Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of Human Ku86 in Telomere Length Maintenance and Telomere Capping

The role of Ku86 at telomeres has been extensively studied in various organisms; however, a role for Ku86 at human telomeres was unknown because Ku86 deletion is lethal for human cells. Here, we used small interference RNA to decrease Ku86 protein levels in human cells. An ∼50% reduction in the amount of Ku86 protein was achieved 72 hours after transfection with Ku86-specific small interference RNAs. This decrease in Ku86 levels resulted in a rapid loss of cell viability characterized by increased apoptosis and decreased mitotic index in the cell population. Importantly, Ku86 knockdown was concomitant with a significant loss of telomeric sequences and with increased chromosomal aberrations, including chromatid-type fusions involving telomeric sequences. These findings demonstrate a role for Ku86 in regulating telomere length and telomere capping in human cells, which, in turn, could impact on cancer and aging.
Electrochemical regeneration of granular activated carbons loaded with phenol and natural organic matter

The main objective of this study was to assess the performance of electrochemical regeneration of granular activated carbon via a set of bench‐scale experiments using different operating conditions in the regeneration of several different activated carbons loaded with phenol or natural organic matter. The regeneration efficiency can be increased by increasing the charge applied, whether this was achieved by an increase in current or regeneration time. The degree of phenol‐adsorption saturation did not significantly affect the regeneration efficiencies. The regeneration efficiencies of the various types of phenol‐loaded activated carbon were quite similar despite the differences in their conductivity. The activated carbon exhibiting fully reversible adsorption of phenol had slightly higher regeneration efficiencies than those involving partially irreversible adsorption. Electrochemical regeneration of activated carbon is feasible at a laboratory scale as regeneration efficiencies up to 80% were achieved during electrochemical regeneration of phenol‐loaded or natural organic matter‐loaded activated carbons.
Effect of occlusal splints on the electromyographic activities of masseter and temporal muscles during maximum clenching.

OBJECTIVES Despite the broad use of occlusal splints in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders, the efficacy of splints is a source of controversy. In this study, the effectiveness of occlusal splints on the electromyographic activity of the masseter and temporal muscles in healthy individuals was investigated. METHOD AND MATERIALS An occlusal splint was made for 25 healthy individuals. Surface electromyographic recordings were done during maximum clenching without the splint and immediately after application of the splint. The relative level of activity in the masseter and temporal muscles was quantified by means of activity index. Paired t test and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for data analysis. RESULTS The mean electromyographic activities of masseter and temporal muscles (in mV/s) were 0.7712 and 1.0488 without the splint and 0.8396 and 0.9276 immediately after application of the splint. There was no significant difference between the electromyographic activities of both muscles before and after insertion of the splints. The activity index increased after application of the occlusal splints. This increase was also insignificant. CONCLUSION Immediate application of occlusal splints has no significant effect on the activity of masseter and temporal muscles. It could decrease the relative activity of the temporal to the masseter muscle (increasing the activity index).
Surveys in public sector economics

PART I PUBLIC SECTOR PRODUCTION 2. Shadow Pricing in the Public Sector (Peter Hammond Professor of Economics, Stanford University) 3. Regulation of Public Utilities and Nationalized Industries (Ingo Vogelsang Professor of Economics, Boston University) 4. Economics of Publicly Provided Goods and Services (Paul Hare Professor of Economics, Heriot Watt University) PART II DISTRIBUTION AND WELFARE 5. The Political Economy of Fiscal Policy (Daniel Ingberman and Robert Inman respectively Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and Professor of Finance, Economics and Public Management, University of Pennsylvania) 6. Policy Targetting in a New Welfare Framework with Poverty (John Beath, Geoff Lewis and David Ulph both John Beath and Geoff Lewis are Lecturers in Economics, Bristol University David Ulph is Professor of Economics, Bristol University) 7. The Structure of Income and Commodity Taxation (Christopher Heady Lecturer in Economics, University College, London) PART III ESTIMATION AND COMPUTATION 8. Econometric Issues in Public Sector Economics (Richard Blundell Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies) 9. General Equilibrium Computation Applied to Public Sector Issues (John Piggot Professor of Economics, University of Sydney with Appendix by Jon Fuller)
Banking Relationships and REIT Capital Structure

This article examines the evolution of real estate investment trust (REIT) capital structure in the new REIT era with a focus on the effects of banking relationships on REIT capital structure. Using a unique sample of REITs from 1992 to 2003, we find that, after controlling for firm characteristics, REITs with banking relationships are more likely to obtain long-term debt ratings and subsequently issue public debt. Moreover, REITs with banking relationships tend to use less secured debt and have lower leverage. These findings support the notion that banking relationships facilitate REITs' access to the public debt markets and help explain why REITs shift from traditional mortgage financing to bank debt and public capital market financing. The results also support the proposition that firm leverage should be positively related to the amount of a firm's secured debt.
Soviet Household Saving: A Cross-Section Study of Soviet Emigrant Families

This study examines the saving patterns of Soviet households by developing a saving function based on cross-section data derived from a family budget survey of Soviet emigrants. The results are very similar to those of Western studies. While saving is a positive function of current income, the average rate of saving rises only relatively mildly with income, indicating that current income from the public sector is much more "permanent" than in market economies. The proportion of income earned from the private sector that is saved is much higher—indicating that it is highly transitory and risky. The long-run saving rate is, by international comparison, rather low.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ordinary

Much debate exists about postbureaucratic organizational forms that are sometimes felt to strengthen the polarization between good and bad jobs. Small firms provide one test in that they lack bureaucracy. Such firms from two contrasting sectors, food manufacture and the media, are used to assess, respectively, the models of good and bad jobs. Data from 66 firms and 203 employees show a mixed picture: Food jobs are bad for pay but relatively good for autonomy. Media jobs offer autonomy, but this is constrained by tight performance demands and low pay. These results help to explain why national surveys find no polarization in terms of autonomy and are explained by the economic contingencies of the two sectors. Ordinariness rather than stark polarization is the key picture.
Candida colonization and systemic infection in neutropenic patients. A retrospective study

The results of surveillance cultures in 424 neutropenic patients with hematologic malignancies were analyzed to evaluate the relationship between colonization and infection by Candida species. Eighteen (32%) of 56 patients with multiple noncontiguous colonized sites developed proven (13 cases) or probable (five cases) systemic candidiasis, versus two patients with proven candidiasis (1.2%) of 170 with one colonized site (P < 0.00000001), and one patient with proven candidiasis (0.5%) of 198 without any evidence of Candida colonization (P < 0.00000001). Twenty‐two patients with multiple colonized sites who developed a febrile episode resistant to antibiotics were treated with empiric amphotericin B. Nine of 11 given empiric amphotericin B within day 6 survived versus three of 11 receiving antifungal therapy after day 6 (P = 0.014). The above data seem to justify further prospective studies on Candida colonization as indication to early antifungal therapy in febrile neutropenic patients.
Role of chemerin/CMKLR1 signaling in adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis of bone marrow stem cells

Maintenance of healthy bone mass requires a well‐coordinated balance between the ongoing processes of bone formation and bone resorption. Bone‐forming osteoblasts derive from resident adult stem cells within bone marrow called bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). These BMSCs are multipotent and also can give rise to adipocytes, which do not contribute directly to bone formation but may influence bone remodeling through the release of bioactive signaling molecules. Chemerin is a novel adipocyte‐derived signaling molecule that promotes adipocyte differentiation. In this study we examined the role of chemerin and the cognate receptors CMKLR1 and CCRL2 as determinants of osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation of the preosteoblast 7F2 cell line and of primary BMSCs. Expression and secretion of chemerin increased dramatically with adipocyte differentiation of these cells. Functionally, knockdown of chemerin or CMKLR1 expression using RNA interference abrogated adipocyte differentiation, clonal expansion, and basal proliferation of BMSCs. In contrast, knockdown of either gene was associated with increased osteoblast marker gene expression and mineralization in response to osteoblastogenic stimuli. Forced expression of the adipogenic transcription factor peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ) induced chemerin expression and partially rescued the loss of adipogenesis associated with chemerin or CMKLR1 knockdown in BMSCs. Taken together, these data support a novel role for chemerin/CMKLR1 signaling in regulating adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis of bone marrow–derived precursor cells. These data reveal a potential role for this signaling pathway as a modulator of bone mass. © 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research
What Is the Critique of the Mathematization of Economics

Over the last seventy years, a range of criticisms has been leveled at the mathematization of economics. While particular criticisms have been pursued extensively, for example, that the mathematics of classical physics provides an insecure base for economics, few general overviews of the critique of mathematical economics have been made. This is the focus here where seven objections to the mathematization of economics are identified. While no determinate answers can be provided to each of the seven criticisms raised, it does appear that the case for the mathematization of economics is not without its limitations. Copyright 1991 by WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG
Multiple Institutional Logics in Union–NGO Relations: Private Labor Regulation in the Swedish Clean Clothes Campaign

Conflicts between labor unions and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) often impede private labor regulatory attempts to protect worker rights at supplier factories. Based on a study of a failed private regulatory attempt for Swedish garment retailers, we contribute to existing research into union–NGO relations by demonstrating how conflict arises because unions and NGOs act upon different institutional logics. We also contribute to the institutional logics perspective by challenging the current emphasis on either coexistence or conflict among multiple logics, and showing the heterogeneity in how multiple logics manifest on a local level, how this could shift over time, and suggesting an empirically derived typology of manifestations of multiple logics.
Going global: the changing strategy of internationalisation of education in China

This article investigates the global promotion of China's model in the area of education. An examination of China's internationalisation policy shows that there have been shifts in priorities in the last three decades. In accordance with China's wider socio-economic context, the focus of internationalisation of education was revised from awareness of internationalisation in the 1980s, improvement of the quality of education and the desire to be world class in the 1990s to the adoption of a high profile ‘going global’ strategy in the new millennium. This article focuses on the recent changes in internationalisation strategies to investigate the use of cultural power and promotion of the Chinese model globally. Two cases, including Confucius Institutions and educational aid to Africa, are analysed to map out the process of expanding China's international influence through education. Nevertheless, the Chinese model is a nebulous concept. This article concludes by discussing whether and how Chinese practices are different from the Western model in the process of internationalisation of education.
Export-led growth and the Japanese economy: evidence from VAR and directed acyclic graphs

This paper explores the causal relationship between real exports and GDP growth in Japan using two recently developed causal modelling approaches. Using Japanese time series, the paper employed the augmented VAR methodology developed by Toda and Yamamoto to test for Granger non-causality. Then, a more recently developed technique of directed acyclic graphs (DAG) was also used in providing over-identifying restrictions on the innovations from a vector autoregression (VAR). In contrast to prior analyses, the application of DAG techniques allows for the examination of both contemporaneous and dynamic causal structure of the exports-productivity nexus. The empirical results reveal that the causal path between exports and GDP growth in Japan is bi-directional. Furthermore, other variables such as capital and foreign output are also significant determinants of productivity growth in Japan.
Practices of Brokering: Between STS and Feminist Engineering Education Research

This project documents my efforts to publish STSand gender theory-informed articles in engineering education journals. It analyzes the processes of writing and revising three articles submitted to three different journals, aiming to shed light on the field of engineering education, gender research therein, and contribute to feminist science studies literature on the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary work across women’s studies and STEM fields. Building upon Wenger’s concept of brokering, I analyze how I brought previously underexplored STS and feminist theory literature into engineering education journals. In producing this dissertation, I aim to illuminate some of the efforts and challenges of bringing STS and Women’s Studies (WS) topics into engineering education journals – thus producing an account of brokering practices and an example of scalable scholarship. The first chapter introduces engineering education research (EER) as a field of inquiry, situates my project with respect to current feminist science studies, summarizes the framework of brokering that informs my analyses, and describes my methodology. The second chapter describes my initial attempts at brokering by identifying and bridging differences and the preliminary brokering practices that emerged through writing and revising the first of my three articles. It discusses an article published in Journal of Engineering Education that analyzes the uses of feminist theory in EER and argues that further engagement with a broader range of feminist theories could benefit EER. The third chapter describes how some of these practices were reinforced, but also supplemented, while writing and revising the second article. It discusses an article published in International Journal of Engineering Education that analyzes problematizations of underrepresentation in EER and argues that further reflection upon and formal discussion of how underrepresentation is framed could benefit EER. The forth chapter describes how the established brokering practices guided writing the third article, making the process easier as I had become more comfortable with the requirements and challenges of brokering. It discusses an article submitted to European Journal of Engineering Education that analyzes feminist research methodologies in the context of EER, using data from interviews with feminist engineering educators. The fifth chapter concludes by summarizing the brokering practices and discussing their respective challenges, discussing the implications of this project for STS and WS, and, finally, by discussing other implications for peer review engineering education. The Appendix contains aims, scope, author guidelines, and review criteria for the three journals. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 each begin with a narrative recounting of the practices of brokering that went into producing and revising each article. The narratives describe processes of writing and preparing to submit the articles, reviews received, and subsequent revision processes. The published or submitted articles appear after the brokering narrative.
Semi-conservative replication in yeast nuclear extracts requires Dna2 helicase and supercoiled template.

We describe the preparation of nuclear extracts from yeast cells synchronised in S-phase that support the aphidicolin-sensitive, semi-conservative replication of primer-free, supercoiled plasmid in vitro. This is monitored by one and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis of replication intermediates that have incorporated [alpha-32P]dATP, by the conversion of methylated template DNA into a hemi-methylated or DpnI-resistant form, and by substitution of dTTP with the heavy derivative BrdUTP, which results in a shift in density corresponding to complete second strand synthesis. We demonstrate dependence on DNA pol delta and the pol alpha/primase complex, and are able to detect putative Okazaki fragments under ATP-limiting conditions. In contrast to the semi-conservative replication of supercoiled plasmid, linear or open-circular templates incorporate labelled nucleotides through repair synthesis that produces no significant density shift on CsCl gradients. Consistent with a true replication reaction we find that semi-conservative replication of plasmid DNA is stimulated in S-phase relative to G1-phase nuclear extracts, and is independent of the recombination-promoting factor Rad52p. Using this novel system we demonstrate that semi-conservative replication, but not polymerase activity per se, requires the activity of the DNA helicase encoded by DNA2.
Assessing and rewarding excellent academic teachers for the benefit of an organization

Abstract In this article we describe and analyse a system for rewarding excellence in university teaching developed at the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University in Sweden. Individual teachers are rewarded for the effort they invest in the support of student learning. However, it is the organization that establishes a reward system and it does so for developmental purposes. These two purposes, individual and organizational, need to be balanced but the organizational perspective is wide enough to host the individual perspective, especially if the individual teacher contributes to the overall development at institutional level. The Faculty of Engineering rewards teachers with a clear focus on student learning and a developed capability to reflect scholarly on their teaching practice. The balance between theoretical knowledge about teaching and student learning and the actual teaching practice is crucial and examined in detail. It is the reflected practitioner that is rewarded – for the benefit of the organization.
ICFHR2016 Handwritten Keyword Spotting Competition (H-KWS 2016)

The H-KWS 2016, organized in the context of the ICFHR 2016 conference aims at setting up an evaluation framework for benchmarking handwritten keyword spotting (KWS) examining both the Query by Example (QbE) and the Query by String (QbS) approaches. Both KWS approaches were hosted into two different tracks, which in turn were split into two distinct challenges, namely, a segmentation-based and a segmentation-free to accommodate different perspectives adopted by researchers in the KWS field. In addition, the competition aims to evaluate the submitted training-based methods under different amounts of training data. Four participants submitted at least one solution to one of the challenges, according to the capabilities and/or restrictions of their systems. The data used in the competition consisted of historical German and English documents with their own characteristics and complexities. This paper presents the details of the competition, including the data, evaluation metrics and results of the best run of each participating methods.
Good Neighbours, Public Relations and Bribes: The Politics and Perceptions of Community Benefit Provision in Renewable Energy Development in the UK

The provision of community benefits has become a more common component of renewable energy project proposals in the UK. This raises questions as to the purposes these benefits are fulfilling and the ways in which they are perceived by the many different stakeholders involved in the processes of project development and approval. Are they seen as an effective strategic element in negotiations around planning consent; as a right for communities whose resource is being exploited, or who are experiencing the dis-benefits of technology implementation; or as a way of bribing or buying off protestors or key decision-makers? In this paper, we draw on evidence from a series of interviews with key stakeholders involved in renewable energy policy and development and from a set of mixed method, diverse case studies of renewable energy projects around the UK to examine the viewpoints of different stakeholders (including developers, local publics, politicians, activists and consultants). We discovered variation in the extent and type of benefits on offer, reflecting the maturity of different technologies, based on a number of rationales. We also found in the public's views a high degree of ambivalence towards both the benefits on offer (when they were known or acknowledged) and the reasons for providing them. The normative case for providing community benefits appears to be accepted by all involved, but the exact mechanisms for doing so remain problematic.