Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Locus Encoding Variable Defense Systems against Invading DNA Identified in Streptococcus suis

Streptococcus suis, an important zoonotic pathogen, is known to have an open pan-genome and to develop a competent state. In S. suis, limited genetic lineages are suggested to be associated with zoonosis. However, little is known about the evolution of diversified lineages and their respective phenotypic or ecological characteristics. In this study, we performed comparative genome analyses of S. suis, with a focus on the competence genes, mobile genetic elements, and genetic elements related to various defense systems against exogenous DNAs (defense elements) that are associated with gene gain/loss/exchange mediated by horizontal DNA movements and their restrictions. Our genome analyses revealed a conserved competence-inducing peptide type (pherotype) of the competence system and large-scale genome rearrangements in certain clusters based on the genome phylogeny of 58 S. suis strains. Moreover, the profiles of the defense elements were similar or identical to each other among the strains belonging to the same genomic clusters. Our findings suggest that these genetic characteristics of each cluster might exert specific effects on the phenotypic or ecological differences between the clusters. We also found certain loci that shift several types of defense elements in S. suis. Of note, one of these loci is a previously unrecognized variable region in bacteria, at which strains of distinct clusters code for different and various defense elements. This locus might represent a novel defense mechanism that has evolved through an arms race between bacteria and invading DNAs, mediated by mobile genetic elements and genetic competence.
Market Microstructure and the Ex-date Return

This article examines the role of measurement biases, due to order flow effects, in abnormal split ex-day returns. The authors conjecture that postsplit orders consist of numerous small buyers and fewer larger sellers. This change in order flow causes closing prices to occur more frequently at the ask price, consistent with M. T. Maloney and J. H. Mulherin (1992) and M. Grinblatt and D. Keim (1991). In addition, this change causes specialists' spreads to increase, perhaps to offset larger average inventories. The authors examine both NYSE and NASDAQ samples and find that order flow biases can explain approximately 80 percent (48 percent) of the NYSE (NASDAQ) ex-day return. Copyright 1994 by American Finance Association.
The Diffusion Of Multiple Technologies: An Empirical Study

The simultaneous diffusion of several technologies is studied. We build a modcl that encompasses recent theoretical arguments on diffusion and cxtend these to the multipie technologies case. The model is estimated using a panel of data on UK manufacturing industries relating to the diffusion of five technologies: Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools, Numerically Controlled machine tools. coated carbide tools, computers and microprocessors. We find mixed evidence on a stock effect and some support for an epidemic effect but less than in earlier studies. We are unable to and empirical support for order effects or expectational variables. Our results show that technological and strategic interdependencies between individual technologies do afect thc diffusion path.
Differential responsiveness of conduit and resistance coronary arteries to endothelin A and B receptor stimulation in anesthetized dogs.

The effects of endothelin-1 (ET-1), an ET(A)/ETB-receptor agonist, and IRL 1620, a potent and selective ETB-receptor agonist, were assessed on left circumflex coronary artery diameter (sonomicrometry) and flow (electromagnetic flow probe) in pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs. Intracoronary (i.c.) bolus injections of ET-1 (80 pmol/dose) caused large, sustained coronary diameter decreases (281 +/- 39 microns) and transient flow increases (5.6 +/- 2.6 ml/min), followed by transient (10.0 +/- 1.9 ml/min) and then sustained flow reductions (6.6 +/- 2.5 ml/min) before terminating in ventricular fibrillation after two to five doses (max delta s; n = 4 dogs). IRL 1620 boluses (5-2,000 pmol/dose i.c.; max delta s; n = 3) also dose-dependently and transiently increased (16.8 +/- 1.4 ml/min; 200 pmol), then transiently decreased (12.8 +/- 1.5 ml/min; 1,600 pmol) flow but had minimal effects on diameter (delta = -23 +/- 4 microns; 2,000 pmol). Doses of IRL 1620 beyond 400 pmol were accompanied by a slowly responding, sustained decrease in baseline flow (-9.2 +/- 2.7 ml/min) and baseline diameter (232 +/- 150 microns). In a separate group of dogs (n = 5), IRL 1620 (400 pmol i.c.) was evaluated before and after sequential inhibition of cyclooxygenase (indomethacin; 10 mg/kg i.v.) and then nitric oxide synthase (N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, L-NAME; 50 mg/kg i.v.). Indomethacin alone did not affect the flow increase to IRL 1620 (11.0 +/- 2.0 versus 11.8 +/- 1.8 ml/min) but blunted the flow decrease by 30 +/- 6% (10.6 +/- 1.4 versus 7.1 +/- 0.7 ml/min). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Accounting Recognition of Intangible Assets: Theory and Evidence on Economic Determinants

This paper examines the extent to which management makes accounting choices to record intangible assets based on their insights into the underlying economics of their firm. It exploits a setting in which management has accounting discretion to record a wide range of intangible assets. The results suggest that management's choice to record intangible assets is associated with the strength of the technology affecting the firms operations, the length of the technology cycle time, and propertyrights‐related factors that affect the firm's ability to appropriate the investment benefits. These effects are more important than other contracting and signaling factors consistent with the underlying economics operating as a first‐order effect as envisaged by GAAP. The results also indicate that the intangible assets management has a voluntary (unregulated) choice to record—identifiable intangible assets—are more highly correlated with underlying economic factors than the regulated classes, purchased goodwill and R&D .
Understanding what can be accomplished through interorganizational innovations The importance of typologies, context and management strategies

There has been increasing interest in collaborations, partnerships and networks as they have emerged as interorganizational innovations to address the integrated nature of complex policy problems. Understanding the variation in how these innovations work, as well as what they do, is an important step in allowing managers to understand better the implications and applications of these arrangements. This article provides a descriptive and functional analysis of the diverse types of interorganizational innovations with an eye toward achieving a more universal typology of the variations that exist. The article details the various applications for which these different variants can be used and the contextual factors that affect them. The typology and functional analysis is useful for decision makers to assess the types of interorganizational innovations they might want to adopt in a given situation.
They Called It Prairie Light: The Story of Chilocco Indian School

Established in 1884 and operative for nearly a century, the Chilocco Indian School in Oklahoma was one of a series of off-reservation boarding schools intended to assimilate American Indian children into mainstream American life. Critics have characterized the schools as destroyers of Indian communities and cultures, but the reality that K. Tsianina Lomawaima discloses was much more complex. Lomawaima allows the Chilocco students to speak for themselves. In recollections juxtaposed against the official records of racist ideology and repressive practice, students from the 1920s and 1930s recall their loneliness and demoralization but also remember with pride the love and mutual support binding them together-the forging of new pan-Indian identities and reinforcement of old tribal ones.
Liquidity, Banks, and Markets

This paper examines the roles of markets and banks when both are active, characterizing the effects of financial market development on the structure and market share of banks. Banks lower the cost of giving investors rapid access to their capital and improve the liquidity of markets by diverting demand for liquidity from markets. Increased participation in markets causes the banking sector to shrink, primarily through reduced holdings of long‐term assets. In addition, increased participation leads to longer‐maturity real and financial assets and a smaller gap between the maturity of financial and real assets.
Assessing the impact of Union Learning Representatives on training: evidence from a matched sample of ULRs and managers

Drawing on a matched sample of pairs of Union Learning Representatives (ULRs) and managers in 90 workplaces, this article evaluates managers’ views of the impact of ULRs on training and compares these views with those of ULRs themselves. Although managers are less positive than are ULRs about the impact ULRs have had, a significant proportion of managers nevertheless state that ULRs have had a positive influence. The article also uses the matched data to assess the factors associated with ULR effectiveness. ULRs are more likely to have had an impact on training where managers support the ULR role, where there is a learning centre at the workplace, where negotiation over training takes place and where the ULR covers no more than 200 employees.
Deletion of putative apoptosis factors leads to lifespan extension in the fungal ageing model Podospora anserina

Podospora anserina is a filamentous fungus with a limited lifespan. After a strain‐specific period of growth, cultures turn to senescence and ultimately die. Here we provide evidence that the last step in the ageing of P. anserina is not accidental but programmed. In this study, PaAMID1, a homologue of a mammalian ‘AIF‐homologous mitochondrion‐associated inducer of death’, was analysed as a putative member of a caspase‐independent signalling pathway. In addition, two metacaspases, PaMCA1 and PaMCA2, were investigated. While deletion of PaAmid1 as well as of PaMca2 was found to result in a moderate lifespan extension (59% and 78%, respectively), a 148% increase in lifespan was observed after deletion of PaMca1. Measurement of arginine‐specific protease activity demonstrates a metacaspase‐dependent activity in senescent but not in juvenile cultures, pointing to an activation of these proteases in the senescent stage of the life cycle. Moreover, treatment of juvenile wild‐type cultures with hydrogen peroxide leads to a PaMCA1‐dependent activity. The presented data strongly suggest that death of senescent wild‐type cultures is triggered by an apoptotic programme induced by an age‐dependent increase of reactive oxygen species during ageing of cultures and is executed after metacaspase activation.
The relationship of environmental and economic performance at the firm level: a review of empirical studies in Europe and methodological comments

This paper reviews empirical studies on the relationship between environmental and economic performance carried out with European data in order to derive conclusions with regard to their methodological comparability. Two types of research are analysed, namely (model) portfolio studies and multiple-regression-based studies. For each type two representative empirical studies are contrasted in order to establish methodological influences, as well as the importance of data availability. The review allows us to formulate a set of criteria to support improved research design in the future. These point to a strong need to develop further the methodology of studies on the relationship between environmental and economic performance. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment
Ethnic homophily perceptions as an emergent IHRM challenge: evidence from firms operating in Sri Lanka during the ethnic conflict

Ethnic conflict is a defining characteristic of the post-Cold War era and is prevalent particularly in emerging economies, areas of increasing interest to multinational enterprises. Yet little is known about the international human resource management challenges arising from such societal context. Utilizing social identity theory, we propose that ethnic homophily perceptions in the workplace – an employee's assessment that colleagues prefer working with ethnically similar others – is a reflection of the societal context and can be detrimental to the organization if not managed appropriately. We investigate whether contact theory offers insights to manage such perceptions. Drawing on a sample of 550 managers in Sri Lanka during a period of protracted ethnic conflict, we found that employee sensitivity to ethnic conflict in the societal context is positively related to ethnic homophily perceptions in the workplace, and that both ethnic diversity in workgroups and quality of work relationships serve to reduce perceptions of ethnic homophily.
An examination of wildlife tourism as a sustainable form of tourism development in North West Scotland

The far North West of Scotland may be viewed as peripheral in European and UK terms. It has many characteristics associated with remote locations: rural depopulation, marginal economies, high quality natural environment, and cultures in transition from traditional to modern. Tourism is an important element in the survival and revival of the economy of this region as traditional agricultural and fishing industries continue to decline. Tourism has, however, had mixed success, with fluctuating demand and a high incidence of business failure. Forms of wildlife tourism have always been present as an important and relatively stable element of tourism activities in this area. However, the global growth in demand for wildlife tourism has led to the expansion of this sector and a major study has been undertaken into the potential for wildlife tourism in the Minch area of North West Scotland. There is evidence to suggest that, if well managed, and before major expansion occurs, this may be a sustainable form of tourism development in terms of long-term economic benefits, community involvement and support for and preservation of the environmental resources, i.e. the wildlife itself. This paper reviews the background to this development in general then focuses on a case study of a particularly popular form of wildlife tourism, namely cetacean watching. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Moving beyond skills as a social and economic panacea

This article examines two inter-related issues. First, the tendency for UK skills policies to act as a substitute for other social and economic measures. Second, the problem of current conceptualisations of skills policy creating narrowly-drawn, technicist interventions that are frequently incommensurate with the scale of the problems which they purpor t to tackle. The ar ticle suggests that current policy formation processes, particularly in England, are being deployed in a manner that seeks to close off consideration of other potential avenues by which contemporary social and economic problems might be addressed. The case is made for a wider framing of both policy possibilities and avenues for relevant research to support such policy development.
Different Glycosylation Requirements for the Synthesis of Enzymatically Active Angiotensin-converting Enzyme in Mammalian Cells and Yeast (*)

For facilitating crystallization and structural studies of the testicular isozyme of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), we attempted the production of enzymatically active ACE proteins which are unglycosylated or underglycosylated. Expression in Escherichia coli of the rabbit ACE cDNA resulted in the synthesis of an unglycosylated but inactive protein. Similarly, unglycosylated ACE synthesized in HeLa cells, by using a cDNA in which all five potential N-glycosylation sites had been mutated, was inactive and rapidly degraded. Several ACE variants carrying mutations in one or more of the potential N-glycosylation sites were used to examine the role of glycosylation at specific sites on ACE synthesis, transport to the cell surface, cleavage processing, and enzyme activity. These experiments demonstrated that allowing glycosylation only at the first or the second site, as counted from the NH terminus, was sufficient for normal synthesis and processing of active ACE. In contrast, ACEg3, which had only the third glycosylation site available, was unglycosylated, enzymatically inactive and rapidly degraded. N-Glycosylated ACE could also be produced in yeast. Surprisingly, the mutant ACEg3 was synthesized, N-glycosylated, and properly transported in yeast. Wild type and mutant ACE proteins were cleavage-secreted from yeast and enzymatically active.
Uncovering the channels through which FDI affects current account: the case of Turkey

In this paper, we argue that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows can have an effect on current account through three different channels: exports, imports, and profit remittances. By identifying the response differentials of these variables to a change in FDI flows employing a Vector Autoregression (VAR) model, we provide evidence for the current-account disturbing effects of FDI. Our findings suggest that profit remittances complicate the relationship between FDI and current account, and therefore should be taken into consideration in formulating policies concerning FDI flows.
Political Science and the Study of Corporate Power: A Dissent from the New Conventional Wisdom

Over the last fifteen years political scientists have become much more critical of the role that business plays in American politics. Two decades ago business was primarily regarded as another interest group; now many scholars perceive a tension between the large business corporation and the principles and practices of pluralist democracy. This article challenges this new ‘conventional wisdom’ by critically examining the recent writings of Robert Dahl and Charles Lindblom. Dahl regards the corporation as undemocratic because its managers are not accountable to its employees. Yet, the corporation is hardly unique in this regard: not one single institution in our society – including the government itself – is governed by those who work for it. Lindblom contends that business occupies a privileged position in capitalist democracies. But he exaggerates the role investment decisions play in the performance of the economy, underestimates the options available to politicians to manipulate business decisions and fails to appreciate that businessmen are not unique in requiring inducements to perform their social role. The article concludes by suggesting that while corporations do exercise considerable political power, both its scope and magnitude can be satisfactorily analysed within the framework of interest-group politics.
Market timing of corporate debt issuance: prediction or reaction?

This article examines whether managers can successfully time the debt market when firms issue debt. The question arises from the debate about whether the empirical evidence that corporate debt issues are correlated to the debt market condition factors reveals the underlying market timing ability. The existence of a causal link between market condition variations and debt issuance is examined by distinguishing the predictions of future market variation from the reactions to past information. It is found that, in the sense of predicting the future market fluctuations, firms are generally unsuccessful. In contrast, their debt issue decisions are heavily driven by the reactions to prior information.
MicroRNA-9 Inhibits NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in Human Atherosclerosis Inflammation Cell Models through the JAK1/STAT Signaling Pathway

Background/Aims: MicroRNA-9 (miR-9) is involved in inflammatory reaction in atherosclerosis; however, its function and regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. We aimed to uncover the exact roles of miR-9 and downstream signaling pathways using in vitro human atherosclerosis models. Methods: We used oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL)-stimulated human THP-1 derived macrophages, oxLDL-stimulated human primary peripheral blood monocytes and lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or Alum-stimulated human THP-1 derived macrophages as in vitro atherosclerosis inflammation models. Transient transfection of over-expression vectors, small interference RNAs (siRNAs) or antisense oligonucleotides was used to regulate intracellular protein or miR-9 levels. Cell responses and signal transduction were detected by multiple assays including Western blotting, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and luciferase reporter assay. Results: MiR-9 inhibited while anti-miR-9 antisense oligonucleotides induced interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in all in vitro models. Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) and matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) were identified as the target genes of miR-9. In oxLDL-stimulated human THP-1 derived macrophages, knockdown of JAK1 by siRNA blocked the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) and mimicked the effects of miR-9. In the same model, JAK1 knockdown blocked the phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 in the nuclei and the phosphorylation of NF-κB IκBα in the cytoplasm. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that miR-9 could inhibit activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and attenuate atherosclerosis-related inflammation, likely through the JAK1/STAT1 signaling pathway. Therefore, miR-9 may serve as a potential therapeutic target for atherosclerosis.
A New Look to Convergence in Spain

This article examines the process of provincial convergence which has taken place in Spain between 1985 and 2002. Focusing on labour productivity, it estimates the so-called ‘classical’ models of convergence, concluding that, contrary to what has been suggested by previous work, convergence has not stagnated. After stressing the limitations of this type of approach, the article attempts to overcome them, by, on the one hand, estimating the density function and the degree of internal mobility in the provincial productivity distribution; and on the other hand, by considering the influence of possible spatial effects on the aforementioned distribution. The conclusion arrived at is threefold: we confirm the existence of provincial convergence of productivity; we reveal the low level of intradistributional mobility; and we do indeed find spatial effects, although they do not seem to be too relevant for the convergence process.
Inflation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: The bound test analysis

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been witnessing a rise in prices for the past few years. This paper intends to examine the determinants of inflation, both in the long run as well as in the short run, using cointegration method developed by Pesaran et al. (2001). The result shows that inflation in world economy, depreciation of domestic currency and supply bottlenecks are the major factors influencing inflation in the long run. In the short run, money supply and supply bottlenecks have been found to be the major factors influencing inflation in the country. Key words: Inflation, exchange rate, foreign inflation, money supply, supply bottleneck, bound test.