Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Beyond the Search for Competition in Social Service Contracting

The authors argue it is time to move beyond thinking of competition in social service contracting simply in terms of whether competitive tendering procedures are used. Although the procurement process is important, other factors should be examined as well. In particular, they look at how market consolidation and accountability are related to competitive procurement. Findings indicate that demand side—driven consolidation (i.e., governments purposely choosing to go with fewer and larger contracts in which lead agencies manage vendor networks) has both competitive and noncompetitive aspects that are in need of further study and that the competition—accountability link is more complex than generally assumed. Although, as expected, there is evidence that competition, in and of itself, leads to some contractor turnover, it does not appear that competitive vendors are held to higher standards than their noncompetitive counterparts regarding performance (as measured by adherence to contract terms).
Menstrual cycle and respiratory symptoms in a general Nordic-Baltic population.

RATIONALE There is little knowledge of variations in respiratory symptoms during the menstrual cycle in a general population, and potential modifying factors are not investigated. OBJECTIVES To investigate menstrual cycle variation in respiratory symptoms in a large general population, using chronobiology methodology, and stratifying by body mass index (BMI), smoking, and asthma status. METHODS A total of 3,926 women with regular cycles less than or equal to 28 days and not taking exogenous sex hormones answered a postal questionnaire regarding the first day of their last menstruation and respiratory symptoms in the last 3 days. Moving 4-day means were computed to smooth uneven records of daily sampling; best-fitting 28-day composite cosine curves were applied to each time series to describe rhythmicity. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Significant rhythmic variations over the menstrual cycle were found in each symptom for all subjects and subgroups. Wheezing was higher on cycle Days 10-22, with a midcycle dip near the time of putative ovulation (approximately Days 14-16) in most subgroups. Shortness of breath was higher on days 7-21, with a dip just before midcycle in many subgroups. Cough was higher just after putative ovulation for subjects with asthma, BMI greater than or equal to 23 kg/m(2), and smokers, or just before ovulation and menses onset for low symptomatic subgroups. CONCLUSIONS Respiratory symptoms varied significantly during the menstrual cycle and were most frequent from the midluteal to midfollicular stages, often with a dip near the time of ovulation. The patterns varied by BMI, smoking, and asthma status. These relations link respiratory symptoms with hormonal changes through the menstrual cycle and imply a potential for individualized chronotherapy for respiratory diseases.
On Gestalt Theory Principles

In the last 50 years many attempts have been made to advance image recognition. The main tool has been pattern recognition technique, and the images have been restricted to a single object. In most cases, solutions are based mainly on complete enumeration of possibilities plus a number of heuristic restrictions. Even if partial success is achieved it is determined to a great extent by high speed of computers (so a huge number of possibilities could be analyzed) and tremendous size of memory (so a huge number of examples could be stored and used for comparison). Despite numerous attempts by all leading companies in the world, there is no pictorial search (search for images similar to a given one) available on the internet. The main cause of stagnation in this field has been the neglecting of knowledge accumulated in Psychology of Perception in general and in Gestalt Psychology in particular. Too much emphasis has been put on mathematics and engineering and too little on laws of human perception, which must be imitated. History shows that a number of basic AI problems like abstract object detection [Guberman 2008], handwriting recognition [Andreevsky 1996], clustering analysis [Guberman 2002], and image understanding [Guberman 2012], were resolved on the basis of Gestalt Psychology after many years of unsuccessful attempts grounded in formal mathematical approaches. Implementing Gestalt principles in computer programs demanded, on the one hand, formal interpretation of Gestalt principles; and on the other hand, adjusting computers to operate more adequately with objects of a spatial nature.
SENESCENCE IN NATURAL POPULATIONS OF MAMMALS: A REANALYSIS

JEAN-MICHEL GAIL1J\RD, I DoMINIQUE Au.AiNE,' DoMINIQUE PONTIER,' NIGEL G. Yoceoz,'> AND DANIEL E. L. PROMISLOw'·> 'Laboratoire de Biomhrie, Genetique et Biologie des Populations. URA 243. Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1. 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France 'Laboratoire de Socio-Ecologie, Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1. 69622 Vil/eurbanne Cedex, France 3Department ofZoology, Institute 0/Biology. University ofOslo, N-03I6 Oslo 3. Norway 4Department 0/ Biology. Queen's University, Kingston. Ontario K7L 3N6. Canada
Mitochondrial oxidative stress causes mitochondrial fragmentation via differential modulation of mitochondrial fission–fusion proteins

Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that undergo continual fusion and fission to maintain their morphology and functions, but the mechanism involved is still not clear. Here, we investigated the effect of mitochondrial oxidative stress triggered by high‐fluence low‐power laser irradiation (HF‐LPLI) on mitochondrial dynamics in human lung adenocarcinoma cells (ASTC‐a‐1) and African green monkey SV40‐transformed kidney fibroblast cells (COS‐7). Upon HF‐LPLI‐triggered oxidative stress, mitochondria displayed a fragmented structure, which was abolished by exposure to dehydroascorbic acid, a reactive oxygen species scavenger, indicating that oxidative stress can induce mitochondrial fragmentation. Further study revealed that HF‐LPLI caused mitochondrial fragmentation by inhibiting fusion and enhancing fission. Mitochondrial translocation of the profission protein dynamin‐related protein 1 (Drp1) was observed following HF‐LPLI, demonstrating apoptosis‐related activation of Drp1. Notably, overexpression of Drp1 increased mitochondrial fragmentation and promoted HF‐LPLI‐induced apoptosis through promoting cytochrome c release and caspase‐9 activation, whereas overexpression of mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), a profusion protein, caused the opposite effects. Also, neither Drp1 overexpression nor Mfn2 overexpression affected mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation, mitochondrial depolarization, or Bax activation. We conclude that mitochondrial oxidative stress mediated through Drp1 and Mfn2 causes an imbalance in mitochondrial fission–fusion, resulting in mitochondrial fragmentation, which contributes to mitochondrial and cell dysfunction.
An empirical survey of the motivation for share repurchases in the UK

Purpose – Most research on share repurchases is based on the USA. Recently, the rate of share repurchases by UK companies has increased significantly; such a marked increase in activity would suggest a change in strategic factors generating this activity. This paper aims to focus on UK practice, the motivations of UK companies to repurchase shares and compares similar research in the USA.Design/methodology/approach – Strategic motives for share repurchase activity are examined by a questionnaire survey of the finance directors of the top UK 200 companies. The outcome is compared to equivalent US research. The theoretical underpinning of the survey is based on six prominent hypotheses from the academic literature.Findings – The results indicate that a primary motive of share repurchases in the UK is to achieve an optimal capital structure, and that the requirement to cancel shares is fundamental to buy‐back decisions in the UK.Research limitations/implications – USA/UK comparison has limitations, neverthel.
The Impacts of Trade Liberalization on Poverty in Nigeria: Dynamic Simulations in a CGE Model

The study examines the effects that trade liberalization will have on poverty in Nigeria. Previous studies have been limited by static and partial equilibrium analysis. We use a Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium Model to analyze this issue. The more favorably affected sectors are capital intensive; therefore, capital income improves over time while land and labor income reduce. This has positive implications for urban households and negative implications for rural households due to the dependence of the latter on mostly land and labor income. As a result, urban poverty decreases in the short and long run while rural poverty increases in both periods. Policies to improve the agricultural sector will thus have to be implemented before or concurrently with trade liberalization in order for it to have a pro-poor effect. In this way, the rural areas which obtain most of their income from this sector will respond more positively to trade liberalization.
Clinical significance of HOTAIR expression in colon cancer.

AIM To detect the expression of the long noncoding RNA HOTAIR in colon cancer and analyze its relationship with clinicopathological parameters of colon cancer. METHODS Total RNA was extracted from 80 colon cancer tissues and matched tumor-adjacent normal colon tissues and reverse transcribed. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of HOTAIR. The relationship between the expression of HOTAIR and clinicopathological parameters of colon cancer was analyzed. RESULTS The expression of HOTAIR was significantly higher in colon cancer tissues than in matched tumor-adjacent normal colon tissues (P < 0.05). HOTAIR expression was significantly higher in cases with lymph node metastasis than in those without metastasis; in lowly differentiated and undifferentiated cases than in highly and moderately differentiated cases; and in stages III + IV cases than in stages I + II cases (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION HOTAIR expression is upregulated in colon cancer, suggesting that HOTAIR plays an important role in the tumorigenesis, development and metastasis of colon cancer. HOTAIR may act as an oncogene and represents a new molecular target for the treatment of colon cancer.
Principles and Applications of Multilevel Modeling in Human Resource Management Research

Multilevel modeling is important for human resource management ( HRM) research in that it often analyzes and interprets hierarchal data residing at more than one level of analysis. However, HRM research in general lags behind other disciplines, such as education, health, marketing, and psychology in the use of a multilevel analytical strategy. This article integrates the most recent literature into the theoretical and applied basics of multilevel modeling applicable to HRM research. A range of multilevel modeling issues have been discussed and they include statistical logic underpinning multilevel modeling, level conceptualization of variables, data aggregation, hypothesis tests, reporting mediation paths, and cross-level interactions. An empirical example concerning complex cross-level mediated moderation is presented that will suffice to illustrate the principles and the procedures for implementing a multilevel analytical strategy in HRM research. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Host‐extract induced changes in the secretome of the plant pathogenic bacterium Pectobacterium atrosepticum

Pectobacterium atrosepticum is a Gram‐negative plant pathogenic bacterium that causes rotting in potato stems and tubers. The secreted proteins of this pathogen were analyzed with proteomics from culture supernatant of cells grown in minimal medium supplemented with host extracts. More than 40 proteins were identified, among them known virulence determinants, such as pectic enzymes, metalloprotease, and virulence protein Svx, along with flagella proteins, GroEL and cyclophilin‐type chaperones and several hypothetical proteins or proteins with unknown function. Some of the identified proteins may be involved in utilization of nutrients or transport of minerals. Northern and real‐time RT‐PCR analyses suggested that most of the proteins upregulated by plant extract were transcriptionally regulated. Among the identified proteins were VgrG and four homologs of hemolysin‐coregulated proteins (Hcps). A mutant strain lacking one of the hcp genes was not affected in virulence, while a bacterial strain overexpressing the same gene was shown to have increased virulence, which suggests that these proteins may be new virulence determinants of P. atrosepticum. Comparison of the secretomes of wild type cells and hrcC mutant defective in Type III secretion suggested that the production of the identified proteins was independent of functional Type III secretion system.
On Kaldor and Pensions

In this paper, the 'kaldorian saving function' on differential propensities between household and corporate income is restated and extended to account for saving through occupational pension funds. The extended hypothesis is then tested and compared to Nicholas Kaldor's own, using recent U.K. data. Solid support is found for the Kaldorian hypothesis and the extended 'corporate capitalism saving function. ' The author's findings cast doubt on the life cycle and related hypotheses on savings. They also raise interesting questions about neoclassical and post-Keynesian theories of growth and distribution. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.
Enhancing food security with Islamic microfinance: insights from some recent experiments

Purpose - – Islamic microfinance institutions (IsMFIs) have used diverse models and tools, as they seek to provide financial and non-financial support to the farming communities. A majortity of IsMFIs focus on provision of micro-credit to farmers alone as a means to enhance food security, following an approach similar to that of the conventional microfinance institutions. Others adopt a “finance-plus” approach and provide support in a multitude of areas other than finance, such as, technology, production, marketing, business development, capacity building, and thus, ultimately steering the project to success. The purpose of this paper is to examine the models and tools of Islamic agricultural finance for the rural poor that display major variations and draw lessons from a policy perspective. Design/methodology/approach - – The study undertakes a comprehensive review of the principles, modes and models of Islamic agricultural finance targeted at small-holder farmers. It uses a case study method to review several winning initiatives by IsMFIs across the globe. It highlights the various risks and challenges confronting the projects and how the same are sought to be mitigated. Findings - – Islamic agricultural finance for the rural poor involves a range of modes, mechanisms and institutional structures. Credit-based and sharing-based modes work well under specific conditions and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for financing the rural poor. Case studies of successful initiatives reveal that composite models involving the integration of philanthropy-based, not-for-profit as well as for-profit components may provide ideal solutions. Additional factors critical for success include provision of safety nets, involvement of community, non-financial support in a multitude of areas other than finance, such as, technology, procurement, production, marketing, business development and institutional capacity building. Originality/value - – The paper addresses a fundamental issue in financing the poor farmers in Muslim societies – whether to opt for a credit-based approach that would ensure greater outreach or to go for a holistic intervention involving financing of the entire value chain. The findings are based on personal interaction of the author with professionals directly involved in the projects.
Histopathological Effects of the Yen-Tc Toxin Complex from Yersinia entomophaga MH96 (Enterobacteriaceae) on the Costelytra zealandica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Larval Midgut

ABSTRACT Yersinia entomophaga MH96, which was originally isolated from the New Zealand grass grub, Costelytra zealandica, produces an orally active proteinaceous toxin complex (Yen-Tc), and this toxin is responsible for mortality in a range of insect species, mainly within the Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. The genes encoding Yen-Tc are members of the toxin complex (Tc) family, with orthologs identified in several other bacterial species. As the mechanism of Yen-Tc activity remains unknown, a histopathological examination of C. zealandica larvae was undertaken in conjunction with cultured cells to identify the effects of Yen-Tc and to distinguish the contributions that its individual subunit components make upon intoxication. A progressive series of events that led to the deterioration of the midgut epithelium was observed. Additionally, experiments using a cell culture assay system were carried out to determine the cellular effects of intoxication on cells after topical application and the transient expression of Yen-Tc and its individual components. While observations were broadly consistent with those previously reported for other Tc family members, some differences were noted. In particular, the distinct stepwise disintegration of the midgut shared features associated with both apoptosis and necrotic programmed cell death pathways. Second, we observed, for the first time, a contribution of toxicity from two chitinases associated with the Yen-Tc complex. Our findings were suggestive of the activities encoded within the subunit components of Yen-Tc targeting different sites along putative programmed cell death pathways. Given the observed broad host range for Yen-Tc, these targeted loci are likely to be widely shared among insects.
Nocardia abscess of the choroid plexus: clinical and pathological case report.

OBJECTIVE Cerebral Nocardia abscesses are rare, accounting for approximately 1 to 2% of all cerebral abscesses. Prompt aggressive surgical treatment involving craniotomy and excision of these lesions has been advocated by many authors, because these lesions have significantly higher morbidity and mortality rates than do most other cerebral abscesses. We report an atypical presentation of cerebral nocardiosis localized to the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricle. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 56-year-old man presented with a 3-week history of fever, cough, and progressive headache and an ensuing 3-day history of progressive lethargy, confusion, and gait ataxia. Radiographic studies demonstrated a loculated contrast-enhancing left lateral ventricular lesion with significant perilesional parenchymal edema that was thought preoperatively to be a neoplasm. INTERVENTION The patient underwent a craniotomy for resection of the lesion. Intraoperatively, a reddish gray lesion with purulent exudate was encountered within the left lateral ventricle intimately adherent to the choroid plexus as well as to the ependyma and subependymal veins. A frozen section demonstrated an organizing abscess wall. The lesion was resected in its entirety, and multiple cultures were sent for analysis. CONCLUSION Microbiology cultures grew Nocardia asteroides. A course of intravenous antibiotics was started, which included trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, amikacin, and ceftriaxone. Two weeks after surgery, at the time of discharge, the patient's neurological status had improved considerably. Although Nocardia abscesses have been documented to occur throughout the central nervous system, the presentation of a lesion confined to the choroid plexus of the lateral ventricle with significant parenchymal edema is unusual and demonstrates that Nocardia abscesses must be considered in the differential diagnosis of a contrast-enhancing intraventricular mass lesion involving the choroid plexus.
Distribution, the Aggregate Consumption Function, and the Level of Economic Development: Some Cross-Country Results

In a recent issue of this Journal, Blinder (1975) examined in some detail the potential impact of the distribution of income on the level of consumption in the United States (1947-72). On the basis of his time-series analysis he rejects the Keynesian hypothesis that the equalization of income distribution would increase consumption. In fact, his results suggest either that aggregated consumption is independent of the distribution of income, or that greater income inequality will lead to an increase in aggregate consumption. His empirical tests seem to favor the counterintuitive explanation that increases in inequality result in increases in consumption. Since we share Blinder's surprise that the relationship between aggregate consumption and income distribution has never been subject to direct empirical tests, we decided to undertake some simple empirical examinations of our own. Our main purpose was to find out whether Blinder's conclusions for United States time-series data would hold true for cross-country consumption patterns. Our analysis of the consumptiondistribution relationship leads to a related empirical inquiry; namely, a quantification of the relationship between income distribution and the level of economic development.
Acoustic models for pronunciation assessment of vowels of Indian English

We consider the pronunciation assessment of vowels of Indian English uttered by speakers with Gujarati L1 using confidence measures obtained by automatic speech recognition. The goodness-of-pronunciation measure as captured by the acoustic likelihood scores can be effective only when the acoustic models used are appropriate for the task i.e. detecting errors in the target language (Indian English) typical of speakers of Gujarati (the source language). Thus the speech data used for acoustic model training is expected to have a prominent influence on system performance. In the absence of labeled speech databases of either the source or target language, we investigate specific combinations of acoustic models trained on available databases of American English and Hindi. It is observed that Indian English speech is better represented by Hindi speech models for vowels common to the two languages rather than by American English models. Further, adaptation with a limited amount of Indian English speech improves the system performance.
Myeloperoxidase Negatively Regulates Neutrophil–Endothelial Cell Interactions by Impairing αMβ2 Integrin Function in Sterile Inflammation

Interactions of neutrophils with endothelial cells (ECs) and platelets contribute to tissue damage and vascular occlusion under sterile inflammatory conditions. However, the molecular mechanisms regulating the cell–cell interactions remain poorly understood. Previous studies suggest that reactive oxygen species, such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), produced from NADPH oxidase 2 play a critical role in platelet–neutrophil interactions by regulating the function of neutrophil αMβ2 integrin during sterile inflammation. In this study, we further demonstrate a crucial role for myeloperoxidase (MPO) in regulating the adhesive function of neutrophils through αMβ2 integrin. Using real-time fluorescence intravital microscopy and in vitro assays, we showed that loss of MPO promoted neutrophil–EC interactions and neutrophil emigration but did not affect neutrophil–platelet interactions under inflammatory conditions. Using genetic and pharmacologic approaches, we found that following agonist stimulation, MPO knockout (KO) neutrophils exhibited a significant increase in extracellular H2O2 and surface level of αMβ2 integrin and that these effects were dependent on MPO activity. Our in vivo studies using an ischemia/reperfusion-induced hepatic inflammation model revealed that compared to wild-type mice, neutrophils from MPO KO mice—displayed a pro-migratory phenotype while ameliorating tissue damage. These results suggest that MPO plays a negative role in the adhesive and migratory function of neutrophils by impairing αMβ2 integrin function under sterile inflammatory conditions.