Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Activation and enzymatic characterization of recombinant human kallikrein 8

Abstract Human kallikrein 8 (hK8), whose gene was originally cloned as the human ortholog of a mouse brain protease, is known to be associated with diseases such as ovarian cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Recombinant human pro-kallikrein 8 was activated with lysyl endopeptidase-conjugated beads. Amino-terminal sequencing of the activated enzyme demonstrated the cleavage of a 9-aa propeptide from the pro-enzyme. The substrate specificity of activated hK8 was characterized using synthetic fluorescent substrates. hK8 showed trypsin-like specificity, as predicted from sequence analysis and enzymatic characterization of the mouse ortholog. All synthetic substrates tested containing either arginine or lysine at P1 position were cleaved by hK8. The highest k cat/K m value of 20×103M-1 s-1 was observed with Boc-Val-Pro-Arg-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin. The activity of hK8 was inhibited by antipain, chymostatin, and leupeptin. The concentration for 50% inhibition by the best inhibitor, antipain, was 0.46 μM. The effect of different metal ions on the enzyme activity was analyzed. Whereas Na+ had no effect on hK8 activity, Ni2+ and Zn2+ decreased the activity and Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+ had a stimulatory effect. Ca2+ was the best activator, with an optimal concentration of approximately 10 μM.
Validation of the Cytokinesis-block Micronucleus Assay Using Imaging Flow Cytometry for High Throughput Radiation Biodosimetry

AbstractThe cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay can be employed in triage radiation biodosimetry to determine the dose of radiation to an exposed individual by quantifying the frequency of micronuclei in binucleated lymphocyte cells. Partially automated analysis of the assay has been applied to traditional microscope-based methods, and most recently, the assay has been adapted to an automated imaging flow cytometry method. This method is able to automatically score a larger number of binucleated cells than are typically scored by microscopy. Whole blood samples were irradiated, divided into 2 mL and 200 &mgr;L aliquots, cultured for 48 h and 72 h, and processed to generate calibration curves from 0–4 Gy. To validate the method for use in radiation biodosimetry, nine separate whole blood samples were then irradiated to known doses, blinded, and processed. Results indicate that dose estimations can be determined to within ±0.5 Gy of the delivered dose after only 48 h of culture time with an initial blood volume of 200 &mgr;L. By performing the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay using imaging flow cytometry, a significant reduction in the culture time and volume requirements is possible, which greatly increases the applicability of the assay in high throughput triage radiation biodosimetry.
Social-cognitive and perceived environment influences associated with physical activity in older Australians.

BACKGROUND Regular physical activity in older adults can facilitate healthy aging, improve functional capacity, and prevent disease. However, factors associated with physical inactivity in older populations are poorly understood. This study attempts to identify social-cognitive and perceived environmental influences associated with physical activity participation in older populations. METHODS In a randomly selected sample of 449 Australian adults age 60 and older, we assessed self-reported physical activity and a range of social-cognitive and perceived environmental factors. Respondents were classified as sufficiently active and inactive based on energy expenditure estimates (kcal/week) derived from self-reported physical activity. Two logistic regression models, with and without self-efficacy included, were conducted to identify modifiable independent predictors of physical activity. RESULTS Significantly more males than females were physically active. Physical activity participation was related to age with a greater proportion of those age 65-69 being active than those age 60-64 or 70 or older. High self-efficacy, regular participation of friends and family, finding footpaths safe for walking, and access to local facilities were significantly associated with being active. CONCLUSION Identifying predictors of physical activity in older populations, particularly social support, facility access, and neighbourhood safety, can inform the development of policy and intervention strategies to promote the health of older people.
Gender differences in the incidence of rural to urban migration: evidence from Kenya.

This article examines gender differences in the incidence of rural to urban migration in developing countries, particularly those of Sub-Saharan Africa. The study distinguishes itself from current migration literature by suggesting that the gain in returns to observable attributes, as a result of migration, may differ by gender and could provide an explanation for gender differences in migration. Using data from Kenya, we estimate the urban-to-rural wage gap, separately for each gender, and decompose the gap into the components due to urban to rural differences in observable attributes and differences in returns to observable attributes. We find that the portion of the wage gap that is due to the gain in returns to observable attributes is larger for males, suggesting that males receive larger monetary returns as a result of migration and, consequently, have greater incentive to migrate to urban areas.
Factors that Influence Canadian Students’ Choice of Higher Education Institutions in the United States

This study seeks to explain the factors influencing Canadian studentsâ€™ motivation for studying in the United States. The United States has continuously been the leader in international students, but is now facing increasing competition from other nations around the world. As one of the top senders of international students to the United States, Canada is of special interest to institutions of higher education in the United States due to the close social, economic, and political ties. International student mobility is influenced by push-pull factors that influence a studentâ€™s decision to study abroad, and ultimately pull factors from host nations that studentâ€™s find favorable. To understand Canadian studentsâ€™ motivation for studying in the United States, a study was conducted with a sample of 411 Canadian students at a small private college in Buffalo, New York. The study found statistically significant differences in the the importance placed on reasons for not remaining in Canada for higher education, the factors that influence the selection of the United States as a study destination, and student preferences for institutions of higher education in the United States. The study concluded that there are separate push-pull factors influencing Canadian higher education students on the Canada-U.S. border, and that Canadian students are their own distinct group that are neither truly like international nor domestic students.
Effect of Preoperative Biliary Drainage on Coagulation and Fibrinolysis in Severe Obstructive Cholestasis

Goals To evaluate the function of coagulation and fibrinolysis in cholestatic patients before and after preoperative biliary drainage (PBD). Background Cholestasis owing to an obstructive biliary malignancy is associated with postoperative complications related to a proinflammatory state, an impaired hepatic synthesis function, and a potential derangement of hemostasis. Hence, PBD is advocated for cholestatic patients undergoing major surgery. Study Plasma coagulation and fibrinolytic parameters were assessed in 24 cholestatic patients and 10 controls. In 9 cholestatic patients, the parameters were reassessed at least 4 weeks after PBD. Results Compared with controls, cholestatic patients showed lower concentrations (P<0.001) of plasma vitamin K-dependent factors II and VII, whereas prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and factor V were unaltered. Thrombin generation was increased in cholestatic patients, as reflected by higher plasma concentrations of thrombin-antithrombin complexes and D-dimers. Fibrinolysis was significantly impaired as evidenced by low plasminogen activator activity (PAA) owing to an increase in plasminogen activator inhibitor -1). Elevated markers for thrombin generation thrombin-antithrombin decreased after PBD from 10.7±1.2 to 5.7±0.7 ng/mL (P<0.05). Additionally, impairment of fibrinolysis in cholestatic patients resolved after PBD (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels decreased from 19±1 to 10±1 IU/mL and plasminogen activator activity increased from 82±3 to 110±4%, respectively). D-dimers remained unaltered after PBD, likely because of normalization of coagulation and fibrinolytic activity. Conclusions Obstructive cholestasis is associated with a procoagulant state, despite an impaired vitamin K-dependent coagulation factor synthesis. Virtually all alterations in coagulation and fibrinolysis were reversed by biliary drainage.
Social security and the family: Coping with seasonality and calamity in rural India

This article examines how poor rural families in India cope with the food insecurity associated with seasonal troughs in the agricultural production cycle, and with calamities such as drought and famine; the effectiveness of the coping mechanisms they adopt; the intra‐household sharing of the burden of coping; and the appropriate state and non‐state interventions that would strengthen the survival mechanisms adopted by the families themselves. The family is seen here as a bargaining unit, the ability of different members to command food (among other resources) depending on their relative bargaining strengths, determined in turn by their ownership endowments (of land, labour, etc.), exchange entitlements, and external social and communal support systems. Gender and age both form the basis of intra‐family inequality in this respect. While seasonality reveals a face of the family which is one of co‐operation, famine mirrors one of disintegration. In both contexts, the burden of coping falls disproportionatel.
Linking Leader Social Skills and Organisational Health to Positive Work Relationships in Local Governments

Abstract This study examines the links between leaders' social skills, organisational health (decline) and positive work relationships. In particular it tests whether leaders' social skills are more strongly associated to work relationships when the organisation's fiscal health is more precarious. Using data from both surveys and annual financial statements of 103 public sector organisations, the results indicate that a leader's social skills and organisational fiscal health are positively related to work relationships. However, the interactive effect of leaders' social skills and organisational fiscal health on positive work relationships was not significant.
Compliance with producer responsibility legislation: experiences from UK small and medium-sized enterprises

This study investigated the legal performance of UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with producer responsibility legislation. The research incorporated legislation controlling packaging and packaging waste, waste electrical and electronic equipment and the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. Compliance audits and interviews were conducted with SMEs, regulators, government officials and SME support organisations. A total of 44 SMEs from the north-west of England were audited between April and September 2008. The study's findings suggest: low levels of ‘letter of the law’ and ‘spirit of the law’ compliance; enforcement activity and surveillance of SME compliance was generally low; there has not been any formal enforcement action taken under the WEEE Regulations or the RoHS Regulations and enforcement under the PER Regulations is extremely low. Recommendations on how to improve SME compliance control systems are provided.
The History of Communications and its Implications for the Internet

The Internet is the latest in a long succession of communication technologies. The goal of this work is to draw lessons from the evolution of all these services. Little attention is paid to technology as such, since that has changed radically many times. Instead, the stress is on the steady growth in volume of communication, the evolution in the type of traffic sent, the qualitative change this growth produces in how people treat communication, and the evolution of pricing. The focus is on the user, and in particular on how quality and price differentiation have been used by service providers to influence consumer behavior, and how consumers have reacted. There are repeating patterns in the histories of communication technologies, including ordinary mail, the telegraph, the telephone, and the Internet. In particular, the typical story for each service is that quality rises, prices decrease, and usage increases to produce increased total revenues. At the same time, prices become simpler. The historical analogies of this paper suggest that the Internet will evolve in a similar way, towards simplicity. The schemes that aim to provide differentiated service levels and sophisticated pricing schemes are unlikely to be widely adopted.
Pricing with Consumer Switching Costs: Evidence from the Credit Card Market

The credit card market is a natural setting for investigating the relationship between pricing and consumer switching costs. I find, using a detailed panel of credit card issuers, that switching costs are an important influence on pricing for commercial banks. The results are stronger for commercial banks with risky customer bases, suggesting that there is a relationship between default and switching costs. Switching costs appear to have almost no influence on pricing for credit unions, a result that is consistent with their status as not-for-profit entities. Copyright 2002 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Retaliating Against Terrorists: Erratum, Reanalysis, and Update

Several commentators have raised questions about my article, “Retaliating against terrorists” (Nevin, 2003). In that article, I examined sequences of terrorist attacks and government responses in seven terror campaigns and concluded that there was no reliable evidence that violent retaliation either increased or decreased the average intensity of terrorist attacks. The conclusion was based on a quantitative treatment of accounts taken from The New York Times, and as such may depend on the faithfulness of my transcription and on the particulars of the data analysis. Two difficulties have been brought to my attention. First, one reader noted that there are errors in Table 2, which was intended to exemplify the way in which I treated the ordinal-scaled data on the severity and intensity of terror attacks and government responses. I apologize for any confusion that readers experienced, and here present a corrected version of Table 2. Second (as I acknowledged) it is not proper to calculate correlation coefficients based on ordinal data. Although correlation coefficients were used only to describe relations between sequences of events, and not to evaluate statistical significance, some readers have found them to be misleading. In the interest of quantitative propriety and accuracy, therefore, I reanalyzed all seven data sets using reported deaths (a ratio scale) rather than scaled severity. The result is that fewer incidents are available for analysis, but the conclusions based on my reanalysis are unchanged. Figure 1 is based on calculation of deaths per month caused by terror attacks and by government responses aggregated over five successive incidents involving activity by terrorists or authorities. The terrorists’ victims included government officials, soldiers, police, and civilians; the governments’ victims included civilians as well as the targeted terrorists. The y-axis displays the rate of killing by terrorists after a governmental response relative to the rate of killing before the governmental response. The scale is logarithmic so that (for example) two-fold increases and two-fold decreases are equal in their distance from 1.0 (no change). The x-axis displays the death rate inflicted by governmental authorities over the five-episode block that intervened between the two samples of terrorist killing rates, also on a logarithmic scale. Inspection of Figure 1 suggests that the points are about equally likely to be above or below 1.0 on the y-axis, even for cases where there were no deaths attributable to govern-
Factors associated with return to work among people on work absence due to long-term neck or back pain: a narrative systematic review

Objective The purpose of this narrative systematic review was to summarise prognostic factors for return to work (RTW) among people with long-term neck/shoulder or back pain. Methods A systematic literature search was performed through three databases (Medline, CINAHL and PsycINFO) for studies published until February 2016. Only observational studies of people on work absence (â‰¥2 weeks) due to neck/shoulder or back pain were included. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using guidelines for assessing quality in prognostic studies on the basis of Framework of Potential Biases. Factors found in the included studies were grouped into categories based on similarities and then labelled according to the aspects covered by the factors in the category. Results Nine longitudinal prospective cohort studies and one retrospective study fulfilled the inclusion criteria. From these, five categories of factors were extracted. Our findings indicate that recovery beliefs, health-related factors and work capacity are important for RTW among people with long-term neck or back pain. We did not find support for workplace factors and behaviour being predictive of RTW. Conclusions Our findings suggest that recovery beliefs, perceived health and work capacity may be important targets of intervention for people with long-term neck or back pain. However, more high-quality prospective studies are needed to confirm the results and improve our understanding of what is needed to facilitate RTW in this population.
Intestinal metaplasia: A premalignant lesion involved in gastric carcinogenesis

Despite a plateau in incidence, gastric cancer remains a significant problem globally. The majority of gastric cancer is associated with histologically recognizable premalignant stages as first described by Pelayo Correa in the mid‐1970s. The mortality from gastric cancer remains high especially in Western countries where, arguably, the index of suspicion of gastric cancer in patients presenting with upper abdominal symptoms is lower than in high prevalence countries. What is the evidence that intestinal metaplasia (IM) is a premalignant condition? What should the clinician know about IM and the relative risks of progression to gastric cancer? Finally, what are the current and future strategies that may help stratify patients into high risk and low risk for the development of gastric cancer? This review focuses on gastric IM and outlines some of the literature that discusses it as a premalignant condition. It also reviews the issue of surveillance of patients with IM in order to attempt to reduce the significant mortality of gastric cancer by detection of earlier stages of disease which are eminently treatable.
Immunohistologic Attempt to Find Carcinogenesis from Hepatic Progenitor Cell in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Aim: To clarify whether hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) originates from hepatic progenitor cells and whether there is any correlation with the clinicopathologic factors of HCC, we reviewed 217 resected HCC specimens. Methods: Immunohistochemical examination of cytokeratin (CK) 7, CK19, CD34, and CD117 (c-KIT) was performed. Overexpression of CK7 and CK19 indicates differentiation from cholangiocellular and hepatic progenitor cells, while overexpression of CD34 and CD117 indicates hepatic stem cells. Fresh specimens were obtained from 20 HCC patients for mutation of the c-KIT gene. Results: CK7, CK19, and CD117 were positive in 41, 9.7, and 0.9% of the HCC specimens, respectively, and CD34 was never positive. None of the fresh HCC specimens demonstrated a c-KIT mutation. CK19 positivity was significantly correlated with a positive hepatitis B core antibody, and with poor survival outcome, and tended to correlate with poor histologic differentiation. Conclusion: These results suggest that: (i) about 10% of HCCs with typical histologic features originate from an intermediate hepatic progenitor cell, such as the canal of Hering and oval cells in the rat, or acquire the characteristics of cholangiocellular epithelium by metaplasia; (ii) HCC with typical histologic features rarely originates from hepatic stem cells, and (iii) patients with CK19-positive HCC have a poor prognosis.
Stakeholder compensation model based on decision analysis

A prescriptive decision model of stakeholder compensation is presented. The supra decision-maker (regulator) may derive the optimal compensation for redefining decision options in a decision context with unevenly distributed, uncertain, consequences in a way that reflects fairness among stakeholders with different representational weight and risk-attitude. The derived compensation is used by the supra decision-maker as a bargaining factor for committing stakeholders in a decision-making process. Expert judgement is utilized for specifying the probability distributions related to the uncertain consequences. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Towards an understanding of corporate venturing practices in Brazil

Corporate venturing (CV) is an important mechanism for companies seeking to renew their product offerings by creating new markets, launching new products and forming new stand-alone business units. It is a common practice amongst companies in developed countries but remains underutilized by companies in developing countries. This paper examines CV in Brazil. A survey of the 100 largest companies in Brazil indicates that it is uncommon. Most of the CV activities that do exit are less than 5 years old. Case studies of Intel Corporation and Telefônica illustrate the strategic objectives of CV in these companies. Intel uses external CV to promote the development of its ecosystem. At Telefônica, CV is used to stimulate radical innovation through investment in new ideas generated both within the company and externally.
Square-matrix embeddable space-time block codes for complex signal constellations

Space-time block codes for providing transmit diversity in wireless communication systems are considered. Based on the principles of linearity and unitarity, a complete classification of linear codes is given in the case when the symbol constellations are complex, and the code is based on a square matrix or restriction of such by deleting columns (antennas). Maximal rate delay optimal codes are constructed within this category. The maximal rates allowed by linearity and unitarity fall off exponentially with the number of transmit antennas.
The Effect of Earnings Surprises on Information Asymmetry

We examine the effect of earnings surprises on changes in information asymmetry. We hypothesize and find that asymmetry is lower (higher) in the quarter following positive (negative) earnings surprises compared to firms that meet the consensus analyst earnings forecast. The relations between earnings surprises and information asymmetry are stronger when the surprises are more likely to capture investors' attention. Examining the source of these changes, we show that decreased information search activities is the most important factor for asymmetry declining after positive surprises; for negative surprises, decreased uninformed trading plays a dominant role increasing asymmetry.