Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Police reforms in the Republic of Georgia: the convergence of domestic and foreign policy in an anti-corruption drive

Since the 2003 revolution that brought to power President Mikheil Saakashvili, the post-Soviet Republic of Georgia has implemented a major programme of police reforms, including the mass dismissal of corrupt officers, the restructuring of police agencies, and significant changes in recruitment, training, and compensation. The reforms have eliminated many forms of corruption and have transformed what was a criminalised and dysfunctional police force into the most disciplined and service-oriented law enforcement agency in the post-Soviet region. The paper describes the scope and nature of these police reforms, analyses their effectiveness, and explains their origins. The Saakashvili government implemented police reforms as part of a broader agenda of reversing the decay of the Georgian state in the post-Soviet period and reasserting its control of the national territory and its effective independence from Georgia's neighbour, Russia. Police reforms in Georgia were also the product of a revolutionary moment in which the new government could take extraordinary measures to reshape the police. In part because the Georgian government remains domestically and internationally embattled, the reformed police have become closely associated with the Saakashvili presidency. Georgia therefore suggests that we need to rethink the different ways that democracy and state building contribute to successful police reforms.
The Success of Option Listings

We examine unexplored factors that affect the ex-post adoption rates of newly listed stock options. We show that a variety of measures of information asymmetries concerning underlying stocks predict option adoption rates. These predictive relationships are robust after including factors that have been found to be significant in earlier literature, such as stock volatility and volume. Moreover, we report that not only do information asymmetries prior to option listings forecast a successful listing, but also that successful listings themselves end up reducing ex-post the extent of the information asymmetries affecting a stock.
“The Staircase Model” – Labor Control of Temporary Agency Workers in a Swedish Call Center

The article explores the labor control practices implemented in a call center with extensive contracting of temporary agency workers (TAWs). More specifically, the article focuses on how structural and ideological power works in this setting and on the effects of this control for TAWs’ working conditions. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted with TAWs, regular employees, and a manager in a call center specializing in telecommunication services in Sweden. The results show that ideological power is important in adapting the interests of TAWs to correspond with those of temporary work agencies (TWAs) and their client companies, in this case the call center. The results also show how ideological power is mixed with structural control in terms of technological control systems and, most importantly, a systematic categorization of workers in a hierarchical structure according to their value to the call center. By systemically categorizing workers in the staircase model, a structural inequality is produced and reproduced in the call center. The motives for working in the call center are often involuntary and are caused by the shortage of work other than a career in support services. As a consequence, feelings of insecurity and an awareness of the precarious nature of their assignment motivate TAWs to enhance their performance and hopefully take a step up on the staircase. This implies new understandings of work where job insecurity has become a normal part of working life.
The proposed theoretical framework of consumer financial market efficiency and the exploration of key consumer credit behaviour factors in a developing economy

The literature identifies a myriad of environmental factors that influence the optimality of consumer financial decisions/choices. Understanding the influence that these factors play in different financial environments and their impact on market efficiency remains an empirical question. First, the paper proposes a consolidated approach that considers relationships and interrelations among various market factors as a measure towards the development of a higher order theory of the efficiency of consumer financial markets. Second, the paper takes the first step towards exploring the mechanics of consumer financial markets in the context of a developing African economy by investigating factors that determine consumer credit behaviour. In particular, the paper explores the key factors related to consumer credit decisions by Botswana consumers using exploratory factor analysis. The implications of the research findings to policy point to a need for a paradigm shift in regulation through 'truth-in-lending' laws for the developing economy.
Students’ expectations from their cooperative education placements in the hospitality industry: an international perspective

Four groups of students from the following institutions participated in a study to assess the expectations from their cooperative education placements’ work environment: Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, N = 80; Hotel School, The Hague, N = 107; Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, N = 50; University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, N = 50. In all, 287 students responded to a mail questionnaire (Work Environment Scale, Moos, 1994) before their cooperative education placements. Overall, all four samples including the Melbourne students had moderate to high expectations from their organisations’ work environment. Specifically, Melbourne students expected higher involvement, greater peer cohesion, more task orientation, more work pressure and greater control when compared with the The Hague students. They also expected less autonomy on the job as compared with the Strathclyde students. The Hague students had overall lower expectations on most of the social climate dimensions. It is suggested however that the above findings be verified by replication with a greater variety of populations and institutions.
SCN5A (NaV1.5) Variant Functional Perturbation and Clinical Presentation: Variants of a Certain Significance

Background: Accurately predicting the impact of rare nonsynonymous variants on disease risk is an important goal in precision medicine. Variants in the cardiac sodium channel SCN5A (protein NaV1.5; voltage-dependent cardiac Na+ channel) are associated with multiple arrhythmia disorders, including Brugada syndrome and long QT syndrome. Rare SCN5A variants also occur in ≈1% of unaffected individuals. We hypothesized that in vitro electrophysiological functional parameters explain a statistically significant portion of the variability in disease penetrance. Methods: From a comprehensive literature review, we quantified the number of carriers presenting with and without disease for 1712 reported SCN5A variants. For 356 variants, data were also available for 5 NaV1.5 electrophysiological parameters: peak current, late/persistent current, steady-state V1/2 of activation and inactivation, and recovery from inactivation. RESULTS: We found that peak and late current significantly associate with Brugada syndrome (P<0.001; &rgr;=−0.44; Spearman rank test) and long QT syndrome disease penetrance (P<0.001; &rgr;=0.37). Steady-state V1/2 activation and recovery from inactivation associate significantly with Brugada syndrome and long QT syndrome penetrance, respectively. Continuous estimates of disease penetrance align with the current American College of Medical Genetics classification paradigm. Conclusions: NaV1.5 in vitro electrophysiological parameters are correlated with Brugada syndrome and long QT syndrome disease risk. Our data emphasize the value of in vitro electrophysiological characterization and incorporating counts of affected and unaffected carriers to aid variant classification. This quantitative analysis of the electrophysiological literature should aid the interpretation of NaV1.5 variant electrophysiological abnormalities and help improve NaV1.5 variant classification.
The contrasting role of B7-H3

Tlymphocytes of adaptive immunity provide vertebrates with the ability to survey for and respond specifically to an incredible diversity of antigens, whether foreign or native. Appropriate T cell response is required to eradicate pathogens, whereas abnormal T cell function could lead to autoimmune diseases, cancer, and transplantation rejection. The outcome of T cell engagement of antigen is determined by positive costimulation and negative coinhibition; both are primarily generated by the interaction between the B7 family and their receptor CD28 family (1). Recent years have seen the identification of several new members of B7/CD28 families. The growing B7 family now comprises seven members: B7-1 (CD80), B7-2 (CD86), B7h (CD275), PD-L1 (CD274), PD-L2 (CD273), B7-H3 (CD276), and B7x (B7-H4 or B7S1). Almost 5 years ago, we divided the B7 family into three groups by phylogenetic analysis: group I includes B7-1, B7-2, and B7h; group II consists of PD-L1 and PD-L2; and group III contains B7x and B7-H3 (2, 3). Receptors for group I are CD28, CTLA-4, and ICOS, and the receptor for group II is PD-1 (Fig. 1). B7-1 also binds PD-L1. One prediction of the phylogenetic comparison was that receptor(s) for B7-H3 would not be real homologue(s) of receptors for group I and II (3). Five years later, this prediction has been proven true (3). In this issue of PNAS, Hasiguchi et al. (3, 4) have identified one such receptor, triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell (TREM)-like transcript 2 (TLT-2, or TREML2), which binds B7-H3 and costimulates activation of CD8 T cells in particular. TLT-2 is a member of the TREM receptor family (5, 6), which includes TREM-1, -2, and -3, as well as TLT-1 and -2. B7-H3 is the first ligand to be identified for the TREM … ¶To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: xzang{at}aecom.yu. edu
Contribution of display size to speech intelligibility in videophone systems

Widespread use of videophones has been limited due to cost factors and human factors. If demands for image size and quality were relaxed while preserving the communicational value added by visual data, low end videophones may become feasible. After a review of pertinent research, we describe an experiment indicating modest visual augmentation significantly aids speech intelligibility. The results suggest several directions for further research.
ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING IN IRELAND: BARRIERS TO, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR, CHANGE

Abstract This paper considers the state of managerial accounting in Ireland and argues that it is lmarginalisedr. As evidence, the study examines the adoption of one innovative technique, Activity-Based Costing (ABC), in Ireland and reports that the rate of adoption is lower in Ireland than in Anglo-American countries. This is a puzzling phenomenon given that management accounting practices such as ABC are more transferable across national boundaries, particularly across countries that share a common language, than country-specific Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. This paper posits that the marginalisation of managerial accounting in Ireland may be due to both supply and demand barriers. In particular, Ireland lacks a supply of innovative managerial accountants due to a lack of compulsory continuing professional education, practitioner journals devoted specifically to management accounting, and executive MBA programmes. Furthermore, neither the Irish business community nor academia in Ireland have demanded sweeping changes in the accounting curricula. Changes in the supply and demand of innovative management accountants will allow managerial accountants in Ireland to become agents of change rather than marginalised recorders of the past.
Induction of Apoptosis by a Secreted Lipocalin That is Transcriptionally Regulated by IL-3 Deprivation

Many hematopoietic cells undergo apoptosis when deprived of specific cytokines, and this process requires de novo RNA/protein synthesis. Using DNA microarrays to analyze interleukin-3 (IL-3)–dependent murine FL5.12 pro–B cells, we found that the gene undergoing maximal transcriptional induction after cytokine withdrawal is 24p3, which encodes a secreted lipocalin. Conditioned medium from IL-3–deprived FL5.12 cells contained 24p3 and induced apoptosis in naı̈ve FL5.12 cells even when IL-3 was present. 24p3 also induced apoptosis in a wide variety of leukocytes but not other cell types. Apoptotic sensitivity correlated with the presence of a putative 24p3 cell surface receptor. We conclude that IL-3 deprivation activates 24p3transcription, leading to synthesis and secretion of 24p3, which induces apoptosis through an autocrine pathway.
Firm Life Cycle, Corporate Risk‐Taking and Investor Sentiment

This paper investigates the impact of firm life cycle and moderating role of investor sentiment on corporate risk taking propensities. Using a large sample of US firms during 1987-2013, we find that corporate risk taking varies across the life cycle of the firm. In particular, using Dickinson (2011)’s life cycle measure, we find that risk taking is higher in the introduction and decline stages but lower in the growth and mature stages, resembling a 'U' shaped pattern. We also find that risk taking is higher during periods of high investor sentiment. When life cycle and investor sentiment are interacted with respect to risk taking, results show that during periods of high investor sentiment, firms in the growth stage of their life cycle assume more risk. Finally we document that future operating performance deteriorates as a result of corporate risk-taking which is more pronounced for risk taking during periods of high investor sentiment. Our results are robust to alternative specification of corporate risk taking proxies, life cycle proxy and investor sentiment measures. Collectively, these results suggest that firm life cycle has explanatory power for managerial risk taking behavior.
The Effect of Family Ownership on Different Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Large US Firms

Prior research has shown that family firms differ from non-family firms with regard to aggregate measures of corporate social responsibility (CSR). We argue that CSR is a multidimensional concept that comprises several aspects, which range from employee relations to ecological concerns and product issues. Based on an organizational and family identity perspective, we argue that the effect of family ownership can differ across various CSR dimensions. Family firms can be responsible and irresponsible regarding CSR at the same time. We use a dataset of large US firms to test our hypotheses. Our Bayesian regressions show that family ownership is negatively associated with community-related CSR performance and positively associated with diversity-, employee-, environment-, and product-related aspects of CSR. The largest positive effect of family ownership on CSR performance exists with regard to product-related aspects of CSR.
The Relationship between Multiple Choice and Essay Response Questions in Assessing Economics Understanding

Efficiency considerations have led to increased use of multiple-choice questions to assess economics understanding at the secondary and tertiary levels throughout Australia. A multiple-choice test would suffice if multiple-choice and essay questions measure the same dimensions of knowledge, as suggested by least squares estimation of the relationship between these two forms of testing. We show a simultaneous equation bias inherent in least squares estimation of the relationship between these two forms. A two-stage least squares estimation reveals no relationship, implying that these testing forms measure different dimensions of knowledge. Thus, a single form of testing economics knowledge must be avoided. Copyright 1999 by The Economic Society of Australia.
Regulation of microtubule dynamics by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase IV/Gr-dependent phosphorylation of oncoprotein 18

Oncoprotein 18 (Op18; also termed p19, 19K, p18, prosolin, and stathmin) is a regulator of microtubule (MT) dynamics and is phosphorylated by multiple kinase systems on four Ser residues. In addition to cell cycle-regulated phosphorylation, external signals induce phosphorylation of Op18 on Ser-25 by the mitogen-activated protein kinase and on Ser-16 by the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase IV/Gr (CaMK IV/Gr). Here we show that induced expression of a constitutively active mutant of CaMK IV/Gr results in phosphorylation of Op18 on Ser-16. In parallel, we also observed partial degradation of Op18 and a rapid increase of total cellular MTs. These results suggest a link between CaMK IV/Gr, Op18, and MT dynamics. To explore such a putative link, we optimized a genetic system that allowed conditional coexpression of a series of CaMK IV/Gr and Op18 derivatives. The result shows that CaMK IV/Gr can suppress the MT-regulating activity of Op18 by phosphorylation on Ser-16. In line with these results, by employing a chemical cross-linking protocol, it was shown that phosphorylation of Ser-16 is involved in weakening of the interactions between Op18 and tubulin. Taken together, these data suggest that the mechanism of CaMK IV/Gr-mediated suppression of Op18 activity involves both partial degradation of Op18 and direct modulation of the MT-destabilizing activity of this protein. These results show that Op18 phosphorylation by CaMK IV/Gr may couple alterations of MT dynamics in response to external signals that involve Ca2+.
TIM-family proteins inhibit HIV-1 release

Significance TIM-family proteins have been recently shown to promote viral entry into host cells. Unexpectedly, we discovered that human TIM-1, along with TIM-3 and TIM-4, potently inhibits HIV-1 release. We showed that TIM-1 is incorporated into HIV-1 virions and retains HIV-1 particles on the plasma membrane via phosphatidylserine (PS), a phospholipid that is exposed on the cellular plasma membrane and the viral envelope. Expression of TIM-1 inhibits HIV-1 replication in CD4+ T cells, and knockdown of TIM-3 in monocyte-derived macrophages enhances HIV-1 production. We extended this function of TIMs to other PS receptors, and demonstrated that they also inhibited release of additional viruses, including murine leukemia virus and Ebola virus. The novel role of TIMs in blocking viral release provides new insights into viral replication and AIDS pathogenesis. Accumulating evidence indicates that T-cell immunoglobulin (Ig) and mucin domain (TIM) proteins play critical roles in viral infections. Herein, we report that the TIM-family proteins strongly inhibit HIV-1 release, resulting in diminished viral production and replication. Expression of TIM-1 causes HIV-1 Gag and mature viral particles to accumulate on the plasma membrane. Mutation of the phosphatidylserine (PS) binding sites of TIM-1 abolishes its ability to block HIV-1 release. TIM-1, but to a much lesser extent PS-binding deficient mutants, induces PS flipping onto the cell surface; TIM-1 is also found to be incorporated into HIV-1 virions. Importantly, TIM-1 inhibits HIV-1 replication in CD4-positive Jurkat cells, despite its capability of up-regulating CD4 and promoting HIV-1 entry. In addition to TIM-1, TIM-3 and TIM-4 also block the release of HIV-1, as well as that of murine leukemia virus (MLV) and Ebola virus (EBOV); knockdown of TIM-3 in differentiated monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) enhances HIV-1 production. The inhibitory effects of TIM-family proteins on virus release are extended to other PS receptors, such as Axl and RAGE. Overall, our study uncovers a novel ability of TIM-family proteins to block the release of HIV-1 and other viruses by interaction with virion- and cell-associated PS. Our work provides new insights into a virus-cell interaction that is mediated by TIMs and PS receptors.
The stress response neuropeptide CRF increases amyloid‐β production by regulating γ‐secretase activity

The biological underpinnings linking stress to Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk are poorly understood. We investigated how corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF), a critical stress response mediator, influences amyloid‐β (Aβ) production. In cells, CRF treatment increases Aβ production and triggers CRF receptor 1 (CRFR1) and γ‐secretase internalization. Co‐immunoprecipitation studies establish that γ‐secretase associates with CRFR1; this is mediated by β‐arrestin binding motifs. Additionally, CRFR1 and γ‐secretase co‐localize in lipid raft fractions, with increased γ‐secretase accumulation upon CRF treatment. CRF treatment also increases γ‐secretase activity in vitro, revealing a second, receptor‐independent mechanism of action. CRF is the first endogenous neuropeptide that can be shown to directly modulate γ‐secretase activity. Unexpectedly, CRFR1 antagonists also increased Aβ. These data collectively link CRF to increased Aβ through γ‐secretase and provide mechanistic insight into how stress may increase AD risk. They also suggest that direct targeting of CRF might be necessary to effectively modulate this pathway for therapeutic benefit in AD, as CRFR1 antagonists increase Aβ and in some cases preferentially increase Aβ42 via complex effects on γ‐secretase.
Impact of Exchange Rate Changes on Domestic Inflation: he Turkish Experience

This paper examines the extent to which changes in exchange rates result in changes in Turkish domestic inflation. Specifically, we determine if there has been a change in the magnitude of this impact from the pre-2003 period to the post-2003, when the exchange rates were allowed to float. Employing monthly frequency data, we estimate two impulse-response functions and pass-through coefficients, one derived for the 1994April-2002December period using 1994 price indices as base (100) and the other one derived for the 2003January-2006December period using the 2003 price indices as base (100). We confirm that exchange rate shocks feed into domestic inflation, first at the level of manufacturers’ prices and then at the level of consumer prices, and that the impact of the shocks on the price variables of the various stages of the supply chain is different. Our findings indicate that the magnitude of the impact has declined for the post-2003 period by nearly one-half compared to the pre-2003 period during the early stages of the production process reflecting the predominance of the manufacturer price index in determining Turkish inflation rates. In addition, the decline in the exchange rate pass-through impact on domestic prices coincides with a 25 percent decline in the post-2003 consumer price inflation. Regardless, the consideration of the impact of exchange rate changes on the domestic inflationary process is still important when establishing monetary policies for the Turkish economy.