Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social Dimensions of Transport – a resource for Social Impact Appraisals

3. Distribution of impacts . 13 3.1 Gendered mobility patterns . 13 3.1. 1 Unequal transport access . 13 3.1. 2 Implications – Women’s economic empowerment . 14 3.1. 3 Gender, transport services and infrastructure design . 15 3.1. 4 Gender and social norms . 16 3.2 Low income groups . 16 3.3 Children and Young People . 17 3.4 People with disabilities and older people . 18
The effect of ownership structure on the financial performance of sugar companies in Kenya

The objective of this study was to analyze and evaluate whether the form of business ownership has any significant effect on the financial performance of sugar companies in the Kenyan sugar industry. The study was driven by the fact that the history of the Kenyan sugar industry has been revolving around sugar shortages, inefficiencies, inability to compete with imported sugar, perennial losses and political interferences. Despite the challenges facing the industry, more new private companies are being registered and are yet to start milling operations. Of the nine (9) sugar mills that operated within the study period, five (5) are state-owned and four (4) are private. Despite these continued investments, selfsufficiency in sugar has remained elusive over the years as consumption continues to outstrip supply. The study analyzed data obtained from the Annual Financial Statements of the sugar companies for the years 1993 to 2010 using multivariate regression analysis. The findings of the study showed that ownership structure by shareholding did not seem to influence performance. Thus the controlling shareholding held by the government in the public companies and that held by investors in private companies equally were found to be insignificant in influencing performance. Additionally, where there were foreign investors, the variable showed no material relationship to performance. Instead, internal factors of the companies which included the ability to generate income, the efficiency of assets, liquidity, leverage, workforce level and overall efficiency were key to realizing impressive performances especially for the private companies than the state-owned entities. The study concludes that internal factors of the companies may be held accountable for differences in performance as the independent variables proved to be more reliable in measuring financial performance for private companies than for the public ones.
Synaptic and morphologic properties in vitro of premotor rat nucleus tractus solitarius neurons labeled transneuronally from the stomach

Neurons in the rat nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) possess morphologic characteristics that have been correlated with the type of synaptic information they receive. These features have been described for viscerosensory neurons but not for premotor NTS neurons. The morphologic and synaptic features of neurons in the rat caudal NTS were assessed using whole‐cell patch‐clamp recordings and biocytin labeling in brainstem slices. Gastric‐related premotor NTS neurons were identified for recording after inoculation of the stomach wall with a transneuronal retrograde viral label that reports enhanced green fluorescent protein. Three morphologic groups of NTS neurons were identified based on quantitative aspects of soma area and proximal dendritic arborization, measures that were consistent across slice recordings. The most common type of cell (group I) had relatively small somata and one to three sparsely branching dendrites, whereas the other groups had larger somata and more than three dendrites, which branched predominantly close to (group II) or distant from (group III) the soma. Voltage‐clamp recordings revealed spontaneous excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents in all neurons, regardless of morphology. Gastric‐related premotor NTS neurons composed two of the three morphologic types (i.e., groups I and II). Compared with unlabeled neurons, these cells were less likely to receive constant‐latency synaptic input from the tractus solitarius. These results refute the hypothesis that general patterns of synaptic input to NTS neurons depend on morphology. Gastric premotor neurons comprise a subset of NTS morphologic types, the organization of the viscerosensory input to which has yet to be defined. J. Comp. Neurol. 464:525–539, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
CHARACTERIZATION OF LYME DISEASE SPIROCHETES ISOLATED FROM TICKS AND VERTEBRATES IN NORTH CAROLINA

Borrelia burgdorferi isolates obtained from numerous locations and from different hosts in North Carolina, were compared to previously characterized strains of the Lyme disease spirochete and other Borrelia spp. The spirochete isolates were confirmed to be B. burgdorferi sensu stricto based on immunofluorescence (IFA) using a monoclonal antibody to outer surface protein A (Osp A [H5332]) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a species-specific nested primer for a conserved region of the gene that encodes for flagellin. In addition, the isolates tested positive in Western blots with species-specific monoclonal antibodies for outer surface protein A and OspB (84c), and the genus-specific, monoclonal antibody to flagellin (H9724). Infectivity studies with several of these isolates were conducted using Mus musculus and Oryzomys palustris and the isolates exhibited markedly different levels of infectivity. This study demonstrates that B. burgdorferi sensu stricto is present and naturally transmitted on the Outer Banks and in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions of North Carolina.
Informal care provision in Europe: regulation and profile of providers. ENEPRI Research Report No. 96, November 2011

This report investigates regulations for the provision of informal care in 21 member states of the European Union. We focus on the comparison of public support for informal care, and compare in detail the monetary benefits that can be used to finance informal care. Additionally, we use SHARE data to compare characteristics of informal carers in a subset of countries, looking at how much care and what kind of care is being provided, and the relationship between the carer and the care recipient. Finally, we contrast characteristics of informal care provision with existing typologies of long-term care systems. Our review shows that almost all the countries studied offer some kind of cash benefit that can be regarded as a support to finance long-term care provided by informal carers. More than half of all countries studied provide a payment directed to the recipient of care, and slightly more countries offer payments directed to informal carers. We find an overlap of ten countries where both informal carers and recipients of care can be eligible for some kind of payment. There is, however, broad variation regarding the amount of support provided: very few countries provide benefits that can be seen as a substitute for other paid employment, and some countries provide rather low payments that are more symbolic in value.
How Can Managers Anticipate Future Stock Overvaluation?

The average Chinese SEO is executed about one year after the initial announcement due to regulative screening. Although overvaluation at the announcement is not necessary for market timing, we find a significant stock price run-up and reversal surrounding SEO announcements, which are consistent with US findings. We also find stock prices are overvalued over four years preceding the announcement. These results suggest that Chinese firms announce SEOs following persistent overvaluation and additional stock price run-ups. The market price at execution is also overpriced, suggesting that market timing is an important motive for Chinese SEOs. We argue that regulative screening makes market timing difficult and accordingly Chinese managers are moderate in public seasoned equity offerings.
Innovation capabilities and governance in the agri-food sector

Company performance is increasingly dependent on continuous improvement and innovation. In order to manage innovation projects effectively, a number of internal and external business capabilities are important: The results of this study show that functional, and in particular integrative firm capabilities play an important, but indirect, role in managing in-house innovation projects effectively. Integrative (communication) capabilities are important to combine the different functional capabilities, achieving higher product superiority and offsetting the negative effect of novelty of the project for the company on the adequateness of functional capabilities. External orientation and internalization of external resources and capabilities may enforce food producers to increase their ability to deal innovation project novelty for the company. Increased attention to the end-consumer may increase the market potential of innovations in this sector. Externally-oriented integrative capabilities are important for the organization of access to external knowledge, increasing assimilation of external knowledge and innovativeness of the company. In the case of pig farmers, this organizational capacity includes frequent networking with a number of key actors, identification of the main sources of new knowledge about innovations in the sector and participation in meetings organized by the sector. In addition to the capacities to integrate internal and external knowledge, innovation performance can also be enhanced by the benefits of co-innovation. The study shows that in dynamic processes, such as innovation and collaboration, the complementary nature of the extra-contractual formalization, rational and attitudinal commitment and trust is important to assure knowledge mobility and stability of the co-innovation network, maximizing the benefits of the co-innovation.
Public Debt, Bank Debt and Non-Bank Private Debt and Firm Characteristics Among Taiwanese Listed Companies

This study examines the relationship between the corporate debt ownership structure and various corporate financial characteristics in Taiwan. The results show that differences in terms of financial characteristics exist among firms that are financed by a bank debt, public debt, or non-bank private debt capital structure. Firms holding bank debt always borrow a large proportion of their total debt from the public market. This phenomenon is inconsistent with the argument that the reputation of firms with access to public debt is a substitute for bank monitoring. However, the use of bank debt implies certain benefits in terms of establishing a reputation that makes it easy for firms to access the public market. Furthermore, the use of bank debt cannot increase monitoring efficiency and result in higher leverage than in the case where bank debt is not used. Reputable firms will not hold higher levels of bank debt. Interestingly, firms predominantly using bank debt tend to be younger than firms that use other kinds of debt. Firms that predominantly use public debt have a significantly lower Tobin's q than firms with different debt patterns. This study finds that the determinants of debt ownership remain similar after the maturity effects of debt ownership are removed, implying that the firm debt ownership decision and debt maturity decision may be separable.
Intravenous prostacyclin (as epoprostenol) infusion in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Four case reports and review of the literature. Italian Cooperative Group for Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

BACKGROUND The enhanced platelet aggregation which is observed in TTP, was suggested to be due to an imbalance between unknown agents insulting endothelial wall and defense factors, such as prostacyclin (PGI2). Several reports suggested an aberration of PGI2 activity as a critical step in the pathogenesis of TTP. Therefore, PGI2 was proposed as an alternative treatment for TTP patients. METHODS We report the results obtained with increasing doses (from 2 ng/Kg/min to 10 ng/Kg/min in 5 days) of PGI2-as epoprostenol-in 4 TTP patients from the retrospective series of the Italian Cooperative Group who were considered resistant to conventional plasma-exchange (PE)-based treatments. RESULTS Despite PGI2 infusion, 2 patients died, while the extant 2 achieved stable complete remission. Notably, the only patient whose PE was administered with adequate frequency and for an adequate period of time, and thus the only unquestionably PE-resistant patient, was also resistant to PGI2 infusion. Major side-effects were few and observed at the highest doses. CONCLUSIONS In our experience and from the analysis of the literature, which, as far as we know, includes only 23 patients treated with PGI2-like substances, the role of PGI2 in the treatment of TTP appears to be modest. Maybe the identification of subgroups of TTP patients exhibiting some defects in PGI2 metabolism, together with the use of more manageable PGI2 analogs, such as iloprost, could revive interest in these molecules in the future.
Health care contingent valuation studies: a review and classification of the literature.

PURPOSE The contingent valuation method (CVM) is a survey-based approach for eliciting consumer's monetary valuations for programme benefits for use in cost-benefit analysis (CBA). We used the conceptual framework of O'Brien and Gafni (1996) to classify and critically appraise health care CVM studies. METHODS Search of computerized health care and economic citation databases (e.g. MEDLINE, ECONLIT) and manual search for papers published between 1984 1996 reporting primary data valuing health programme benefits in monetary units by CVM using willingness-to-pay (WTP) or accept (WTA). We classified studies using both empirical (i.e. who was surveyed and how) and conceptual criteria (i.e. which measure of consumer utility was measured and why). RESULTS 48 CVM studies were retrieved; the majority (42) undertook money valuation in the context of cost benefit analysis (CBA), with the remainder being pricing/demand studies. Among the 42 CBA studies, the consumer utility being measured (i.e. compensating (CV) vs. equivalent variation (EV) was explicitly stated in only three (7%) studies). WTP was measured in 95% of studies and WTA in 5%. By cross-tabulation, 42 (91%) studies were designed as WTP/CV, two (4%) were WTP/EV, two (4%) were WTA/CV and no studies used WTA/EV. Most studies were administered by mail (52%) with 38% being in-person interviews. Value elicitation techniques included open-ended questions (38%), payment cards (19%) discrete choice questions (26%) or bidding games (29%). Some form of construct validation tests, particularly associations between WTP and income, were done in 21 studies (50%). CONCLUSIONS (i) The number of health care CVM studies is growing rapidly and the majority are done in the context of CBA; (ii) there is wide variation among health care CVM studies in terms of the types of questions being posed and the elicitation formats being used; (iii) classification and appraisal of the literature is difficult because reporting of methods and their relationship with the conceptual framework of CBA is poor; (iii) the applicability to health care of the CVM guidelines issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) panel for environmental economics is unclear.
Structural diversity of heparan sulfate binding domains in chemokines

Heparan sulfate (HS) molecules are ubiquitous in animal tissues where they function as ligands that are dramatically involved in the regulation of the proteins they bind. Of these, chemokines are a family of small proteins with many biological functions. Their well-conserved monomeric structure can associate in various oligomeric forms especially in the presence of HS. Application of protein surface analysis and energy calculations to all known chemokine structures leads to the proposal that four different binding modes are created by the folding and oligomerization of these proteins. So, based on the present state of our knowledge, four different clusters of amino acids should be involved in the recognition process. Our results help to rationalize how unique sequences of HS specifically bind any given chemokine. The conclusions open the route for a rational design of compounds of therapeutical interest that could influence chemokine activity.
The RecA Protein of Helicobacter pylori Requires a Posttranslational Modification for Full Activity

ABSTRACT The RecA protein is a central component of the homologous recombination machinery and of the SOS system in most bacteria. In performing these functions, it is involved in DNA repair processes and plays an important role in natural transformation competence. This may be especially important in Helicobacter pylori, where an unusually high degree of microdiversity among strains is generated by homologous recombination. We have suggested previously that the H. pylori RecA protein is subject to posttranslational modifications that result in a slight shift in its electrophoretic mobility. Here we show that at least two genes downstream of recA are involved in this modification and that this process is dependent on genes involved in glycosylation and lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. Site-directed mutagenesis of a putative glycosylation site results in production of an unmodified RecA protein. This posttranslational modification is not involved in membrane targeting or cell division functions but is necessary for the full function of RecA in DNA repair. Thus, it might be an adaptation to the specific requirements of H. pylori in its natural environment.
Host and Environmental Factors Influencing the Manifestation and Propagation of the Yeast Prions

Abstract : The artificial prion PSI+ based on a hybrid Sup35PS with prion domain from the yeast Pichia methanolica PSI+(ps) was used to search a multicopy Saccharomycetes cerevisiae genomic library for novel factors able to cure prions. It was found that overexpression of the Hsp40 family chaperones Sis1 and Ynl077w, chaperone Sti1, transcriptional factors Sfl1 and Ssn8 and acidic ribosomal protein Rpp0 interfere with propagation and manifestation of the PSI+ prion. This implies that similar factors may be active against human and animal prion and amyloid diseases.
Tele-endoscopic otorhinolaryngological examination: preliminary study of patient satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE Modern telecommunications and computer technologies enable the delivery of expert consultations and remote diagnoses that previously required transportation of patients or medical specialists. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients are satisfied with one form of telemedicine consultation. METHODS A general practitioner was trained to perform endoscopic otorhinolaryngological examinations. After the training period, he examined patients at a local health center in Alta, 250 km from Tromsø. Images from the endoscopic examination were transmitted to the otorhinolaryngologist at the University Hospital of Tromsø for real-time consultation. Twenty-six patients, on a randomly selected day, were asked to complete a questionnaire after the tele-endoscopic examination. The questionnaire was returned anonymously by 24 of the patients. RESULTS Although patients interacted with the specialist only via videoconferencing, the results show that most (23/24) were satisfied with this type of consultation, and they reported more advantages than disadvantages. Twenty-one patients indicated that they would accept another tele-endoscopic consultation if they required examination by an otorhinolaryngologist in the future. CONCLUSION Although the sample is limited, the results justify continued investigation of this and other types of telemedicine consultations.
Development of a new physics‐based internal coordinate mechanics force field and its application to protein loop modeling

We report the development of internal coordinate mechanics force field (ICMFF), new force field parameterized using a combination of experimental data for crystals of small molecules and quantum mechanics calculations. The main features of ICMFF include: (a) parameterization for the dielectric constant relevant to the condensed state (ϵ = 2) instead of vacuum, (b) an improved description of hydrogen‐bond interactions using duplicate sets of van der Waals parameters for heavy atom‐hydrogen interactions, and (c) improved backbone covalent geometry and energetics achieved using novel backbone torsional potentials and inclusion of the bond angles at the Cα atoms into the internal variable set. The performance of ICMFF was evaluated through loop modeling simulations for 4–13 residue loops. ICMFF was combined with a solvent‐accessible surface area solvation model optimized using a large set of loop decoys. Conformational sampling was carried out using the biased probability Monte Carlo method. Average/median backbone root‐mean‐square deviations of the lowest energy conformations from the native structures were 0.25/0.21 Å for four residues loops, 0.84/0.46 Å for eight residue loops, and 1.16/0.73 Å for 12 residue loops. To our knowledge, these results are significantly better than or comparable with those reported to date for any loop modeling method that does not take crystal packing into account. Moreover, the accuracy of our method is on par with the best previously reported results obtained considering the crystal environment. We attribute this success to the high accuracy of the new ICM force field achieved by meticulous parameterization, to the optimized solvent model, and the efficiency of the search method. Proteins 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Corporate Governance and Acquirer Returns

We examine whether corporate governance mechanisms, especially the market for corporate control, affect the profitability of firm acquisitions. We find that acquirers with more antitakeover provisions experience significantly lower announcement‐period abnormal stock returns. This supports the hypothesis that managers at firms protected by more antitakeover provisions are less subject to the disciplinary power of the market for corporate control and thus are more likely to indulge in empire‐building acquisitions that destroy shareholder value. We also find that acquirers operating in more competitive industries or separating the positions of CEO and chairman of the board experience higher abnormal announcement returns.
Sound waves induce Volkov-like states, band structure and collimation effect in graphene

We find exact states of graphene quasiparticles under a time-dependent deformation (sound wave), whose propagation velocity is smaller than the Fermi velocity. To solve the corresponding effective Dirac equation, we adapt the Volkov-like solutions for relativistic fermions in a medium under a plane electromagnetic wave. The corresponding electron-deformation quasiparticle spectrum is determined by the solutions of a Mathieu equation resulting in band tongues warped in the surface of the Dirac cones. This leads to a collimation effect of electron conduction due to strain waves.