Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tourism and grey seals in south Devon: management strategies, voluntary controls and tourists’ perceptions of disturbance

Although grey seals are relatively common in Britain, their numbers elsewhere are believed to be decreasing, and some populations in Europe are listed as endangered by the IUCN. This case study focuses on the impacts of seal tourism on a colony of seals on the South Devon coast in the United Kingdom, the effectiveness of current management policies and tourists’ perceptions of the voluntary controls adhered to by tour operators. To monitor impacts, covert observations of the site were undertaken on 60 designated survey days in the summer of 2006, while a survey of tourists taking part in wildlife cruises to the site was conducted during the same period. The observations found that the voluntary codes had reduced disturbance from operators; however, there were still disturbances, mainly from private vessels. The results of the survey showed that tourists were aware of their potential impacts upon the wildlife, and were generally supportive of the voluntary codes in place. Therefore if an honest explanation and interpretation of the potential impacts of seal tourism are provided, it may encourage a protectionist predisposition in wildlife tourists and render the compliance of voluntary codes a highly satisfactory tourist experience rather than a negative one.
Economic Growth and Liquidation of Natural Capital: The Case of Forest Clearance

The importance of natural capital to economic systems is increasingly recognized. Previous empirical models of economic growth rates, however, have emphasized accumulation of physical and human capital. This paper shows that the economic growth of over 70 countries has been positively affected by liquidation of one aspect of natural capital, forests, while controlling for factors typically associated with national growth rates. The positive association was robust to additions of various covariates, such as forest exports, level of economic development, agricultural area, and geographical position. These results suggest that conversion of forests has partially fuelled the economic expansion of countries. (JEL Q23)
Decoquinate and the control of experimental ovine toxoplasmosis

Decoquinate was tested for its ability to reduce the effect of experimentally induced toxoplasmosis in pregnant ewes. Sheep were given decoquinate in their feed daily at either 2 mg or 1 mg/kg bodyweight from 10 days before an oral challenge with Toxoplasma gondii oocysts at 90 days of gestation, until lambing. Feeding decoquinate at the higher rate caused a delay in the onset of the febrile response to infection, reduced the overall severity of the fever and delayed the production of antibodies to the parasite. This treatment also reduced the placental damage caused by the parasite, lengthened the mean gestation period and increased the number and weight of live lambs, in comparison with ewes not fed decoquinate but challenged with T gondii oocysts. The treatment with 1 mg of decoquinate had smaller effects.
Product Quality Under Specific and Ad Valorem Taxation

This article generalizes existing results on the effects of specific and ad valorem taxes on product quality in competitive markets. It is shown that the critical quantity on which these effects turn is the price elasticity of the marginal valuation of quality. Previous analyses, it emerges, have implicitly focused on the special cases in which this elasticity is zero or unity. It is also shown that there are circumstances in which this elasticity is exactly the reciprocal of the elasticity of substitution between price and quality in the indirect utility function.
Buying Local Votes: The Effect of Individual Campaign Spending Under a Semi-Open PR System in the Belgian Local Elections

Abstract This article analyses the effect of campaign spending on the individual result of party candidates in the Belgian local elections. An analysis of data concerning the 2012 local elections in the Flemish region shows that candidates who spend more in absolute terms or outspend their rivals (at the list and the municipality level) obtain a better result, even though the size of the effect is small. Contrary to what was found for national elections, there are indications that spending affects the odds of obtaining a seat in the local council. The spending effect tends to be weaker for candidates holding an executive office in the municipality.
MicroRNA-124-3p directly targets PDCD6 to inhibit metastasis in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality among women worldwide, with a poor 5-year survival rate, particularly among patients with metastatic BC. Previous studies have indicated that the dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) is associated with carcinogenesis and metastasis. Thus, investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms by which miRNAs mediate their effects may aid in the improvement of BC treatment. In the present study, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses were performed to investigate miR-124-3p expression in BC tissues. The expression of miR-124-3p was significantly decreased in primary BC tissues compared with that in adjacent non-tumor tissues. Downregulated miR-124-3p was correlated with lymph node metastasis and a low overall survival time. Wound-healing and Transwell assays revealed that MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell motility was inhibited by miR-124-3p, but was promoted by a miR-124-3p inhibitor. Overexpression of miR-124-3p increased levels of E-cadherin, and decreased levels of N-cadherin and Vimentin, indicating that miR-124-3p inhibits the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. In addition, a bioinformatics analysis and subsequent in vitro experiments identified programmed cell death protein 6 (PDCD6) as a direct target of miR-124-3p. Restoration of PDCD6 expression impaired the metastasis inhibitor role of miR-124-3p by promoting cell invasion. Furthermore, the expression of miR-124-3p was inversely associated with PDCD6 mRNA levels in clinical breast tumors. Taken together, these data suggest that miR-124-3p inhibits tumor metastasis by inhibiting PDCD6 expression, and that the miR-124-3p/PDCD6 signaling axis may be a potential target for novel treatments in patients with advanced BC.
Variations in Oxidative Stress Levels in 3 Days Follow-up in Ultramarathon Mountain Race Athletes

Abstract Spanidis, Y, Stagos, D, Orfanou, M, Goutzourelas, N, Bar-or, D, Spandidos, D, and Kouretas, D. Variations in oxidative stress levels in 3 days follow-up in ultramarathon mountain race athletes. J Strength Cond Res 31(3): 582–594, 2017—The aim of the present study was the monitoring of the redox status of runners participating in a mountain ultramarathon race of 103 km. Blood samples from 12 runners were collected prerace and 24, 48, and 72 hours postrace. The samples were analyzed by using conventional oxidative stress markers, such as protein carbonyls (CARB), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in plasma, as well as glutathione (GSH) levels and catalase (CAT) activity in erythrocytes. In addition, 2 novel markers, the static oxidation-reduction potential marker (sORP) and the capacity oxidation-reduction potential (cORP), were measured in plasma. The results showed significant increase in sORP levels and significant decrease in cORP and GSH levels postrace compared with prerace. The other markers did not exhibit significant changes postrace compared with prerace. Furthermore, an interindividual analysis showed that in all athletes but one sORP was increased, whereas cORP was decreased. Moreover, GSH levels were decreased in all athletes at least at 2 time points postrace compared with prerace. The other markers exhibited great variations between different athletes. In conclusion, ORP and GSH markers suggested that oxidative stress has existed even 3 days post ultramarathon race. The practical applications from these results would be that the most effective markers for short-term monitoring of ultramarathon mountain race–induced oxidative stress were sORP, cORP, and GSH. Also, administration of supplements enhancing especially GSH is recommended during ultramarathon mountain races to prevent manifestation of pathological conditions.
Perceived health risks, attitude and readiness to quit tobacco among euthymic bipolar disorder patients in regular contact with mental health services: An exploratory study from India

Background Patients with bipolar disorder (BD) are at higher risk of tobacco-related harm compared with general population. However, they may not fully appreciate health risks even when asymptomatic. Aim: The study aims to explore the perceived health risks, attitude and readiness to quit tobacco among euthymic BD patients. Method The adult male outpatients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edition diagnosis of BD type I and nicotine dependence were selected if they were euthymic and in regular psychiatric follow-up (n = 50). They were assessed using Fagerstrom scale for nicotine dependence, transtheoretical model and a semi-structured questionnaire. Results The sample was unaware of the full spectrum of tobacco health risks and most of patients could report only one or two tobacco-related diseases. Though the majority correctly recalled the pack health warning, but felt that it should not be taken seriously. The sample perceived its own cancer risk to be lower than that of an average user of similar age. The non-readiness to change tobacco use was predicted by difficulty in quitting due to mood disorder (odds ratio (OR) 0.229) and a higher perceived ability to quit (OR 0.328). Conclusion The knowledge and risk perception for tobacco remains inadequate even among the stable BD type I patients in regular contact with mental health services.
Epitope mapping on gliadins for patient sera reacting to modified gluten

884 Epitope mapping on gliadins for patient sera reacting to modified gluten Sandra Denery-Papini, Marie Bodinier, Fabrice Battais, Virginie Leduc, Chantal Brossard, Martine Morisset, Evelyne Paty, Florence Pineau, Thomas Mothes, and Denise-Anne Moneret-Vautrin. INRA, Research Unit BIA, Nantes, France; Allerbio Laboratory, R and D, Varenne en Argonne, France; NancyHospital, Clinical Immunology and Allergology, Nancy, France; Necker Hospital, Allergology center, Paris, France; University Hospital Leipzig, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostic, Leipzig, Germany. Background: Wheat gluten can be modified by enzymatic or chemical treatment (wheat isolate) in order to improve its functional properties, increase solubility and thus broaden its application in food industry. However, these modifications were shown to induce IgE mediated allergies in individuals usually tolerant to wheat. Leduc et al. (2003) published the first case of anaphylaxis after ingestion of a reconstituted meat containing a wheat isolate. Laurière et al. (2006) also showed that hydrolysed wheat proteins can induce severe allergic reactions by contact or ingestion. The objective of our work was to identify epitopes detected by IgE from patients with reactions to chemically deamidated gluten (product in which some glutamine residues were modified into glutamic acid). Methods: Sera from twelve patients with anaphylaxis, urticaria or WDEIA containing IgE antibodies to laboratory or industrial deamidated gluten in ELISA or RAST were analysed by pepscan with overlapping synthetic peptides. IgE-binding epitopes were searched among entire sequences of ã and w2-gliadins with identification of critical animo acid and analysis of effect of substitutions of glutamine into glutamic acid. Results: Eight sera reacted with repetitive peptides of ã or w2-gliadin containing a common octapeptide rich in proline and glutamine. Five critical positions for IgE binding have been identified on this epitope. Substitution of one of its glutamine into glutamic acid induced its recognition by two additional sera and simultaneous substitution of two glutamine into glutamic acid increased the intensity of responses obtained for the ten positive sera. Conclusion: Patients with reactions to deamidated gluten possessed IgE antibodies directed to linear sequences of the repetitive domains of ã and w2gliadins. IgE antibodies from most of the patient sera analysed in this study bound to an immunodominant epitope of 8 residues. Deamidation of two glutamines of this epitope increased significantly its recognition by patient IgE. This epitope is similar to a B epitope evidenced for celiac patients. These results show that some industrial treatments may increase the risk of allergy development.
How Are Immigrants Faring After Welfare Reform?: Preliminary Evidence from Los Angeles and New York City - Final Report

This report provides findings from a 1999-2000 survey of 3400 immigrant families in Los Angeles County and New York City, two cities that account for roughly a quarter of the nation's immigrant population. The survey was conducted in five languages and probed the respondents' legal status (naturalized citizen, legal permanent resident, refugee, undocumented immigrant, etc.). The report measures housing affordability, food insecurity and hunger among immigrant populations. Health insurance coverage, health care access and self-reported health status are also highlighted. The study uses these measures to assess the need for food stamps, Medicaid and other benefits and services and differing immigrant subpopulations.
Treatment of Hyperfunctional Lines of the Face with Botulinum Toxin A

&NA; Since Botulinum toxin A became a mainstay therapy for blepharospasm, its use in treating other dystonic conditions, spastic‐ity disorders, as well as hyperfunctional lines of the face has increased exponentially in recent years. The following article summarizes our experience in establishing a safe and reliable method of administration of botulinum toxin A for treating hyperfunctional lines of the face.
Inertia versus mimicry in location choices by Chinese multinationals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of foreign direct investment location – specifically whether firms enter a particular market or not. Drawing from the ecology and institutional theories, the paper identifies firms' own past (behavioral inertia) and rivals' past choices (behavioral mimicry) as key determinants of location selection. The paper identifies the differences between developing country multinationals (MNCs) and developed country MNCs and their (differences)' implications for the relative influence of mimetic versus inertial forces.Design/methodology/approach – A unique and comprehensive database about the location choices of 204 Chinese firms between 1992 and 2005 was constructed and conditional logistic regressions were deployed to assess the direct effects of behavioral inertia/mimicry, and the moderating effect of host country environment, on the location choices of the sampled firms.Findings – The paper finds that behavioral inertia has a stronger impact on t.
Monitoring and Structure of Debt Contracts

This paper presents a theory of optimal debt structure when the moral hazard problem is severe. The main idea is that the optimal debt contract delegates monitoring to a single senior lender and that seniority allows the monitoring senior lender to appropriate the full return from his monitoring activities. The theory explains (i) why debt contracts are prioritized, (ii) why short-term debt is senior to long-term debt, and (iii) why financial intermediaries usually hold short-term senior debt whereas long-term junior debt is widely held. Another implication of the theory is that covenant and maturity structures will be set to conform to the seniority structure. Copyright The American Finance Association 2000.
Bone metastasis-related signaling pathways in breast cancers stratified by estrogen receptor status

Background: Breast cancer bone metastasis (BCBM)-specific genes have been reported without considering biological differences based on estrogen receptor (ER) status. The aims of this study were to identify BCBM-specific genes using our patient dataset and validate previously reported BCBM-specific genes, and to determine whether ER-status-related biological differences matter in identification of BCBM-specific genes. Methods: We used Affymetrix GeneChips to analyze 365 primary human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative invasive breast cancer specimens. Genes that were differentially expressed between patients who developed bone metastasis and those who developed non-bone metastasis were identified using Cox proportional hazards model, and differential expression of gene sets was assessed using gene set analysis. We performed gene set analysis to determine whether biological function associated with bone metastasis were different by ER status using 2,246 functionally annotated gene sets assembled from Gene Ontology data base. Results: Among 16,712 probe sets, 592 were overexpressed in the bone metastasis cohort compared to the non-bone-metastasis cohort (false discovery rate ≤ 0.05). However, no BCBM-specific genes met our significance tests when the cancers were stratified by ER status. In ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancers, 151 and 125 gene sets, respectively, were overexpressed for BCBM and the majority of BCBM-related pathways were different. Of significant gene sets, only 13 gene sets were overlapped between ER-positive and -negative cohorts. Conclusion: ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancers have different biological pathways in BCBM development. We have yet to explore BCBM-related biomarkers and targets considering the biological features associated with BCBM depending on the ER status.
24-Hour realized volatilities and transatlantic volatility interdependence

This paper proposes an innovative econometric approach for the computation of 24-h realized volatilities across stock markets in Europe and the US. In particular, we deal with the problem of non-synchronous trading hours and intermittent high-frequency data during overnight non-trading periods. Using high-frequency data for the Euro Stoxx 50 and the S&P 500 Index between 2003 and 2011, we combine squared overnight returns and realized daytime variances to obtain synchronous 24-h realized volatilities for both markets. Specifically, we use a piece-wise weighting procedure for daytime and overnight information to take into account structural breaks in the relation between the two. To demonstrate the new possibilities that our approach opens up, we use the new 24-h volatilities to estimate a bivariate extension of Corsi et al.’s [Econom. Rev., 2008, 27(1–3), 46–78] HAR-GARCH model. The results suggest that the contemporaneous transatlantic volatility interdependence is remarkably stable over the sample period.
Innovation Prone and Innovation Averse Societies: Economic Performance in Europe

Although it is commonly accepted that investing in technology and research and development (R&D) is a basic catalyst for the genesis of economic activity, there is less consensus on the spatial significance and returns of the R&D effort for regional and local economies. It is often argued that innovation resulting from allocating local resources to R&D is likely to spill over to other areas, especially in the framework of open national economies. Hence, the incentive to free-ride increases at the subnational level. This paper shows, however, that in the Western European regional context, regions with higher resources devoted to R&D tend to grow at a greater pace than the remaining spaces. Nevertheless, the passage from R&D to innovation and growth is not achieved in a similar way across Europe. Local social conditions play an important role in the formation of what can be defined as ‘innovation prone’ and ‘innovation averse’ societies. Innovation prone regions are those featured by a weak social filter, which facilitates the transformation of innovation into growth. Conversely, regions burdened by rigid labor markets, shortage of skills, outward migration of able individuals, and an aging of the workforce are less prone to assimilate innovation and to transform it into economic activity. They make up the innovation averse societies in Europe.
Identification and biocide susceptibility of dominant bacteria after cleaning and disinfection of broiler houses

&NA; Hygiene in animal production is key for both farm management and food safety. Cleaning and disinfection (C&D) of broiler houses is essential to manage farm hygiene. Still high levels of total aerobic flora after C&D in broiler houses are reported. However, little is known about the microbial composition after cleaning (AC) and after disinfection (AD). In addition, the question why some bacterial species/isolates are still present AD whereas others are killed remains. The study was carried out in 4 broiler houses. Sampling was performed AC and AD. The disinfectant was based on hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid. Enumerations were carried out for total aerobic flora, Enterococcus spp. and Enterobacteriaceae. The dominant bacteria present was assessed by (GTG)5 analysis and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Moreover, minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) tests were carried out on 18 selected isolates belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family and 10 Enterococcus faecium isolates. A wide variety of bacteria were detected AC and AD. In total, 363 and 255 isolates were identified AC and AD, respectively, resulting in a total of 109 identified species. The most dominant bacteria belonged to Brevibacterium, Brachybacterium, and Staphylococcus AC and Bacillus, Brevibacterium, and Staphylococcus AD. At both sampling moments, Enterococcus faecium was dominant among the Enterococcus spp. isolates. On the selective medium for Enterobacteriaceae, the genera Enterobacter and Pantoea and Aeromonas (non Enterobacteriaceae) were dominant AC while Escherichia, Lelliottia, and Pantoea were dominant AD. In addition, species pathogenic to poultry and humans were identified not only AC but also AD. MBC results showed no trend in selection of less susceptible isolates for the used disinfectant AD compared to AC. Finally, the recommended concentration of the disinfectant (i.e., 0.5% commercial solution of hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid) seemed too low to kill Enterobacteriaceae.
Foot Plantar Pressure Measurement System: A Review

Foot plantar pressure is the pressure field that acts between the foot and the support surface during everyday locomotor activities. Information derived from such pressure measures is important in gait and posture research for diagnosing lower limb problems, footwear design, sport biomechanics, injury prevention and other applications. This paper reviews foot plantar sensors characteristics as reported in the literature in addition to foot plantar pressure measurement systems applied to a variety of research problems. Strengths and limitations of current systems are discussed and a wireless foot plantar pressure system is proposed suitable for measuring high pressure distributions under the foot with high accuracy and reliability. The novel system is based on highly linear pressure sensors with no hysteresis.