Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The fimYZ Genes Regulate Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Invasion in Addition to Type 1 Fimbrial Expression and Bacterial Motility

ABSTRACT An important step in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium virulence is the ability to invade the intestinal epithelium. The invasion process requires a large number of genes encoded on Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) at centisome 63 as well as genes located in other positions throughout the chromosome. Expression of the invasive phenotype is tightly regulated by environmental cues that are processed by a complex regulatory scheme. A central player in the invasion regulatory pathway is the HilA protein, which is transcriptional activator belonging to the OmpR/ToxR family. A number of positive regulators (hilC, hilD, fis, sirA/barA, csrAB, phoBR, fadD, envZ/ompR, and fliZ) and negative regulators (hha, hilE, lon, ams, phoPc and pag) have been identified that are able to alter expression of hilA transcription. Recent work has found that hilA transcription requires the HilD protein for activation. Other work has emphasized the importance of HilE as a negative regulator of hilA. Overexpression of hilE superrepresses hilA transcription, as well as the invasive phenotype. Two-hybrid experiments suggest that HilE exerts its regulatory influence on hilA through protein-protein interactions with HilD as the protein does not bind to the hilA promoter nor does it affect hilD transcription. As it seems likely that hilE plays an important role in translating environmental signals into invasion gene regulation, we have attempted to identify how the hilE gene itself is regulated. Our results indicate that the fimYZ genes, response regulatory proteins involved in type 1 fimbrial gene expression and recently implicated in motility gene regulation, are important activators of hilE expression. These findings indicate that invasion gene expression is coregulated with motility and adherence and provide experimental evidence that the expression of these virulence phenotypes is a subset of the overall regulation of bacterial physiology.
Bundled Mobile Services: The Impact on Consumers' Intention to Adopt

Mobile services (m-services) are different from traditional services in that the use of these services takes place through a mobile device and as such can be used any time and any place. Even though consumers increasingly use their mobile phones [22], adoption of m-services is still lingering. In this study, we add to current knowledge on the consumer's value and adoption of m-service bundles. We determine how m-service bundle compatibility, meaning the extent to which the m-service bundle fits together, affects consumers' value and intention to use a m-service bundle. We show that m-service bundle compatibility enhances key relationships in the value-intention framework. The analyses reveal that not only does m-service bundle compatibility matter, but also that this varies for current adopters versus non-adopters of m-services. As a result, managers should focus on designing compatible m-service bundles in order to increase adoption amongst new customers.
Markov market model consistent with cap smile

New interest rate models have emerged recently in which distributional assumptions are made directly on financial observables. In these "Market Models" the Libor rates have a log-normal distribution in the corresponding forward measure, and caps are priced according to the Black–Scholes formula. These models present two disadvantages. First, Libor rates do not in reality have a log-normal distribution since the implied volatility of a cap depends typically on the strike. Second, these models are difficult to use for pricing derivatives other than caps. In this paper, we extend these models to allow for a broader class of Libor rate distributions. In particular, we construct multi-factor Market Models that are consistent with an initial cap smile surface, and have the useful feature of exhibiting Markovian Libor rates. We show that these Markov Market Models can be used relatively easily to price complex Libor derivatives, such as Bermudan swaptions, captions or flexi-caps, by construction of a tree of Libor rates.
Can firms do well while doing good?

We investigate the relationship between a firm's degree of social responsibility and its performance. To accomplish this objective, we examine the stock market reaction to the announcement of Fortune magazine's list of 100 Best Companies to Work For over the 1998–2003 period. We find significant positive excess returns, which indicate that being included on the list is viewed positively by the stock market. To explain the positive abnormal performance, we regress the excess returns against firm-specific variables. Excess return has a positive relation to the job growth rate, but not to firm rank, on a pre-listing basis. However, the additional analysis reveals that the firms with a more favourable ranking are relatively small and have a higher job growth rate, low employee turnover, high betas and extremely positive stock market performance prior to their inclusion on the list. In the year following the publication, sample firms with a favourable ranking have higher sales and gross profit margin than their lower-ranked counterparts. Overall, the results indicate that firms exhibiting a high degree of social responsibility towards their employees are positively rewarded by stock market participants, and that the rankings are somewhat related to pre- and post-survey financial performance.
"They'll Drink Bucket Loads of the Stuff": An Analysis of Internal Alcohol Industry Advertising Documents

As part of its 2009 investigation into the conduct of the UK alcohol industry, the House of Commons Health Select Committee obtained access to internal marketing documents from both producers and their advertising agencies. These reveal major shortcomings in the current self regulatory codes covering alcohol advertising. Specifically, the codes do not, as they are supposed to, protect young people from alcohol advertising; prevent the promotion of drunkenness and excess; or the linking of alcohol with social and sexual success. Nor do they even attempt to address sponsorship, and the documents show this is being systematically used to undermine rules prohibiting the linking of alcohol with youth culture and sporting prowess. Finally, the codes are extremely weak in their treatment of new media which are rapidly become the biggest channel for alcohol promotion. The result is a regulatory system that is impossible to police and vulnerable to exploitation.
Lives Saved or Lives Lost? The Effects of Concealed Handgun Laws on Crime

Lives Saved or Lives Lost? The Effects of Concealed-Handgun Laws on Crime Author(s): Hashem Dezhbakhsh and Paul H. Rubin Source: The American Economic Review, Vol. 88, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundred and Tenth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association (May, 1998), pp. 468-474 Published by: American Economic Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor. org/stable/116969 Accessed: 05/09/2008 17:45
Culture, Institutions and the Wealth of Nations

We argue that a more individualist culture leads to more innovation and to higher growth because of the social status rewards associated with innovation in that culture. We use data on the frequency of particular genes associated with collectivist cultures, as well as a measure of distance in terms of frequencies of blood types, and historic prevalence of pathogens to instrument individualism scores. The relationship between individualism and innovation/growth remains strong even after controlling for institutions and other potentially confounding factors. We also provide evidence consistent with two-way causality between culture and institutions.
Assessing Statistical Applications in Publications on Alzheimer’s Disease

Background/Aims: To evaluate statistical applications in publications on Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Three instruments/checklists were developed: Assessment of Statistical Reporting (ASR; 44 items), Survey of Statistical Designs (SSD; 10 items), and Survey of Statistical Methods (SSM; 7 items). After a pilot testing on 5 AD publications, the instruments/checklists were revised and tested for reliability with a sample of 30 AD articles and for validity with another sample of 10 AD articles from MEDLINE. Results: Item-specific test-retest and interrater reliability for ASR ranged from 0.29 to 1.0 with the associated standard errors (SEs) ranging from 0.01 to 0.31. The test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.88–0.97) and the interrater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.69–0.92) for the overall score of ASR were high. The correlational validity of the ASR with a published checklist was also high (r = 0.74, SE = 0.24). The item-specific test-retest reliability in SSD and SSM ranged from 0.58 to 1.00 with the associated SEs ranging from 0.01 to 0.32. The item-specific interrater reliability in SSD and SSM ranged from 0.17 to 1.00 with the associated SEs ranging from 0.01 to 0.22. Conclusions: This study suggested that it was feasible to assess statistical applications in AD publications.
Toward understanding everyday decision making by adults across the autism spectrum

We focus on the everyday decision making challenges faced by high functioning adults across the Autism Spectrum using both between- and within-group comparisons. We used Mturk, backed by a combination of recruiting and screening procedures, to recruit large samples using an online survey. The main differences between groups were: greater relationship problems at home, school and work for the ASD group compared to the control group; greater difficulty in a variety of everyday decisions and the negative consequences of their decisions; greater aversion to social risks; lower levels of Rational Ability; and greater personal endorsement of socially undesirable acts. Poorer decision outcomes within the ASD group were predicted by lower levels of Rational Ability and higher personal endorsement of socially undesirable acts. Some of the same predictor-outcome relations were found within the Control group. These results illustrate how the study of unique groups can increase our overall understanding of individual differences in decision making within the general population, and the need to include both between-group and within-group analyses.
The Inventions and Diffusion of Hyperinflatable Currency

Paper money, when discretionally issued by a government, can be a very powerful political and economic tool. Who invented it and who caused its global diffusion? Scholars are quick to claim the precedence of their home countries without justifying their claims or contesting competing claims. I comprehensively examine the monetary and public nature of the candidate moneys and the transmission of information about paper money inventions between countries and across time. I conclude that it was invented independently a few times and its global diffusion began in Canada in 1685.
Pravastatin Improves Endothelial Function in Arteries Used in Coronary Bypass Grafting

Abstract: Internal mammary artery (IMA) and radial artery (RA) are the 2 main arterial conduits used in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The aim of this study was to analyze in vitro the vasoreactive properties in both vessels and to investigate the effects of pravastatin incubation on vascular function. IMA and RA rings obtained from patients undergoing CABG were studied in organ baths. We examined the contractile responses to phenylephrine and U46619 and the relaxation to acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside. In another series of experiments, the vascular reactivity and the superoxide anion production were studied after incubation with pravastatin. The effect of mevalonic acid on such responses was also assessed. Our results show that RA significantly evoked greater tension in response to vasoconstrictor agents and higher relaxation to ACh than IMA. In contrast, relaxation induced by sodium nitroprusside was not significantly different. Incubation with pravastatin reduced the contractile response to U46619 and improved the endothelium-dependent relaxation to ACh in both arteries. Whereas the effect of pravastatin on response to U46619 was completely abolished by coincubation with mevalonic acid, only a partial inhibition on ACh relaxation was observed. In conclusion, in vitro incubation with pravastatin enhanced endothelial function in IMA and RA. This suggests that postoperative (may include intraoperative) administration of statins could improve the endothelial function of arterial grafts in patients undergoing CABG.
The Predictive Ability of Fair Values for Future Financial Performance of Commercial Banks and the Relation of Predictive Ability to Banks' Share Prices

For a sample of commercial banks during 1994 – 2008, we find that accumulated fair value adjustments for interest-bearing investment securities are positively associated with future interest income and total realized income from these investments. Additional tests reveal that accumulated fair value adjustments on investment securities also have predictive ability for future investment-security-related cash flows. Our analyses reveal that our predictive ability proxy for interest-bearing investment securities is positively related to the measurement precision of reported fair value measurements. We also provide evidence that the relative ability of fair values to predict reported accounting income is a factor that strengthens the association between fair values and commercial banks’ stock prices. Taken together, our study suggests that fair values have predictive ability for future income realization despite the low persistence of changes in fair value that has been extensively documented in prior studies. Further, we find that our proxy for predictive ability captures banks’ expectations of future above- or below-market relative interest income, which is a real economic condition that is incrementally reflected in current equity prices.
R&D and Productivity: The Unfinished Business

Recent work on the relationship of productivity growth to expenditures on R&D is discussed with special reference to "unfinished business": unsolved conceptual and econometric problems. The standard "R&D as a capital" model raises a number of difficult conceptual issues, especially the meaning and measurement of the depreciation of "knowledge" and of the associated economic rents created by it. In addition, empirical implementations of this model have to struggle with the possibility of simultaneity and reverse causality and the implication of imperfect markets for knowledge-based products. An empirical example of some of these issues is presented using data from a panel of U.S. R&D -performing firms, showing both the difficulties alluded to above and evidence for the continued importance of the R&D process for the growth of productivity.
The Viability of Employee-Owned Firms: Evidence from France

This study examines data on French producer cooperatives for the years 1970–79 to test the widely accepted theoretical prediction that employee-owned firms either will fail as commercial undertakings or degenerate into capitalist firms as the proportion of hired workers who are not members of the cooperative firm increases. Contrary to this prediction, the authors find a high rate of survival among the producer cooperatives studied, with many cooperatives still healthy after fifty years of operation, and they find no evidence of degeneration—either in terms of the proportion of hired workers, productivity, profitability, or capital-intensity. The findings do, however, suggest that the firms' financial structure became increasingly inefficient with age.
Pattern of trade and European economic integration

In this article, the degree of integration between European countries is linked to the evolution of the pattern of trade. Evolution of the long-run sensitivity between European outputs is estimated by recursive Fully–Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FM-OLS) and compared to a recursive index of intra-industry trade. Significant correlations are found between integration and intra-industry trade share: positive for most countries but negative for others. The explanatory variable seems to be the initial intra-industry trade share.
Interaction Between Single-Stock Futures and the Underlying Securities: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract We investigate the price discovery mechanism among the single-stock futures (SSFs) and underlying stock markets in four emerging organized markets: India, Korea, Poland, and Russia. We find that the contribution of the SSF market to price discovery is, on average, 47 percent when utilizing daily data and 36 percent when utilizing intraday data. We further find that according to our cross-sectional analysis, spot market turnover, spot market capitalization, and age of the futures contract affect the role of SSF in the price discovery process.
Thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura in HIV-infected patients

Thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura (TTP) results from deficiency of von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease (vWF-cp) activity. Eight HIV-infected patients presented with TTP, representing 12.5% of all TTP treated at this centre. In four patients presentation with TTP revealed underlying HIV infection, the other four patients were previously known to be HIV infected, with plasma exchange and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) all recovered. Normalization of vWF-cp activity was associated with recovery. Relapse occurred in two patients who discontinued HAART against medical advice, suggesting that HIV has a causal role in this condition. Given the clear benefit from HAART in addition to plasma exchange, these data suggest that all patients presenting with TTP should undergo HIV testing.
Assessment of Relationship Between C-Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio and Coronary Artery Disease Severity in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome

The association of coronary artery disease (CAD) severity with increased C-reactive protein (CRP) and decreased albumin levels has been reported. However, to our knowledge, no study has investigated the usefulness of the CRP to albumin ratio (CAR) in predicting intermediate–high SYNergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with TAXus and cardiac surgery (SYNTAX) score (SS) and high SS II. Consecutive patients (n = 344) treated with percutaneous coronary intervention comprised the study population. The study population was divided into 2 groups according to SS >22 and mean SS II values, respectively. Patients with intermediate–high SS and high SS II had higher CAR than patients with low SS and SS II. History of diabetes mellitus, decreased albumin, lower left ventricular ejection fraction, and elevated CAR (odds ratio [OR]: 1.020; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.009-1.031; P < .001) were independent predictors of high SS. The presence of hypertension, decreased hemoglobin and albumin levels, and increased CAR (OR: 1.014; 95% CI, 1.004-1.023; P < .001) were independent predictors of SS II. In receiver operating characteristic curve comparison, CAR was superior to CRP and albumin in prediction of intermediate–high SS, but only CRP in prediction of high SS II. The CAR calculated from the admission blood samples could be a useful parameter for predicting CAD severity using SS and SS II.
Lay understanding of probability distributions

How accurate are laypeople’s intuitions about probability distributions of events? The economic and psychological literatures provide opposing answers. A classical economic view assumes that ordinary decision makers consult perfect expectations, while recent psychological research has emphasized biases in perceptions. In this work, we test laypeople’s intuitions about probability distributions. To establish a ground truth against which accuracy can be assessed, we control the information seen by each subject to establish unambiguous normative answers. We find that laypeople’s statistical intuitions can be highly accurate, and depend strongly upon the elicitation method used. In particular, we find that eliciting an entire distribution from a respondent using a graphical interface, and then computing simple statistics (such as means, fractiles, and confidence intervals) on this distribution, leads to greater accuracy, on both the individual and aggregate level, than the standard method of asking about the same statistics directly.
Are Governments Really Interested in Fixing the Housing Problem? Policy Capture and Busy Work in Australia

This article applies theories of policy capture to explain why Australian governments appear unable to ameliorate the nation's chronic affordability pressures, drawing on discourses produced by government, industry lobby groups and the media, between 2003 and 2013. We focus on key episodes of policy activity surrounding a series of national-level inquiries on housing affordability, and affordable housing and planning reforms in the state of NSW over this time, to highlight the political strategies and tactics that have enabled key interests and the status quo, to prevail.
Time and No Lotteries: An Axiomatization of Maxmin Expected Utility

This paper axiomatizes an intertemporal version of the maxmin expected‐utility model. It employs two axioms specific to a dynamic setting. The first requires that smoothing consumption across states of the world is more beneficial to the individual than smoothing consumption across time. Such behavior is viewed as the intertemporal manifestation of ambiguity aversion. The second axiom extends Koopmans' notion of stationarity from deterministic to stochastic environments.
Stock Price Behavior and Trading

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the random walk theory of stock price behavior. This theory, as applied to the stock market, implies that past stock-price movements cannot be used to predict future market prices in such a way as to “profit” from the predictions. By not “profiting,” we mean that a trader using the past history of stock prices cannot apply mechanical decision rules that result in a consistently better performance than a simple buy and hold strategy. If stock price movements were to become systematic so that a “profit” were possible, proponents of the random walk theory argue that a sufficient number of market participants would quickly recognize the recurring pattern and exploit it. In exploiting it, they would drive out the opportunity for “profit,” causing the price series to approximate a random walk.
Analytical model for TM scattering of 1-D narrow slit gratings loaded with dielectric slabs

This work presents an improved version of a previously proposed equivalent circuit model for the study of transmissivity of TM polarized waves through lamellar metal gratings loaded with dielectric slabs. The model makes use of lumped elements and transmission lines. The use of an impedance-matching rationale explains the onset of narrow band transmission peaks induced by the presence of dielectric slabs. The finite thickness of the metal screen also yields transmission peaks even in the absence of dielectric layers. Our approach takes into account the behavior of the grating in the sub-diffraction regime, in the region of the Rayleigh-Wood anomalies, and above the onset of the first grating lobes. In contrast with previous implementations of the equivalent circuit model, all the parameters of the model are now obtained in a fully analytical manner. Qualitative and quantitative account of the most fine details of transmission/reflection spectra is possible using this technique provided the slits are narrow enough. The limits of validity of the model are also discussed.