Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Proinsulin Intermolecular Interactions during Secretory Trafficking in Pancreatic β Cells*

Background: Proinsulin assembly is linked to its intracellular transport. Results: Proinsulin self-associates in the endoplasmic reticulum but, surprisingly, accumulates at a rate-limiting transport step in the Golgi region. Conclusion: Proinsulin transport is a dynamic process, and its perturbation may be measured under steady-state conditions. Significance: Proinsulin distribution may be a useful tool to characterize proinsulin trafficking in disease states. Classically, exit from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is rate-limiting for secretory protein trafficking because protein folding/assembly occurs there. In this study, we have exploited “hPro-CpepSfGFP,” a human proinsulin bearing “superfolder” green fluorescent C-peptide expressed in pancreatic β cells where it is processed to human insulin and CpepSfGFP. Remarkably, steady-state accumulation of hPro-CpepSfGFP and endogenous proinsulin is in the Golgi region, as if final stages of protein folding/assembly were occurring there. The Golgi regional distribution of proinsulin is dynamic, influenced by fasting/refeeding, and increased with β cell zinc deficiency. However, coexpression of ER-entrapped mutant proinsulin-C(A7)Y shifts the steady-state distribution of wild-type proinsulin to the ER. Endogenous proinsulin coprecipitates with hPro-CpepSfGFP and even more so with hProC(A7)Y-CpepSfGFP. Using Cerulean and Venus-tagged proinsulins, we find that both WT-WT and WT-mutant proinsulin pairs exhibit FRET. The data demonstrate that wild-type proinsulin dimerizes within the ER but accumulates at a poorly recognized slow step within the Golgi region, reflecting either slow kinetics of proinsulin hexamerization, steps in formation of nascent secretory granules, or other unknown molecular events. However, in the presence of ongoing misfolding of a subpopulation of proinsulin in β cells, the rate-limiting step in transport of the remaining proinsulin shifts to the ER.
AUSTRALIAN EXECUTIVE REMUNERATION: EVIDENCE ON STRUCTURE AND ACCOUNTING DETERMINANTS

This study explores a relatively new source of Australian executive pay information disclosed in published Annual Reports since 1989. It offers not only a different source from which to compare the results of US studies, but also an extension of the studies through the additional Australian disclosure requirements. The first section of the paper examines four possible determinants of Australian executive remuneration, accounting rates of return, firm size, industry and executive control through share holding. In the second part of the paper we used the data to analyse whether the structure of pay in Australian companies is consistent with a particular hypothesis derived from tournament theory.
Outcome of childhood malignancies at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital: a call for implementation of palliative care.

BACKGROUND Cancers in children are yet to be recognised as an important cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries where more than 70% of the world annual cases occur. Despite the limited resources and whatever the projected outcome, children with cancer need treatment, be it curative or palliative. OBJECTIVES To determine outcome of cancers in children at the UPTH; identify factors that influence outcome, highlight the need for palliative care. METHOD A retrospective study of cases of childhood malignancies admitted into Paediatric Oncology unit of UPTH over a two year period. Clinical profile of patients and outcome were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS Sixty cases were analysed: 35(58.3%) males, 25(41.7%) females giving a M:F ratio of 1.4:1. Under-fives constituted 55%. Twenty-seven (45%) patients presented within 4 weeks of onset of symptoms. Median duration of symptoms before presentation was 8 weeks while 36 (60%) had metastatic disease at diagnosis. Twenty patients (33.3%) defaulted with or without specific treatment. Mortality was recorded in 26(43.4%) of cases. CONCLUSION There were more cases of cancer amongst under-fives with male preponderance. Late presentation, financial constraints and high default rate were contributory factors to poor outcome in most cases. Lack of palliative care left many families to face their sufferings.
Sildenafil citrate as oral solid lipid nanoparticles: a novel formula with higher bioavailability and sustained action for treatment of erectile dysfunction

Objective: The aim of this study was to prepare sildenafil citrate as solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), in order to find an innovative way for alleviating the disadvantages associated with commercially available sildenafil citrate tablets. These limitations include poor solubility and extensive first-pass metabolism, resulting in low (40%) bioavailability and short elimination half-life (4 h). Methods: SLNs were prepared by hot homogenization followed by ultrasonication. Solubility of sildenafil citrate in different solid lipids was measured, effect of process variables as surfactant type and concentration, homogenization time, ultrasonication time and charge-inducing agent on the particle size, zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency were also determined. Furthermore, in vitro drug release, stability and in vivo pharmacokinetics were studied in rabbits Results: The best SLN formula consisted of 2% precirol ATO5, 0.5% phosphatidylcholine, 2.5% gelucire 44/14, 0.125% stearylamine, had an average particle size of 28.5 nm with 95.34% entrapment efficiency and demonstrated a controlled drug release over 24 h. An in vivo pharmacokinetic study revealed enhanced bioavailability by > 1.87 fold, and the mean residence time was longer than that for the commercially available tablet. Conclusion: SLN could be a promising carrier for sustained/prolonged sildenafil citrate release with enhanced oral bioavailability.
Predictors of Psychosocial Adaptation Among Elderly Residents in Long-Term Care Settings

&NA; This cross-sectional descriptive study explored psychosocial adaptation and its determinants among elderly residents of long-term care facilities. A convenience sample of 165 elderly residents was recruited from two nursing homes and two assisted living institutions in the Taichung area. All residents who met the criteria for this study were interviewed individually from April through June 2006. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on participant demographic characteristics, admission conditions, functional status, perceived family support, life attitudes, and psychosocial adaptation. The adaptation inventory incorporated three aspects of adaptation, including (1) sense of self-value, (2) sense of belonging and (3) sense of continuity. Findings, in general, did not indicate participants had achieved a high level of overall adaptation or significant adaptation in any of the three aspects targeted. Most participants were female. More than half were widowed and unable to fully finance their own institutional care. Nearly one-third was not admitted voluntarily. Having adequate funding for admission, voluntary admission, and number of roommates were the three most influential factors affecting overall adaptation, explaining 54% of variance. Study findings reflect the importance to residents' adaptation of self-determination, autonomy, and pre-institutionalization preparation and are intended to provide guidance for nursing intervention and social welfare policy making.
Why Don't We Use the Same Export Barrier Measurement Scale? An Empirical Analysis in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises

One of the most important issues addressed in research on international business, especially on SMEs, is why certain companies export more than others. A frequent explanation in the literature is that company directors and managers have different perceptions of obstacles or barriers to exporting. In that respect, in the last thirty years the literature on internationalization has studied export barriers without establishing a common classification and with no homogeneity in terms of either the number or types of existing barriers and their relative importance, nor a uniform approach to identify the most important barriers, the different types of barriers, or a scale in which they could be included. Therefore, we consider that there is a gap in the research on exporting and that it is necessary to establish a scale of exporting barriers that can be extrapolated to other studies of internationalization. Therefore, this paper seeks to review the main theoretical and empirical studies on export barriers, to propose an integrative classification of such barriers and to perform an empirical comparison of their perception so that the classification can be universally accepted and used in future studies on exports. Using a population of 2,590 companies (478 responses) and structural equations, we confirmed the four proposed dimensions or factors of export barriers, namely, knowledge, resources, procedure and exogenous barriers. The conclusions of this study offer a number of academic implications and contributions.
Too Little or too much? Exploring U‐shaped Relationships between Corporate Environmental Performance and Corporate Financial Performance

Despite 40 years of research on the relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP), there is no generally accepted theoretical framework that explains the contradictory results that have emerged. This unsatisfactory status may be attributed to the fact that linear models dominate the research. Based on an international sample of 2361 firm‐years from 2008 to 2012, we find empirical evidence of a non‐linear, specifically a U‐shaped, relationship between carbon performance and profitability as well as between waste intensity and profitability. The same result holds for the relationship between carbon performance and stock market performance, but solely for manufacturing industries. Our empirical findings provide evidence for the theoretical framework of a ‘too‐little‐of‐a‐good‐thing’ (TLGT) effect, which indicates that the type of relationship (positive, negative) depends on the level of CEP. More precisely, there is a negative CEP–CFP relationship for companies with low CEP and a positive association for high CEP. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Limited Dependent Variable Models Using Panel Data

This paper presents a survey of the methods used in the estimation of limited dependent variable models with panel data. It first reviews some issues in the analysis of panel data when the dependent variables are continuous. The problems of fixed effects vs. random effects and serious correlation vs. state dependence are discussed with reference to continuous data. The paper then discusses these problems with reference to the panel logit, panel probit, and panel tobit models. The paper presents a comparative assessment of these models.
Impaired Malate and Fumarate Accumulation Due to the Mutation of the Tonoplast Dicarboxylate Transporter Has Little Effects on Stomatal Behavior1

Manipulation of tonoplastic organic acid transport by inhibition of the tDT impacts mitochondrion metabolism, while the overall stomatal and photosynthetic performance is not affected. Malate is a central metabolite involved in a multiplicity of plant metabolic pathways, being associated with mitochondrial metabolism and playing significant roles in stomatal movements. Vacuolar malate transport has been characterized at the molecular level and is performed by at least one carrier protein and two channels in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) vacuoles. The absence of the Arabidopsis tonoplast Dicarboxylate Transporter (tDT) in the tdt knockout mutant was associated previously with an impaired accumulation of malate and fumarate in leaves. Here, we investigated the consequences of this lower accumulation on stomatal behavior and photosynthetic capacity as well as its putative metabolic impacts. Neither the stomatal conductance nor the kinetic responses to dark, light, or high CO2 were highly affected in tdt plants. In addition, we did not observe any impact on stomatal aperture following incubation with abscisic acid, malate, or citrate. Furthermore, an effect on photosynthetic capacity was not observed in the mutant lines. However, leaf mitochondrial metabolism was affected in the tdt plants. Levels of the intermediates of the tricarboxylic acid cycle were altered, and increases in both light and dark respiration were observed. We conclude that manipulation of the tonoplastic organic acid transporter impacted mitochondrial metabolism, while the overall stomatal and photosynthetic capacity were unaffected.
Phage therapy: assessment of the efficacy of a bacteriophage isolated in the treatment of salmonellosis induced by Salmonella enteritidis in mice

Aim: This work aims to isolate and perform comparative studies of a phages active against a Salmonella enteritidis strain from Iran. Also, suitable phage candidates for therapy of mice will be selected. Background: Bacteriophage is of particular interest as a biocontrol agent in the prevention of food-borne illnesses. In recent years tend to use bacteriophages to control pathogenic bacteria has increased. A bacteriophage is considered to be a potent antibiotic alternative for treating bacterial infections. Methods: the specific phages against Salmonella Enteritidis was isolated and candidates for therapy of mice will be selected. Mouses divided into the six specific groups. Groups of mice were as follows: A: Bacteri (control) B: Bacteri+ bacteriophage (Simultaneous), C: Bacteri + bacteriophage Four days later, D: Bacteriophage + bacteri four days later E: Bacteri+ Ciprofloxacin (Simultaneous) F: Bacteri+ ciprofloxacin+ bacteriophage (Simultaneous). Results: In this study, a lytic bacteriophage is isolated and it shows that phage has a head size of 46 nm and without a tail, by using an electron microscope. Oral administration of a single dose of 2 × 109 PFU/mouse bacteriophage enable to protect mouse against salmonellosis and it causes treatment of salmonellosis in mice. Conclusion: The use of this phage compared to ciprofloxacin shows that in addition of the treatment of mouse, it also prevents weight loss.
Moral Hazard, Insurance Claims, and Repeated Insurance Contracts

The paper develops a simple model of repeated automobile insurance contracts, providing a framework for analyzing changes in aggregate insurance data in periods of changes that affect driver incentives. Experience rating of premiums gives drivers an incentive to exert effort to avoid accidents (ex ante moral hazard), and an incentive to hide accidents (ex post moral hazard). The empirical analysis, using data from the competitive insurance markets in Ontario and Alberta over a period of major legislative changes in Ontario, suggests that much of the recent decline in accidents in Ontario was due to an increased incentive to hide accidents.
Investigating Practices When Using an Overview Device in Collaborative Multi-Surface Trip-Planning

The availability of mobile device ecologies enables new types of ad-hoc co-located decision-making and sensemak-ing practices in which people find, collect, discuss, and share information. However, little is known about what kind of device configurations are suitable for these types of tasks. This paper contributes new insights into how people use configurations of devices for one representative example task: collaborative co-located trip-planning. We present an empirical study that explores and compares three strategies to use multiple devices: no-overview, overview on own device, and a separate overview device. The results show that the overview facilitated decision- and sensemaking during a collaborative trip-planning task by aiding groups to iterate their itinerary, organize locations and timings efficiently, and discover new insights. Groups shared and discussed more opinions, resulting in more democratic decision-making. Groups provided with a separate overview device engaged more frequently and spent more time in closely-coupled collaboration.
Mutual and interactive trust in business dyads: condition and process

Purpose – The objective of this research is to describe and develop a conceptual framework that differs between the constructs of mutual and interactive trust in business dyads.Design/methodology/approach – This study is based upon the empirical findings of a survey between a vehicle manufacturer (VM) and its most important suppliers.Findings – On an overall level, there is both mutual and interactive trust between the VM and its suppliers, although on a specific level there is hardly any mutual trust, while there is interactive trust in the studied dyads, where one's trust is increasing the other's trust is decreasing.Research limitations/implications – The fact that the research was based upon a VM and its most important suppliers implies that the empirical findings of this research might not be generalised beyond the automotive industry. Another limitation has been the use of a trend dimension to estimate the interactive trust in the studied business dyads. Theoretical and managerial implications, as w.
Liquidity Provision of Limit Order Trading in the Futures Market Under Bull and Bear Markets

This study investigates how limit orders affect liquidity in a purely order-driven futures market. Additionally, the possible asymmetric relationship between market depth and transitory volatility in bull and bear markets and the effect of institutional trading on liquidity provision behavior are examined as well. The empirical results demonstrate that subsequent market depth increases as transient volatility increases in bull markets. Market depth exhibits significantly positive relationship to subsequent transient volatility in bull markets. Additionally, although trading volume positively influences transient volatility in bull markets, no such relationship exists in bear markets. Liquidity provision decreases when institutional trading activity intensifies during bear markets. Thus, liquidity provision for limit orders differs between bull and bear markets. Copyright (c) 2009 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
A Decomposition Analysis of Regional Poverty in Russia

The paper applies a new decomposition technique to the study of variations in poverty across the regions of Russia. The procedure, which is based on the Shapley value in cooperative game theory, allows the deviation in regional poverty levels from the all-Russia average to be attributed to three proximate sources: per capita income, inequality, and local prices. Contrary to expectation, regional poverty variations turn out to be due more to differences in inequality across regions than to differences in real income per capita. However, when real income per capita is split into nominal income and price components, differences in nominal incomes emerge as more important than either inequality or price effects for the majority of regions.
Effects of fire disturbance on soil respiration in the non-growing season in a Larix gmelinii forest in the Daxing'an Mountains, China

In boreal forests, fire is an important part of the ecosystem that greatly influences soil respiration, which in turn affects the carbon balance. Wildfire can have a significant effect on soil respiration and it depends on the fire severity and environmental factors (soil temperature and snow water equivalent) after fire disturbance. In this study, we quantified post-fire soil respiration during the non-growing season (from November to April) in a Larix gmelinii forest in Daxing'an Mountains of China. Soil respiration was measured in the snow-covered and snow-free conditions with varying degrees of natural burn severity forests. We found that soil respiration decreases as burn severity increases. The estimated annual C efflux also decreased with increased burn severity. Soil respiration during the non-growing season approximately accounted for 4%–5% of the annual C efflux in all site types. Soil temperature (at 5 cm depth) was the predominant determinant of non-growing season soil respiration change in this area. Soil temperature and snow water equivalent could explain 73%–79% of the soil respiration variability in winter snow-covering period (November to March). Mean spring freeze–thaw cycle (FTC) period (April) soil respiration contributed 63% of the non-growing season C efflux. Our finding is key for understanding and predicting the potential change in the response of boreal forest ecosystems to fire disturbance under future climate change.
Competitiveness, Inflation, and Monetary Policy

This paper examines the way in which structural changes in the level of steady-state competitiveness and the trend rate of inflation affect inflation responses to monetary policy shocks, in scenarios chosen to capture broadly the conditions of the UK economy in the early 1990s and more recently. Cyclical changes in competitiveness are also considered, since it is not clear empirically whether changes in competitiveness have been predominantly structural or cyclical. A model based on work by Woodford is used, allowing for positive trend inflation and cyclical variations in competitiveness in a tractable manner. This extension enables the separate quantification of the impact of differences in the steady-state level of and cyclical changes in competitiveness on inflation in the short term, in high and low inflation environments. The paper quantifies the extent to which procyclical (countercyclical) changes in competitiveness dampen (amplify) the impulse responses of inflation to a given monetary policy shock. In the calibration used, the inflation response to monetary policy shocks in a low inflation/high competitiveness environment is dampened compared with a high inflation/low competitiveness environment. By contrast, inflation responses to monetary policy shocks in a low inflation/low competitiveness environment are similar to those in a high inflation/high competitiveness environment.
THE EFFECT OF FK506 VERSUS CYCLOSPORINE ON GLUCOSE AND LIPID METABOLISM—A RANDOMIZED TRIAL

In order to evaluate the effect of cyclosporine (CsA) versus FK506 on glucose and lipid metabolism, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed in 101 patients after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) (mean interval after OLT: 511 days). The liver graft recipients had been randomized prospectively to two groups prior to OLT to receive either immunosuppression with CsA, azathioprine, and corticosteroids (CsA group) or FK506 and corticosteroids (FK group). Along with the OGTT, serum insulin, insulin C-peptide and glucagon as well as serum lipids were monitored. There was no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or manifest diabetes mellitus disease between the two groups. In fact, not a single patient developed new-onset diabetes in any group. In male and female patients, serum levels of cholesterol and triglycerides increased significantly under FK506 and CsA treatment after OLT. Cholesterol was significantly higher in the CsA group in men, in women this was marked, but not significant. While triglycerides were significantly higher in women on CsA treatment, there was no such difference in men. In conclusion, both CsA and FK506 proved to have similar effects on glucose metabolism, while there was a different spectrum of serum lipid alterations.
Earnings Profile: Ability and Schooling: Comment

John Hause's paper is addressed to the perplexing matters of how to disentangle the effects of ability and schooling on worker earnings, and of the effect of ability on earnings over a worker's lifetime. ' His emphasis oil "ability" and schooling as determinants of earnings is surely not intended to deny that other variables also affect earnings or to deny that these other variables may also interact with ability and schooling level-but he barely touches on other variables or the possibility of interactions.