes on the the trajectory in time that is proportional to the number of “semi-opaquen topological changes in the scene, as the viewpoint is moved on its trajectory continuously. The algorithm is based on a certain View Dependent Partition (VDP) of R3 that is induced by the scene polygons. It depends on the position as well as the trajectory of the view point. It is used to predict efficiently when and where the topological changes in the scene occur. A nice feature of the above algorithm, based on VDP, is that it can be easily extended to deal with moving scene polygons as well, assuming that the trajectories of the scene vertices are rationally parametrized by t and have a bounded degree.
Ambiguity About Audit Probability, Tax Compliance, and Taxpayer Welfare

We show that an increase in uncertainty about the probability of being audited (ambiguity) increases tax compliance for ambiguity-averse taxpayers but reduces compliance for ambiguity lovers. Because experimental evidence reveals considerable heterogeneity with respect to ambiguity preferences, we conclude that fostering uncertainty about the probability of being audited may not be an effective policy for increasing taxpayer compliance. Moreover, because the tax authority can neither categorize nor screen taxpayers on the basis of their preferences for ambiguity, it is not likely to be either a useful or a desirable instrument for increasing taxpayer welfare. (JEL H26, D81)
Credit Card Redlining

Abstract This paper evaluates the presence of racial disparities in the issuance of consumer credit. Using a database of credit histories, I link location-based information on race with individual credit files. After controlling for place-specific factors such as housing vacancy rates and general population demographics, I find qualitatively large differences in the amount of credit offered to similarly qualified applicants living in black versus white areas. High data quality allows distinguishing between issuer-provision (supply) and utilization of credit (demand). Additional estimates using information on payday lending provide support for idea that issuers condition lending on location.
Assessment of Emerging Educational Technologies That Might Assist and Enhance School-to-Work Transitions

Study. The conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the analytic findings of OTA or the Technology Assessment Board. Section I of this study discusses how maintaining a "high skill/high wage" niche for America in the global marketplace requires a shift in work roles. Our economy is shifting away from smart machines automating human labor to manufacture standardized commodities. Instead, people increasingly are working in partnership with intelligent tools to create customized products and services. As this transformation to a post-industrial, "knowledge-based" economy occurs, an evolution of job requirements toward higher-order thinking skills is taking place in all types of occupations, blue-as well as white-collar. With advances in information technology during the next decade, people's creativity and flexibility will be vital as job skills, because the standardized aspects of problem solving will be increasingly absorbed by machines. Until the need for these new types of skills is routine in workplace settings, shifting the emphasis of occupational education is difficult for teachers and employers to initiate-but by then a generation of our workers will be ill-prepared to compete in the global economic arena. The core challenge is to prepare today's students for a future workplace more disparate from present experience than at any time since the industrial revolution. Changing workplace needs will reshape the goals, student population, and content of instruction. Shifts in pedagogical methods, the organizational structure of teaching/learning settings, and the locus of education will inevitably follow. Sophisticated information technologies can provide the leverage to make evolution to a new educational model possible; the same advances that are transforming the economy can empower new models of teaching/learning to facilitate the transition from school to work. In Section II of this study, we propose a "process" view of the "school-to-work" (STW) transition and key stakeholders: people seeking a career, training, and employment ("Career Seekers"); providers of career counseling information; providers of training and accreditation; labor organizations; and employers. Providers of curricula and training technologies are also lesser stakeholders. This process view is pictured below. The STW process consists of five phases, as depicted in this diagram: Phase 1. Search for, and selection of an appropriate career. This includes orientation about work, exploration of careers, self-assessment of skills and interests, and selection of a career. Phase 2. Search for, and selection of an appropriate training institution/program for that career. This includes comparison of training opportunities, financial and …
Dostie , Benoît ; Jayaraman , Rajshri Working Paper Organizational redesign , information technologies and workplace productivity

Organizational Redesign, Information Technologies and Workplace Productivity Using a large longitudinal, nationally representative workplace-level dataset, we explore the productivity gains associated with computer use and organizational redesign. The empirical strategy involves the estimation of a production function, augmented to account for technology use and organizational design, correcting for unobserved heterogeneity. We find large returns associated with computer use. We also find that computer use and organizational redesign may be complements or substitutes in production, and that the productivity gains associated with organizational redesign are industry-specific. JEL Classification: D20, L20, M54, O33
Lines Gene in Ovarian Cancer Cell GPC 3 Frequent Silencing of the Updated

GPC3encodes a glypican integral membrane protein and is mutated in the Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome. Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome, an X-linked condition, is characterized by preand postnatal overgrowth as well as by various other abnormalities, including increased risk of embryonal tumors. The GPC3 gene is located at Xq26, a region frequently deleted in advanced ovarian cancers. To determine whether GPC3 is a tumor suppressor in ovarian neoplasia, we studied its expression and mutational status in 13 ovarian cancer cell lines. No mutations were found in GPC3, but its expression was lost in four (31%) of the cell lines analyzed. In all of the cases whereGPC3 expression was lost, theGPC3 promoter was hypermethylated, as demonstrated by Southern analysis. Expression of GPC3 was restored by treatment of the cells with the demethylating agent 5-aza2*-deoxycytidine. A colony-forming assay confirmed that ectopicGPC3expression inhibited the growth of ovarian cancer cell lines. Our results show that GPC3, a gene involved in the control of organ growth, is frequently inactivated in a subset of ovarian cancers and suggest that it may function as a tumor suppressor in the ovary.
Persimmon breeding in Japan for pollination-constant non-astringent (PCNA) type with marker-assisted selection

Oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki) originated in Eastern Asia, and many indigenous cultivars have been developed in China, Japan, and Korea. These cultivars are classified into four groups based on their natural astringency loss on the tree and seed formation: pollination-constant non-astringent (PCNA), pollination-variant non-astringent (PVNA), pollination-constant astringent (PCA), and pollination-variant astringent (PVA). PCNA is the most desirable type because the fruit can be eaten without any postharvest treatment; therefore, one of the goals of our persimmon breeding programs is to release superior PCNA cultivars. The PCNA genotype is recessive to the other three non-PCNA genotypes, and PCNA-type F1 offspring are obtained exclusively from crosses among PCNA genotypes. Moreover, the number of superior PCNA cross-parents have been limited. In the late 1980s, inbreeding depression became obvious, especially in terms of fruit size, tree vigor, and productivity. To mitigate the inbreeding, a backcross program using PCNA [(non-PCNA × PCNA) × PCNA] was started in 1990. This process, however, was inefficient because only 15% of the offspring were PCNA, and all offspring had to be grown to the fruiting stage. Therefore, molecular markers linked to the PCNA locus were developed for discriminating PCNA offspring. A molecular marker linked to Chinese PCNA has also been developed.
Deal Spreads in European Cross-Border M&A: Do Deal Spreads Adequately Reflect the Risk in Merger Arbitrage?

This paper documents inefficient pricing in deal spreads of European M&A targets. Despite a heterogeneous takeover environment we find no significant difference between spreads of domestic and European cross-border transactions. This deal spread parity suggests an equivalent degree of arbitrage risk. Yet, we observe a significantly worse merger arbitrage performance in European cross-border deals. To some extent, this inconsistency is explained by cultural distance that is not adequately reflected in deal spreads. By comparing different levels of European integration, we find that the inconsistency is strongest on the highest level of economic integration, i.e., the Euro area. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis of an illusion-of-conformity.
Potential Seasonal Terrestrial Water Storage Monitoring from GPS Vertical Displacements: A Case Study in the Lower Three-Rivers Headwater Region, China

This study uses the observed vertical displacements of Global Positioning System (GPS) time series obtained from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) with careful pre- and post-processing to estimate the seasonal crustal deformation in response to the hydrological loading in lower three-rivers headwater region of southwest China, followed by inferring the annual EWH changes through geodetic inversion methods. The Helmert Variance Component Estimation (HVCE) and the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) criterion were successfully employed. The GPS inferred EWH changes agree well qualitatively with the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)-inferred and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS)-inferred EWH changes, with a discrepancy of 3.2–3.9 cm and 4.8–5.2 cm, respectively. In the research areas, the EWH changes in the Lancang basin is larger than in the other regions, with a maximum of 21.8–24.7 cm and a minimum of 3.1–6.9 cm.
Expression of murine epidermal differentiation markers is tightly regulated by restricted extracellular calcium concentrations in vitro

Epidermal differentiation is characterized by a series of coordinated morphological and biochemical changes which result in a highly specialized, highly organized, stratified squamous epithelium. Among the specific markers expressed in differentiating epidermis are (a) two early spinous cell proteins, keratins 1 and 10 (K1 and K10); and (b) two later granular cell proteins, filaggrin and a cornified envelope precursor (CE). In vitro, epidermal basal cells are selectively cultured in 0.05 mM Ca2+ medium, and terminal differentiation is induced when the Ca2+ concentration is increased to 1 mM. However, only a small fraction of the cells express the markers K1, K10, CE, or filaggrin in the higher Ca2+ medium. To explore the factors required for marker expression, cultured epidermal cells were exposed to intermediate Ca2+ concentrations and extracts were analyzed using specific antibody and nucleic acid probes for the four markers of interest. These studies revealed that marker expression was enhanced at a restricted concentration of Ca2+ in the medium of 0.10-0.16 mM. At this Ca2+ concentration, both protein and mRNA levels for each marker were substantially increased, whereas at higher or lower Ca2+ concentrations they were diminished or undetected. The percentage of cells expressing each marker was increased two- to threefold in the permissive Ca2+ medium as determined by immunofluorescence analysis. This optimal level of Ca2+ was required both to initiate and sustain marker expression. At the permissive Ca2+ concentration, expression of the markers was sequential and similar to the order of appearance in vivo. K1 was expressed within 8-12 h and K10 was expressed in the ensuing 12-24-h period. CE and filaggrin were expressed in the subsequent 24 h. Inhibition of K1 expression by cycloheximide suggested that an inducible protein was involved. Other investigators have determined that a shallow Ca2+ gradient exists in epidermis, where the basal cells and spinous cells are in a Ca2+ environment substantially below serum Ca2+ levels. These in vitro results suggest that the Ca2+ environment is a fundamental regulator of expression of epidermal differentiation markers and provide an explanation for the existence of the Ca2+ gradient in vivo.
Spreading Depressions as Secondary Insults After Traumatic Injury to the Human Brain

Abstract : This report describes year 4 progress of a multi-center study of neurosurgical TBI patients to determine the effects of spreading depression (SD), measured by electrocorticography, on neurologic outcome. In this year, we have enrolled 42 patients, bringing the study total to 136. Data collection, scoring, and monitoring has been completed for 90 patients. Using data from the present study combined with the pilot study, we published the finding that SD is independently associated with worse outcomes in 103 patients. These results establish SD as a mechanism of secondary injury. These analyses will be repeated with the full cohort from the present study and an advanced prognostic model will be developed based on more refined metrics of SD burden, secondary insults, and TBI pathoanatomy. Overall progress indicates that SD should be targeted therapeutically in a future interventional trial. We also found evidence that SD can be monitored non-invasively by scalp EEG recordings, thus providing a method to extend results to non-surgical TBI patients.
Long-term Prognosis of Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody-Negative Renal Vasculitis: Cohort Study in Korea

Few studies have reported on the long-term prognosis of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-negative renal vasculitis. Between April 2003 and December 2013, 48 patients were diagnosed with renal vasculitis. Their ANCA status was tested using indirect immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. During a median (interquartile range) follow-up duration of 933.5 (257.5–2,079.0) days, 41.7% of patients progressed to end stage renal disease (ESRD) and 43.8% died from any cause. Of 48 patients, 6 and 42 were ANCA-negative and positive, respectively. The rate of ESRD within 3 months was higher in ANCA-negative patients than in ANCA-positive patients (P = 0.038). In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, ANCA-negative patients showed shorter renal survival than did ANCA-positive patients (log-rank P = 0.033). In univariate Cox-proportional hazard regression analysis, ANCA-negative patients showed increased risk of ESRD, with a hazard ratio 3.190 (95% confidence interval, 1.028–9.895, P = 0.045). However, the effect of ANCA status on renal survival was not statistically significant in multivariate analysis. Finally, ANCA status did not significantly affect patient survival. In conclusion, long-term patient and renal survival of ANCA-negative renal vasculitis patients did not differ from those of ANCA-positive renal vasculitis patients. Therefore, different treatment strategy depending on ANCA status might be unnecessary.
Crossfires : nationalism, racism and gender in Europe

Young people - nationalism, racism and gender, Ann Phoenix gender, migration and cross ethnic coalition building, Philomena Essed "After the last sky, where do the birds fly? " what can European women learn from anti-racist struggles in the United States? , Gloria Wekker the boundaries of community - gender relations and racial violence, Theresa Wobbe gender, orientalism and the history of ethnic hatred in former Yugoslavia, Dubravka Zarkov from national economies to nationalist hysteria - consequences for Tatjana Djuric women and ethnicity in present day Russia - thoughts on a given theme, Natralya Kosmarskaya nationalism and gender in West Europe - the German case, Nora Rathzel.
Efficient Maximum-Likelihood Soft-Decision Decoding of Linear Block Codes Using Algorithm A*

In this paper we present a novel maximum-likelihood soft-decision decoding algorithm for linear block codes. The approach used here is to convert the decoding problem into a search problem through a graph which is a trellis for an equivalent code of the transmitted code. Algorithm A* is employed to search through this graph. This search is guided by an evaluation function f defined to take advantage of the information provided by the received vector and the inherent properties of the transmitted code. This function f is used to drastically reduce the search space and to make the decoding efforts of this decoding algorithm adaptable to the noise level. Simulation results for the (104, 52) binary extended quadratic residue code and the (128,64) binary extended BCH code are given.
Community structure and population genetics of Eastern Mediterranean polychaetes

Species and genetic diversity are often found to co-vary since they are influenced by external factors in similar ways. In this paper, we analyse the genetic differences of the abundant polychaete Hermodice carunculata (Pallas, 1776) during two successive years at two locations in northern Crete (Aegean Sea) and compare them to other populations in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The genetic analysis is combined with an analysis of ecological divergence of the total polychaete community structure (beta diversity) at these locations. The phylogenetic analysis of all included H. carunculata populations revealed two main clades, one exclusively found in the Mediterranean and a second occurring in both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Genetic diversity indices reveal unexpectedly high differences between the two Cretan populations, despite the absence of apparent oceanographic barriers. A similarly high divergence, represented by a high beta diversity index, was observed between the polychaete communities at the two locations. This comparatively high divergence of the genetic structure of a dominant species and the total polychaete community might be explained by the strong influence of local environmental factors as well as inter-specific interactions between the dominance of a single species and the members of the community.
CFROI Valuation: A Total System Approach to Valuing the Firm

Preface Summary Key Criteria For Assessing Valuation Models Basic valuation Elements CFROI Life Cycle CFROI Valuation Model CFROI Fade Rates Market-Derived Discount Rate And Risk Differentials Valuation Sensitivity Corporate Performance Scorecards Intelligence Gathering Total System Perspective For Valuation Analysis Critical Thinking Technical Details Conventional Valuation Models Conclusions Epilogue Endnotes Appendix