Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Debt Financing on Profitability of Nepalese Commercial Banks

This study examines the effect of debt financing on the profitability of the Nepalese commercial banks. The banks’ profitability has been measured in terms of return on assets, return on equity and net interest margin and these three are the dependent variables. The independent variables are short term debt to total assets, long term debt to total assets, total debt to total assets, debt to equity ratio and interest coverage ratio and size. The data are collected from various issues of Banking and Financial Statistics and Bank Supervision Report published by Nepal Rastra Bank and annual reports of selected commercial banks. The study is based on 148 observations from 22 commercial banks of Nepal for 2008 to 2014. The regression models are estimated to test the significance and importance of the effect of debt financing on profitability of Nepalese commercial banks. The result shows positive relationship of banks’ profitability with short term debt to total assets, interest coverage ratio and size of the banks. It indicates that increase in short term debt to total assets, interest coverage and size lead to increase in bank profitability. However, profitability is negatively related to long term debt to total assets, total debt to total assets and debt to equity ratio. The regression result shows that beta coefficients are positively significant for short term debt to total assets, interest coverage ratio and size of the banks with profitability. Whereas the beta coefficients are negatively significant for long term debt to total assets, total debt to total assets and debt to equity ratio with profitability.
Role of potentially charged transmembrane residues in targeting proteins for retention and degradation within the endoplasmic reticulum.

The selective breakdown of newly synthesized proteins retained within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is probably mediated by the specific recognition of structural features of protein substrates by components of a degradative system. Within the alpha chain of the multisubunit T‐cell antigen receptor (TCR) complex, a transmembrane sequence containing two basic amino acid residues has been shown to act as a determinant for retention and rapid degradation in the ER. We now demonstrate that single basic or acidic amino acid residues can cause targeting for retention and degradation in the ER when placed within the transmembrane domain of an integral membrane protein normally destined for the cell surface. The effect of such potentially charged residues is dependent on their relative position within the transmembrane sequence and on the nature of the amino acid side chains. The phenotypic changes induced by potentially charged transmembrane residues occur without apparent alterations of the global folding or transmembrane topology of the mutant proteins. These observations test the hypothesis that potentially charged residues within transmembrane domains can provide the basis for a motif for ER degradation and explain the selective breakdown of some proteins retained within the ER.
Use of Distraction with Children During an Acute Pain Experience

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a distraction technique in reducing a child's perceived pain and behavioral distress during an acute pain experience. A convenience sample of 100 children, ages 3 year 6 months through 12 years 11 months, scheduled for routine blood draws, was recruited and randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. During venipuncture, the control subjects received standard preparation, which consisted of being comforted by physical touch and soft voices, while experimental subjects were encouraged to use a kaleidoscope as a distraction technique. Results of the MANCOVA, with age as a covariate, indicated a significant difference between the groups. Univariate post hoc tests confirmed that the experimental group perceived less pain and demonstrated less behavioral distress than the control group.
Ski inhibits TGF‐β/phospho‐Smad3 signaling and accelerates hypertrophic differentiation in chondrocytes

Since transforming growing factor‐β (TGF‐β)/Smad signaling inhibits chondrocyte maturation, endogenous negative regulators of TGF‐β signaling are likely also important regulators of the chondrocyte differentiation process. One such negative regulator, Ski, is an oncoprotein that is known to inhibit TGF‐β/Smad3 signaling via its interaction with phospho‐Smad3 and recruitment of histone deacetylases (HDACs) to the DNA binding complex. Based on this, we hypothesized that Ski inhibits TGF‐β signaling and accelerates maturation in chondrocytes via recruitment of HDACs to transcriptional complexes containing Smads. We tested this hypothesis in chick upper sternal chondrocytes (USCs), where gain and loss of Ski expression experiments were performed. Over‐expression of Ski not only reversed the inhibitory effect of TGF‐β on the expression of hypertrophic marker genes such as type X collagen (colX) and osteocalcin, it induced these genes basally as well. Conversely, knockdown of Ski by RNA interference led to a reduction of colX and osteocalcin expression under basal conditions. Furthermore, Ski blocked TGF‐β induction of cyclinD1 and caused a basal up‐regulation of Runx2, consistent with the observed acceleration of hypertrophy. Regarding mechanism, not only does Ski associate with phospho‐Smad2 and 3, but its association with phospho‐Smad3 is required for recruitment of HDAC4 and 5. Implicating this recruitment of HDACs in the phenotypic effects of Ski in chondrocytes, the HDAC inhibitor SAHA reversed the up‐regulation of colX and osteocalcin in Ski over‐expressing cells. These results suggest that inhibition of TGF‐β signaling by Ski, which involves its association with phospho‐Smad3 and recruitment of HDAC4 and 5, leads to accelerated chondrocyte differentiation. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 2156–2166, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Circumstances at HIV diagnosis and progression of disease in older HIV-infected Americans.

OBJECTIVES This study identified age-related differences in diagnosis and progression of HIV by analyzing a nationally representative sample of HIV-infected adults under care in the United States. METHODS We compared older (> or = 50 years) and younger participants stratified by race/ethnicity. Regression models controlled for demographic, therapeutic, and clinical factors. RESULTS Older non-Whites more often had HIV diagnosed when they were ill. Older and younger patients were clinically similar. At baseline, however, older non-Whites had fewer symptoms and were less likely to have AIDS, whereas at follow-up they had a trend toward lower survival. CONCLUSIONS Later HIV diagnosis in non-Whites merits public health attention; clinical progression in this group requires further study.
Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (Meld) Score, As a Prognostic Factor for Cirrhotic Patients, Undergoing Hepatectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background/Aims: To evaluate the ability of the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) in predicting the post-hepatectomy outcome for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: between the periods from January 2007 to June 2010 in National liver Institute (NLI) - Menoufiya University 60 cirrhotic patients with HCC underwent hepatectomy and the results were retrospectively analysed. MELD score was associated with post-operative mortality and morbidity, hospital stay and 3-year survival. Results: Eleven major and 49 minor resections were performed. Thirty-day mortality rate was 8.3%. MELD ≤ 9 was associated with 2.6% peri-operative mortality vs. 20% when MELD > 9 (P 9 vs. 16.6% when MELD ≤ 9 (P 9 (P = 0.05)]. Three-year survival reached 51% (66% when MELD ≤ 9; 29% when MELD > 9 (P < 0.01).
Hyperhomocysteinemia and low pyridoxal phosphate. Common and independent reversible risk factors for coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND High plasma homocysteine is associated with premature coronary artery disease in men, but the threshold concentration defining this risk and its importance in women and the elderly are unknown. Furthermore, although low B vitamin status increases homocysteine, the link between these vitamins and coronary disease is unclear. METHODS AND RESULTS We compared 304 patients with coronary disease with 231 control subjects. Risk factors and concentrations of plasma homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12, and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate were documented. A homocysteine concentration of 14 mumol/L conferred an odds ratio of coronary disease of 4.8 (P < .001), and 5-mumol/L increments across the range of homocysteine conferred an odds ratio of 2.4 (P < .001). Odds ratios of 3.5 in women and of 2.9 in those 65 years or older were seen (P < .05). Homocysteine correlated negatively with all vitamins. Low pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (< 20 nmol/L) was seen in 10% of patients but in only 2% of control subjects (P < .01), yielding an odds ratio of coronary disease adjusted for all risk factors, including high homocysteine, of 4.3 (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Within the range currently considered to be normal, the risk for coronary disease rises with increasing plasma homocysteine regardless of age and sex, with no threshold effect. In addition to a link with homocysteine, low pyridoxal-5'-phosphate confers an independent risk for coronary artery disease.
The languages of the Lower Fungom region of Cameroon: Grammatical overview

La region du Lower Fungom, au nord-ouest du Cameroun, est l’une des zones presentant la plus grande diversite linguistique des Grassfields camerounais. Sept langues ou petits groupes de langues sont parles dans ses treize villages reconnus, et quatre d’entre eux se limitent a un seul village. Alors que ces langues peuvent etre toutes classees comme bantoides, cinq d’entre elles n’ont aucun parler fortement apparente en dehors de la region, et ne peuvent etre presentees directement comme etroitement reliees les unes aux autres. Jusqu’il y a peu, ces langues n’ont pas fait l’objet d’etudes approfondies. Mais depuis 2005, les informations disponibles a leur sujet se sont accrues considerablement, et il est aujourd’hui possible de fournir une vue d’ensemble de leurs structures grammaticales. L’article offre des esquisses d’inventaires des phonemes, des systemes de classes pronominales et nominales et des changements de radicaux verbaux de six des sept langues de la region, tout en fournissant les informations de base et une carte mise a jour. Il reexamine les classifications recues des langues de la region, et suggere par une proposition concrete de reclasser le groupe des langues connu actuellement sous le nom de beboide occidental dans un groupement referentiel que les auteurs nomment «yemne-kimbi » .
CSF‐1 (M‐CSF) differentially sensitizes mononuclear phagocyte subpopulations to endotoxin in vivo: a potential pathway that regulates the severity of Gram‐negative infections

CSF‐1 is known to prime mononuclear phagocytes (MNP) for inflammatory stimuli in vitro. We hypothesized that CSF‐1 in vivo can sensitize the host to the increased production of endotoxic shock mediators such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) and interleukin‐6 (IL‐6). Indeed, when CSF‐1‐primed mice were challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), increased levels of serum IL‐6 and TNF‐α were detected. Both intravenous and intraperitoneal injections of CSF‐1 resulted in increased sensitivity to LPS challenge, which induced maximum increases in serum IL‐6 when administered via the intraperitoneal route. The peak serum IL‐6 production in control and CSF‐1‐primed mice occurred 2–3 h after LPS injection, whereas that of TNF‐α occurred by 1–2 h. When peripheral blood leukocytes, spleen cells, and resident peritoneal cells (PC) were isolated from CSF‐1‐primed mice injected with LPS, only the PC were shown to release IL‐6 constitutively and none released TNF‐α. A comparison of mRNA isolated from various cells and tissues after intraperitoneal CSF‐1 priming indicated that only PC expressed IL‐6 mRNA, whereas PC, liver, and spleen expressed TNF‐α mRNA. All tissues showed increased levels of IL‐6 and TNF‐α mRNA in response to LPS challenge. Only liver and kidney showed an enhanced level of IL‐6 expression in CSF‐1‐primed mice challenged with LPS, whereas liver, lung, and kidney showed enhanced TNF‐α expression. These data indicate that CSF‐1 primes tissue MNP but not circulating MNP to transcribe mRNA and release IL‐6 and TNF‐α. Overall, the data suggest that CSF‐1 plays an important role in regulating the sensitivity of the host to the pathophysiological effects of endotoxin. J. Leukoc. Biol. 63: 245–252; 1998.
Assessing the CSR information needs of Microfinance institutions' (MFIs) customers

Purpose This paper aims to seek to ascertain the corporate social responsibility (CSR) information needs of customers of microfinance institutions (MFIs). It also ascertains their media preferences for CSR disclosure. Design/methodology/approach The study adapted Wilson’s (1981) concept of information needs as the conceptual basis of this study. Case study research design was used. The respondents consisted of customers of MFIs in Ghana. Semi-structured interview was used to collect the data. Data were analysed using thematic analysis technique. Findings The study found that the CSR information needs of MFIs’ customers relate to moral disclosure, business survival disclosure, financial and business terms and conditions disclosure, donations disclosure and capacity building and training disclosure. The study also found that family and friends are the most reliable sources of CSR information for MFIs’ customers. Originality/value There is a great deal of literature available on CSR disclosure. However, limited studies have investigated the information needs of customers regarding CSR disclosure. Again, CSR disclosure in the Microfinance sector has received limited attention in the existing literature. This study expanded the existing literature by investigating the CSR information needs of MFIs’ customers.
Lupus-prone MRL/faslpr/lpr mice display increased AID expression and extensive DNA lesions, comprising deletions and insertions, in the immunoglobulin locus: Concurrent upregulation of somatic hypermutation and class switch DNA recombination

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the production of an array of pathogenic autoantibodies, including high-affinity anti-dsDNA IgG antibodies. These autoantibodies are mutated and class-switched, mainly to IgG, indicating that immunoglobulin (Ig) gene somatic hypermutation (SHM) and class switch DNA recombination (CSR) are important in their generation. Lupus-prone MRL/faslpr/lpr mice develop a systemic autoimmune syndrome that shares many features with human SLE. We found that Ig genes were heavily mutated in MRL/faslpr/lpr mice and contained long stretches of DNA deletions and insertions. The spectrum of mutations in MRL/faslpr/lpr B cells was significantly altered, including increased dG/dC transitions, increased targeting of the RGYW/WRCY mutational hotspot and the WGCW AID-targeting hotspot. We also showed that MRL/faslpr/lpr greatly upregulated CSR, particularly to IgG2a and IgA in B cells of the spleen, lymph nodes and Peyer's patches. In MRL/faslpr/lpr mice, the significant upregulation of SHM and CSR was associated with increased expression of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which mediates DNA lesion, the first step in SHM and CSR, and translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) polymerase (pol) θ, pol η and pol ζ, which are involved in DNA synthesis/repair process associated with SHM and, possibly, CSR. Thus, in lupus-prone MRL/faslpr/lpr mice, SHM and CSR are upregulated, as a result of enhanced AID expression and, therefore, DNA lesions, and dysregulated DNA repair factors, including TLS polymerases, which are involved in the repair process of AID-mediated DNA lesions.
An Empirical Assessment of Empirical Corporate Finance

Abstract We empirically evaluate 20 prominent contributions across a broad range of areas in the empirical corporate finance literature. We assemble the necessary data and apply a single, simple econometric method, the connected-groups approach of Abowd et al. to appraise the extent to which prevailing empirical specifications explain variation of the dependent variable, differ in composition of fit arising from various classes of independent variables, and exhibit resistance to omitted variable bias and other endogeneity problems. We assess empirical performance across a wide spectrum of areas in corporate finance and indicate varying research opportunities for empiricists and theorists.
A Two-Year Longitudinal Study of Post-Stroke Mood Disorders : Dynamic Changes in Associated Variables Over the First Six Months of Follow-Up

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Study on the propagation characteristics of radio wave in tunnels by the method of SBR/image

In this paper, the propagation characteristics of radio wave is studied in tunnel environments based on the method of SBR/Image (Shooting and bounding ray tracing/Image). An agreement is achieved by a comparison of simulated results and measured results. The formula of field strength considering polarization has been derived. Then the tunnel physical model has been set up. Some propagation parameters have been obtained in the simulations, such as the received power, delay spread, Doppler shift and so on. The simulated results indicate that the delay spread will become increasingly smaller and almost has no relationship with radio waves frequency in the long rectangular tunnel with the increase of propagation distance. Doppler shift changes between -10Hz~-110Hz when the radio frequency is 900MHz and receiver moving speed is 40m/s. Theoretical basis for wireless network communication planning and optimization in tunnels can be provided by above results.
The role of fillers in listener attributions for speaker disfluency

When listeners hear a speaker become disfluent, they expect the speaker to refer to something new. What is the mechanism underlying this expectation? In a mouse-tracking experiment, listeners sought to identify images that a speaker was describing. Listeners more strongly expected new referents when they heard a speaker say um than when they heard a matched utterance where the um was replaced by noise. This expectation was speaker-specific: it depended on what was new and old for the current speaker, not just on what was new or old for the listener. This finding suggests that listeners treat fillers as collateral signals.
Selective emigration and the decline of intelligence in Scotland.

Abstract A number of studies are reviewed to show that the mean level of measured intelligence in Scotland is approximately three to four IQ points lower than that in England. These results are a striking contrast with another set of findings showing that in the nineteenth century Scotland had a greater proportional output of people of intellectual distinction than did England. Evidence on Scottish‐English differences in education, parental attention, and per capita income suggests that none of these factors can explain the difference in mean IQ. It is suggested that the principal cause of the reduced mean intelligence in Scotland lies in the selective emigration of the more intelligent, and evidence is reviewed to show that this emigration has occurred for at least a century.
The use of dexmedetomidine to facilitate acute discontinuation of opioids after cardiac transplantation in children*

Objective:To report the use of dexmedetomidine to facilitate rapid opioid and benzodiazepine withdrawal in children with transplanted hearts and to review the receptor physiology and pharmacodynamic impact of dexmedetomidine on the denervated heart. Design:Case series. Setting:Intensive care unit at a tertiary pediatric medical center. Patients:The series included a 6-month-old infant with pulmonary atresia who had a 3-month exposure to high-dose opioids and benzodiazepines and had undergone cardiac transplantation 4 wks before the use of dexmedetomidine and a 7-yr-old boy who had been sedated while undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for 3 wks before transplantation and started to receive dexmedetomidine 3 days after transplantation. Intervention:Administration of dexmedetomidine to facilitate the discontinuation of opioids and benzodiazepine. Main Result:Successful rapid withdrawal from opioids and benzodiazepines while maintaining hemodynamic stability. Conclusion:To our knowledge, this report describes the first use of dexmedetomidine to facilitate opioid withdrawal in children with a cardiac transplant. Dexmedetomidine allowed for the preservation of satisfactory hemodynamic parameters during acute withdrawal from opioids in children with denervated hearts.