Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pulse pressure and arterial elasticity.

The last decade has seen increased interest in the mechanical interaction between the heart and the arterial system. In particular, it has been suggested that increased arterial stiffness is associated with the development of cardiovascular disease and may even predict its development at an early stage before vascular lesions or external symptoms become evident (reviewed in references 1 and 2). The reasons for this association are not fully understood, although we have known for almost 200 years that pulse pressure is affected by the distensibility of the arterial system, its dimensions and the presence of wave reflections.3 Accordingly, renewed attention has been directed at methods of measuring arterial elasticity, either directly or by way of ‘surrogates’. The review in this issue by Mackenzie and colleagues discusses the clinical value of such measurements. They reiterate the argument outlined by O'Rourke:4 that after the introduction of the sphygmomanometer, the shape of the pressure wave was neglected in favour of a simple numerical representation (i.e. pulse pressure), and that with the development of improved methods, analysis of the pulse wave is back in fashion. Whatever the reasons, it is clear that the long‐term performance of the heart, like that of all machines, depends not only on the average load to which it is exposed, but at least as much on time‐varying and peak loads. It is surprising, at least with the benefit of hindsight, that more attention has not been given to this aspect of the circulation. To explain the relationship between forces generated within the myocardium, pressure within the ventricles, and changes in the shape and height of the pressure pulse as it travels away from the heart, requires a model of the circulation which, constrained by the observed anatomy and mechanical properties of the circulation, is able to predict …
The consideration of Off-Balance Sheet activities on banking efficiency and productivity performances within the UAE

Despite overall growing profits and increasing Total Factor Productivity (TFP) change in the United Arab Emirates banking sector, research reveals evidence of over-banking and inefficiency by the sector as a whole and several banks in particular. The inclusion of Off Balance Sheet (OBS) activities increases efficiency scores and estimated productivity levels for most banks, reinforcing the prevailing view that the exclusion of non-traditional activities leads to a misspecification of banks' output.
Do Labor Unions Hinder or Boost International Outsourcing? Evidence from U.S. Manufacturing

This article provides empirical evidence that labor unions can influence firms’ international outsourcing decisions in the U.S. manufacturing sector. There is a negative effect of the current level of unionism and a positive effect of the previous level of unionism on the firms’ international outsourcing intensity. Our results support the proposition put forward by Lommerud et al. (2009) that labor unions hinder firms’ international outsourcing behavior, if the decision to outsource is made no later than the wage-employment bargaining. However, stronger labor unions still induce international outsourcing if firms’ decisions are made subsequent to wage-employment bargaining.
Management in medicine or medics in management? The changing role of doctors in German hospitals

Purpose – Internationally, management in medicine has become a topical issue in health care research and policy. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to examine the changing role of doctors in the management of German hospitals. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a literature review on the one hand, explorative research drawing on field document and expert interviews, on the other. In the light of basic assumptions of neo-institutionalist and contingency theory, major developments regarding the relationship between medicine and management in Germany are sketched. Findings – In the German health care sector, the importance of management in medicine is generally increasing, with more managerial (administrative) functions included in the clinicians’ activity. However, the current situation proves complex. On the one hand, there is more management within medicine, materializing, e.g. in further education schemes embracing economic training or in a general expectation that phy.
The type IV secretion apparatus protein VirB6 of Agrobacterium tumefaciens localizes to a cell pole

Agrobacterium tumefaciens VirB proteins assemble a type IV secretion apparatus for the transfer of DNA and proteins to plant cells. To study the role of the VirB6 protein in the assembly and function of the type IV apparatus, we determined its subcellular location by immunofluorescence microscopy. In wild‐type bacteria VirB6 localized to the cell poles but in the absence of the tumour‐inducing plasmid it localized to random sites on the cell membranes. Five of the 11 VirB proteins, VirB7–VirB11, are required for the polar localization of VirB6. We identified two regions of VirB6, a conserved tryptophan residue at position 197 and the extreme C‐terminus, that are essential for its polar localization. Topology determination by PhoA fusion analysis placed both regions in the cell cytoplasm. Alteration of tryptophan 197 or the deletion of the extreme C‐terminus led to the mislocalization of the mutant protein. The mutations abolished the DNA transfer function of the protein as well. The C‐terminus of VirB6, in silico, can form an amphipathic helix that may encode a protein–protein interaction domain essential for targeting the protein to a cell pole. We previously reported that another DNA transfer protein, VirD4, localizes to a cell pole. To determine whether VirB6 and VirD4 localize to the same pole, we performed colocalization experiments. Both proteins localized to the same pole indicating that VirB6 and VirD4 are in close proximity and VirB6 is probably a component of the transport apparatus.
Investors’ Reliance on Analysts’ Stock Recommendations and Mitigating Mechanisms for Potential Overreliance

We conduct three experiments to investigate whether and why investors rely on analysts’ stock recommendations, and how to mitigate potential overreliance. In Experiments 1 and 2, we find that investors who receive a buy (sell) recommendation judge a company to have higher (lower) investment potential, holding all other information constant. Warning investors about potential bias in recommendations and requiring them to form an independent stock recommendation reduce a buy recommendation’s effect on investors’ judgments, but do not reduce a sell recommendation’s effect on investors’ judgments. In Experiment 3, we find that merely disclosing the analyst firm’s distribution of stock recommendations as per current FINRA/NYSE stock exchange rules does not reduce the effects of a buy recommendation associated with a distribution skewed toward buys, unless accompanied by a warning about potential bias in overly-skewed distributions or a warning plus a requirement to form an independent recommendation. Lastly, investors indicate that they rely on analysts’ recommendations based on beliefs about the analyst’s ability to generate trading interest, expertise in evaluating information, and access to information. Warning about analyst bias plus inducing independent judgment temper those beliefs, and those beliefs mediate the effects of warning and independent judgment on investors’ judgments.
Binding Specificity of Piliated Strains of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium to Epithelial Cells, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cells, and Erythrocytes

The binding to mammalian cells of piliated enteric bacteria and the inhibition of the binding by antibodies to purified pili were studied. The target cells were epithelial cells from human bucca and human and rat urinary tracts, erythrocytes from various species, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. The strains were selected to represent the two main agglutination patterns of enteric bacteria: mannose-resistant agglutination of human and other erythrocytes and mannose-sensitive agglutination of guinea pig and other erythrocytes. Escherichia coli 3669 caused only mannose-resistant agglutination, E. coli 6013 caused only mannose-sensitive agglutination, and E. coli 3048 caused both types of agglutination simultaneously. Salmonella typhimurium SH6749 exhibited only mannose-sensitive hemagglutination and was included to allow comparison of its pili with those of E. coli strains. The range of epithelial cells to which the bacteria adhered was related to their agglutination patterns. All four strains attached to human buccal cells. Only E. coli strains 3669 and 3048, which caused mannose-resistant agglutination, adhered to human urinary tract epithelial cells, and only those strains that caused mannose-sensitive agglutination adhered to rat urinary tract epithelial cells. The binding of S. typhimurium SH6749, but not of the other strains with mannose-sensitive agglutination, was significantly inhibited by d-mannose. Globotetraosylceramide, a glycolipid present in the human urinary tract epithelium, inhibited attachment to human uroepithelial cells of the two strains with mannose-resistant hemagglutination. As tested by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, cross-reactions between type 1 pili of the E. coli strains were strong, but those between S. typhimurium and E. coli mannose-sensitive pili were weak. The two pili that induced mannose-resistant hemagglutination on E. coli did not cross-react. Significant inhibition of adhesion of all four strains was obtained with the homologous anti-pilus antiserum. The binding of bacteria to mammalian cells may thus be mediated by several types of bacterial pili reacting with different receptors on mammalian cells.
Patterns of Change in Child Labour and Schooling in Turkey: The Impact of Compulsory Schooling

Substantial improvements have taken place in the employment and schooling of children in Turkey. Decomposition analysis based on data from two time periods shows that a substantial part of the drop in child labour and over half of the increase in school enrolment can be attributed to the changing cost and benefit structures of work and schooling rather than to changing population characteristics. This paper establishes that work and schooling are incompatible activities and that the negative association between them has increased over time. The observed changes are attributed to the extension of compulsory schooling and the ban on child labour.
(+)-Abscisic acid 8'-hydroxylase is a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase

Abscisic acid (ABA) 8'-hydroxylase catalyzes the first step in the oxidative degradation of (+)-ABA. The development of a robust in vitro assay has now permitted detailed examination and characterization of this enzyme. Although several factors (buffer, cofactor, and source tissue) were critical in developing the assay, the most important of these was the identification of a tissue displaying high amounts of in vivo enzyme activity (A.J. Cutler, T.M. Squires, M.K. Loewen, J.J. Balsevich [1997] J Exp Bot 48: 1787-1795). (+)-ABA 8'-hydroxylase is an integral membrane protein that is localized to the microsomal fraction in suspension-cultured maize (Zea mays) cells. (+)-ABA metabolism requires both NADPH and molecular oxygen. NADH was not an effective cofactor, although there was substantial stimulation of activity (synergism) when it was included at rate-limiting NADPH concentrations. The metabolism of (+)-ABA was progressively inhibited at O2 concentrations less than 10% (v/v) and was very low (less than 5% of control) under N2. (+)-ABA 8'-hydroxylase activity was inhibited by tetcyclacis (50% inhibition at 10(-6) M), cytochrome c (oxidized form), and CO. The CO inhibition was reversible by light from several regions of the visible spectrum, but most efficiently by blue and amber light. These data strongly support the contention that (+)-ABA 8'-hydroxylase is a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase.
Visual Activation in Infants and Young Children Studied by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The purpose of this study was to determine whether visual stimulation in sleeping infants and young children can be examined by functional magnetic resonance imaging. We studied 17 children, aged 3 d to 48 mo, and three healthy adults. Visual stimulation was performed with 8-Hz flickering light through the sleeping childs' closed eyelids. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed with a gradient echoplanar sequence in a 1.5-T magnetic resonance scanner. Six subjects were excluded because of movement artifacts; the youngest infant showed no response. In 10 children, we could demonstrate areas of signal decrease during visual stimulation in the occipital cortex (mean decrease 2.21%), contrary to the signal increase observed in the adult controls (mean increase 2.82%). This decrease may be due to a higher proportional increase in oxygen extraction compared with increase in cerebral blood flow during activation. The different response patterns in young children and adults can reflect developmental or behavioral differences. Localization of the activation seemed to be age-dependent. In the older children and the adults, it encompassed the whole length of the calcarine sulcus, whereas it was restricted to the anterior and medial part of the calcarine sulcus in the younger infants. This may reflect a different functional organization of the young child's visual cortex or the on-going retinal development.
Investigating the performance of market-based instruments for resource conservation: the contribution of agent-based modelling

Auctions are increasingly being considered as a mechanism for allocating conservation contracts to private landowners. This interest is based on the widely held belief that competitive bidding helps minimize information rents. This study constructs an agent-based model to evaluate the long term performance of conservation auctions under settings where bidders are allowed to learn from previous outcomes. The results clearly indicate that the efficiency benefits of one-shot auctions are quickly eroded under dynamic settings. Furthermore, the auction mechanism is found to be inferior to fixed payment schemes except when the latter involve the use of high reserve prices.
Application of neural networks to software quality modeling of a very large telecommunications system

Society relies on telecommunications to such an extent that telecommunications software must have high reliability. Enhanced measurement for early risk assessment of latent defects (EMERALD) is a joint project of Nortel and Bell Canada for improving the reliability of telecommunications software products. This paper reports a case study of neural-network modeling techniques developed for the EMERALD system. The resulting neural network is currently in the prototype testing phase at Nortel. Neural-network models can be used to identify fault-prone modules for extra attention early in development, and thus reduce the risk of operational problems with those modules. We modeled a subset of modules representing over seven million lines of code from a very large telecommunications software system. The set consisted of those modules reused with changes from the previous release. The dependent variable was membership in the class of fault-prone modules. The independent variables were principal components of nine measures of software design attributes. We compared the neural-network model with a nonparametric discriminant model and found the neural-network model had better predictive accuracy.
Qualitative models of seat discomfort including static and dynamic factors

Judgements of overall seating comfort in dynamic conditions sometimes correlate better with the static characteristics of a seat than with measures of the dynamic environment. This study developed qualitative models of overall seat discomfort to include both static and dynamic seat characteristics. A dynamic factor that reflected how vibration discomfort increased as vibration magnitude increased was combined with a static seat factor which reflected seating comfort without vibration. The ability of the model to predict the relative and overall importance of dynamic and static seat characteristics on comfort was tested in two experiments. A paired comparison experiment, using four polyurethane foam cushions (50, 70, 100, 120 mm thick), provided different static and dynamic comfort when 12 subjects were exposed to one-third octave band random vertical vibration with centre frequencies of 2.5 and 5.5 Hz, at magnitudes of 0.00, 0.25 and 0.50 m.s-2 rms measured beneath the foam samples. Subject judgements of the relative discomfort of the different conditions depended on both static and dynamic characteristics in a manner consistent with the model. The effect of static and dynamic seat factors on overall seat discomfort was investigated by magnitude estimation using three foam cushions (of different hardness) and a rigid wooden seat at six vibration magnitudes with 20 subjects. Static seat factors (i.e. cushion stiffness) affected the manner in which vibration influenced the overall discomfort: cushions with lower stiffness were more comfortable and more sensitive to changes in vibration magnitude than those with higher stiffness. The experiments confirm that judgements of overall seat discomfort can be affected by both the static and dynamic characteristics of a seat, with the effect depending on vibration magnitude: when vibration magnitude was low, discomfort was dominated by static seat factors; as the vibration magnitude increased, discomfort became dominated by dynamic factors.
Understanding Goals of Care Statements and Preferences Among Patients and Their Surrogates in the Medical ICU

Treatment decisions should be based on patients’ goals of care to provide an ethical, patient-centered framework for decision making. The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding about how patients’ and surrogates’ goals of care are communicated and interpreted in an medical intensive care unit (MICU). One hundred patients admitted to an MICU, or their surrogates, responded to an open-ended question about goals of care for their hospitalization followed by a closed-ended question regarding their most important goal of care. Investigators interpreted participants’ open-ended responses and compared these interpretations with participants’ closed-ended, most important goal selections. Investigators’ interpretations of participants’ open-ended goals of care responses matched participants’ closed-ended most important goal of care in only 28 of 100 cases. However, there was good interrater reliability between investigators in their interpretation of participants’ open-ended responses, with agreement in 78 of 100 cases. Clinicians should be cautious in interpreting patients’ or surrogates’ responses to open-ended questions about goals of care. A shared understanding of goals of care may be facilitated by alternating open-ended and closed-ended questions to clarify patients’ or surrogates’ responses.
Relationship between internal Na+/K+ and the accumulation of 14C‐5‐hydroxytryptamine by rat platelets

1 5‐Hydroxytryptamine (5‐HT) transport has been investigated in rat blood platelets poisoned with dinitrophenol‐sodium fluoride or ouabain. 2 The inhibition of transport produced by different concentrations of the metabolic inhibitors has been correlated with changes in the internal Na+ and K+ concentrations of the platelets. 3 Platelets poisoned in a high K+ medium maintained a high internal K+ concentration in the absence of cellular metabolism. When transferred to Krebs solutions containing different concentrations of Na+ they accumulated 5‐HT by a process that was related to the magnitudes of the internal and external Na+ concentrations. 4 The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the spontaneous movement of ions through the platelet membrane is capable of providing, at least in part, the energy requirements for 5‐HT transport.
Effects of water miscible organic solvents on the activity and conformation of the baeyer–villiger monooxygenases from Thermobifida fusca and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus: A comparative study

A broader exploitation of enzymes in organic synthesis can be achieved by increasing their tolerance toward organic solvents. In this study, the stability and activity of Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenases from Thermobifida fusca (PAMO) and Acinetobacter sp. (CHMO) in the presence of water miscible organic solvents were compared. PAMO was more stable than CHMO. The concentration of solvent (v/v) at which it halved its activity (C50) was 4‐ to 16‐fold higher than that observed for CHMO. For PAMO, the C50 varied from 16% to 55% of solvent and followed the destabilizing order methanol < ethanol < 1,4‐dioxane < acetonitrile < trifluoroethanol. In the case of CHMO, the maximal C50 was 7% with methanol and even lower with the other solvents. Therefore, methanol was the most tolerated solvent. In the case of PAMO, methanol induced a significant increase of enzyme activity (up to fivefold), which was optimal at 20% (v/v) solvent. Only minor spectral variations were observed with PAMO in 20% methanol, suggesting that the increase of activity observed in this condition is not due to marked conformational changes. Fluorescence and circular dichroism analyses showed that the lower stability of CHMO toward organic solvent correlates with a more pronounced destructive effect on its secondary and tertiary structure. A possible rationale for the higher stability of PAMO could be inferred from inspection of the PAMO and CHMO (two enzymes of similar size) structure, which revealed a higher (up to twofold) number of ionic bridges in PAMO with respect to CHMO. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011; 108:491–499. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The direct and indirect impact of employee benefits on firm performance in China

Based upon social exchange theory, this paper investigates the relationship between employee benefits and firm performance by studying 324 firms of different ownership forms in China. The research proposes three benefit dimensions which are confirmed by the results of factor analysis. In addition, this research finds that a combined employee benefit system produces significant associations with overall firm performance and that the strength of the relationship is mediated by attitudinal and behavioral outcomes, which are generated from a psychological consequence of employees. This paper contributes to the knowledge on the value of employee benefits and has important implications for organizational practices.
Qualitative research in marketing

Purpose – To discuss and analyse three themes in qualitative research in marketing which are objects of both frustration and confusion: analysis and interpretation; theory generation; and a quest for scientific pluralism and individual researcher lifestyles.Design/methodology/approach – Underpinning the discussion is that complexity, ambiguity, fuzziness, chaos, change, uncertainty and unpredictability are characteristics of a market economy; that qualitative and subjective interpretation is necessary to add the spark of life to marketing data; and that general marketing theory needs more attention from researchers.Practical implications – The proper use of methodology and the generation of better marketing theory will make it easier for practitioners to reach the right decisions.Findings – Quantitative and qualitative research processes are not by nature antagonistic, although their advocates may be; quantitative methodology carries qualitative “bugs”, necessary for its sustenance.Originality/value – The.