Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Of Guardians, Cynics, and Pragmatists - A Typology of Privacy Concerns and Behavior

Online privacy is one of the most discussed topics in the digital era. User concerns about online privacy can be a barrier to the use of digital services. Different approaches, mostly from a social science perspective, try to understand user concerns, attitudes, and behaviors in the online context. Especially the so-called privacy paradox, the discrepancy between high privacy concerns and contradicting low privacy protection behavior, has been of interest. This phenomenon has been explained in different ways: users performing a privacy calculus, making affective decisions, or being overwhelmed, resigned by the complexity of online threats and protective measures. Complementing these theories, we hypothesize that different user types approach privacy differently. A survey (N=337) investigates the privacy attitudes, behaviors, and experiences of German internet users. With a cluster analysis, three distinct types of users were identified: the “Privacy Guardians,” highly concerned and taking much privacy protective actions, the “Privacy Cynics,” concerned but feeling powerless and unable to protect their privacy, and the “Privacy Pragmatists,” showing the least concerns which they weigh against benefits. These user groups need different tools and guidelines for protecting their
Consumers, travel and technology: A bright future for the Web or television shopping?

The international tourism system is dependant on information technology for its future growth, competitiveness and long-term survival—particularly in terms of tourism marketing and distribution. This study evaluates consumer perceptions of two of the more prominent technological innovations impacting on these aspects of the tourism industry: the World Wide Web (WWW) and television shopping via digital television. The paper begins by reviewing extant work on the expansion of the WWW and television shopping into travel distribution, before focusing on the results of the consumer research and discussing the findings' implications for tourism marketers. Based on focus group discussions, the study suggests that while there remain a number of significant challenges to be faced by Web designers and marketers if the medium is to fulfil its promised potential as a channel for travel service distribution, television travel shopping is currently being readily embraced by consumers of all ages. The paper concludes by highlighting online tourism organisations' need to confront the problems of converting Web browsers into buyers, and outlines an agenda for future research.
Higher Education Excellence and Local Economic Development: The Case of the Entrepreneurial University of Twente

Abstract By tradition or intellectual necessity, universities pursue a main objective: increasing and transferring knowledge that is internationally relevant for the whole of mankind. But new powerful socio-economic forces are demanding universities to be engaged in regional economic development and their knowledge to be relevant in terms of local employment, university spin-offs and growth. These two objectives are traditionally considered as not complementary or even mutually exclusive. Through a case study regarding the Dutch University of Twente, this article shows that local economic relevance and international excellence are not incompatible objectives: they were not at the University of Twente; they can be reached even in a new born and poor endowed university, located in a peripheral, depressed and not industrialized countryside. This article argues that a strong entrepreneurial vision and the adoption of a different concept of knowledge may be the key for other small and peripheral European universities, in order to reach both local economic relevance and international excellence. The article will contribute and enrich the regional studies debate, introducing to it some higher education policy issues and ideas.
DEFAULT RISK INSURANCE AND INCOMPLETE MARKETS

This paper uses the existence of secondary markets for debt instruments with default risk (e.g. corporate bonds) to define default insurance along the lines of financial economics. It examines whether, in the case of several risk-neutral measures, characteristics of default can be uniquely determined by the prices of contracts involving default-prone securities. Copyright 1995 Blackwell Publishers.
Retail Gasoline Price Dynamics and Local Market Power

Using monthly data from the 48 contiguous states (except Nevada) for the 1988-2002 period, it is shown that retail gasoline prices respond faster to wholesale price increases than to equivalent wholesale price decreases. Moreover, markets with high average retail-wholesale margins experience a slower adjustment and a more asymmetric response. Since gasoline is the only variable input, average margins in a state likely reflect the degree of retail market power. This suggests that sticky prices and response asymmetries in the gasoline market are, at least partially, a consequence of retail market power. Copyright 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. and the Editorial Board of The Journal of Industrial Economics.
The Hay Wells Syndrome-Derived TAp63αQ540L Mutant has Impaired Transcriptional and Cell Growth Regulatory Activity

P63 mutations have been associated with several human hereditary disorders characterized by ectodermal dysplasia such as EEC (ectrodactyly, ectodermal dysplasia, clefting) syndrome, ADULT (acro, dermato, ungual, lacrimal, tooth) syndrome and AEC (ankyloblepharon, ectodermal dysplasia, clefting) syndrome (also called Hay-Wells syndrome). The location and functional effects of the mutations that underlie these syndromes reveal a striking genotype-phenotype correlation. Unlike EEC and ADULT that result from missense mutations in the DNA-binding domain of p63, AEC is solely caused by missense mutations in the SAM domain of p63. In this paper we report a study on the TAp63α isoform, the first to be expressed during development of the embryonic epithelia, and on its naturally occurring Q540L mutant derived from an AEC patient. To assess the effects of the Q540L mutation, we generated stable cell lines expressing TAp63α wt, δNp63α or the TAp63αQ540L mutant protein and used them to systematically compare the cell growth regulatory activity of the mutant and wt p63 proteins and to generate, by microarray analysis, a comprehensive profile of differential gene expression. We found that the Q540L substitution impairs the transcriptional activity of TAp63α and causes misregulation of genes involved in the control of cell growth and epidermal differentiation.
Dynamics of Shallow Dark Solitons in a Trapped Gas of Impenetrable Bosons

The dynamics of linear and nonlinear excitations in a Bose gas in the Tonks-Girardeau (TG) regime with longitudinal confinement are studied within a mean field theory of quintic nonlinearity. A reductive perturbation method is used to demonstrate that the dynamics of shallow dark solitons, in the presence of an external potential, can effectively be described by a variable-coefficient Korteweg-de Vries equation. The soliton oscillation frequency is analytically obtained to be equal to the axial trap frequency, in agreement with numerical predictions obtained by Busch et al. [J. Phys. B 36, 2553 (2003)] via the Bose-Fermi mapping. We obtain analytical expressions for the evolution of both soliton and emitted radiation (sound) profiles.
The Boulton & Watt Case: The Crux of Alternative Approaches to Accounting History?

Abstract In accounting history, authors who have adopted a ‘Foucauldian’ approach have recently debated with those representing the ‘Neoclassical’ school of thought the relative sophistication and significance of cost accounting developments in the UK and US respectively during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This paper argues that the differences between the two schools' understandings are important for comprehending the genesis and scope of modern cost and management accounting systems. It re-examines the historical case of Boulton & Watt, an engineering firm believed to have been in the vanguard of British Industrial Revolution accounting practice (Roll, 1930; Pollard, 1965 and 1990; Fleischman and Parker, 1991), in an attempt to clarify some of the key points of difference in the debate. It proposes that the historical crux for deciding where a modern managerial approach to accounting began lies in distinguishing between the development of engineering standards for materials and machine effici.
Identiﬁcation and Characterization of Mutations in the UPF1 Gene That Affect Nonsense Suppression and the Formation of the Upf Protein Complex but Not mRNA Turnover

To understand the relationship between translation and mRNA decay, we have been studying how premature translation termination accelerates the degradation of mRNAs. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae , the Upf1 protein (Upf1p), which contains a cysteine- and histidine-rich region and nucleoside triphosphate hydrolysis and helicase motifs, was shown to be a trans -acting factor in this decay pathway. A UPF1 gene disruption results in the stabilization of nonsense-containing mRNAs and leads to a nonsense suppression phenotype. Biochemical analysis of the wild-type Upf1p demonstrated that it has RNA-dependent ATPase, RNA helicase, and RNA binding activities. In the work described in the accompanying paper (Y. Weng, K. Czaplinski, and S. W. Peltz, Mol. Cell. Biol. 16:5477–5490, 1996) mutations in the helicase region of Upf1p that inactivated its mRNA decay function but prevented suppression of leu2-2 and tyr7-1 nonsense alleles are identiﬁed. On the basis of these results, we suggested that Upf1p is a multifunctional protein involved in modulating mRNA decay and translation termination at nonsense codons. If this is true, we predict that UPF1 mutations with the converse phenotype should be identiﬁed. In this report, we describe the identiﬁcation and biochemical characterization of mutations in the amino-terminal cysteine- and histidine-rich region of Upf1p that have normal nonsense-mediated mRNA decay activities but are able to suppress leu2-2 and tyr7-1 nonsense alleles. Biochemical characterization of these mutant proteins demonstrated that they have altered RNA binding properties. Furthermore, using the two-hybrid system, we characterized the Upf1p-Upf2p interactions and demonstrated that Upf2p interacts with Upf3p. Mutations in the cysteine- and histidine-rich region of Upf1p abolish Upf1p-Upf2p interaction. On the basis of these results, the role of the Upf complex in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay and nonsense suppression is discussed. plasmid 23-bp BI- Bst BI- Bgl oligodeoxynucleotides (step 4). This interaction leads to decapping of the mRNA (step 5). On the basis of the results presented in this paper and the accompanying paper (38), we propose that the Upfp complex functions in non-sense-mediated mRNA decay and in modulating translation termination. One role of the Upfp complex may be to promote efﬁcient recognition of the stop codon. When premature translation termination occurs, the Upfp complex helps the ribosome, ribosomal subunit(s), or ribosomal associated factor to scan 3 (cid:57) of the termination codon and interact with a downstream element which triggers nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Group C mutants retain the codon recognition ability of Upf1p but lose its function in nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (steps 3 and 4). Group D mutants, on the other hand, retain the decay activity of Upf1p, while its ability in stop codon recognition (step 2) is reduced. See the text for
A Model of Auction Equilibrium with Costly Information Acquisition

This paper presents a simple model of auction equilibrium. The distinctive feature of the model is that each bidder may discover the value that the item represents for herself, provided she spends some amount in order to be well informed. For each agent, the decision of whether or not to acquire information depends on a private cost of information acquisition and on her conjectures regarding the behavior of other bidders. A rational expectations equilibrium is characterized.
The Influence of Internal Union Factions on Union Renewal Strategies: The Case of the Finnish Paper Workers' Union

In 2008, the collective agreement of the Finnish paper industry was significantly rewritten. This case study analyses the influence of internal factions on the capability of the Finnish Paper Workers' Union to shift to a strategy of partnership. It is shown that resistance to change was especially strong with longer‐serving shop stewards, and the strong division into factions implies limits to the extent of partnership in the Finnish paper industry.
Bacillus megaterium strains derived from water and soil exhibit differential responses to the herbicide mesotrione

The intense use of herbicides for weed control in agriculture causes selection pressure on soil microbiota and water ecosystems, possibly resulting in changes to microbial processes, such as biogeochemical cycles. These xenobiotics may increase the production of reactive oxygen species and consequently affect the survival of microorganisms, which need to develop strategies to adapt to these conditions and maintain their ecological functionality. This study analyzed the adaptive responses of bacterial isolates belonging to the same species, originating from two different environments (water and soil), and subjected to selection pressure by herbicides. The effects of herbicide Callisto and its active ingredient, mesotrione, induced different adaptation strategies on the cellular, enzymatic, and structural systems of two Bacillus megaterium isolates obtained from these environments. The lipid saturation patterns observed may have affected membrane permeability in response to this herbicide. Moreover, this may have led to different levels of responses involving superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, and enzyme polymorphisms. Due to these response systems, the strain isolated from water exhibited higher growth rates than did the soil strain, in evaluations made in oligotrophic culture media, which would be more like that found in semi-pristine aquatic environments. The influence of the intracellular oxidizing environments, which changed the mode of degradation of mesotrione in our experimental model and produced different metabolites, can also be observed in soil and water at sites related to agriculture. Since the different metabolites may present different levels of toxicity, we suggest that this fact should be considered in studies on the fate of agrochemicals in different environments.
Three-Dimensional Limit Analysis of the Vicoforte Elliptical Dome

Limit analysis provides a conceptually simple and robust method to estimate the safety of structures and has been long applied to the analysis of the ultimate collapse state of two-dimensional masonry structures or structural elements. In revolving symmetric domes, the three-dimensional problem can be reduced to the two-dimensional case under appropriate hypotheses. The Vicoforte dome is the largest elliptical dome in the world, and its complex geometry makes this kind of analysis not straightforward. Starting from some basic assumptions, a method for analyzing the three-dimensional elliptical geometry and understand the behavior at collapse of the drum-dome system using limit analysis is proposed. The three-dimensional collapse mechanism is found and the system behavior including the presence of tension rings at different levels is interpreted. The results are compared against a nonlinear finite element model.
Interactive comment on “ Contrasting roles of interception and transpiration in the hydrological cycle – Part 2 : Moisture recycling ” by R

The authors perform a diagnostic moisture tracing study to quantify continental moisture recycling with the new element that plant transpiration is treated separately from other continental evaporation fluxes. The methodology is sound and the results are well presented. My most substantial suggestion is to discuss the seasons separately in the first place instead of mainly discussing annual-mean results and discussing the seasonality on the sidelines. In the latter case, the interesting non-seasonal effects due to the different roles of transpiration and interception in moisture recycling are blurred by strong seasonal effects.
Negative correlation based gene markers identification in integrative gene expression data

Along with the emergence and development of translational biomedicine, more and more genetic information has been applied in clinical practice. In the recent decade, the discovery of genetic markers for cancer prognosis obtains increasing attention and many methods have been developed. The 'element' methods use one or two independent genes to judge the Boolean status of disease. The 'set' methods use multiple gene markers as a whole to classify patients into different risks. And the advanced 'sets' methods use a group of different sets of biomarkers in an assembling manner. Either the existed 'set' or 'sets' methods only concern positive correlations among genes. However, the negative regulation, negative feedback, and functional repression are actually the relevant clues in cancer studies. Therefore, in this paper, based on the integrative gene expression data organised as gene-time-sample data or gene-sample-source data, we propose to mine Negatively Correlated Gene Sets (NCGSs) from multiple datasets, and use them along with the maximal positively correlated gene sets for prognosis classification. The experiment results suggest the promotions of cancer prognosis accuracy and meaningful pathogen relevance of gene markers by NCGS applications.
Optimal Management of an Ecosystem with an Unknown Threshold

We consider an ecosystem with two distinct equations of motion that are separated by a threshold value of the state variable. We find that increasing uncertainty (both uncertainty embedded in the natural system and uncertainty of the decisionmaker about the location of the threshold) can lead to nonmonotonic changes in precaution: a reduction in uncertainty can first increase and then decrease optimal precautionary activity. This nonmonotonicity can help to explain why regulators often give conflicting arguments about optimal abatement policies in the face of uncertainty. For example, some regulators argue for an immediate reduction in pollutant loading until uncertainty about the underlying process is reduced while others call for no costly reductions in pollutant loading until the same uncertainty is reduced. These statements can be consistent even if both sides agree on both economic objectives and the system dynamics, but have different priors on the uncertainty involved.
A contribution to transaction costs: evidence from banana markets in Ethiopia

Banana producers in Ethiopia sell their produce through wholesale traders, cooperatives, and to village retailers and local consumers. Factors determining the selection of marketing channels and their implication on the agri-food industrial organization have been given little attention in the literature. This paper uses a transaction cost economics (TCE) approach to explain farmers' choice between wholesale traders and marketing cooperatives. By using a Tobit model, an effort is exerted to demonstrate the empirical application of TCE theory and to measure transaction costs that influence agricultural marketing. The results on the basis of survey data collected in 2007 from different villages in Southern Ethiopia suggests that transaction costs play an important role in determining farmers' marketing channel choice decision. The paper has potential policy implications pertaining to the improvement of the agricultural market structure, conduct and performance and, eventually, the welfare of farmers. [Econ Lit citations: Q130, Q120]. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between frailty and outcome in surgical patients.

INTRODUCTION Frailty is becoming increasingly prevalent in the elderly population although a lack of consensus regarding a clinical definition hampers comparison of clinical studies. More elderly patients are being assessed for surgical intervention but the effect of frailty on surgical related outcomes is still not clear. METHODS A systematic literature search for studies prospectively reporting frailty and postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing surgical intervention was performed with data collated from a total of 12 studies. Random effects meta-analysis modelling was undertaken to estimate the association between frailty and mortality rates (in-hospital and one-year), length of hospital stay and the need for step-down care for further rehabilitation/nursing home placement. RESULTS Frailty was associated with a higher in-hospital mortality rate (pooled odds ratio [OR]: 2.77, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.62-4.73), a higher one-year mortality rate (pooled OR: 1.99, 95% CI: 1.49-2.66), a longer hospital stay (pooled mean difference: 1.05 days, 95% CI: 0.02-2.07 days) and a higher discharge rate to further rehabilitation/step-down care (pooled OR: 5.71, 95% CI: 3.41-9.55). CONCLUSIONS The presence of frailty in patients undergoing surgical intervention is associated with poorer outcomes with regard to mortality and return to independence. Further in-depth studies are required to identify factors that can be optimised to reduce the burden of frailty in surgical patients.
Non‐bank financial institutions regulation and risk‐taking

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between regulation of non-bank financial institutions and their risk-taking behaviours in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach - The analysis is performed using data derived from the Bank of Ghana Database during a five-year period, 2006-2010. Correlated Panels Corrected Standard Errors model is used to estimate the regression equation. Capital adequacy requirements and the restrictions on non-bank financial institutions' (NBFIs') ability to take deposits are used as proxies for regulatory pressure. The study also used the ratio of risks weighted assets-to-total assets, the ratio of non-performing loans-to-net loans and the Z-scores of NBFIs as measures of risk. Findings - The results of the study show a negative relationship between minimum capital adequacy requirement and the risks weighted assets of NBFIs. This indicates that, asking NBFIs to keep higher minimum capital adequacy ratio results in reducing their risk-taking. The results also indicate a positive relationship between regulatory pressure and risk weighted assets of NBFIs. The paper however found a negative relationship between restrictions on deposits and the risk of insolvency. The findings suggest that, non-deposit-taking NBFIs have higher risk weighted assets and are more prone to the risk of insolvency than deposit-taking NBFIs. Originality/value - The value of this study is in respect of its contribution to the extant literature on financial regulation and risk-taking of NBFIs.
Precautionary Saving and Mortality-Contingent Social Insurance Programs

This article compares the effects of Social Security and other mortality-contingent social insurance programs (particularly Medicare) on the personal saving, consumption, national saving, and welfare of the current generation. The two-period Fisherian model under lifetime uncertainty shows that the effects of Social Security and Medicare on personal saving differ substantially. In addition, the qualitative effects of Medicare on personal saving and national saving are found to be different. More important, precautionary saving motives in the strict sense of Leland may or may not be required for various social insurance policies to reduce personal or national saving. Therefore, a direct relationship between precautionary saving motives and the qualitative effects of various social insurance programs on savings may be overemphasized in the literature. Finally, it is found that other factors such as actuarial unfairness and percentage of funding may or may not affect the results.