Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dissection of a Natural RNA Silencing Process in the Drosophila melanogaster Germ Line

ABSTRACT To date, few natural cases of RNA-silencing-mediated regulation have been described. Here, we analyzed repression of testis-expressed Stellate genes by the homologous Suppressors of Stellate [Su(Ste)] repeats that produce sense and antisense short RNAs. The Stellate promoter is dispensable for suppression, but local disturbance of complementarity between the Stellate transcript and the Su(Ste) repeats impairs silencing. Using in situ RNA hybridization, we found temporal control of the expression and spatial distribution of sense and antisense Stellate and Su(Ste) transcripts in germinal cells. Antisense Su(Ste) transcripts accumulate in the nuclei of early spermatocytes before the appearance of sense transcripts. The sense and antisense transcripts are colocalized in the nuclei of mature spermatocytes, placing the initial step of silencing in the nucleus and suggesting formation of double-stranded RNA. Mutations in the aubergine and spindle-E genes, members of the Argonaute and RNA helicase gene families, respectively, impair silencing by eliminating the short Su(Ste) RNA, but have no effect on microRNA production. Thus, different small RNA-containing complexes operate in the male germ line.
Semi-Automated Analysis of Diaphragmatic Motion with Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Healthy Controls and Non-Ambulant Subjects with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Subjects with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) suffer from progressive muscle damage leading to diaphragmatic weakness that ultimately requires ventilation. Emerging treatments have generated interest in better characterizing the natural history of respiratory impairment in DMD and responses to therapy. Dynamic (cine) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may provide a more sensitive measure of diaphragm function in DMD than the commonly used spirometry. This study presents an analysis pipeline for measuring parameters of diaphragmatic motion from dynamic MRI and its application to investigate MRI measures of respiratory function in both healthy controls and non-ambulant DMD boys. We scanned 13 non-ambulant DMD boys and 10 age-matched healthy male volunteers at baseline, with a subset (n = 10, 10, 8) of the DMD subjects also assessed 3, 6, and 12 months later. Spirometry-derived metrics including forced vital capacity were recorded. The MRI-derived measures included the lung cross-sectional area (CSA), the anterior, central, and posterior lung lengths in the sagittal imaging plane, and the diaphragm length over the time-course of the dynamic MRI. Regression analyses demonstrated strong linear correlations between lung CSA and the length measures over the respiratory cycle, with a reduction of these correlations in DMD, and diaphragmatic motions that contribute less efficiently to changing lung capacity in DMD. MRI measures of pulmonary function were reduced in DMD, controlling for height differences between the groups: at maximal inhalation, the maximum CSA and the total distance of motion of the diaphragm were 45% and 37% smaller. MRI measures of pulmonary function were correlated with spirometry data and showed relationships with disease progression surrogates of age and months non-ambulatory, suggesting that they provide clinically meaningful information. Changes in the MRI measures over 12 months were consistent with weakening of diaphragmatic and inter-costal muscles and progressive diaphragm dysfunction. In contrast, longitudinal changes were not seen in conventional spirometry measures during the same period. Dynamic MRI measures of thoracic muscle and pulmonary function are, therefore, believed to detect meaningful differences between healthy controls and DMD and may be sensitive to changes in function over relatively short periods of follow-up in non-ambulant boys with DMD.
Alliance Institutionalization and Alliance Performance

Military alliances are formed with varying degrees of institutionalization. While some alliances involve little initial investment or joint planning, others involve significant peacetime costs in establishing formal structures and engaging in military coordination. Several scholars have addressed the reasons states are willing to pay these governance costs in establishing cooperation—through controlling the risks of opportunism and coordinating policy more extensively, state leaders may be able to achieve higher benefits from cooperation. What has received less systematic empirical attention, however, is the comparative performance of highly institutionalized alliances. Are alliances that represent “deeper” cooperation more reliable than their less institutionalized counterparts? The newly expanded Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions (ATOP) dataset includes detailed information about the institutionalization of alliances formed between 1815 and 1989. Using these data, we evaluate the effects of institutionalization on alliance performance. Surprisingly, we find no evidence that alliances with higher levels of peacetime military coordination or more formal alliances are more reliable when invoked by war. We speculate about directions for future research that might help to explain these results.
Performance change of managers in two different uses of upward feedback: a longitudinal study in Korea

Using longitudinal data collected over a seven-year period, we explored the effectiveness of upward feedback programs in changing managerial behaviors over time. We also examined the different impact of upward feedback programs used for two different purposes (developmental vs. administrative) on the performance (i.e. upward ratings) of R&D managers. We found that managers who initially performed poorly showed more performance improvement than those whose initial performance was good. We also found that managers' performance improved more when the upward feedback program was used for administrative purposes than when used for developmental purposes. We noted a significant performance improvement at the time when the purpose of upward feedback program changed from developmental to administrative. Herein, we discuss the practical and theoretical implications of integrating upward feedback programs into standard corporate practice.
Can supernovae exclude neutrinos more massive than 30 eV?

Neutron stars formed in supernovae are very intense sources of neutrinos of all species and masses less than or equal to 100 MeV. If such neutrinos decayed via . nu. /sub H/. --> nu. /sub e/+e/sup -/+e/sup -/ inside the Galaxy, annihilation of the trapped positrons would yield a 511-keV line exceeding the experimental bounds by many orders of magnitude. This allows us to exclude decay lifetimes in the range 10/sup 4/--10/sup 15/ sec for neutrinos of mass 1--100 MeV. Our result corroborates and extends earlier astrophysical bounds.
Effect of posterior malleolus fracture on outcome after unstable ankle fracture.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this article was to compare clinical and functional outcomes of surgically treated trimalleolar fractures with bimalleolar and unimalleolar ankle fractures. METHODS A prospective database was established to enroll all unstable ankle fractures treated operatively at our institution from October 2000 to July 2005. Demographic data on 456 patients, who sustained an unstable fracture of the ankle and were treated surgically, were entered into a database, and the patients were prospectively followed up. Of these 309 patients who had at least 1-year follow-up, 54 patients sustained an ankle fracture with involvement of the posterior malleolus. Two hundred fifty-five patients had an ankle fracture without involvement of the posterior malleolus. Of the 54 posterior malleolus fracture, 20 underwent fixation of the posterior malleolus. All patients were followed up at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery and assessed functionally with Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment and American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Scores. RESULTS There was no difference in age, sex distribution, or American society of anesthesiologists classification or incidence of diabetes between the two groups. At 1-year follow-up, all patients improved their function and pain status. Using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, patients with posterior malleolus fracture were significantly worse both for total score (p = 0.004) and pain function (p = 0.002). At 2-year follow-up, there was no significant difference in a smaller group of patients (41 patients). Using the Short Form-36, there was a significant difference seen with vitality and social function subgroups at 1 year. Using the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment, there was a significant difference at 1 year for dysfunction index (p = 0.04) for the trimalleolar group. CONCLUSION Most patients after unstable ankle fractures treated surgically do well; however, some patients continue to have some pain and dysfunction at 1 year. There was a significant difference in outcomes comparing patients with unstable ankle fractures associated with and without posterior malleolus fractures. The presence of a posterior malleolus fracture may indicate higher energy of injury, and it does seem to result in worse outcomes at 1 year, but this seems to even out over time as was seen at 2-year follow-up in a smaller group of patients.
Policy Stability and Organizational Performance: Is There a Relationship?

Many scholars have struggled to explain stability and change in public resource allocation. What ultimately matters to most citizens, however, are the effects of such spending patterns on organizational performance. In this article, we investigate the relationship between stability of resource allocation and organizational performance. Using time-series data on municipal school budgets and population data on more than 140,000 students including their examination scores as well as detailed information about the socioeconomic status of their parents, the analysis lends empirical support to the more or less implicit proposition underlying much literature on budgetary incrementalism, namely that stable budgets have a beneficial effect on organizational outcome. In that way, this article not only renews the old interest in budget incrementalism but also raises new perspectives for research on the performance of public organizations.
Monitoring of Renal Function among HIV-Infected Patients Receiving Tenofovir in a Resource-Limited Setting

The use of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is supposed to be increased in a resource-limited setting due to the changing of the guidelines. TDF–associated renal function declines among HIV-infected patients were defined by an increase of serum creatinine (SCr) >1.5 times, a 25% decrease in calculated creatinine clearance (CCrCl), or an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) from the baseline. Of all, 99% were antiretroviral treatment (ART)-experienced patients. At the 30th month, 19 (5.3%), 53 (14.9%), and 63 (17.7%) patients had renal function decline as defined by the above criteria with an incidence of 4.5, 12.5, and 14.6/100 person-year. A proportion of patients with a renal function decline detected by CCrCl or eGFR criteria was not different (P = .301), whereas, it differed from that detected by SCr criteria (P < .001). In conclusion, we encourage either CCrCl or eGFR calculations in monitoring renal function decline among HIV-infected patients receiving TDF in resource-limited settings.
Currency crises in Brazil: the role of the fundamentals and the rumours

The paper aims at identification of the main explanatory factors of the currency crises in Brazil. Following Choueiri and Kaminsky (1997) a VAR monetary model is used and the historical decomposition procedure developed by Sims (1980) to evaluate the importance of the ‘fundamentals’ represented by fiscal/monetary and exchange-rate policies, and the ‘external factors’ represented by foreign interest rates and contagious effects. The main results show the importance of the exchange-rate management on the overall period and the contagious effects more recently to explain the Brazilian currency crises.
SMALL FIRM AND VALUE EFFECTS IN THE CANADIAN STOCK MARKET

We examine the relation among average returns, market beta, firm size, and book‐to‐market value for Canadian stocks during 1975–92. We document a negative relation between average return and the market capitalization of firms, but find no relation between average return and market beta. While the small firm effect is significant during a period of reduced capital gains tax, it is noticeably lower than during the period leading up to the change. We find that average returns are positively related to book‐to‐market value especially during the period of lower capital gains tax.
An Analysis Of Procurement Procedures On The Implementation Of Government Construction Projects In Kenyan Public Universities: Case Study Of Masinde Muliro University

The universities just like any other public institutions in Kenya are buyers of goods, services and works. Hence public procurement plays a critical role in the Kenyan economy and an important factor in economic growth. Sound and efficient use of scarce public resources is the responsibility of the government and every public entity. Despite the efforts made by the PPOA to strengthen the public procurement system in Kenya, a number of government funded construction projects in the public sector exceed the contract sum, time schedule or general gross inefficiency. The objective of this study is; to analyse the influence of procurement procedures on construction project implementation in public universities. Descriptive survey design was used in the study using questionnaires and an observation checklist as instruments which were validated by piloting in private universities. The sample size was purposive targeting a population of twenty university employees seconded to construction projects. The primary data was collected by administration of questionnaires. Collected data was factor analysed by use of percentages, frequencies among others. Ordinal regression analysis was employed for quantitative data. The findings indicated that 80% of respondents agreed that procurement procedures greatly influenced implementation of construction projects in the Kenyan public universities, hence recommended that procedures should be strictly adhered to, for quality end products. Areas for further research; Analysis of value addition of strategic approaches in procurement activities on the implementation of construction projects in public universities, Determination of the influence of contextual factors on the relationship between procurement function activities and project implementation of construction projects in public universities. In conclusion findings of this study may assist the construction industry to embrace the procurement procedures for satisfactory end results that will satisfy the project sponsor, users and stakeholders.
Scenario planning with integrated quantification : managing uncertainty in corporate strategy building

Purpose – This paper makes a case for the benefits of quantified scenarios as a foresight tool for strategic planning. First it aims to set the context of quantification approaches for strategic planning in foresight. Within world models, qualitative scenarios allow for a contingency perspective of the future, however their potential to be linked to strategic planning in corporate foresight is limited. In contrast to complex world models, forecasts on key indicators are easily applied to strategy processes, but lack the necessary capability to recognise uncertainty and decision points. The paper seeks to argue for a new participative and pragmatic approach in order to bridge the gap between the opposing approaches and aims to show how this quantification approach can be integrated with scenario construction on an operational level. Design/methodology/approach – The authors discuss a quantitative scenario process and argue for its suitability to corporate foresight. They then describe a range of leanings f.
The adoption of IFRS in South Eastern Europe: the case of Greece

Over the past few decades the globalisation of business investments and capital markets has led to a demand for high-quality information. It is widely accepted by numerous organisations that adherence to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the presentation of financial statements has steadily increased and introduced their compatibility worldwide. This paper presents a study of the adoption of IFRS in South Eastern Europe by examining the case of Greece. It outlines the underlying factors and constraints affecting the compliance of firms with IFRS and most importantly highlights some key differences between IFRS and the Greek accounting system, which have had a major impact on the conversion to IFRS. Furthermore, it deals with specific issues related to local accounting practices and IFRS, the issue of enforcing compliance with IFRS and how this relates to current accounting and audit services.
Summits, Riots and Media Attention: The Political Economy of Information on Trade and Globalisation

Supply of information has increased rapidly through the growth of commercial media and technological innovations. Yet economists still blame anti-globalists' demonstrations and public opposition to trade liberalisation on poor information. This paper analyses how the structure of the media industry affects the distribution of information on trade policy and globalisation. We present an empirical analysis of Belgian media reporting on trade policy and globalisation over the 1999-2002 period, supports these hypotheses and finds strong negative bias in media coverage. Moreover, we find that media coverage of trade policy and globalisation is highly concentrated around summit meetings of political leaders. Media attention in the popular press is heavily influenced by riots and demonstrations at summits. The paper points at important implications for public information on trade policy and globalisation and for economists. Copyright 2006 The Authors Journal compilation 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd .
Winners and Losers in the Labour Market of the 1990s

This paper examines the Canadian labour market during the 1990s and contrasts it to prior decades, with a special focus on distributional outcomes. It discusses changes in relative earnings between groups, changes in relative labour market outcomes of women and older workers, changes in earnings and income inequality, and changes in low-income.
DEVELOPING RADICAL SERVICE INNOVATIONS IN HEALTHCARE — THE ROLE OF DESIGN METHODS

This paper looks at the management of service innovation. In particular, it explores the challenge of public services and argues that there is a need for new approaches to the ways which engage users as more active co-creators within the innovation process. It draws on wider research on radical innovation being carried out as part of a long-term international programme and reports on a series of case studies of experiments in the health sector in the UK using tools like ethnography and prototyping to enable innovation.The paper argues that a potentially valuable toolkit can be found in the field of design methods. By their nature, design tools are used to help articulate needs and give them shape and form; as such they are critical to the "front end" of any innovation process. Methods like ethnography allow for deep insights into user needs, including those not clearly articulated whilst prototyping provides the possibility of creating a set of "boundary objects" around which design discussions which include users and their perspectives can be carried out.
Student entrepreneurship, creativity and success. How much does knowledge heterogeneity really matter?

The present research points out to investigate how knowledge heterogeneity benefits creativity and innovation of student entrepreneurs. Some authors stressed that the knowledge and social networks are fundamental elements to generate new ideas and inspire future entrepreneurs. Having analysed the data extracted by Kelley et al. (2012) on 300 Master students joining economics and biotech faculties in Europe, through the application of structural equation modelling by using IBM SPSS Amos, we confirmed the importance of social network so as to acquire efficiently new knowledge and to improve innovation performance.
Glycolytic enzymes in different types of skeletal muscle: adaptation to exercise.

BALDWN, K. M. , W. W. WINDER, R. L. TERJUNG, AND J. 0. HOLLOSZY. Glycoi’ytic enzymes in di$erent types of skeletal muscle: adaptation to exercise. Am. J. Physiol. 225(4): 962-966. 1973. -The level of activity of hexokinase increased 1700/;, in red skeletal muscle (red portion of quadriceps), 50y0 in intermediate (soleus), and 30% in white skeletal muscle (white portion of quadriceps) in rats subjected to a program of treadmill running. The only other change found in the levels of the glycolytic enzymes in white muscle was a 15 y0 decrease in lactate dehydrogenase activity. In red muscle a small but consistent decrease (approximately 20(%) occurred in the levels of activity of glycogen phosphorylase, phosphofructokinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and cytoplasmic aglycerolphosphate dehydrogenase in response to the exercise program. In contrast to the decrease in the levels of these enzymes in red muscle, the exercise induced a 50% increase in cytoplasmic a-glycerolphosphate dehydrogenase activity, and 18-35 y. increases in the levels of phosphorylase, phosphofructokinase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and pyruvate kinase in intermediate muscle. As a result of the adaptions induced by exercise, the red and intermediate types of skeletal muscle become more like heart muscle in their enzyme patterns.