Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in marginally resectable stage III M0 non‐small cell lung cancer: Long‐term follow‐up in 41 patients

Forty‐one patients with marginally resectable stage III M0 non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were entered into a study evaluating neoadjuvant cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, and cisplatin chemotherapy (CAP) followed by radiotherapy and subsequent resection. Postoperative radiotherapy and additional CAP were also administered. The objective disease regression rate prior to surgery was 72% (2 complete, 12 partial, and 7 minimal responses). Thoracotomy was carried out in 37 patients (90%), with resection of all gross disease in 36 patients (97%). Relapse occurred in 22 (61%) of the resected patients, involving chest only (four patients), chest and extra thoracic (nine patients), and extra thoracic only (nine patients). Subsequent CNS relapse developed in 9 (25%) of 36 postop patients in association with other sites of relapse (five patients) or as a solitary location (four patients). Only one of seven patients receiving prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) developed CNS relapse compared with 7 (26%) of 27 patients not receiving PCI. The median long‐term follow‐up for 14 living patients is 53 + months, with a range of 38 + to 71 + months. Median survival for all patients is 32 months, with 1‐year survival being 75%. The survival curve shows a plateau of 31% from 3 to 5 + years. Using a log rank test, no prognostic subgroups could be identified that significantly affected response rate, disease‐free survival, or overall survival. While neoadjuvant CAP followed by radiotherapy appears to improve survival, more effective chemotherapy along with randomized studies are needed to determine the role of initial chemotherapy in marginally resectable NSCLC.
On the Definition of Microservice Bad Smells

Code smells and architectural smells (also called bad smells) are symptoms of poor design that can hinder code understandability and decrease maintainability. Several bad smells have been defined in the literature for both generic architectures and specific architectures. However, cloud-native applications based on microservices can be affected by other types of issues. In order to identify a set of microservice-specific bad smells, researchers collected evidence of bad practices by interviewing 72 developers with experience in developing systems based on microservices. Then, they classified the bad practices into a catalog of 11 microservice-specific bad smells frequently considered harmful by practitioners. The results can be used by practitioners and researchers as a guideline to avoid experiencing the same difficult situations in the systems they develop.
Testing for Origin Dependence in Socioeconomic Duration Data

We investigate the properties of two tests for origin dependence in the semi-Markov process. Although several authors have discussed tests for destination dependence, tests for the equally important origin dependence have been ignored. The properties of the test statistics under the null hypothesis of no origin dependence are examined by means of a simulation study. The use of these tests is illustrated by an application to residential tenure data from the British Household Panel Survey.
Gain, phase imbalance, and phase noise effects on error vector magnitude

The error vector magnitude (EVM) is extensively applied as a measure of communication systems' performance. In this paper, the effects of gain, phase imbalance, and phase noise on EVM are examined. The work is focused on single-carrier, linear, and memoryless modulated signals, such as phase-shift keying and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The EVM is calculated under the assumption that the transmitted signal consists of zero-mean uncorrelated inphase and quadrature components that are corrupted by additive white Gaussian noise. The contributions of this paper are as follows. First, an expression for the EVM is derived using a simple model that accounts for linear transmitter and receiver imperfections, inspired by the works of Cavers and Liao, 1993. Second, a union bound on the symbol error rate (SER) is derived. The root mean square EVM is shown to be independent of the constellation shape. The SER, however, is sensitive to the individual transmitted symbols and, therefore, the constellation shape. The resulting equations are used to examine the relation between EVM, sideband suppression, and phase noise.
On the importance of a funneled energy landscape for the assembly and regulation of multidomain Src tyrosine kinases

Regulation of signaling pathways in the cell often involves multidomain allosteric enzymes that are able to adopt alternate active or inactive conformations in response to specific stimuli. It is therefore of great interest to elucidate the energetic and structural determinants that govern the conformational plasticity of these proteins. In this study, free-energy computations have been used to address this fundamental question, focusing on one important family of signaling enzymes, the Src tyrosine kinases. Inactivation of these enzymes depends on the formation of an assembly comprising a tandem of SH3 and SH2 modules alongside a catalytic domain. Activation results from the release of the SH3 and SH2 domains, which are then believed to be structurally uncoupled by virtue of a flexible peptide link. In contrast to this view, this analysis shows that inactivation depends critically on the intrinsic propensity of the SH3–SH2 tandem to adopt conformations that are conducive to the assembled inactive state, even when no interactions with the rest of the kinase are possible. This funneling of the available conformational space is encoded within the SH3–SH2 connector, which appears to have evolved to modulate the flexibility of the tandem in solution. To further substantiate this notion, we show how constitutively activating mutations in the SH3–SH2 connector shift the assembly equilibrium toward the disassembled, active state. Based on a similar analysis of several constructs of the kinase complex, we propose that assembly is characterized by the progressive optimization of the protein's conformational energy, with little or no energetic frustration.
Tariff-based analysis of commercial building electricityprices

This paper presents the results of a survey and analysis ofelectricity tariffs and marginal electricity prices for commercialbuildings. The tariff data come from a survey of 90 utilities and 250tariffs for non-residential customers collected in 2004 as part of theTariff Analysis Project at LBNL. The goals of this analysis are toprovide useful summary data on the marginal electricity prices commercialcustomers actually see, and insight into the factors that are mostimportant in determining prices under different circumstances. We providea new, empirically-based definition of several marginal prices: theeffective marginal price and energy-only anddemand-only prices, andderive a simple formula that expresses the dependence of the effectivemarginal price on the marginal load factor. The latter is a variable thatcan be used to characterize the load impacts of a particular end-use orefficiency measure. We calculate all these prices for eleven regionswithin the continental U.S.
Effect of TAT‐obestatin on proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and lipolysis in 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes

It has been reported that obestatin regulates adipocyte metabolism via receptors on the cell surface. We wondered whether obestatin can interact with intracellular components that activated signalling pathways in adipocytes. Because obestatin (human) only presents one lysine (at position 10), which cannot penetrate the cell membrane, therefore, we used a cell‐permeable peptide TAT (49‐57) as a vector to carry obestatin across the cell membrane. The goal of this study was to further understand the function of obestatin after penetrating the cell membrane. Our results showed that TAT‐obestatin could cross the 3T3‐L1 cell membrane in the absence of cytotoxicity. TAT‐obestatin showed no effect on the proliferation of 3T3‐L1 preadipocytes. In contrast, obestatin significantly stimulated proliferation at a dose of 10‐11 M and 10‐13 M. In addition, TAT‐obestatin demonstrated a more potent inhibitory effect on cell apoptosis induced by serum starvation than that of obestatin. During the progress of adipocyte differentiation, TAT‐obestatin and obestatin had no effect on adipogenesis. In the lipolysis assay, TAT‐obestatin significantly increased glycerol and free fatty acid release from 3T3‐L1 adipocytes after 3 h treatment but showed no significant effect on lipolysis after 24 h and 48 h of treatment. In contrast, obestatin (10‐7 M) had no effect on glycerol release after 3, 24 and 48 h of treatment. The difference between the effect of TAT‐obestatin and obestatin on adipocytes metabolism indicated that TAT‐obestatin may trigger intracellular signalling as well as signalling at the cell membrane. Copyright © 2013 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Site-specific methylation of Notch1 controls the amplitude and duration of the Notch1 response

Methylation of the active Notch cleavage product promotes its degradation to produce short periods of Notch signaling necessary for proper development. Turned on by cleavage; turned off by methylation and ubiquitination Notch signaling regulates several processes during development, and aberrant signaling contributes to human disease. The Notch receptor is proteolytically processed, releasing an intracellular fragment called NICD that translocates to the nucleus to regulate gene expression. Hein et al. found that NICD is methylated by the methyltransferase CARM1 at five conserved arginine residues within a domain required for gene regulatory activity. Methylated NICD was targeted for degradation. A mutant form of NICD that could not be methylated was more stable but biologically less active when expressed in frog or zebrafish embryos. Thus, control of Notch signaling involves cleavage to produce the transcriptional regulator and then methylation to target this irreversibly activated product for degradation. Physiologically, Notch signal transduction plays a pivotal role in differentiation; pathologically, Notch signaling contributes to the development of cancer. Transcriptional activation of Notch target genes involves cleavage of the Notch receptor in response to ligand binding, production of the Notch intracellular domain (NICD), and NICD migration into the nucleus and assembly of a coactivator complex. Posttranslational modifications of the NICD are important for its transcriptional activity and protein turnover. Deregulation of Notch signaling and stabilizing mutations of Notch1 have been linked to leukemia development. We found that the methyltransferase CARM1 (coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1; also known as PRMT4) methylated NICD at five conserved arginine residues within the C-terminal transactivation domain. CARM1 physically and functionally interacted with the NICD-coactivator complex and was found at gene enhancers in a Notch-dependent manner. Although a methylation-defective NICD mutant was biochemically more stable, this mutant was biologically less active as measured with Notch assays in embryos of Xenopus laevis and Danio rerio. Mathematical modeling indicated that full but short and transient Notch signaling required methylation of NICD.
An Empirical Test of the Redistribution Effect in Pure Exchange Mergers

Merger transactions involve differing degrees of change in capital structure and asset distribution. As a result, different forms of merger could have different effects on security values of the firms involved. Previous empirical studies primarily used samples that included all types of mergers. The present study examines the effect of one type of merger, pure stock exchange, on the values of the debt and equity of the firms involved.
Latinos and substantive representation in the U.S. House of Representatives: Direct, indirect, or nonexistent?

Theory: This article poses and examines theories concerning substantive representation of Latinos in the U.S. House of Representatives. Hypothesis: With increasing numbers of Latinos in the United States and in the U.S. House during the 1980s, an increase in direct (dyadic) substantive representation of Latinos might be anticipated. Method: Regression analysis is used to analyze scores of congressional voting patterns from Southwest Voter Research Institute (SWVRI) relative to (a) the ethnic background of representatives, and (b) the percent of Latino constituents in House districts. Results: As with previous studies of Representatives' voting patterns in the 1970s, this study finds little direct, substantive representation of Latinos. Representatives who are of Latino origin have somewhat distinct voting patterns, and Latino constituencies have little impact on how representatives vote. But during the period studied, legislation deemed salient to Latinos was enacted, indicating that collective or partisan substantive representation does occur. The empirical and normative implications of these findings are considered.
Intermittent Phenomena in Switched Systems With High Coupling Strengths

In this paper, one kind of intermittency generated by a discontinuous system is studied. Although this system, which is composed of two switched subsystems coupled with a high strength, is nonsmooth, the mechanism of this kind of intermittency can be analyzed with several explicit relations between the intermittency characteristics and the system control parameters. In particular, estimates of "steady-state" values of the system (in the laminar phases) and a critical value for this intermittency can be derived, which are helpful in relevant control systems design. Moreover, some power laws for the observed intermittency are obtained and discussed
Comparative Genomics of Myxobacterial Chemosensory Systems

ABSTRACT Chemosensory systems (CSS) are among the most complex organizations of proteins functioning cooperatively to regulate bacterial motility and other cellular activities. These systems have been studied extensively in bacteria, and usually, they are present as a single system. Eight CSS, the highest number in bacteria, have been reported in Myxococcus xanthus DK1622 and are involved in coordinating diverse functions. Here, we have explored and compared the CSS in all available genomes of order Myxococcales. Myxococcales members contain 97 to 476 two-component system (TCS) proteins, which assist the bacteria in surviving and adapting to varying environmental conditions. The number of myxobacterial CSS ranges between 1 and 12, with the largest number in family Cystobacteraceae and the smallest in Nannocystaceae. CheA protein was used as a phylogenetic marker to infer evolutionary relatedness between different CSS, and six novel CSS (“extra CSS” [ECSS]) were thus identified in the myxobacteria besides the previously reported Che1 to Che8 systems from M. xanthus. Che1 to Che8 systems are monophyletic to deltaproteobacteria, whereas the newly identified ECSS form separate clades with different bacterial classes. The comparative modular organization was concordant with the phylogeny. Four clusters lacking CheA proteins were also identified via CheB-based phylogenetic analysis and were categorized as accessory CSS (ACSS). In Archangium, an orphan CSS was identified, in which both CheA and CheB were absent. The novel, accessory, and orphan multimodular CSS identified here suggest the emergence of myxobacterial CSS and could assist in further characterizing their roles. IMPORTANCE This study is focused on chemosensory systems (CSS), which help the bacterium in directing its movement toward or away from chemical gradients. CSS are present as a single system in most of the bacteria except in some groups, including Myxococcus xanthus, which has 8 CSS, the highest number reported to date. This is the first comprehensive study carrying out a comparative analysis of the 22 available myxobacterial genomes, which suggests the evolutionary diversity of these systems. We are interested in understanding the distribution of CSS within all known myxobacteria and their probable evolution.
The Performance of Banks around the Receipt and Repayment of TARP Funds: Over-Achievers versus Under-Achievers

In this paper, we look at how the pre-crisis health of banks is related to the probability of receiving and repaying TARP capital. We find that financial performance characteristics that are related to the probability of receiving TARP funds differ for the healthiest (“over-achiever”) versus the least healthy (“under-achiever”) banks. We find that TARP under-achievers have some, but not consistent, weaknesses in income production. These banks also are experiencing liquidity issues as customers, shut out of public debt markets, get bank loans through drawdowns of loan commitments. Unlike TARP under-achievers, TARP over-achievers’ loans are performing well. Yet, liquidity issues (from low levels of liquid assets and core deposits and drawdowns of loan commitments) hurt the abilities of these banks to continue their lending. Differences between under-achiever and over-achiever banks are also found for repayment and deadbeat TARP banks.
AIDS and economic growth in Africa: a panel data analysis

HIV|AIDS is the dominant health issue in Africa, where in many countries the human and social costs are devastating. Any deterioration in economic performance is likely to compound these costs and render countries less able to cope with the epidemic. However, conventional economic theories of growth argue that the impact of such an epidemic on the growth rate and level of income may be positive or negative. The analyses reported in this paper assess the impact of the HIV epidemic upon economic growth performance in 41 African economies between 1960 and 1998. The results indicate that for African countries where the prevalence of HIV is relatively low the impact of the epidemic conforms to 'normal' economic expectations. However, when the prevalence of the epidemic is relatively high the macroeconomic impact of the epidemic is unclear. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Volunteerism after the tsunami: Democratization and aid

Using three waves of survey data from fishing villages in Aceh, Indonesia for 2005-2009, we examine the determinants of local volunteer labor after the tsunami. Pre-existing social capital and the form of aid delivery (but not trauma) strongly affect village volunteerism initially, but these effects weaken with time. What persists is the effect of essentially a new institution, formal village elections. While recent work suggests democratization increases cooperation, the differentially timed introduction of elections negatively affects volunteerism, suggesting a regime switch effect where traditional leaders chosen by elites want more volunteer labor projects than democratically elected leaders do.
The Effect of Ownership Concentration and Composition on Dividends: Evidence from Latin America

We analyze a unique data set of publicly traded firms based in six Latin American countries to study the joint effect of ownership concentration and composition on dividend policy. We find that when ownership concentration is high and the largest investor is identified as an individual, firms tend to pay fewer dividends consistent with individual investors extracting benefits from minority shareholders. However, if the largest shareholder is based in a common law country, the dividend paid is significantly higher. Finally, greater ownership by the second largest shareholder decreases firm dividends suggesting the monitoring role of a large shareholder.
Product cannibalization and the role of prices

The role of brand prices in contributing to product cannibalization is examined. Price elasticities and reference price theory are used to provide a theoretical foundation and empirical test for the impact of a firm's cheap brand on one of its expensive brands. Results are consistent with the conclusion that the market share of the company's premium brand was cannibalized by a growth in sales of its cheap brand.
Overcoming barriers to adoption of environmentally-friendly innovations through design and strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how a company which developed an environmentally friendly innovation attempted to address diffusion issues. Specifically, the purpose is to describe the ways in which an electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure company, in partnership with a major car manufacturer, tried to address barriers to diffusion of an environmentally friendly innovation during the development stage to improve the likelihood of success and lessons learned from its failure. Design/methodology/approach – The authors explore a single instrumental case of an Israeli company that developed infrastructure for EVs in partnership with a major automaker. The authors collected data using a series of semi-structured interviews at the companies’ headquarters, through direct observation in the company, and through the examination of archival and secondary data sources. Findings – The authors find that the company tried to incorporate design features in both the product and organization to address ke.
PRODUCTION, APPROPRIATION, AND INCOME TRANSFER

In a conflict between the prey and predator, the availability of income transfer option to the prey, given that defense is already an option, results in equilibrium where both defense and income transfer are utilized and the use of income transfer increases production efficiency by inducing either the prey or predator to divert resources from appropriation to production. The equilibrium amount of defense can be smaller because the prey has an interest in minimizing the amount of transfer that can be achieved in part by provoking a largest possible amount of offense from the predator if actual fight broke out. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.
The Unpredictable Audience: An Exploratory Analysis of Forecasting Error for New Prime-Time Network Television Programs

Abstract This article investigates possible determinants of forecasting error for new prime-time network television programs. Each season, advertising industry forecasters attempt to predict the audience shares for new fall programs. Advertising expenditures are made on the basis of these projections, though historically these forecasts have been very inaccurate. Through an integration of audience behavior theory and decision—making theory, this paper attempts to identify factors that explain the magnitude of uncertainty, and hence the magnitude of forecasting error, surrounding the predictions for new programs. The results indicate that the presence of a returning network lead-in or lead-out significantly reduces the amount of forecasting error. In addition, the results indicate that forecasting error has increased significantly over time. The overall explanatory power of the model suggests that content and audience characteristics must be incorporated into the analytical framework as well.
Do Public Subsidies Complement Business R&D? A Meta-Analysis of the Econometric Evidence

Analysis of the effects of public financing on private investment in R & D has been the object of numerous applied studies without it having been possible to arrive at a definite conclusion. In this paper the results of a meta-regression of econometric evidence on the relationship between public funding of R & D and private R & D expenditures is presented. After the creation of a data-base including all relevant studies and their results and characteristics, a meta-analysis was carried out to examine whether the characteristics of the applied analysis influence the results and explain the differences in the empirical literature on this subject. Copyright WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG 2004.