Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Low levels of HIV-1 RNA detected in the cerebrospinal fluid after up to 10 years of suppressive therapy are associated with local immune activation

Objective and design:Though combination antiretroviral therapy reduces the concentration of HIV-1 RNA in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) below the detection limit of clinical assays, low levels of HIV-1 RNA are frequently detectable in plasma using more sensitive assays. We examined the frequency and magnitude of persistent low-level HIV-1 RNA in CSF and its relation to the central nervous system (CNS) immune activation. Methods:CSF and plasma HIV-1 RNA were measured using the single-copy assay with a detection limit of 0.3 copies/ml in 70 CSF and 68 plasma samples from 45 treated HIV-1-infected patients with less than 40 copies/ml of HIV-1 RNA in both fluids by standard clinical assays. We also measured CSF neopterin to assess intrathecal immune activation. Theoretical drug exposure was estimated using the CNS penetration-efficacy score of treatment regimens. Results:CSF HIV-1 RNA was detected in 12 of the 70 CSF samples (17%) taken after up to 10 years of suppressive therapy, compared to 39 of the 68 plasma samples (57%) with a median concentration of less than 0.3 copies/ml in CSF compared to 0.3 copies/ml in plasma (P < 0.0001). CSF samples with detectable HIV-1 RNA had higher CSF neopterin levels (mean 8.2 compared to 5.7 nmol/l; P = 0.0085). Patients with detectable HIV-1 RNA in CSF did not differ in pretreatment plasma HIV-1 RNA levels, nadir CD4+ cell count or CNS penetration-efficacy score. Conclusion:Low-level CSF HIV-1 RNA and its association with elevated CSF neopterin highlight the potential for the CNS to serve as a viral reservoir and for persistent infection to cause subclinical CNS injury.
Country of origin effects, brand image, and social status in an emerging market

Country of origin (COO) effects with respect to price, quality, brand effect, and social status to determine elite consumers' buying behavior in the emerging market of Pakistan are investigated. Manufacturers are looking for new consumers with a resilient purchasing power, which is likely to grow, in emergent markets. The most important finding resulting from the present research is the relatively limited significance that COO effects have on product perceptions and on the buying behavior of an elite, affluent group of consumers. The research demonstrated that COO effects, while important, do not often dominate the process of consumer preference formation or the decision to buy. This finding stands in marked contrast to earlier research. The equal importance of specific cue information with COO information when making purchase decisions is emphasized by the significant correlations between some responses to COO, price, quality, brand effect, and social status items. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Competitive priorities and strategic consensus in emerging economies: evidence from India

– The purpose of this paper is to understand the competitive priorities of manufacturers in India, and examine the level of agreement or strategic consensus between senior executives and manufacturing managers on manufacturing competitive priorities in light of the prevalent culture. , – Survey data collected from 156 respondents from 78 manufacturing units based on a national sample in India are used to test the hypotheses using the paired samples t‐tests and multivariate analysis of variance. , – A relatively high emphasis by both levels of managers on quality, compared to the other three competitive priorities, is noteworthy and consistent with the global trends. The emphasis on delivery is a close second. Differences in competitive priorities exist across managerial levels in India despite the high power distance and low individualism. , – The effect of ownership as private or public company was examined and no significant differences found, but data could not be collected on the ownership structure such as wholly owned domestic firms, foreign subsidiaries, or joint ventures. and whether a firm is a supplier to a multinational company. It may also be noted that a majority of the manufacturing companies in this paper came from three industries – chemicals, fabricated metals, and electronic and electrical equipment – and, hence, the findings of the paper might have been unduly influenced by the prevalent practices in these industries. , – The paper informs global managers and firms seeking to outsource to, or invest in, India that the Indian managers place significantly high emphasis on quality and delivery, but not as much on product variety or ability to make frequent changes to product design and production volume. The managers in India need to take note of prevailing differences in managerial priorities and efforts need to be made such that the priorities are aligned and manufacturing strategy may be unified and coordinated. , – In the Indian context, this is the first study that deployed multiple respondents to understand the manufacturing competitive priorities, and also the first to examine strategic consensus in operations strategy.
Interleukin 1 stimulates fibroblasts to produce granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating activity and prostaglandin E2.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating activity (GM-CSA) can be produced by a variety of normal cell types including mononuclear phagocytes, activated T lymphocytes, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts. Recent evidence shows that a major role of the monocyte-macrophage is the recruitment of environmental cells, i.e., fibroblasts, to produce GM-CSA. In this study we have identified interleukin 1 (IL-1) as a monokine that stimulates fibroblasts to produce and release GM-CSA and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Both purified human monocyte-derived IL-1 and human recombinant IL-1 (10(-10) M) can be substituted for monocyte-conditioned medium in stimulating fibroblast GM-CSA and PGE2 production. Both forms of IL-1 stimulate fibroblasts to produce GM-CSA and PGE2 in a dose-dependent fashion. The fibroblast-stimulating activity found in monocyte-conditioned medium was completely blocked by anti-IL-1. We conclude that monocytes produce IL-1, and that monocyte-derived IL-1 induces fibroblasts to produce GM-CSA and PGE2.
Measuring Internet-Commerce Success: What Factors are Important?

ABSTRACT Determining the attributes that influence the success of e-commerce is difficult due to a limited conceptual basis necessary for success measures. Keeney (1999) proposed twenty-five objectives separated into two sets-fundamental objectives (the important goals of customers) and means objectives (important goals to be achieved by e-businesses)–for successful e-transactions. Based on Keeney's research, Torkzadeh and Dhillon (2002) developed two instruments that together measure the factors that influence e-commerce success. This research uses these instruments to empirically investigate the Internet shopping behavior of college students (undergraduate and graduate). The research determines the adequacy of multivariate linear relationships between the variables of the two instruments through canonical correlation and redundancy analyses. The research formalizes and tests a series of research hypotheses on Internet shopping behaviors. The article also summarizes the research results with important conclusions and future research directions.
The Impact of Union Experience on Job Satisfaction

The relationship between union status and job satisfaction is commonly estimated without recognizing the heterogeneity of non-union members. Many non-union workers have experienced union jobs in the past while others have not, suggesting past estimations of the impact of unions on job satisfaction may miss a critical distinction. After separating non-union members into those workers with and without union experience, this article shows that job satisfaction increases significantly for first-time union workers, but decreases as workers accumulate experience in the union. Finally, after leaving the union jobs, worker job satisfaction recovers but does so only as the time since unionization grows.
The Electoral Fortunes of Women Candidates for Congress

Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain why women remain underrepresented in Congress. One of those hypotheses is that some voters have blatant prejudices against women politicians, while others hold stereotypes about men and women politicians that favor men. In contrast, others claim that women candidates for Congress actually have an advantage in running for office because voters prefer women politicians. We test those hypotheses using pooled 1988, 1990, and 1992 National Election Studies data and the pooled 1988-1992 Senate Election Study and building on Krasno's (1994) model of voter choice in House and Senate elections. We find evidence that some voters prefer women candidates in House races, but not in Senate races. The advantage for women candidates in races with a challenger and incumbent is slight and can be attributed to the strong support of well-educated women voters. An advantage for women candidates is more pronounced in open-seat contests. In open-seat races, women voters, regardless of their education levels, more strongly support women candidates. Overall, candidate sex was not significant to male voters.
You can't always get what you want: actual and preferred ages of retirement in Europe

ABSTRACT Using data from the European Social Survey fielded in 2010/11, this study presents new evidence on retirement preferences in Europe. It investigates retirees' preferred and actual ages of retirement, focusing on the retirement window 1995–2011. Moreover, it reports on the prevalence of mismatch in the form of involuntary retirement (retiring earlier than preferred) and involuntary work (retiring later than preferred). The study identifies substantial shares of retirees who are affected by a mismatch between their preferred and actual ages of retirement. In the majority of the countries analysed, at least 30 per cent of retirees would have preferred to continue working past the age at which they retired, while in a number of countries sizeable shares of retirees report involuntary work. The risk factors for involuntary retirement include the experience of late-career job loss, unemployment, job exits for health reasons and, in the case of women, working in higher-status occupations. The risk factors for involuntary work include fatherhood and, in the case of women, part-time work. As a result of rising actual ages of retirement, the risk of involuntary retirement has decreased for more recent retirement cohorts, while due to pension reforms that have tightened eligibility rules for early retirement, men's risk of involuntary work has increased. However, involuntary retirement is still more prevalent than involuntary work.
Attributes of destination choice: British skiing in Canada

This paper presents the findings of a preliminary investigation into factors affecting the destination choice of British skiers travelling to Canada. Various ‘decision’ elements have been discussed in the literature, including income, family size, cost, accessibility, skill level, snow conditions and terrain diversity. The results of this research suggest snow quality and diversity of the skiing terrain are two of the most important features of a destination for skiers with (respectively) an intermediate or advanced ability. While holiday cost was still a feature, as British skiers (in Canada at least), tend to come from Britain’s higher socio-economic groups, this aspect was not considered significant by respondents. This suggests ski destinations and holiday providers might be better placed putting more emphasis on the ‘ski experience’ and snow quality in British-based promotions, particularly given a significant growth of this market in recent years.
An Automatic Algorithm to Retrieve Wave Height From X-Band Marine Radar Image Sequence

A new method is proposed to retrieve wave height from an X-band marine radar image sequence, without external measurements for reference. The X-band marine radar image sequence is first decomposed by empirical orthogonal function (EOF), and then the sea surface height profile is reconstructed and scaled from the first EOF mode. The radial profiles that are close to the peak wave direction are used to extract the zero-crossing wave periods and relative wave heights. The spectral width parameter is deduced from the histogram of a dimensionless wave period. Based on a joint probability distribution function (pdf) of a dimensionless wave period and wave height, the theoretical pdf of the wave height is derived. A shape parameter is defined for the theoretical pdf and the histogram of the relative wave heights, and then the calibration coefficient is estimated. The method is validated by comparing the significant wave heights retrieved from two different X-band marine radar systems with those measured by buoy; the correlation coefficient, the root-mean-square error, and the bias between them are 0.78, 0.51 m, and −0.19 m for HH polarization, while they are 0.77, 0.51 m, and 0.19 m for VV polarization, respectively. The sources of error of the method are discussed.
Values that create value: socially responsible business practices in SMEs – empirical evidence from German companies

Socially responsible business and ethical behaviour of companies have been of interest to academia and practice for decades. But the focus has almost exclusively been on large corporations while small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have not received as much attention. Thus, this paper focuses on socially responsible business practices of SME entrepreneurs or owner–managers in Germany. Based on the assumption that decision-makers in SMEs are the central point where all business activities start, members of a German entrepreneurs association were approached in the course of a qualitative and quantitative survey. They were asked to assess in what way their social responsibility is expressed in specific management practices towards selected stakeholder groups. These practices in turn were assumed to result in perceived positive reactions of the respective stakeholders and subsequently to positively influence the firm's financial performance, i.e. cost reductions and increase in profits. In the paper, a research model is presented that elaborates the relationship between an SME executive's social responsibility and the value creation of a firm, i.e. whether (personal) values create (economic) value. It was found that socially responsible management practices towards employees, customers and to a lesser extent society have a positive impact on the firm and its performance. As such, values can create additional value.
Calculating Interval Forecasts

The importance of interval forecasts is reviewed. Several general approaches to calculating such forecasts are described and compared. They include the use of theoretical formulas based on a fitted probability model (with or without a correction for parameter uncertainty), various “approximate” formulas (which should be avoided), and empirically based, simulation, and resampling procedures. The latter are useful when theoretical formulas are not available or there are doubts about some model assumptions. The distinction between a forecasting method and a forecasting model is expounded. For large groups of series, a forecasting method may be chosen in a fairly ad hoc way. With appropriate checks, it may be possible to base interval forecasts on the model for which the method is optimal. It is certainly unsound to use a model for which the method is not optimal, but, strangely, this is sometimes done. Some general comments are made as to why prediction intervals tend to be too narrow in practice to encompas.
Long-term stock returns after a substantial increase in the debt ratio

Prior studies consistently indicate that the announcement of an increase in the debt ratio will be accompanied by a rise in the stock price. In attempting to examine the long-term stock returns following a substantial increase in debt, this study shows that the stock price could negatively react to the increase in debt in some cases, and that only firms with less financial risk will experience positive long-term stock returns. In addition, firms with independent directors, with a CEO concurrently serving as the chairman of the board, that are controlled by a family or with low growth opportunities are more likely to experience a better long-term stock performance after an increase in debt, suggesting that board composition and growth opportunities play central roles in determining the long-term stock returns following an increase in the debt ratio.
Understanding Consumer Ethnocentrism in Developing Countries: Case Bangladesh

ABSTRACT This article argues that the traditional belief that “consumer ethnocentrism is a phenomenon of developed countries only” is no longer true. To establish this argument, our study assesses the applicability of the Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale (CETSCALE) to Bangladesh by judging the unidimensionality feature of the same. The methodology is based on a sample of 788 respondents collected from 27 districts in Bangladesh. Statistically significant results show that for three chosen sociodemographic groups, namely, students, job holders, and businesspersons, the original CETSCALE is to a large extent applicable as those groups have shown positive attitudes in retaining 12 to 14 items of the 17 items of the original scale. However, the groups and the respondents as a whole did not agree with the unidimensionality feature of the CETSCALE. Moreover, the results of the study show that Bangladeshi consumers in greater extent prefer to see “Made in Bangladesh” tags when buying consumer products that Bangladeshi businesses can produce locally—a significant potential threat to international business that multinational companies need to address.
Effect of HIV/AIDS-related mortality on household dependency ratios in rural South Africa, 2000–2005

With data from a surveillance system that uses verbal autopsies to identify cause of death in rural South Africa, we investigated whether mortality from HIV/AIDS differs from other causes of death in its effect on household dependency ratio, and to what extent the effect is mediated by the baseline dependency ratio. Findings: (i) the impact of death from HIV/AIDS on the dependency ratio in 2005 is marginally positive compared with other causes of death, but (ii) the impact is overpowered by the effect of death at working age, and (iii) the baseline dependency ratio mediates the effects on the 2005 ratio of cause of death and of the individual's sex and age at death. Migration into and out of the household—anticipating or responding to a death—seems to be a key source of change in the household dependency ratio.
Quantum cryptography using any two nonorthogonal states.

Quantum techniques for key distribution---the classically impossible task of distributing secret information over an insecure channel whose transmissions are subject to inspection by an eavesdropper, between parties who share no secret initially---have been proposed using (a) four nonorthogonally polarized single-photon states or low-intensity light pulses, and (b) polarization-entangled or spacetime-entangled two-photon states. Here we show that in principle any two nonorthogonal quantum states suffice, and describe a practical interferometric realization using low-intensity coherent light pulses.
Water Management, Spanish Irrigation Communities and Colonial Engineers

In the nineteenth century, Spanish irrigation was studied by a number of British and French engineers, who sought to acquire knowledge that could be applied to India and Algeria. In their reports, they said that Spanish irrigation communities were run by the irrigators themselves in a totally democratic way, which was not true. Although such ideas had hardly any practical consequences in colonial India and Algeria, they did have important repercussions in Spain, where the irrigation institutions came to resemble the image they had been given by the reporters, with the best results. Through the work of Elinor Ostrom, the myth created by the nineteenth-century reporters has also eventually become an argument in favour of irrigation projects in today's developing countries being managed by water users’ associations.
Induction of aggrecanase 1 (ADAM-TS4) by interleukin-1 occurs through activation of constitutively produced protein.

OBJECTIVE To study the production of aggrecanase 1 (ADAM-TS4) in monolayer chondrocytes, capsular fibroblasts, and cartilage. METHODS Bovine nasal and articular cartilage, monolayer chondrocytes, and capsular fibroblasts were incubated in the absence and presence of interleukin-1 (IL-1). ADAM-TS4 production was evaluated by immunofluorescence or by Western blot analysis. Aggrecanase activity was measured in cells grown on an immobilized peptide substrate, and peptide cleavage was monitored by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS There was constitutive production of ADAM-TS4 in both cells and tissue. The protein was associated with the extracellular matrix based on the observation that the staining could be reduced following treatment of chondrocytes with heparin or exposure to chondroitinase ABC. Interestingly, there was no detectable change in the abundance of ADAM-TS4 in response to IL-1. Western blot analysis of cell lysates from IL-1-stimulated chondrocytes showed no evidence of increased ADAM-TS4 production, but resulted in activation of ADAM-TS4. The activation was associated with an increased generation in the aggrecanase neoepitope NITEGE in nasal cartilage in response to IL-1. These data suggest that induction of aggrecanase activity both in cells and in cartilage by IL-1 may involve the stimulation of an activator of ADAM-TS4. Consistent with this observation, culture of chondrocytes on a solid support containing a peptide substrate resulted in the generation of aggrecanase-mediated cleavage that could be blocked by selective inhibitors of ADAM-TS4. CONCLUSION These data support the hypothesis that ADAM-TS4 is constitutively produced in these cells and tissue, and that stimulation by IL-1 results in aggrecanase activation. Thus, the activator could be a potential target by which to control aggrecanase-mediated degradation in arthritic diseases.
Conceptual Issues in Financial Reporting

Standard setters have sought a conceptual framework to guide development of a consistent set of accounting standards. However, the framework has two key weaknesses. First, it is very broad, lacks a measurement framework, and can be used ex post to justify a wide range of actual accounting standards. Second, all accounting issues are viewed as being conceptual issues. In many cases, we may need a good enough (even arbitrary) standard that coordinates our reporting choices, while at the same time trying to develop some systematic way of choosing measurement methods based on the cost and reliability of those measures. We examine four key conceptual issues related to consistency that are at the heart of many financial reporting dilemmas: stocks and flows, ex-ante and ex post, conventions and economic substance, and evolution and design by standard setting bodies. Associated with each conceptual issue is an accounting duality; in some cases one side (e.g., stocks) is easier to measure in a reliable manner, while the other side (e.g., flows) is easier to measure in other instances. We suggest that financial reporting would benefit from a willingness to pay attention to both sides, and balance the reliability of measurement in specific issues (a local approach) with broad principles applied across many issues when possible (consistency).