Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Weighted-Additive versus Reference-Dependent Models of Bundle Evaluation: Evidence from Discount Framing On Product Bundles with Surcharges

Attractiveness of product bundles largely depends on how prices are framed. There is considerable disagreement among two contemporary models that posit how product bundles with discounts are evaluated. According to the weighted-additive model, discounts on the most important component in a bundle increases attractiveness. However according to the reference-dependent model, discounts on the most negatively valued component make a bundle more attractive. This research evaluated the relative influences of different price formats and discount offers for bundles with a primary product and a secondary surcharge component (shipping charge). Across two studies on a low and a high priced product, discounts on the negatively valued shipping surcharge increased attractiveness of the bundle compared to a similar discount on the product, thus supporting the reference-dependent model. Further, for a low priced product, bundling increased attractiveness while for a high priced product, partitioning was more attractive. Beyond theoretical understandings of price evaluation, these findings also have important practical implications for advertisers.
Farnesoid X Receptor Agonist Reduces Serum Asymmetric Dimethylarginine Levels through Hepatic Dimethylarginine Dimethylaminohydrolase-1 Gene Regulation*

The farnesoid X receptor (FXR, NR1H4) is a bile acid-responsive nuclear receptor that plays critical roles in the transcriptional regulation genes involved in cholesterol, bile acid, triglyceride, and carbohydrate metabolism. By microarray analysis of hepatic genes from female Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats treated with the FXR agonist GW4064, we have identified dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-1 (DDAH1) as an FXR target gene. DDAH1 is a key catabolic enzyme of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), a major endogenous nitric-oxide synthase inhibitor. Sequence analysis of the DDAH1 gene reveals the presence of an FXR response element (FXRE) located 90 kb downstream of the transcription initiation site and within the first intron. Functional analysis of the putative FXRE demonstrated GW4064 dose-dependent transcriptional activation from the element, and we have demonstrated that the FXRE sequence binds the FXR-RXR heterodimer. In vivo administration of GW4064 to female ZDF rats promoted a dose-dependent and >6-fold increase in hepatic DDAH1 gene expression. The level of serum ADMA was reduced concomitantly. These findings provide a mechanism by which FXR may increase endothelium-derived nitric oxide levels through modulation of serum ADMA levels via direct regulation of hepatic DDAH1 gene expression. Thus, beneficial clinical outcomes of FXR agonist therapy may include prevention of atherosclerosis and improvement of the metabolic syndrome.
Impact of the expression of cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 and apoptosis in tumor cells on the overall survival of patients with non–Early stage gastric carcinoma

The expression of p27Kip1 and apoptosis have been implicated in tumor aggressiveness and proved to be prognostic predictors for several human malignancies. In this study, the authors sought to investigate the expression of p27Kip1 and apoptosis and their potential significance in determining the prognosis of patients with non–early stage gastric carcinoma.
Pharmacokinetics and drug interactions of eslicarbazepine acetate

Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a novel once‐daily antiepileptic drug (AED) approved in Europe since 2009 that was found to be efficacious and well tolerated in a phase III clinical program in adult patients with partial onset seizures previously not controlled with treatment with one to three AEDs, including carbamazepine (CBZ). ESL shares with CBZ and oxcarbazepine (OXC) the dibenzazepine nucleus bearing the 5‐carboxamide substitute, but is structurally different at the 10,11 position. This molecular variation results in differences in metabolism, preventing the formation of toxic epoxide metabolites such as carbamazepine‐10,11‐epoxide. Unlike OXC, which is metabolized to both eslicarbazepine and (R)‐licarbazepine, ESL is extensively converted to eslicarbazepine. The systemic exposure to eslicarbazepine after ESL oral administration is approximately 94% of the parent dose, with minimal exposure to (R)‐licarbazepine and OXC. After ESL oral administration, the effective half‐life (t1/2,eff) of eslicarbazepine was 20–24 h, which is approximately two times longer than its terminal half‐life (t1/2). At clinically relevant doses (400–1,600 mg/day) ESL has linear pharmacokinetics (PK) with no effects of gender or moderate liver impairment. However, because eslicarbazepine is eliminated primarily (66%) by renal excretion, dose adjustment is recommended for patients with renal impairment. Eslicarbazepine clearance is induced by phenobarbital, phenytoin, and CBZ and it dose‐dependently decreases plasma exposure of oral contraceptive and simvastatin.
How Do Prior Outcomes Affect Risk Taking Behavior? A Cross-Country Experimental Analysis

Recent literature has advocated that risk-taking behavior is influenced by prior monetary gains and losses. On one hand, after perceiving monetary gains, people are willing to take more risk (house-money effect). Another stream of the literature, based on prospect theory and loss aversion, suggests that people are risk averse/seeking in the gain/loss domain. The objective of this paper is twofold: first to clarify the previous contradiction and second to verify the existence of myopic loss aversion across countries. We found that loss aversion is the dominant effect and also report the existence of myopic loss aversion across countries.
Politics of scale and strategic selectivity in the liberalisation of public services – the role of trade in services

ABSTRACT One of the most contentious issues of the neoliberal agenda has been the privatisation of public services. The WTO GATS negotiations over the liberalisation of trade in services, which commenced in the year 2000, led to a strongly contested debate over whether the international level would provide an additional channel for the privatisation of public services. In particular, the position of the European Union was criticised for promoting this agenda. More recently, this question has regained its significance with the start of negotiations for the Trade in Services Agreement and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Thus, this article seeks to analyse the politics of scale in the field of trade in services and its specific impact upon the liberalisation of public services. By applying a Neo-Poulantzian IPE approach, we propose a typology of (i) scalar forms in trade policy and (ii) of particular liberalisation strategies. Our results suggest that the multilateral level is but one element in a strategic politics of scale, with the former primarily fulfilling the role of locking-in liberalisation gains achieved at other levels, while other scalar forms, in particular bi- and plurilateralism, are primarily used to progressively advance the liberalisation agenda.
Vision-Based Model Predictive Control for Steering of a Nonholonomic Mobile Robot

In this paper, we have developed a novel visual servo-based model predictive control method to steer a wheeled mobile robot (WMR) moving in a polar coordinate toward a desired target. The proposed control scheme has been realized at both kinematics and dynamics levels. The kinematics predictive steering controller generates command of desired velocities that are achieved by employing a low-level motion controller, while the dynamics predictive controller directly generates torques used to steer the WMR to the target. In the presence of both kinematics and dynamics constraints, the control design is carried out using quadratic programming (QP) for optimal performance. The neurodynamic optimization technique, particularly the primal-dual neural network, is employed to solve the QP problems. Theoretical analysis has been first performed to show that the desired velocities can be achieved with the guaranteed stability, as well as with the global convergence to the optimal solutions of formulated convex programming problems. Experiments have then been carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme and illustrate its advantage over the conventional methods.
The Millennial effect: Implications for academic development

A new generation of students – the “Millennials”are beginning their tertiary education. How will academic staff – the baby boomers and generation X deal with the characteristics and learning styles of the Millennials? How will teaching and learning practices be affected? What are the implications for academic development in our universities? This paper examines the unique characteristics, learning and communication preferences of Millennials. Some teaching and learning strategies are suggested and a holistic academic development approach is recommended. Seven factors contributing to a holistic academic development approach are outlined.
E-Government Use and Perceived Government Transparency and Service Capacity

Many Chinese jurisdictions are establishing "service-oriented" local governments in order to make public service delivery more effective and thereby increase local government capacity. This article explores whether the use of e-government improves citizens' perceptions of their local government. The results indicate that accessing information through government Web sites improves citizens' satisfaction with government transparency. Citizens' frequent use of government Web sites, partially mediated through their perceptions of transparency, enhances their perceptions of local government capacity for service delivery. Providing public service information on government Web sites indirectly improves perceived service capacity through perceived transparency. Further development of e-government's two-way communication function will make it possible to fully reap the benefits of e-government as a reform strategy leading to service-oriented government.
Integrated Pest Management – Can it Contribute to Sustainable Food Production in Europe with Less Reliance on Conventional Pesticides?

A suite of European Union (EU) legislation under a thematic strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides constitutes the policy instruments supporting the wishes of the European Parliament to achieve significant reductions in the use of conventional pesticides in EU agriculture. The adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) is the main pillar of the strategy to decrease pesticide use while maintaining or expanding present levels of European food production. This paper supports this approach in principle, but argues that the rapid pace of pesticide withdrawals will decrease farm output and/or the profitability of farming. Furthermore, there are insufficient IPM component technologies and systems available to farmers which offer practical and economically viable alternatives to fill the gap in the crop protection toolbox that widens with each additional pesticide removal.
Extraction of broadband error boxes for microprobes and recessed probe launches for measurement of printed circuit board structures

This paper presents results for the error boxes (two-port scattering parameters) of ground-signal-ground (GSG) mini-coaxial probes (microprobes) and recessed probe launches up to 20 GHz. The recessed probe launch uses internal GSG pads for the access of embedded printed circuit board (PCB) structures without the need for signal vias. The error boxes were obtained by using two-tier calibration techniques where the first tier was based on short-open-load-through (SOLT) and the second tier on short-open-load (SOL) or through-reflect-line (TRL) calibration algorithms. Results from different calibration set ups are compared with each other and agree well. The obtained error boxes can be used for deembedding or analysis of the microprobe and probe launch performance.
Deficiency of polycystin‐2 reduces Ca2+ channel activity and cell proliferation in ADPKD lymphoblastoid cells

Polycystin‐2 (PC2), encoded by the PKD2 gene, mutated in 10‐15% of autosomal‐dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients, is a Ca2+‐permeable cation channel present in kidney epithelia and other tissues. As PC2 was found expressed in B‐lymphoblastoid cells (LCLs) and Ca2+ signaling pathways are important regulators of B cell function activities, we investigated whether PC2 plays some role in B‐LCLs. In LCLs, PC2 was found mainly in ER membranes but ~8 times less than in kidney HEK293 cells. The same reductions were found in PKD2 and PKD1 RNA; thus, PKD genes maintained, in LCLs, the same reciprocal proportion as they do in kidney cells. In LCLs obtained from subjects carrying PKD2 mutations (PKD2‐LCLs) and showing reduced PC2 levels, intracellular Ca2+ concentrations evoked by platelet‐activating factor (PAF), were significantly lower than in non‐PKD‐LCLs. This reduction was also found in PKD1‐LCLs but without PC2 reductions. Likewise, cell proliferation, which is controlled by Ca2+, was reduced in PKD2‐ and PKD1‐LCLs. Moreover, in LCLs with PKD2 nonsense mutations, aminoglycoside antibiotics reduced the PC2 defect by promoting readthrough of stop codons. Therefore, PC2 and PC1 are functionally expressed in LCLs, which provide a model, easily obtainable from ADPKD patients, to study PKD gene expression and function.
Why We Choose Caesarean Section: A Prospective Study

Summary: We wished to inquire into the reasons why obstetricians choose Caesarean section as the preferred delivery mode and how they make that decision in individual settings. We therefore surveyed obstetricians to ascertain die obstetrical events at the time of the decision and the reasons for the decision. Two hospitals with the same consultant medical staff were chosen for the study, The Jamison Private Hospital and The Nepean Hospital. The study group was analyzed using hospital, classification, parity, whether the procedure was elective or in labour, the stage of labour at which the Caesarean section was performed, and the primary and secondary reasons for the decision.
Pregnancy and Steroid Hormones Enhance the Systemic and Regional Hemodynamic Effects of Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide in Rats1

Abstract Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a potent vasodilator neuropeptide known to be involved in the regulation of vascular resistance. Several lines of evidence suggest that CGRP plays a role in the vascular adaptations that occur during normal pregnancy; however, the effects of exogenous CGRP on systemic and regional hemodynamics during pregnancy remain unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the hemodynamic effects of systemically administered CGRP in adult pregnant (Day 19) and ovariectomized (ovx) rats using the radioactive microsphere technique. In addition, we also used ovariectomized rats treated for 3 days with estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), E2 + P4 in sesame oil, or oil only to assess if these hormones regulate the CGRP-induced hemodynamic changes. On the day of study, catheters were inserted into the left cardiac ventricle (through the right carotid artery), right jugular vein, and caudal tail artery. Hemodynamic studies using radioactive microspheres were then performed in conscious rats 3 h after recovery from anesthesia. Blood pressure and heart rate were continuously monitored, and left ventricular pressure was determined immediately prior to each microsphere injection. Microspheres labeled with either 141Ce or 85Sr were injected prior to and 2 min following the i.v. bolus injection of CGRP (270 pmol/kg body weight [BW]). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and total vascular resistance in pregnant rats was lower than in ovx rats, and this was further decreased with an i.v. bolus injection of 270 pmol CGRP/kg BW. Cardiac output was elevated with further increases upon CGRP administration in pregnant but not in ovx rats. The CGRP-induced changes in MAP, total vascular resistance, and cardiac output in E2 + P4-treated rats were similar to that observed in Day 19 pregnant rats, indicating that CGRP effects on these parameters during pregnancy may be modulated by steroid hormones. Both pregnancy and E2 + P4 treatment in ovx rats caused significant decreases in CGRP-induced resistance in mesenteric, coronary, and renal vasculature. Thus, the vasodilatory sensitivity to CGRP during pregnancy may be mediated through decreased total vascular resistance, particularly to coronary, mesenteric, and renal vascular beds. Thus, CGRP-induced vasodilatory effects may play a role in mediating vascular adaptations that occur during pregnancy and that steroid hormones may modulate these CGRP effects.
Neuroimaging and Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Review

Background Since the 1970s, a number of neuroimaging studies of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) have been conducted to elucidate the working action of this highly efficacious treatment modality. The technologies used are single photon emission tomography, positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and quantitative electroencephalography. Methods A PubMed literature search with focus on clinical studies was made from the inception of the database until December 2013 using the search terms electroconvulsive therapy and neuroimaging. Results Early methods allowing only identification of global changes of cerebral blood flow and cerebral metabolism show considerable ictal increases of these measures, which normalize during the postictal period. Later methodological developments have given access to measurements of minute activity changes in localized cortical and subcortical areas of the brain and have revealed differences in neurophysiology and metabolism between the hyperactive ictal state and the restorative interictal/postictal periods. Recent magnetic resonance imaging studies seem to pave way for new insights into ECT’s effects on increased connectivity in the brain during depression. Conclusion The existing data reveal considerable variations among studies and therefore do not yet allow the formulation of a unified hypothesis for the mechanism of ECT. The rapid developments in imaging technology, however, hold promises for further elucidation of the mode of action of ECT.
Water Loss from the Skin of Term and Preterm Infants Nursed under a Radiant Heater

The rate of evaporation from the skin (g/m2/h) was measured in 12 full-term and 16 preterm infants (gestational age 25–34 wk) both during incubator care and when nursed under a radiant heater. The method for evaporation rate measurement is noninvasive and based on determination of the water vapor pressure gradient close to the skin surface. Measurements were first made with the infant nursed in an incubator with a controlled environment with respect to humidity, temperature, and air velocity. The measurements in the term infants were performed at an ambient relative humidity (RH) of 50%, and in the preterm infants first at 50% and subsequently at 30–40%. Evaporation rate was then measured with the infant nursed under a radiant heater. In term infants, mean evaporation rate was 3.3 g/m2/h during incubator care (RH 50%) and 4.4 g/m2/h during care under the radiant heater. In preterm infants, the corresponding values were 15.5 g/m2/h in the incubator at RH 50%, 16.7 g/m2/h at RH 30–40%, and 17.9 g/m2/h under the radiant heater. It is concluded that the evaporative water loss from the skin depends on the ambient water vapor pressure, irrespective of whether the infant is nursed in an incubator or under a radiant heater. The higher rate of evaporation during care under a radiant heater is due to the lower ambient water vapor pressure and not to any direct effect of the nonionizing radiation on the skin.
Subtelomeres constitute a safeguard for gene expression and chromosome homeostasis

Abstract The subtelomere, a telomere-adjacent chromosomal domain, contains species-specific homologous DNA sequences, in addition to various genes. However, the functions of subtelomeres, particularly subtelomeric homologous (SH) sequences, remain elusive. Here, we report the first comprehensive analyses of the cellular functions of SH sequences in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Complete removal of SH sequences from the genome revealed that they are dispensable for mitosis, meiosis and telomere length control. However, when telomeres are lost, SH sequences prevent deleterious inter-chromosomal end fusion by facilitating intra-chromosomal circularization. Surprisingly, SH-deleted cells sometimes survive telomere loss through inter-chromosomal end fusions via homologous loci such as LTRs, accompanied by centromere inactivation of either chromosome. Moreover, SH sequences function as a buffer region against the spreading of subtelomeric heterochromatin into the neighboring gene-rich regions. Furthermore, we found a nucleosome-free region at the subtelomeric border, which may be a second barrier that blocks heterochromatin spreading into the subtelomere-adjacent euchromatin. Thus, our results demonstrate multiple defense functions of subtelomeres in chromosome homeostasis and gene expression.
Practitioners’ forum: Models of the process technological innovation

This article reviews a number of models of the process of technological innovation and identtities the important elements involved. Although no universal model is applicable to all processes of technological innovation, given the importance of technology in the long-tern strategy of research-intensive trns , a knowledge of the elements involved in the process is essential to today's managers. Models of the process of innovation must be developed contingent upon thejirn's needs. The critical factors, which must be conszdered when developing such a model, are identified.
Management of venous ulcers according to their anatomical relationship with varicose veins

Background Adequately excising varicose and incompetent perforating veins is necessary for reducing their recurrence rate of venous ulcer. Method In total, 66 venous ulcers (C6) in 1083 legs with primary varicose veins were managed through endoscopic-assisted surgery. In an endoscopic operative view, the nonvaricose, varicose, and incompetent perforating veins were clearly visualized and precisely dissected. The varicose and incompetent perforating veins were divided and completely excised. Result The varicose veins were traced to the base or periphery of the 55 ulcers. Moreover, 89.4% of the ulcers healed within 14 weeks. Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed a five-year recurrence rate of 0.0%, and the satisfaction mean score was 4.6. Conclusion Endoscopic-assisted surgery can be used to radically excise varicose veins complicated with venous ulcers; the surgery yields low recurrence and high satisfaction rates.