Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring Business Cycles in the Russian Empire

Newly available data on Russian commerce, industry, finance, incorporations, labour, and investment allow a fresh approach to two historical puzzles: the dating of cyclical peaks and troughs in Russia during the six decades before the First World War and the evaluation of theories advanced to explain the causes of these cycles. A diffusion index and a composite index establish the dates and amplitudes of seven complete cycles from 1855 to 1909 and part of an eighth, in 1910–13, interrupted by the First World War. The influence of wars and the Revolution of 1905 on the Russian cycle is clear. A comparison of diffusion indices for Russia and Germany reveals that Russian cycles occasionally diverged from the European pattern in the absence of war and revolution, notably during the industrial boom of the 1890s. The new findings give qualified support to the contention of several Soviet economists in the 1920s that this divergence resulted, at least in part, from the monetary stimulus of exports, primarily of grain.
Joined at the Hip: Regionalism and Interregionalism

Abstract Taking the recent Special Issue of the Journal of European Integration on ‘The EU as a Global Actor and the Role of Interregionalism’ as its starting point, this article considers the ways in which regionalism and interregionalism affect and are affected by one another. It explores the concept of interregionalism as a distinct level in the hierarchy of global governance, and a functional context within which regional actors operate. Interregionalism is attributed with a range of functions, elements of which are directed upward to the global multilateral level and downward to the regional level in the hierarchy of global policy making. At the same time, the extent to which these functions are performed is influenced by the constellation of regional actors involved. Regionalism and interregionalism, therefore, are impacted by one another. Further, the recognition that the precise constellation of regional actors affects the functions of interregionalism in different ways allows interregionalism itself to be differentiated into two varieties: an internally focused, capacity building type, and an externally focused, globally active type.
Antibiotic prescribing by primary care physicians for children with upper respiratory tract infections.

OBJECTIVES To determine if the rate of appropriate antibiotic use in the treatment of children with bronchitis, viral upper respiratory tract infections, sinusitis, otitis media, and pharyngitis has changed in recent years and to identify factors that are associated with the use of inappropriate antibiotic therapy. DESIGN The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey was used to examine the antimicrobial prescribing habits of physicians who provide primary care for children. Data were analyzed from 1995-1998. SETTING Office-based physician practices. PARTICIPANTS Pediatricians, family physicians, and generalists completing survey forms for patients younger than 18 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE The appropriate use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections. RESULTS Multivariate analyses were used to examine factors associated with the use of inappropriate antibiotics to treat either upper respiratory tract infections or bronchitis. Patients seen in 1998 and diagnosed as having upper respiratory tract infections were 0.69 (95% confidence interval, 0.59-0.81) times less likely to be treated with antibiotics compared with patients seen in 1995. Multivariate analyses were also used to assess factors associated with the use of antibiotics with a suboptimal therapeutic profile for the treatment of either sinusitis or otitis media. Children diagnosed as having either sinusitis or otitis media were 0.3 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16-0.48) times less likely to receive antibiotics with a suboptimal therapeutic effect in 1998 compared with 1995. CONCLUSIONS Physicians are slowly improving their antibiotic prescribing patterns but the use of inappropriate antibiotics is still common. Almost half of patients with upper respiratory tract infections receive antibiotics.
Evidence that residues −15 to −46 of the haemolysin secretion signal are involved in early steps in secretion, leading to recognition of the translocator

We previously identified three well‐dispersed mutations, E978‐K, F989‐L and D1009‐R within the haemolysin A signal region, located at positions –46, –35 and –15, with respect to the C‐terminus, respectively. Each mutation reduces the efficiency of secretion two‐ to threefold leaving 30–45% of the wild‐type activity. We have constructed by in vitro manipulations double mutants of HlyA carrying all combinations of these mutations and a triple mutant carrying all three mutations. The effects on secretion were determined and the results, including residual levels of secretion with the triple mutant of only 0.6%, compared with the wild type, indicated that these residues may interact to form a single function in the wild‐type signal. To test this further, we developed a secretion competition assay in order to classify signal mutations. We demonstrated that a CIZ‐HlyA fusion protein, containing the C‐terminal 81 kDa of HlyA fused to virtually the whole LacZ protein, strongly inhibits the secretion of the wild‐type HlyA co‐expressed In the same cell. The properties of the fusion indicate that it blocks the translocator. The three mutations singly and in combinations were recombined in vitro into the 3′‐end of the hybrid gene. In every case, the presence of a mutation in the secretion signal of the hybrid protein alleviated the inhibition of secretion of the co‐expressed HiyA. All the mutations are therefore essentially recessive and we propose that they all affect an early function, probably recognition of the translocator, rather than a subsequent step involved in translocation or final release of the toxin to the medium. This would indicate that residues involved in recognition for steps
Special Information and Insider Trading

Trading by corporate officers, directors, and large stockholders, who are commonly called insiders, commands widespread attention in the financial community. Academicians are interested in the amount of special information insiders possess, as well as in the profit they earn from such knowledge. The average investor seeks out useful information in the Official Summary of Insider Trading,' the monthly report listing the transactions of corporate officials. Previous research on corporate insiders has focused on the profitability of their trading. Some researchers, examining months of intensive insider activity, have concluded that insiders can predict stock price movement up to 6 months subsequent to trading. Rogoff for example, examines 45 companies in which, within a single month, three or more insiders buy their company's stock and no insiders sell the stock.2 He finds that the returns to the insiders of these companies in the following 6 months are on average 91/2 percent greater than the return to the stock market as a whole. Glass examines 14 different calendar months and selects the eight securities with the greatest excess of buyers to sellers among insiders within a month.3 He finds that the average return on these securities is 10 percent above the return on the stock market as a whole in the 7 months following the individual months of intensive buying. Lorie and Niederhoffer investigate stock performance following months in which there are at least two more buyers than sellers or at least two more sellers than buyers among the insiders of a company.4 They find that a security experiencing an intensive buying month is more likely to advance than to decline relative to the market in the 6 months subsequent to the event. Conversely, a security experiencing an intensive selling month is more likely to decline than to advance relative to the market in the 6 months subsequent to the event. Driscoll examines the trading by insiders prior to dividend changes
A covalently cross-linked gel derived from the epidermis of the pilot whale Globicephala melas.

The rheological properties of the stratum corneum of the pilot whale (Globicephala melas) were investigated with emphasis on their significance to the self-cleaning abilities of the skin surface smoothed by a jelly material enriched with various hydrolytic enzymes. The gel formation of the collected fluid was monitored by applying periodic-harmonic oscillating loads using a stress-controlled rheometer. In the mechanical spectrum of the gel, the plateau region of the storage modulus G' (<1200 Pa) and the loss modulus G" (>120 Pa) were independent of frequency (omega = 43.98 to 0.13 rad x s(-1), tau = 15 Pa, T = 20 degrees C), indicating high elastic performance of a covalently cross-linked viscoelastic solid. In addition, multi-angle laser light scattering experiments (MALLS) were performed to analyse the potential time-dependent changes in the weight-average molar mass of the samples. The observed increase showed that the gel formation is based on the assembly of covalently cross-linked aggregates. The viscoelastic properties and the shear resistance of the gel assure that the enzyme-containing jelly material smoothing the skin surface is not removed from the stratum corneum by shear regimes during dolphin jumping. The even skin surface is considered to be most important for the self-cleaning abilities of the dolphin skin against biofouling.
Rural Electrification in Senegal: Access to Electricity and its Impacts on Women's Needs

Access to electricity impacts women and men differently. Current research often focuses on household units and the direct benefits of electricity whereas indirect benefits such as specific gender impacts are insufficiently researched. This study aimed to contribute to a better understanding of electricity’s impacts on women’s needs. By using Moser’s (1989) definition of women’s gender needs and by adding a third need as proposed by Clancy et al. (2003), this research analyzed the impacts of electricity on women’s practical gender needs, productive gender needs and strategic gender needs. Overall findings indicated that access to electricity addressed above all women’s practical gender needs. However, the different aspects of access to electricity could not be clearly identified as meeting either a practical, productive or a strategic gender need only. There was no clear division between women’s gender needs and often, one facet of electricity addressed more than one need. Altogether, access to electricity proved to have a vast potential to meet women’s gender needs and it is therefore essential to include women and their different gender needs in all steps of the process of rural electrification.
Trading information for access: informational lobbying strategies and interest group access to the European Union

Lobbying in the European Union (EU) is defined by an exchange of information: well-informed interest groups supply understaffed and pressed-for-time decision-makers with policy-relevant information for legitimate ‘access’ to the EU policy-making process. While we know quite a bit about the informational needs of decision-makers, an interest group's capacity to meet these needs remains relatively uncharted territory. This analysis examines the informational determinants of interest group access to the EU from a supply-side perspective; namely, how do different types of information and different tactics used to provide this information buy access to different EU decision-makers? Results from an empirical analysis indicate that information tactics are, on balance, more significant determinants of access than information types. The medium, in other words, is more important than the message. I also find that largely discredited ‘outside’ tactics, like organizing public events and launching media campaigns, are very important in granting interest groups access to EU decision-makers.
Identification of Residues within Tropomodulin-1 Responsible for Its Localization at the Pointed Ends of the Actin Filaments in Cardiac Myocytes*

Tropomodulin is a tropomyosin-dependent actin filament capping protein involved in the structural formation of thin filaments and in the regulation of their lengths through its localization at the pointed ends of actin filaments. The disordered N-terminal domain of tropomodulin contains three functional sites: two tropomyosin-binding and one tropomyosin-dependent actin-capping sites. The C-terminal half of tropomodulin consists of one compact domain containing a tropomyosin-independent actin-capping site. Here we determined the structural properties of tropomodulin-1 that affect its roles in cardiomyocytes. To explore the significance of individual tropomyosin-binding sites, GFP-tropomodulin-1 with single mutations that destroy each tropomyosin-binding site was expressed in cardiomyocytes. We demonstrated that both sites are necessary for the optimal localization of tropomodulin-1 at thin filament pointed ends, with site 2 acting as the major determinant. To investigate the functional properties of the tropomodulin C-terminal domain, truncated versions of GFP-tropomodulin-1 were expressed in cardiomyocytes. We discovered that the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) fold and the C-terminal helix are required for its proper targeting to the pointed ends. To investigate the structural significance of the LRR fold, we generated three mutations within the C-terminal domain (V232D, F263D, and L313D). Our results show that these mutations affect both tropomyosin-independent actin-capping activity and pointed end localization, most likely by changing local conformations of either loops or side chains of the surfaces involved in the interactions of the LRR domain. Studying the influence of these mutations individually, we concluded that, in addition to the tropomyosin-independent actin-capping site, there appears to be another regulatory site within the tropomodulin C-terminal domain.
A Historical Institutionalist Approach to Political Party Organization: The Case of South Korea

Abstract The existing literature on party organization is deeply divided over the question of how much freedom of choice decision-makers in a party enjoy in relation to their environment. Although the resulting theoretical deadlock seriously weakens our understanding of party formation and change, no attempt has been made to reconcile the different approaches. This article aims to do just that by offering a historical institutionalist perspective on party organization. Studying the development of political parties in South Korea, it argues that party organizations are best understood as strategic responses to electoral markets. Party organizations reproduce and change, as advantaged factions defend the status quo, while disadvantaged factions work towards organizational reform.
Does TOD Need the T?

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Transit-oriented developments (TODs) often consist of new housing near rail stations. Channeling urban growth into such developments is intended in part to reduce the climate change, pollution, and congestion caused by driving. But new housing might be expected to attract more affluent households that drive more, and rail access might have smaller effects on auto ownership and use than housing tenure and size, parking availability, and the neighborhood and subregional built environments. I surveyed households in northern New Jersey living within two miles of 10 rail stations about their housing age and type, access to off-street parking, work and non-work travel patterns, demographics, and reasons for choosing their neighborhoods. The survey data were geocoded and joined to on-street parking data from a field survey, along with neighborhood and subregional built environment measures. I analyzed how these factors were correlated with automobile ownership and use as reported in the survey. Auto ownership, commuting, and grocery trip frequency were substantially lower among households living in new housing near rail stations compared to those in new households farther away. But rail access does little to explain this fact. Housing type and tenure, local and subregional density, bus service, and particularly off- and on-street parking availability, play a much more important role. Takeaway for practice: Transportation and land use planners should broaden their efforts to develop dense, mixed-use, low-parking housing beyond rail station areas. This could be both more influential and less expensive than a development policy oriented around rail. Research support: Data collection and initial research were funded under contract with the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
Does Mood Affect Trading Behavior?

The assumption that mood affects investors’ behavior in the field is gaining acceptance due to experimental studies and papers linking stock returns with environmental variables, such as weather and length of day. To identify mood effects this paper utilizes account level stock trading data from all investors in Finland, a country with significant variation in weather and length of day. While some weather-related mood variables and calendar effects are individually significant, little of the day-to-day variation in trading is collectively explained by all such factors. In contrast, we find strong seasonal lower frequency patterns that seem connected to vacations.
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome according to the Iranian Committee of Obesity and ATP III criteria in Babol, North of Iran.

BACKGROUND Metabolic syndrome (MS) is highly significant due to its association to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of MS according to the report of the Iranian National Committee of Obesity criteria (INCO) versus Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) in Babol, North of Iran. METHODS Data obtained based on criteria ATP III from the Babol Lipid and Glucose Study (from July 2004 to September 2005) and were compared with the new INCO criteria 2010. The data were collected and analyzed. RESULTS In total, 933 adult males and females were evaluated. According to ATP III criteria, the overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 23.7% (95% confidence interval: 21%-26.4%); 28.4% and 9.4% were females and males, respectively; however, the prevalence was 20.5% (95% confidence interval: 17.9%-23.1%) according to the INCO criteria, 22.5% and 15.7% were females and males, respectively. CONCLUSION The new INCO criteria for the metabolic syndrome proclaimed by the Iranian Committee of Obesity estimated a lower prevalence of syndrome in comparison with ATP III criteria in Babol.
Altered pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNA levels in chickens infected with infectious bronchitis virus

Abstract Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) replicates primarily in the respiratory tract and grows in various organs in chickens, with or without pathological effects. The diversity of this virus has been verified by sequence analysis of the S1 glycoprotein gene, but this method must be supplemented with further analysis for characterization of the agent. To increase our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease caused by this virus, we investigated the response of chickens to 2 IBV with different genotypes, KIIa and ChVI. The clinical signs induced by the viruses were observed. In addition, the mRNA levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, IL-1β, and lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-α factor and the serum levels of α1-acid glycoprotein, which is a major acute phase protein, were measured. The KIIa genotype (Kr/ADL110002/2011) induced clinical signs accompanied by the excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and a higher viral load. In chickens infected with this isolate, simultaneous peaks in the viral copy number and cytokine production were observed at 7 dpi in the trachea and 9 d postinoculation in the kidney. On the other hand, the chickens infected with the ChVI genotype (Kr/ADL120003/2012) did not show a response other than a mild upregulation of cytokines at 1 d postinoculation, which appears to indicate the invasion of the virus. In summary, we confirmed a differential innate response following infection with distinct IBV. We hypothesize that an excessive innate response contributes to the scale of the pathophysiologic effect in chickens.
Many-body electrostatic interactions in electrorheological fluids.

We present a general method based on a multipole-expansion theory that allows us to calculate efficiently and accurately the electrostatic forces and the dielectric constant of an assembly of spheres. This method is applied to the study of two aspects which play an important role in the behavior of electrorheological (ER) Auids. The first one concerns the calculation of the principal values e~~ and e& of the dielectric tensor of the body-centered-tetragonal (bct) lattice, and the calculation of the induced dipole on the particles in this lattice. These are rigorous calculations on physical properties of interest in the study of ER Auids. These results support the idea that the columnlike aggregates which have been found in ER fIuids should have a bct structure. Although calculations based on the dipolar approach were previously presented, no results are available that confirm this idea rigorously. The second point concerns an exact analytical derivation of an expression describing the many-body electrostatic forces among spherical polarizable particles in terms of the multipole moments. We have compared this force expression, in the case of two-particle interactions, to some results from the literature. It agrees very well with some analytical two-particle expressions for perfectly conducting spheres and also with some recent results concerning the interactions between two polarizable spheres. Furthermore, we present results for three-particle contributions to the electrostatic force and show that these contributions are unexpectedly large. In particular, the rate of divergence of the force between two conducting spheres can be considerably changed by the presence of a third one.
Effects of Chronic Ethanol Treatment on the Expression of Calcium Transport Carriers and NMDA/Glutamate Receptor Proteins in Brain Synaptic Membranes

Abstract: Acute exposure to ethanol inhibits both the NMDA receptors and the Na/Ca‐exchange carriers in neuronal membranes. This alters intraneuronal signaling pathways activated by Ca2+. Neurons exposed chronically to ethanol exhibit enhanced density and activity of NMDA receptors and increased maximal activity of the exchangers. In the present study, the expression of brain synaptic membrane proteins with ligand binding sites characteristic of NMDA receptors and of exchange carriers were determined after chronic ethanol administration (15 days) to rats. Such treatment caused an increase in the expression of the NMDAR1 receptor subunit, 15% above the levels in the pair‐fed controls, as well as of three subunits of a complex that has properties characteristic of NMDA receptors, the glutamate, carboxypiperazinylphosphonate, and glycine binding proteins. Increases for the three binding proteins were 49, 50, and 62%, respectively. The expression of the 120‐kDa exchanger proteins was increased by 14% and that of a 36‐kDa exchanger‐associated protein by 33%. Both the binding proteins and the exchangers returned to basal levels within 36–72 h after withdrawal from ethanol. No changes were detected in synaptic membrane Ca2+, Mg2+‐ATPases. The enhanced expression of receptor and exchanger‐associated proteins may explain the increases in the density and activity of NMDA receptors and exchange carriers after chronic ethanol treatment.