Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bromocriptine use is associated with decreased smoking rates

Dopaminergic transmission in the central nervous system is thought to underlie addictive behaviours, including smoking. One effective smoking cessation drug, bupropion, enhances dopaminergic transmission; conversely, antipsychotic drugs, which are dopamine antagonists, are associated with increased smoking. Thus we hypothesized that subfertile women treated with the potent dopamine agonist bromocriptine might smoke less as a consequence of their treatment. Among 4608 subfertile women those conceiving on bromocriptine were half as likely to smoke as those taking other drugs or those conceiving without medication (p < 0.0001). This observation supports the role of dopamine in nicotine addiction, and suggests that bromocriptine‐like drugs could be used effectively by pregnant women to aid cessation.
KAJIAN ATAS FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI PENGUNGKAPAN LINGKUNGAN (ENVIRONMENTAL DISCLOSURE) PADA PERUSAHAAN PUBLIK DI BEJ PADA TAHUN 2004 - 2005

The aim of this research is to analyze the factors that impact the public companies' enviromental disclosure and also to analyze the impact of corporate (company's size, age, ROA and earnings management) on coprporate disclosure (mandatory and voluntary). Data are obtained from 60 companies, which are listed on Jakarta Stock Exchange, and selected based on the purposive sampling method. The data analysis method is used the path analysis. The result of this research show that on the significant rate of 5%, the company's size, ROA, earnings management and corporate disclosure have a significant effect to environmental disclosure. While for the company's age and financial leverage have no significant effect to the environmental disclosure. Keywords: Enviromental disclosure, company's size, company's age, ROA and coprporate disclosure.
Effectiveness of cause‐related marketing for differential positioning of market entrant in developing market: An exploratory study in Indian context

Cause-related marketing is being increasingly used for forging strong relation between the brand and the customer. It is primarily being used by the well-established brands to further strengthen their position in the market as it leads to a positive image of the brand, and customers are more receptive towards such brands because they tend to provide them with tangible as well as intangible benefits. This study tends to identify the effectiveness of cause-related marketing as a marketing tool for newly launched products in developing market of India, which has so far remained a less explored area. A sample of 150 consumers was taken, and case studies were undertaken for validating these findings. The findings suggest that cause-related marketing campaigns, even at early stages of brand development, can lead to customer trial and differential positioning thus providing these new entrants with an opportunity to interact with the customers. The proposed framework can provide useful insights to brand managers to design cause-related marketing campaigns for newly launched brands. The results and findings have been deduced from real-time market research, and it can help in furthering research in the field of cause-related marketing in India and other developing economies with similar market conditions.
Genetic Control of Immune Response to Recombinant Antigens Carried by an Attenuated Salmonella typhimuriumVaccine Strain: Nramp1 Influences T-Helper Subset Responses and Protection against Leishmanial Challenge

ABSTRACT Attenuated strains of Salmonella typhimurium have been widely used as vehicles for delivery and expression of vaccine antigens in murine models of infectious disease. In mice, early bacterial replication following infection with S. typhimurium is controlled by the gene (Nramp1, formerlyIty/Lsh/Bcg) encoding the natural-resistance-associated macrophage protein (Nramp1). Nramp1 regulates macrophage activation and has multiple pleiotropic effects, including regulation of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1β (IL-1β), and major histocompatibility complex class II molecules, all of which influence antigen processing and presentation. Nramp1 also has a direct effect on antigen processing, possibly by regulating the activity of proteases in the late endosomal compartment. Hence, there are multiple ways (regulation of bacterial load or recombinant antigen dose, class II molecule expression, costimulatory or adjuvant activity, and antigen processing) that Nramp1 might influence responses to recombinant salmonella vaccines. To test the hypothesis that Nramp1 influences responses to vaccination, congenic mouse strains have been used to analyze immune responses to recombinant antigens (tetanus toxoid antigen and leishmanial gp63) carried by live attenuated S. typhimurium aroA aroD mutants. Results show that congenic mice carrying the wild-type (S. typhimurium resistance)Nramp1 allele mount a predominantly T-helper-1 (IL-2 and gamma interferon) response to vaccination and show enhanced resolution of lesions following challenge infection with Leishmania major. In contrast, mice carrying mutant (S. typhimurium susceptibility) Nramp1 mount a T-helper-2 (immunoglobulin E and IL-4) response and show exacerbated lesion growth upon challenge.
The Rise of Non-Regulated Financial Intermediaries in the Housing Sector and its Macroeconomic Implications

I examine the impact of non-regulated lenders in the mortgage market using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model. My model features two types of financial intermediaries that differ in three ways: (i) only regulated intermediaries face a capital requirement, (ii) non-regulated intermediaries finance themselves by selling securities and cannot accept deposits, and (iii) non-regulated intermediaries face a more elastic demand. This last assumption is based on empirical evidence for Canada revealing that non-regulated intermediaries issue loans at a lower interest rate. My results suggest that the non-regulated sector contributes to stabilize the economy by providing an alternative source of capital when the regulated sector in unable to fulfill the demand for credit. As a result, an economy with a large non-regulated sector experiences a smaller downturn after an adverse financial shock.
NF-κ B – YY 1 – miR-29 Regulatory Circuitry in Skeletal Myogenesis and Rhabdomyosarcoma

Plasmids To construct the miR-29b/c-enhancer-Luc-wt reporter plasmid, a ~ 4.5 kb fragment containing the YY1 D site along with the other myogenic regulator factor binding sites was amplified from a BAC clone (PR24-332J17) (Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute) and cloned into the Xho I and Hind III sites of the pGL3-basic vector (Promega). For the construction of miR29b/c-enhancer-Luc-mutant plasmid, the YY1 binding site D was deleted from the miR-29b/cenhancer-Luc-wt construct using QuikChange XL-mutagenesis (Stratagene). To construct the YY1-3’UTR-luc reporter plasmid, a 500 base pair fragment or the full length (~800bp) of the YY1 3’UTR was PCR amplified from mouse genomic cDNA and cloned in a Xba I site of the pGL3-control vector (Promega), downstream of the luciferase gene, thus generating the LucYY1-3’UTR-wild type (WT) plasmid. The Luc-YY1-3’UTR-Mutant plasmid was generated by deleting the seed region of the predicted miR-29 binding site using QuikChange XL-mutagenesis (Stratagene). Replication-deficient lentivirus-based expression plasmids pMIF-cGFP-Zeo-vector and pMIF-cGFP-Zeo-miR-29b, along with the packaging plasmid mix (pPACK), were obtained from System Biosciences (SBI). An YY1 expression plasmid was a gift from Y. Shi (Harvard University) and used as described (Wang et al., 2007). MyHC and troponin reporters were used as described (Wang et al., 2007).
Initial Coin Offerings

Advantages and disadvantages The rights attaching to tokens vary widely. Some tokens may resemble traditional securities such as shares or debt securities, while others may represent a right to access or receive future services, typically on preferential terms. A key appeal of ICOs is that tokens are easily tradeable. This means that investors can, assuming suffi cient liquidity, buy and sell tokens on cryptocurrency exchanges, unlike more traditional venture capital investments, which may not be easily traded.
IGF‐II is more active than IGF‐I in stimulating L6A1 myogenesis: Greater mitogenic actions of IGF‐I delay differentiation

Mitogens are generally thought to inhibit myogenesis, and many cell biologists have found it hard to interpret observations that the insulin‐like growth factors (IGSs) stimulate bothe proliferation and differentiation of muscle cells in culture. Our previous studies suggested that the Type I IGF receptor mediates these actions. However, IGF‐II and insulin treatment caused myoblasts to differentiate much more extensively, suggesting that more complex mechanism; may be involved. Here we present evidence that the greater mitogenic activity of IGF‐l (compared to IGF‐ll and insulin) delays L6A 1 myoblast differentiation. Under conditions in which the mitogenicactions of IGDD‐l are suppressed, the stimulation of myogenesis by IGF‐I approached that by IGF‐II:; (1) in L6A1 cultures plated at a higher cell density; (2) in L6A1 cultured in which cell proliferation was inhibited by cytosine arabinoside or aphidicilin; and (3) in cultures of primary human muscle cells, which exhibit a smaller mitogenic responseee to IGF‐I. Further Further evidenceee that the Type Ireceptor plays a major role in relaying the signal for differentiation was obtained by suing IGF‐I and IGF‐II analogs. Analogs which have reduced affinity for the Type I receptor showed a dramatic decrease in activity, while an analog with increased affinity for the Type II receptor was no more active than native IGF‐I. Our results indicate that both mitogenic and myogenic actions of IGF‐I are mediated by the Type I receptor. We conclude that IGF‐I delays the onset of myogenesis as a result of its mitogenic actions, and only subsequenlty stimulates myogenesis. These observations reconcile the apparent conflict between our results with the IGFs and other investigator' reports of effects of other mitogens. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Transaction Cost and Resources Based Views on Hotels’ Outsourcing Mechanism: An Empirical Study in China

ABSTRACT Guided by the Transaction Cost Theory and the Resource Base Views, the study proposed a framework on hotel outsourcing decisions and empirically tested it. Data were collected using a survey from 240 supervisory and management level hotel employees in China who’ve dealt with outsourcing. The study found that suppliers’ cost-efficiency and specialization contribute to the overall efficiency of hotels, which further enhances the perceived overall service performance of outsourcing suppliers and hotels’ long-term commitments with outsourcing suppliers.
Remuneração de Executivos e Desempenho no Mercado Brasileiro: Relações Contemporâneas e Defasadas

This paper examines the relation between executive compensation and performance in Brazilian companies. The analysis focuses on: (a) the motivational effect of contemporary and lagged compensation level and pay elements on financial and market performance; and (b) the hypothesis of pay-performance sensitivity. Based on longitudinal data including 333 companies for the period from 2011 to 2015, our results indicate that the relation between compensation and performance is significant for financial as well as market performance, and for short-term performance as well as long-term performance. Our results also indicate that increases in the level of compensation lead to future superior performance. Finally, our results suggest the existence of bidirectional relationship between compensation and performance.
Tweets and Sales

Many businesses today resort to tweeting as a new form of product marketing. However, whether and how tweeting drives product sales remains inconclusive. We explore this question with a randomized field experiment on Sina Weibo, the top tweeting website in China. We collaborate with a major global media company and examine how the viewing of its TV shows is affected by (1) the media company’s own tweets about its shows, and (2) recruited Weibo influentials’ retweets of the company tweets. We find that both company tweets and influential retweets are effective in increasing show viewing, but in different ways. Company tweets directly boost viewing, whereas influential retweets increases viewing if the show tweet is informative. However, influential retweets are more effective than company tweets in bringing new Weibo followers to the company, which indirectly increases viewing. Based on the findings, we provide managerial recommendations on tweet-marketing management.
The Impact of External and Internal Factors on the Management Accounting Practices

The accounting system plays a crucial role on the company organizational structure. The literature shows that the important contingency factors that affect the organizational structure are the environmental uncertainty, the production technology, the strategy, the size and the structure. The aim of this research is to demonstrate that the integration of Management Accounting Practices is a matter of harmonization between the external and internal factors of firms and the Management Accounting Practices. Thus, we adopt the contingency model to determine the main external contingency factors that explains the adoption of business accounting practices management of distinct levels of development. The exploratory study examines a sample of Tunisian firms belonging to different sectors. Our research is divided into two parts. The first one presents a review of the literature on the conceptual framework and theoretical foundation of management accounting and the concepts of contingency theory as a management accounting reading approach. The second part deals with the research methodology and the analysis and interpretation of the results.
DAP‐kinase is a Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent, cytoskeletal‐associated protein kinase, with cell death‐inducing functions that depend on its catalytic activity

DAP‐kinase was initially identified as a gene whose anti‐sense‐mediated reduced expression protected HeLa cells from interferon‐γ‐induced programmed cell death. It was cloned in our laboratory by a functional gene selection approach. According to its amino acid sequence, this 160 kDa protein was predicted to be a novel type of calmodulin‐regulated serine/threonine kinase which carries ankyrin repeats and the death domain. In this work we have shown that the kinase was autophosphorylated and capable of phosphorylating an exogenous substrate in a Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent manner. We proved that calmodulin binds directly to the recombinant kinase, and generated a constitutively active kinase mutant by the deletion of the calmodulin‐regulatory domain. By immunostaining and biochemical fractionations we demonstrated that the kinase is localized to the cytoskeleton, in association with the microfilament system, and mapped a region within the protein which is responsible for binding to the cytoskeleton. Several assays attributed a cell death function to the gene. Ectopic expression of wild‐type DAP‐kinase induced the death of target cells, and the killing property depended strictly on the status of the intrinsic kinase activity. Conversely, a catalytically inactive mutant that carried a lysine to alanine substitution within the kinase domain, displayed dominant‐negative features and protected cells from interferon‐γ‐induced cell death. DAP‐kinase is therefore a novel cytoskeletal‐associated cell death serine/threonine kinase whose activation by Ca2+/calmodulin may be linked to the biochemical mechanism underlying the cytoskeletal alterations that occur during cell death.
Company characteristics and corporate social responsibility disclosure of Malaysian listed companies

Towards realizing Malaysia’s Vision 2020,Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been viewed as an important part for a business to succeed.With the increasing awareness and global demand for better CSR practices, companies need recognize and adopt them into their management practices.However, in today’s emerging market, several factors could influence the adoption of CSR as part of their business strategy. This research aims to identify the focus level of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure (CSRD) in Malaysia Meanwhile, four identified factors such as company size, profitability, share return, and industry type were tested to the CSRD.Secondary data obtained from 100 public listed companies across industries were analysed and reported in this study. Constructed CSRD checklist was used to identify the focus level of CSRD, and multiple regression analysis was employed to test the relationships of the above stated variables.In conclusion, the highest and least disclosures were community and marketplace, respectively.The finding also indicates that company size, profitability and share return have significance relationships with the CSRD while the industry type was not significantly linked with CSRD.This finding could benefit the government and policy makers to consistently encourage corporates to practice CSR and to place appropriate emphasis awards for those who comply such as tax incentive, CSR awards; special rules exempted or granted government grants.Therefore, the corporations also need to move forward from just a voluntary disclosure to the betterment of nation sustainability.
Curcumin improves the therapeutic efficacy of Listeriaat-Mage-b vaccine in correlation with improved T-cell responses in blood of a triple-negative breast cancer model 4T1

Success of cancer vaccination is strongly hampered by immune suppression in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Interleukin (IL)‐6 is particularly and highly produced by triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, and has been considered as an important contributor to immune suppression in the TME. Therefore, we hypothesized that IL‐6 reduction may improve efficacy of vaccination against TNBC cancer through improved T‐cell responses. To prove this hypothesis, we investigated the effect of curcumin, an inhibitor of IL‐6 production, on vaccination of a highly attenuated Listeria monocytogenes (Listeriaat), encoding tumor‐associated antigens (TAA) Mage‐b in a TNBC model 4T1. Two therapeutic vaccination strategies with Listeriaat‐Mage‐b and curcumin were tested. The first immunization strategy involved all Listeriaat‐Mage‐b vaccinations and curcumin after tumor development. As curcumin has been consumed all over the world, the second immunization strategy involved curcumin before and all therapeutic vaccinations with Listeriaat‐Mage‐b after tumor development. Here, we demonstrate that curcumin significantly improves therapeutic efficacy of Listeriaat‐Mage‐b with both immunization strategies particularly against metastases in a TNBC model (4T1). The combination therapy was slightly but significantly more effective against the metastases when curcumin was administered before compared to after tumor development. With curcumin before tumor development in the combination therapy, the production of IL‐6 was significantly decreased and IL‐12 increased by myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSC), in correlation with improved CD4 and CD8 T‐cell responses in blood. Our study suggests that curcumin improves the efficacy of Listeriaat‐Mage‐b vaccine against metastases in TNBC model 4T1 through reversal of tumor‐induced immune suppression.
Impact Of Board Characteristics On Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure

The purpose of this study is to explore the link between corporate governance characteristics and corporate social responsibility disclosure of listed companies in the Pakistan stock Exchange (PSX), Pakistan. A sample of 179 companies from financial and non-financial sectors are studied from 2009 to 2015. The data is collected from their annual reports and websites. Binary logistic regression analysis is employed to test the models. The results reveal that board size, number of meetings and board independence are significant corporate governance characteristics to establish the link with corporate social responsibility disclosure. This study also explore that the trend of CSR disclosure is increasing in financial as well as non-financial sector. Additionally, the companies disclose their CSR activities lead in financial performance as compare to their counterpart. This study adds in the literature to explore the influence of board characteristics on corporate social responsibility disclosure from a developing country’s perspective.
The Impact of Emotional Competencies on Management Skills

This study is focused on the analysis of a series of elements which might favor people’s capacities to set objectives in areas in which they are personally invested in making right decisions. The capacity to set objectives is one of the main variables to assess management skills found in the academic literature. Following the approach in Bond et al. (2008) and focusing on decision makers’ personal traits in particular, the empirical study carried out to this end reveals that participants’ level of emotional intelligence has an important positive effect on this capacity, which nonetheless is hampered in the case of individuals with markedly negative frames of mind.
Development of Rutherford-Type Cables for High Field Accelerator Magnets at Fermilab

Fermilab's cabling facility has been upgraded to a maximum capability of 42 strands. This facility is being used to study the effect of cabling on the performance of the various strands, and for the development and fabrication of cables in support of the ongoing magnet R&D programs. Rutherford cables of various geometries, packing factors, with and without a stainless steel core, were fabricated out of Cu alloys, NbTi, Nb3Al, and various Nb3Sn strands. The parameters of the upgraded cabling machine and results of cable R&D efforts at Fermilab are reported.
Wingless signaling in a large insect, the blowfly Lucilia sericata: A beautiful example of evolutionary developmental biology

Blowflies are the primary facultative agent in causing myiasis of domestic sheep in the whole world and, at the same time, it is an important tool for forensic medicine. Surprisingly, and in contrast to its importance, almost no data regarding the embryology and molecular markers are known for this insect. In this report, we present a detailed description of the blowfly Lucilia sericata embryogenesis and of imaginal disc development. The embryogenesis of Lucilia strongly resembles that of Drosophila, despite their apparent size difference. Moreover, imaginal disc development appears to be equally well conserved. Through cloning, expression, and functional studies, we show that the Lucilia Wingless (Wg) protein is highly conserved between the two species. We further show that parasegments are established in Lucilia, however, engrailed expression shows a more dynamic expression pattern than expected in comparison to Drosophila. Over‐expression of Lucilia Wingless in Drosophila shows wingless‐like wing phenotypes, suggesting that Lucilia Wingless blocks the signalling activity of Drosophila Wingless. Upon injection of wg dsRNA, we observe a “lawn of denticle” phenotype, closely resembling that of Drosophila. Due to the large size of the insect, the distance over which Wingless exerts signalling activity is up to three times larger than in Drosophila, yet the consequences are very similar. Our data demonstrate long‐range wingless signaling mechanisms adapted for patterning large domains of naked cuticle and suggest signaling properties of Lucilia Wingless that are distinct from those of Drosophila Wingless. Developmental Dynamics 235:347–360, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.