Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identify potential drugs for cardiovascular diseases caused by stress-induced genes in vascular smooth muscle cells

Background Abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Many studies suggest that vascular injury triggers VSMC dedifferentiation, which results in VSMC changes from a contractile to a synthetic phenotype; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear. Methods In this study, we examined how VSMC responds under mechanical stress by using time-course microarray data. A three-phase study was proposed to investigate the stress-induced differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in VSMC. First, DEGs were identified by using the moderated t-statistics test. Second, more DEGs were inferred by using the Gaussian Graphical Model (GGM). Finally, the topological parameters-based method and cluster analysis approach were employed to predict the last batch of DEGs. To identify the potential drugs for vascular diseases involve VSMC proliferation, the drug-gene interaction database, Connectivity Map (cMap) was employed. Success of the predictions were determined using in-vitro data, i.e. MTT and clonogenic assay. Results Based on the differential expression calculation, at least 23 DEGs were found, and the findings were qualified by previous studies on VSMC. The results of gene set enrichment analysis indicated that the most often found enriched biological processes are cell-cycle-related processes. Furthermore, more stress-induced genes, well supported by literature, were found by applying graph theory to the gene association network (GAN). Finally, we showed that by processing the cMap input queries with a cluster algorithm, we achieved a substantial increase in the number of potential drugs with experimental IC50 measurements. With this novel approach, we have not only successfully identified the DEGs, but also improved the DEGs prediction by performing the topological and cluster analysis. Moreover, the findings are remarkably validated and in line with the literature. Furthermore, the cMap and DrugBank resources were used to identify potential drugs and targeted genes for vascular diseases involve VSMC proliferation. Our findings are supported by in-vitro experimental IC50, binding activity data and clinical trials. Conclusion This study provides a systematic strategy to discover potential drugs and target genes, by which we hope to shed light on the treatments of VSMC proliferation associated diseases.
Trust and the Provision of Trade Credit

State-controlled listed firms in China receive preferential treatment when borrowing from commercial banks; in contrast, private controlled firms rely on informal finance and on trade credit. We argue for and find evidence that private firms located in higher social trust regions use more trade credit from suppliers, extend more trade credit to customers, and collect receivables and pay payables more quickly. These findings are enhanced for firms located in provinces with weak protection of property rights. Our results are robust to different measures of social trust, legal environment, and endogeneity. Overall, our results show that social trust helps private firms overcome institutional difficulties in financing their activities.
Why We Should Reject ‘Nudge’

This article argues that the use of ‘nudge’ tactics in UK policymaking ought to be rejected. Nudge contravenes the coalition government's aspirations to promote ideas such as empowerment, freedom and fairness. Moreover, it is not an effective strategy for bringing about the kind of behavioural changes required to solve society's ‘big problems’ – problems around climate change and public health, for example. The article mines political theory in a way that is distinctly absent from the current literature on ‘nudging’ and brings a fresh and insightful perspective to the nudge debate.
Why is the share of women willing to work in East Germany larger than in West Germany? A logit model of extensive labour supply decision

The purpose of the paper is to analyse why East German women are more willing to work than West German women. Based on the German microcensus and regional data on unemployment and childcare-facilities, various logit models for the participation probability are estimated. The results show that a better provision of childcare-facilities for children aged up to 3 years has a positive effect on participation probability for West German women, while the effect for East German women is larger for children in the age of 3 to 6 years. In addition, West German women feel discouraged by bad regional labour-market conditions.
Measuring the Impact of Tourism on Economic Growth

This paper presents a methodology for measuring the contribution of tourism to an economy's growth, which is tested with data for Cyprus, Greece and Spain. The authors use the growth of real GDP per capita as a measure of economic growth and disaggregate it into economic growth generated by tourism and economic growth generated by other industries. The methodology is compared with other existing methodologies; namely, Tourism Satellite Account, Computable General Equilibrium models and econometric modelling of economic growth.
Effectiveness of pulse oximetry screening for congenital heart disease in asymptomatic newborns.

OBJECTIVE To determine the sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, and accuracy of a program of pulse oximetry screening of asymptomatic newborns for critical congenital cardiovascular malformation (CCVM). METHODS Pulse oximetry was performed on asymptomatic newborns in the well-infant nurseries of 2 hospitals. Cardiac ultrasound was performed on infants with positive screens (saturation <or=95% at >24 hours). Data regarding true and false positives as well as negatives were collected and analyzed. RESULTS Oximetry was performed on 11 281 asymptomatic newborns, and 3 cases of CCVM were detected (total anomalous pulmonary venous return x2, truncus arteriosus). During the study interval, there were 9 live births of infants with CCVM from a group of 15 fetuses with CCVM detected by fetal echocardiography. Six infants with CCVM were symptomatic before screening. There was 1 false-positive screen. Two infants with negative screens were readmitted (coarctation, hypoplastic left pulmonary artery with aorto-pulmonary collaterals). Other cardiac diagnoses in the database search were nonurgent, including cases of patent foramen ovale, peripheral pulmonic stenosis, and ventricular septal defect. The prevalence of critical CCVM among all live births was 1 in 564 and among the screened population was 1 in 2256 (sensitivity: 60%; specificity: 99.95%; positive predictive value: 75%; negative predictive value: 99.98%; accuracy: 99.97%). CONCLUSIONS This screening test is simple, noninvasive, and inexpensive and can be administered in conjunction with state-mandated screening. The false-negative screen patients had lesions not amenable to detection by oximetry. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value in this population are satisfactory, indicating that screening should be applied to larger populations, particularly where lower rates of fetal detection result in increased CCVM prevalence in asymptomatic newborns.
Social Entrepreneurship - Innovative Challengers or Adjustable Followers?

Purpose – Social entrepreneurial initiatives are often ascribed innovative roles for the public good. However, it is also argued that the same initiatives react to conditions in different contexts as well as to local or global trends. But, what roles and values are brought into practice by initiatives today and how can these be conceptualised as innovative? The aim of this paper is to empirically describe and analyse social entrepreneurship initiatives and contribute to the understanding of their role in the development of society.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a framework focusing on entrepreneurial dynamics, organisations and institutions. Empirically, it is grounded in four studies of social enterprises and their entrepreneurial initiatives in Sweden. Findings – The results reveal an intricate interplay between innovative challenges and institutional inertia as well as a combined role for social entrepreneurship initiatives in which innovative aspects can be more or less extensive.
Microfinance and women's empowerment: A lesson from India

This article describes an NGO project intended to empower scheduled caste women working in the silk-reeling industry in India through the provision of microfinance. It documents the impact that the project had on their economic and social status over a period of time and highlights the negative consequences of excluding male relatives from playing any meaningful role. It suggests ways in which the project might have been made more male inclusive while still empowering women. At the same time, it acknowledges that even if the men's hostility to the project had been overcome, the women's micro enterprises were unlikely to have been viable commercially. This is because the project insisted that the women operate as a group in what was a high-risk area of economic activity, with no clear strategy as to how their work could be sustained.
Dynamic asset beta measurement

The recent advent of high-frequency data and advances in financial econometrics allow market participants to evaluate the accuracy of different beta (systematic risk) measurements. Benchmarking against the monthly realized beta formed by 30-minute data, we compare the popular Fama–MacBeth betas, the monthly realized betas formed by daily returns and our Hodrick–Prescott filtered betas, with the smoothing parameter, λ, set to 100. We find our filtered betas reduce the measurement error substantially relative to other beta measures. These results enable market participants to measure betas with greater precision and efficiency even with only daily returns in hand.
Optimal marketing strategies for competing new ventures in a nascent industry

Just as their established counterparts do, new ventures that pioneer nascent industries strive to increase profit by acquiring the sales of rival new ventures. However, these new ventures can also grow by attracting unrealised sales to their nascent industry. This article investigates the resulting trade-off in marketing expenditures when new ventures compete. Extensive numerical analysis on a multi-period framework suggests that an increase in a new venture's unit profit margin, effectiveness in gaining new sales or initial sales level, but a decrease in sales decay, may cause a positive spill-over for its rival. The numerical analysis also indicates when a new venture should target its rival's sales rather than focusing on growth through unrealised sales. This research thus provides guidance to new ventures searching for a marketing balance between growing their industry and competing on market share.
The Fundamental Characteristics of Research

One of the most serious problems encountered in evaluating research, or researchers, is the dispute about what is and is not research (e.g., Alcorn, Cardno, Fairburn-Dunlop, Jones, O’Brien, Bishop, Crooks, Hattie, Kane, & Stevenson, 2006; Boyer, 1990; COSEUP, 2001; Glassick, Huber, & Maeroff, 1997; New Zealand Qualifications Authority, 1998; OECD, 2002; Tertiary Education Commission, 2004). That is, how is research defined? Or, can it be satisfactorily defined? Of course, there are numerous competing definitions of the term and little apparent consensus (Calvert & Martin, 2001). However, common usage holds that research is a truth-seeking activity which contributes to knowledge, aimed at describing or explaining the world, conducted and governed by those with a high level of proficiency or expertise. Some (e.g., Boyer, 1990; Calvert & Martin, 2001; COSEUP, 2001; Glassick, Huber, & Maeroff, 1997; OECD, 2002b) would object to this definition, however, and claim that research should be distinguished and separately defined as basic or applied (i.e., a research purpose or objective). Since both basic and applied research are a contribution to knowledge, the need for the
Welfare and the Family: The Canadian Experience

Canada has a universal social assistance program that is almost completely administered through the federal Canada Assistance Program. However, provinces determine the levels of assistance for various groups eligible for welfare. This article exploits the variation in payments and uses microdata to estimate the effect of changes in welfare benefits on welfare participation, single parenthood, births out of wedlock, divorce, and labor force participation among low-income women. In Canada, it would appear that welfare benefits influence these decisions.
The Re-Framing of Australian Higher Education

The aim of this paper is to analyse the changes in Australian higher education policy over the past two decades. Using frame analysis, two shifts in higher education policy are identified. The first is in the late 1980s where the view of higher education as having a broad social, economic and cultural role was changed to one that emphasised expansion, marketisation and competition. The second is currently taking place in which universities are becoming seen as business competitors in a global higher education market, and as such, privatisation and deregulation are centrally important. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of frame analysis as a way of examining the systemic effects of policy decisions in a way that draws together and uncovers how the various and complex forces of government policies and broader social and economic events combine to create the difficult terrain through which universities must now plot a course.
Sphingosine 1-Phosphate May Be a Major Component of Plasma Lipoproteins Responsible for the Cytoprotective Actions in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells*

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a novel lipid mediator, is concentrated in the fraction of lipoproteins that include high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) in human plasma. Here, we show that oxidation of LDL resulted in a marked reduction in the S1P level in association with a marked accumulation of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC). We therefore investigated the role of the lipoprotein-associated lipids especially S1P in the lipoprotein-induced cytoprotective or cytotoxic actions in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The viability of the cells gradually decreased in the absence of serum or growth factors in the culture medium. The addition of oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) accelerated the decrease in the cell viability. LPC and 7-ketocholesterol mimicked ox-LDL actions. On the other hand, HDL and LDL almost completely reversed the serum deprivation- or ox-LDL-induced cytotoxicity. Exogenous S1P mimicked cytoprotective actions. Moreover, the S1P-rich fraction and chromatographically purified S1P from HDL exerted cytoprotective actions, but the rest of the fractions did not. The cytoprotective actions of HDL and S1P were associated with extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation and were almost completely inhibited by pertussis toxin and PD98059, an ERK kinase inhibitor. The HDL-induced action was specifically desensitized in the S1P-pretreated cells. Taken together, these results indicate that the lipoprotein-associated S1P and the lipid receptor-mediated signal pathways may be responsible for the lipoprotein-induced cytoprotective actions. Furthermore, the decrease in the S1P content, in addition to the accumulation of cytotoxic substances such as LPC, may be important for the acquisition of the cytotoxic property to ox-LDL.
Protracted Refugee Situations: Domestic and International Security Implications

Protracted refugee populations not only constitute over 70% of the world's refugees but are also a principal source of many of the irregular movements of people around the world today. The long-term presence of refugee populations in much of the developing world has come to be seen by many host states in these regions as a source of insecurity. In response, host governments have enacted policies of containing refugees in isolated and insecure camps, have prevented the arrival of additional refugees and, in extreme cases, have engaged in forcible repatriation. Not surprisingly, these refugee populations are also increasingly perceived as possible sources of insecurity for Western states. Refugee camps are sometimes breeding grounds for international terrorism and rebel movements. These groups often exploit the presence of refugees to engage in activities that destabilise not only host states but also entire regions.
Oral delivery of RNase P ribozymes by Salmonella inhibits viral infection in mice

Safe, effective, and tissue-specific delivery is a central issue for the therapeutic application of nucleic-acid-based gene interfering agents, such as ribozymes and siRNAs. In this study, we constructed a functional RNase P-based ribozyme (M1GS RNA) that targets the overlapping mRNA region of M80.5 and protease, two murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) proteins essential for viral replication. In addition, a novel attenuated strain of Salmonella, which exhibited efficient gene transfer activity and little cytotoxicity and pathogenicity in mice, was constructed and used for delivery of anti-MCMV ribozyme. In MCMV-infected macrophages treated with the constructed attenuated Salmonella strain carrying the functional M1GS RNA construct, we observed an 80–85% reduction in the expression of M80.5/protease and a 2,500-fold reduction in viral growth. Oral inoculation of the attenuated Salmonella strain in mice efficiently delivered antiviral M1GS RNA into spleens and livers, leading to substantial expression of the ribozyme without causing significant adverse effects in the animals. Furthermore, the MCMV-infected mice that were treated orally with Salmonella carrying the functional M1GS sequence displayed reduced viral gene expression, decreased viral titers, and improved survival compared to the untreated mice or mice treated with Salmonella containing control ribozyme sequences. Our results provide direct evidence that oral delivery of M1GS RNA by Salmonella-based vectors effectively inhibits viral gene expression and replication in mice. Moreover, this study demonstrates the utility of Salmonella-mediated oral delivery of RNase P ribozyme for gene-targeting applications in vivo.
Government preferences and SEC enforcement

I examine whether political influence by the government as a response to voters’ interest in employment conditions is reflected in the enforcement actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). I find that large employers are less likely to be subject to an SEC enforcement action, after controlling for firm size, accounting quality, distance to SEC office, and political contributions, among other factors. Next, I show that large employers are less likely to face an SEC enforcement action in presidential election years if they are headquartered in politically important states. I also find that firms that employ a larger proportion of a congressional district’s total workforce and are located in districts with high unemployment rates are less likely to be subject to an SEC enforcement action if the incumbent congressman serves on a committee that oversees the SEC. These findings suggest that voters’ interests are reflected in SEC enforcement.
IMPACTS OF COMPUTERISED MANAGEMENT PROCESS OF STOCKS IN MINEIRAS FAMILY FIRMS OF BUILDING MATERIAL: MULTICASES STUDY

The growth in civil construction in Brazil in recent years has generated many opportunities for the market. Entrepreneurs have sought solutions that help them in decision making in order stay competitive and market construction materials. This study aims to analyze the impacts of the process of computerised inventory management in mineiras family firms of building materials, located in Uberlândia in Minas Gerais state, Brasil. This is a qualitative work. For its development, we adopted the multicases study, with the completion of interviews and participant observation, in order to know the process studied. The result was that the management of stock in the company not computerized presented some advantages like the fact not depend on external factors such as power supply or internet connection for consultation or low registration of products in stock. It is noteworthy, however, that there are numerous benefits of information system for companies that make use of it. It was observed that the information system allows users to inventory control through reporting, query faster gifts of items in stock, facilitating the activities of control incoming and outgoing products, management and analysis of items sold, among other advantages.
Cumulative Effect of Research Courses on Knowledge and Attitudes of Social Work Students

The present study is part of a three-year project on research utilization sponsored by the Council on Social Work Education and supported by the National Institute of Mental Health. One of its objectives was to collect information about the research experience and the knowledge and attitudes of students. The students in the study were enrolled in 15 social work programs at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. In this paper we present an analysis of the cumulative effect of research courses on their knowledge and attitudes.
Hepatitis B Surface Antigen in Menstrual Blood and Semen

There is considerable epidemiologic evidence that hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) may be transmitted sexually. With the reverse passive hemagglutination method, HBsAg was found in six (12%) of 50 male and four (8%) of 50 female Nigerians attending a family planning unit. HBsAg was detected in samples of semen in three (6%) male HBsAg carriers and in menstrual blood in four (8%) female carriers. Five (10%) women admitted to having sexual intercourse during menstruation. The presence of HBsAg in blood or semen does not appear to influence the sperm density or motility index. It is suggested that sexual intercourse may be one of the routes of HBsAg transmission in Nigeria.
Assesing Interorganizational Networks for Public Service Delivery: A Process-Perceived Effectiveness Framework

Cross-sectoral partnerships among public, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations are increasingly gaining prominence in the production and delivery of publicly funded social services. This paper introduces a process-outcome framework to assess the interorganizational networks for delivering family and children services in Los Angeles County. Five collaboration processes of joint decision making, joint program operation, reducing organizational autonomy, sharing resources and building trust as independent variables were used to assess their impacts on five collaboration outcomes—goal achievement, quality of working relationships, broadening partners' views, increasing partner interactions, and equitable influences. The findings suggest that public and nonprofit managers should pay special attention to improve the two processes—resource sharing and trust building—that promote well-functioning interorganizational networks.