Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The docking protein FRS2α is a critical regulator of VEGF receptors signaling

Significance Regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling plays a central role in a range of biological processes from embryonic and perinatal vascular development to maintenance of the mature adult vasculature to regulation of various organs function. We report that the intracellular docking protein FRS2α, not hitherto known to be involved in VEGF signaling, plays a critical role in regulation of this process. Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) signal via their cognate receptor tyrosine kinases designated VEGFR1-3. We report that the docking protein fibroblast growth factor receptor substrate 2 (FRS2α) plays a critical role in cell signaling via these receptors. In vitro FRS2α regulates VEGF-A and VEGF-C–dependent activation of extracellular signal-regulated receptor kinase signaling and blood and lymphatic endothelial cells migration and proliferation. In vivo endothelial-specific deletion of FRS2α results in the profound impairment of postnatal vascular development and adult angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and arteriogenesis. We conclude that FRS2α is a previously unidentified component of VEGF receptors signaling.
Strategic Decision Making and Firms in Growth Stage

This paper shows partial results from a project research about Strategic Decision Making (SDM) of firms in different stages of the organizational life cycle. SDM has been studied in the context of the firms. However, there is not enough knowledge about how the entrepreneurs make strategic decisions when the firm is in a growth stage. The objective of this research was to examine the effects of specific factors associated with the decision maker influencing Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO) and how the EO influences the firms performance. The results were achieved by using empirical data from 173 firms in the growth stage. The results show that SDM has an effect on EO, and that there is a significant relation between EO and firm performance. The paper concludes with a discussion about the results and suggestions for future research of this topic.
VALUE DRIVERS TERHADAP NILAI PEMEGANG SAHAM PERUSAHAAN YANG HEDGING DI DERIVATIF VALUTA ASING

Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang E-mail: fika@umm.ac. id ABSTRACT The aim of this research are to understanding and analyzing the effect of value drivers variables (sale growth, operation profit, fixed asset investment, work capital investment, and capital cost) on shareholder value in the company with hedging strategy in foreign currency derivative. Result of research indicates that: value drivers actually are expected to increase the shareholder value in company with hedging strategy in foreign currency derivative; value drivers actually may increase the shareholder value in company with hedging strategy in foreign currency derivative, capital cost cannot improve shareholder value in company with hedging strategy in foreign currency derivative; and sale growth is the strongest factor to increase shareholder value in company with hedging strategy in foreign currency derivative. Key words: value drivers, shareholder value, hedging, foreign currency derivative
Learning and memory after adrenalectomy‐induced hippocampal dentate granule cell degeneration in the rat

Adrenalectomy (ADX) of normal adult rats causes selective hippocampal dentate granule cell degeneration that is prevented by corticosterone. The ability to destroy this one hippocampal cell type noninvasively made it possible to address the role of the dentate granule cells in learning and memory. Four months after ADX, 31 of 45 rats failed to show obvious granule cell loss and displayed behavior in the Morris water maze that was similar to 16 sham‐operated control rats and 16 ADX rats maintained on corticosterone throughout the study. Conversely, 14 of the 45 ADX rats experienced a loss of granule cells that varied from minimal to extensive. Although there were no obvious differences between groups in motoric and motivational characteristics or search strategies, ADX rats with moderate to extensive granule cell loss acquired place learning slightly slower than controls or ADX rats with minimal or no obvious cell loss. Furthermore, the ADX rats with moderate to extensive cell loss were temporarily impaired following alteration of either intramaze or extramaze cues compared to controls. In contrast, the rats with granule cell loss remembered an old place and learned a new place as quickly as controls. These results suggest that a normal complement of dentate granule cells may not be necessary for the acquisition or retention of spatial information in the Morris water maze.
Islamic-bank selection criteria in Malaysia: an AHP approach

The study of bank selection criteria has received attention from many bank marketing researchers. However, from its inception in three decades ago, this kind of study is still scanty for Islamic banking industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the Islamic-bank selection criteria, particularly in Malaysia. To accomplish this purpose, information collected from 279 respondents within the Klang-valley area was incorporated in the analysis. The Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to rank the criteria based on the respondents’ preferences. The result has shown that shariah-compliant attribute is the highest priority before an individual decides to patronize an Islamic bank. The next priorities are given to profitability, bank’s reputation, bank’s status, facilities and services, and friendly personnel respectively. Thus, one of the implications of this study is that Islamic banks cannot be too liberal by following all the footprints of conventional bank without giving attention to shariah principles and objectives of shariah.
Discretionary Disclosure of Customer Information and Average Stock Returns

Firms with lower levels of disclosure hold more private information and thereby generate undiversified risk. This paper investigates the effect of discretionary disclosure of customer identities on average stock returns. Using a data set of firms’ principal customers, we find a negative relationship between the disclosure level of customer information and the cross-section of returns, after controlling for size, book-to-market ratio, momentum, and other return determinants. We also observe that individual investors are inclined to buy stocks that report more customer information. Overall, poor information on customer identity has higher costs of capital than do firms with good information quality.
Chromatin-Mediated Epigenetic Regulation in the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum

ABSTRACT Malaria is a major public health problem in many developing countries, with the malignant tertian parasite Plasmodium falciparum causing the most malaria-associated mortality. Extensive research, especially with the advancement of genomics and transfection tools, has highlighted the fundamental importance of chromatin-mediated gene regulation in the developmental program of this early-branching eukaryote. The Plasmodium parasite genomes reveal the existence of both canonical and variant histones that make up the nucleosomes, as well as a full collection of conserved enzymes for chromatin remodeling and histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs). Recent studies have identified a wide array of both conserved and novel histone PTMs in P. falciparum, indicating the presence of a complex and divergent “histone code. ” Genome-wide analysis has begun to decipher the nucleosome landscape and histone modifications associated with the dynamic organization of chromatin structures during the parasite's life cycle. Focused studies on malaria-specific phenomena such as antigenic variation and red cell invasion pathways shed further light on the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms in these processes. Here we review our current understanding of chromatin-mediated gene regulation in malaria parasites, with specific reference to exemplar studies on antigenic variation and host cell invasion.
Relationships Between Director Profile And Restatements Of Suspect Earnings

The large number of recent earnings restatements suggests that boards have not been discharging their fiduciary duties very well. This paper examines which director traits, if any, are correlated with the need to restate suspect earnings. We find that the only significant aspect of director profile is director independence: boards with a larger percentage of outside directors are less likely to have restated suspect earnings that boards with a lesser percentage. The paper concludes with some thoughts on why current research practice of focusing on formal corporate governance (board composition, board traits, etc.) needs to be supplemented with research into power dynamics.
THE DETERMINANTS of INITIAL STOCK REPURCHASES

We present univariate and multivariate evidence to show that firms which engage in initial stock repurchases have some specific economic and financial attributes when compared to size-and industry-matched firms. We find that initial repurchase firms are younger, have lower leverage and operating risk, and higher payouts, operating cash flows, profitability and market-to-book than matched non-repurchase firms. Compared to secondary or “seasoned” repurchase matched firms, these initial repurchase firms are also younger and have higher cash, profitability, sales growth and market-to-book, as well as lower payouts, leverage and retained earnings. Therefore, we analyze the determinants and motivations that may explain why firms repurchase their own stock for the first time by studying the theoretical hypotheses found in the financial literature that are most important in explaining initial stock repurchases. The results support the free cash flow and risk reduction signaling hypotheses and the flexibility motivation for conducting stock repurchases. We do not find strong support for any other theoretical explanations of stock repurchases, such as undervaluation signaling, timing, tax effects and options and dilution hypotheses.
Carriage of capsulated strains of Staphylococcus aureus: a population-based study performed in Gulbarga, South India

Staphylococcus aureus is a common human pathogen in community- and hospital-acquired infections and its capsule is involved in pathogenesis. We report here the identification of type-5 and type-8 capsular antigens of S. aureus and the prevalence of such strains among volunteers in various age and population groups from different locations in India. S. aureus carriage rates varied between 18 and 50% with the highest values among university students and the lowest in schoolchildren, aged 6–20 years. There was no difference in carriage rates for males vs. females (P=0·415) or in the socioeconomic status of carriers vs. non-carriers or age dependence. Among the carriage isolates 21% were type-5, 52% were type-8 and the remaining 27% were non-typable. Among invasive isolates these percentages were 6, 64 and 30 respectively. This implies that type-5 strains may be less invasive than type-8 strains (P=0·0015).
Outcomes of children with intermediate-risk neuroblastoma after treatment stratified by MYCN status and tumor cell ploidy.

PURPOSE The goal of Pediatric Oncology Group 9243 was to improve outcomes for children with intermediate-risk neuroblastoma (NB). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients were assigned to treatments on the basis of age, tumor MYCN status, and tumor cell ploidy. Children in the less intensive arm A received cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin and surgery. Patients not in complete remission postoperatively were treated with cisplatin/etoposide, cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin, and additional surgery. Patients with less favorable features were assigned to arm B, which consisted of carboplatin, etoposide, ifosfamide, and surgery. Survival rates were determined using an intent-to-treat approach. RESULTS For arm-A patients, the 6-year event-free survival (EFS) was 86% with an SE of 3%. For arm-B patients, the 6-year EFS was 46% with an SE of 7%. MYCN status was the only statistically significant prognostic variable. Among patients whose tumors were MYCN nonamplified, a trend toward improved EFS was seen in children with hyperdiploid versus diploid tumors. However, many of these children responded well to salvage therapy, and overall survival rates did not differ on the basis of ploidy. Six-year EFS rates for arm B were patients with MYCN nonamplified, hyperdiploid tumors, 86% with an SE of 3%; patients with MYCN nonamplified, diploid tumors, 74% with an SE of 10%; patients with MYCN-amplified, hyperdiploid tumors, 46% with an SE of 15%; and patients with MYCN-amplified, diploid tumors, 22% with an SE of 10%. CONCLUSION Outcomes for patients with MYCN-nonamplified, hyperdiploid tumors were excellent. Therapy reductions for these patients merit study. A trend toward less favorable outcomes for patients with MYCN-nonamplified, diploid tumors was observed; more children may need to be evaluated before therapy is reduced for this subgroup. For patients with MYCN-amplified tumors, new strategies are needed.
Cl−secretion in ATP‐treated renal epithelial C7–MDCK cells is mediated by activation of P2Y1 receptors, phospholipase A2 and protein kinase A

This study examines the mechanism of P2Y‐induced Cl− secretion in monolayers of C7–Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells triggered by basolateral application of ATP and measured as transcellular short current (ISC). Both ATP‐induced arachidonic acid (AA) synthesis and ISC in ATP‐treated cells were abolished by the phosholipase A2 (PLA2) inhibitor, AACOCF3. The cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitor indomethacin decreased ISC and cAMP production in ATP‐treated cells with an IC50 of ∼0.3 μm. ATP led to rapid activation of cAMP‐dependent protein kinase A (PKA), as estimated by phosphorylation of a vasodilator‐stimulated phosphoprotein. PKA activity and ISC evoked by ATP, as well as by prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), were diminished in the presence of the PKA inhibitor H‐89 or an adenovirus‐mediated expression of PKA‐inhibitor protein, PKI. In contrast, indomethacin completely blocked the increment of PKA and ISC triggered by ATP and AA, but did not affect PKA activation and ISC detected with PGE1. The kinetics of [Ca2+]i elevation in ATP‐ and thapsigargin‐treated cells were similar and suppressed by the Cai2+ chelator BAPTA. Neither baseline nor maximal increment of ATP‐induced ISC was affected by thapsigargin and BAPTA. Real‐time PCR showed that C7 cells express more mRNA for P2Y1 and P2Y2 than for other P2Y receptor subtypes. The rank order of potency (2MeSATP > ATP > ADP ≫ UTP) indicates that P2Y1 rather than P2Y2 receptors contribute to PKA and ISC activation. Viewed collectively, these data show that Cl− secretion in C7–MDCK monolayers treated with basolateral ATP is triggered by P2Y1 receptors and is mediated by subsequent [Ca2+]i‐independent activation of PLA2 and PKA.
Insulin‐like growth factor‐1 increases endothelin receptor A levels and action in cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells

Insulin is known to cause an increase in endothelin‐1 (ET‐1) receptors in vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), but the effect of insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1) on ET‐1 receptor expression is not known. We therefore carried out the present study to determine the effect of IGF‐1 on the binding of ET‐1 to, and ET type A receptor (ETAR) expression and ET‐1‐induced 3H‐thymidine incorporation in, vascular SMCs. In serum‐free medium, IGF‐1 treatment increased the binding of 125I‐ET‐1 to SMC cell surface ET receptors from a specific binding of 20.1% ± 3.1% per mg of protein in control cells to 45.1% ± 8.6% per mg of protein in cells treated with IGF‐1 (10 nM). The effect of IGF‐1 was dose‐related, with a significant effect (1.4‐fold) being seen at 1 nM. The minimal time for IGF‐1 treatment to be effective was 30 min and the maximal effect was reached at 6 h. Immunoblotting analysis showed that ETAR expression in IGF‐1‐treated cells was increased by 1.7‐fold compared to controls. Levels of ETAR mRNA measured by the RT‐PCR method and Northern blotting were also increased by 2‐fold in IGF‐1‐treated SMCs. These effects of IGF‐1 were abolished by cycloheximide or genistein. Finally, ET‐1‐stimulated thymidine uptake and cell proliferation were enhanced by IGF‐1 treatment, with a maximal increase of 3.2‐fold compared to controls. In conclusion, in vascular SMCs, IGF‐1 increases the expression of the ET‐1 receptor in a dose‐ and time‐related manner. This effect is associated with increased thymidine uptake and involves tyrosine kinase activation and new protein synthesis. These findings support the role of IGF‐1 in the development of atherosclerotic, hypertensive, and diabetic vascular complications. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Secret Admirers: An Empirical Examination of Information Hiding and Contribution Dynamics in Online Crowdfunding

Individuals’ actions in online social contexts are growing increasingly visible and traceable. Many online platforms account for this by providing users with granular control over when and how their identity or actions are made visible to peers. However, little work has sought to understand the effect that a user’s decision to conceal information might have on observing peers, who are likely to refer to that information when deciding on their own actions. We leverage a unique impression-level dataset from one of the world's largest online crowdfunding platforms, where contributors are given the option to conceal their username or contribution amount from public display, with each transaction. We demonstrate that when campaign contributors elect to conceal information, it has a negative influence on subsequent visitors’ likelihood of conversion, as well as on their average contributions, conditional on conversion. Moreover, we argue that social norms are an important driver of information concealment, providing evidence of peer influence in the decision to conceal. We discuss the implications of our results for the provision of online information hiding mechanisms, as well as the design of crowdfunding platforms and electronic markets more generally.
Vietnam's infrastructure challenge - urban development strategy : meeting the challenges of rapid urbanization and the transition to a market oriented economy

Two major transitions are taking place in Vietnam's economy: one is the movement from a rural to an urban base and the other the evolution from central planning to a market oriented economy. Vietnam's future economic growth will depend on its ability to develop competitive, market-driven industrial and service sectors. These are primarily urban-based activities. Chapter I of this report presents an assessment of the current status of urban development in Vietnam. The main policies impacting urban areas are reviewed in Chapter II. Chapter III covers the extent to which urban residents have access to basic infrastructure services and provides an estimate of what it will cost to provide full coverage by 2010 and 2020 for all current and future residents. The challenges of urban planning and management are described in Chapter IV. Chapter V identifies the various sources of finance that cities can mobilize for the infrastructure investments identified in Chapter III. Finally Chapter VI makes recommendations on how the various challenges identified in the preceding chapters can be addressed. This report is one of six volumes dealing with Vietnam's Infrastructure Challenge. Other volumes deal with Infrastructure Cross Sectoral Issues, Water and Sanitation, Transport, Telecommunications, and Electricity.
Enterprise Systems Maturity: A Practitioners' Perspective

Organizations continue to adopt enterprise systems (ES) technology to reduce costs and improve processes with the aim of achieving business benefits. The purpose of this study is to examine the utilization of ES technology and its information by New Zealand (NZ) organizations and their ability to derive benefits. The study does so by exploring (a) how ES data are transformed into knowledge, (b) how this knowledge is utilized to achieve benefits within NZ organizations, and (c) critical success factors for this process. This study gains insights through a "practitioners’ perspective" of ES vendors, ES consultants, and IT research firms in a NZ context. Key findings indicate that although many ES implementations in New Zealand are several years old, companies have only recently started tracking benefits through analytical processes to optimize and realize business value from their enterprise systems investment.
Imperforate Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve

Sir: In the case report by Gerlis and Anderson (British Heart Journal, 1976, 38, 108), the authors are not correct in saying that there is no previous description of imperforate Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve. In 1973, we reported a case of Ebstein's malformation of the tricuspid valve with complete obstruction to the tricuspid valve orifice, i.e. atresia (Rao et al., 1973). The associated lesion
Time - Even More Costly Than Money: Training Costs of Workers and Firms

We empirically investigate the joint training decisions of workers and firms. The aim of our study is to learn how various cost components affect workers’ (non-)participation in training. In particular, we separately consider monetary and non-monetary training costs, which is possible thanks to an especially rich dataset that includes both participants and non-participants. Our estimation results show that workers whose firms cover some of their training costs would generally be more likely to have assumed the full training costs themselves had they not received employer support. Moreover, the share of self-financed training, as compared to employer-supported training, is generally low. Thus, firms moderate virtually all training decisions and, as a result, considerably influence (non-)participation patterns. Interestingly, although training non-participation can be attributed to both monetary and non-monetary costs, the latter seem to comprise the more binding restriction. That is, time is more costly than money.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors: basics and challenges.

Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases in modern world. The last decade has witnessed dramatic advances in the cancer treatment through immunotherapy. One extremely promising means to achieve anti-caner immunity is to block the immune checkpoint pathways, which mechanism was adopted by cancer cells to disguise themselves as regular components of human body. While checkpoint blockade is universally effective against a broad spectrum of cancer types and mostly unrestricted by certain gene mutation status, only a minority of patients achieved a complete response to such treatment. In this review we summarize the basic principles of immune checkpoint inhibitors and discuss potential mechanisms of resistance.
The Socialization of Children’s Memory: Linking Maternal Conversational Style to the Development of Children’s Autobiographical and Deliberate Memory Skills

Data from a large-scale, longitudinal research study with an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample were utilized to explore linkages between maternal elaborative conversational style and the development of children’s autobiographical and deliberate memory. Assessments were made when the children were aged 3, 5, and 6 years old, and the results reveal concurrent and longitudinal linkages between maternal conversational style in a mother–child reminiscing task and children’s autobiographical memory performance. Maternal conversational style while reminiscing was also significantly related to children’s strategic behaviors and recall in 2 deliberate memory tasks, both concurrently and longitudinally. Results from this examination replicate and extend what is known about the linkages between maternal conversational style, children’s abilities to talk about previous experiences, and children’s deliberate memory skills as they transition from the preschool years to early elementary school years.