Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mutations in the carboxy-terminal domain of TBP affect the synthesis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 full-length and short transcripts similarly

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 promoter generates two types of RNA molecules, full-length transcripts and short transcripts. Synthesis of the short transcripts depends on the inducer of short transcripts (IST), an element located downstream of the start site. In the presence of the viral activator Tat, the synthesis of full-length transcripts is up-regulated while that of short transcripts is down-regulated. Full-length and short transcripts are probably generated by different types of transcription complexes. The first is IST independent, capable of efficient elongation, and up-regulated by Tat. The second is IST dependent, incapable of efficient elongation, and down-regulated by Tat. We have used an in vivo assay to assess the role of TBP in human immunodeficiency virus type I transcription and to test the effect of mutations in TBP on synthesis of full-length and short transcripts. We find that TBP bound to the TATA box is required for the synthesis of short and full-length transcripts as well as for Tat activation and that both yeast TBP and the carboxy-terminal domain of human TBP can replace full-length human TBP for these processes. Mutations in TBP affect the synthesis of short and full-length transcripts as well as Tat activation similarly, and these effects correlate with the previously described effects of these mutations on binding of TBP to the TBP-associated factor TAFII250 in vitro. Together, these results suggest that if short and full-length transcripts are generated by variant transcription complexes, these complexes use TBP similarly, probably as part of the TFIID complex.
Intellectual Capital: Firms’ Hidden Source of Service Quality in the Microfinance Industry in Uganda

The author examines the relative contribution of individual intellectual capital elements on service quality in Uganda's microfinance industry (MFI), adopting analysis of moment structures, a form of structural equation modeling. Other than relational capital, intellectual capital elements are strong predictors of service quality with predictive power of 34%. To boost the wealth of MFIs, managers should use a suitable intellectual capital blend that increases firm value. Since the results of this study clearly show that human capital is the most important intellectual resource, MFIs should source for competent people who play key roles in the industry.
New panel results on cointegration of international health expenditure and GDP

This article tests for existence of cointegration between health expenditure and GDP using data from 25 OECD countries for the period 19607ndash;1997. The empirical modelling is based on a heterogeneous bivariate vector error correction panel model that allows for trending data as well as intercepts and trends in the cointegrating relations. Univariate country-by-country and panel unit root tests generally fail to reject the null of a unit root in the health expenditure and GDP variables. Country-by-country results based on the Johansen multivariate likelihood-based inference indicate somewhat mixed results on country-specific cointegration with a rank of one found for 12 countries and a rank of zero for the remaining 13 countries. Application of a new panel test for cointegration rank with higher power than the individual tests indicates that health expenditure and GDP are cointegrated around linear trends.
Analysis and Compensation of Time Delay Effects in Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation for Automotive PMSM Drive System

This paper analyzes and compensates unavoidable time delay effects in a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation for automotive permanent magnet synchronous motordrive systems. The amount of time delay between a digital controller and HIL simulator is investigated. The effects of the time delay are analyzed by use of s-domain representation of the entire closed-loop system. In addition, a stability study has been carried out using a root locus. The analysis results show that the time delay strongly affects the accuracy and stability of the HIL simulation according to increment of the motor angular speed. For an accurate HIL simulation, a compensation of the time delays is applied and verified through comparison with offline simulation results.
Estimating Multilevel Logistic Regression Models When the Number of Clusters is Low: A Comparison of Different Statistical Software Procedures

Multilevel logistic regression models are increasingly being used to analyze clustered data in medical, public health, epidemiological, and educational research. Procedures for estimating the parameters of such models are available in many statistical software packages. There is currently little evidence on the minimum number of clusters necessary to reliably fit multilevel regression models. We conducted a Monte Carlo study to compare the performance of different statistical software procedures for estimating multilevel logistic regression models when the number of clusters was low. We examined procedures available in BUGS, HLM, R, SAS, and Stata. We found that there were qualitative differences in the performance of different software procedures for estimating multilevel logistic models when the number of clusters was low. Among the likelihood-based procedures, estimation methods based on adaptive Gauss-Hermite approximations to the likelihood (glmer in R and xtlogit in Stata) or adaptive Gaussian quadrature (Proc NLMIXED in SAS) tended to have superior performance for estimating variance components when the number of clusters was small, compared to software procedures based on penalized quasi-likelihood. However, only Bayesian estimation with BUGS allowed for accurate estimation of variance components when there were fewer than 10 clusters. For all statistical software procedures, estimation of variance components tended to be poor when there were only five subjects per cluster, regardless of the number of clusters.
Gender and management on Spanish SMEs: an empirical analysis

Few studies have investigated the presence of women on the boards of directors of companies. Those that have been done have focused on large firms. In this study we analyzed the gender diversity of a sample of Spanish small and medium enterprises. These firms are of great importance in terms of their number, the employment they provide, and their sales. Furthermore, there is an open debate in Spain about gender equality after the passing of several laws against gender discrimination. We found that women's presence on boards generates a negative impact on firm performance and this result may be due to less risky strategies implemented by women directors. This finding is interesting because it sheds light on how women can affect the functioning of a board. We also found that family firms and firms with a financial institution as the main shareholder tend to have more women on the board. Finally, we show that firms with less debt, more assets, and larger boards have more women as directors.
Reflections on the Absence of Squatter Settlements in West African Cities: The Case of Kumasi, Ghana

Squatter and spontaneous settlements may have acquired the dubious honour of topping the litany of ills and malformations which are often listed as characterising Third World cities. Almost all the literature on Third World urbanisation and housing appears to present the view that the development of squatter settlements has become an inevitable aspect of Third World urban development and that it constitutes the poor urbanites' response to problems of accommodation shortage, high rents and land acquisition. This paper raises several issues regarding blanket statements on, and stereotyping of, Third World cities. It argues that the so-called squatter settlements which the literature often portrays as characterising Third World cities may not be true of anglophone West African cities. The case of Kumasi, Ghana has been examined with reference to the reasons adduced by Peil to explain the absence of squatter settlements in West Africa. It points out that the reasons offered by Peil may not be tenable in the case of Kumasi, but instead suggests that people's attitude to traditions, customs and beliefs regarding land ownership and the role of the spirits of dead ancestors in the affairs of the living may in effect be safeguarding the city against the development of squatter settlements.
Investing in Commodities

Investing in commodities remains controversial. But a long-only allocation to commodities brings risk reduction and inflation protection to a traditional portfolio asset mix. As more public and private pension funds are searching for higher-returning and liability-matching assets, interest in commodity investment is rising rapidly. Currently, the majority of institutional investment in commodities is index based, and trading to maintain index exposure makes this an active strategy. And although institutional commodity investment is in its infancy, newer strategies, such as index plus and active long-only, are increasing in popularity.
Segment Disclosures under SFAS No. 131: Has Business Segment Reporting Improved?

In response to user concerns regarding segment reporting, the FASB issued SFAS No. 131, Reporting Disaggregated Information about a Business Enterprise, in 1997. SFAS No. 131 became effective for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 1998. This research examines the segment disclosures of U.S. Global 1000 companies for both 1997 and 1998 to ascertain the impact and effectiveness of SFAS No. 131 in practice. Specifically, this research considers whether the new requirements have resulted in (1) a greater number of line‐of‐business (LOB) segments for some enterprises, particularly those who claimed to operate in one LOB under SFAS No. 14, (2) enterprises reporting more items of information about each segment, and (3) improved consistency of segment information with other parts of the annual report. The research also addresses whether restructuring by some firms might limit the provision of additional segment information under SFAS No. 131. The findings indicate significant changes from reporting und.
Evaluation of autologous bone marrow in wound healing in animal model: a possible application of autologous stem cells

A study was conducted to evaluate the potential of autologous bone marrow‐derived cells in comparison with buffy coat of autologous blood for rapid cutaneous wound healing in rabbit model. Three square full‐thickness skin excisional wounds were created in 15 selected experimental animals (rabbit) divided randomly into three groups. The wound was treated with autologous bone marrow cells in plasma (group 1), buffy coat of blood in plasma (group 2) and autologous plasma as control (group 3). Wounds were observed for 30 days for granulation tissue formation, biochemical, histomorphological and histochemical evaluation. In this study, granulation tissue appeared significantly lesser in wounds of group 3 animals followed by group 2 and 1 animals. Neovascularisation, granulation tissue formation, denser, thicker and better arranged collagen fibres, reticulin fibres and elastin fibres formation was more in group 1 as compared with other groups. It was concluded that the application of bone marrow‐derived nucleated cells into the wound margins resulted in early and significantly faster rate of complete healing as compared with buffy coat of autologous blood and autologous plasma (control). This approach may be beneficial in various surface wounds that heal at a slower rate and recommended for healing of various complicated wound in future.
Finance-seeking behaviour and outcomes for small- and medium-sized enterprises

Purpose - – Model finance-seeking behaviour and outcomes by Australian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using firm-level panel data. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach - – Using firm-level three-year panel data for more than 2,000 SMEs from the Business Longitudinal Database compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the authors estimate separate models for the seeking of finance (debt and/or equity) and the outcomes of finance seeking (successful or unsuccessful). Key explanatory variables include declared business focus (on financial, cost, operational, quality, innovation, and human resource measures), presence of business plans and other documentation related to successful finance seeking, innovation, indicators for family and foreign-owned businesses, and profitability. Control variables include sales, the number of employees, length of operations, export and import activity, government financial assistance, and industry classification. Findings - – Business objectives together with a large number of firm-level characteristics, including firm age, size, industry and sales, profits, growth and exports, significantly affect both finance-seeking behaviour and outcomes. The authors find evidence that the pecking-order and agency cost theories of capital structure at least partly explain the financial behaviour of Australian SMEs. Research limitations/implications - – Several of the responses in the underlying survey data are qualitative so the authors are unable to assess how the strength of these relationships varies by the levels of sales and profitability. Practical implications - – The findings show that business objectives significantly affect SME finance-seeking decisions and outcomes. SMEs that focus on profitability or growth have a strong willingness to seek additional finance; in comparison, SMEs that focus on the quality of their products or services are less likely to apply for additional finance. As only half of the SMEs in the sample considered profitability or growth to be a major business focus, core business objectives greatly affect SME financing decisions. Further, pecking-order theory not trade-off theory better explains the financial behaviour of SMEs, yielding evidence that SMEs continue to face financial constraints when pursuing growth. Some evidence also of agency cost theory in the positive effects of family ownership on debt seeking. Originality/value - – One of very few studies to examine finance seeking by SMEs, especially in Australia. Further, only study known to include declared business strategy, presence of business plans and other finance-related documentation and innovation in addition to the usual focus on growth and profitability to explain financing behaviour. Very large panel of longitudinal data used to explain financial decision making over time.
Prevalence of Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and its Association with Diabetic Nephropathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

INTRODUCTION Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are two common problems affecting global health as these two conditions can influence each other. There is very little information about the possible association between NAFLD and diabetic microvascular complications such as diabetic nephropathy. AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of NAFLD in patients with T2DM and to investigate the association between NAFLD and diabetic nephropathy in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted on 255 patients with T2DM, with minimum age being 30 years. Hepatic ultrasonography using a 3.5 MHz probe was performed in all subjects. Fatty liver based on standard criteria was diagnosed with liver brightness, contrast between the echogenicity of the liver, kidneys and the blood vessels fading rate. Screening for microalbuminuria was performed by the preferred method, measurement of the Urine Albumin-To-Creatinine (UACR) ratio in a random spot collection. RESULTS In this study, 255 patients with T2DM were enrolled of which 173 (68%) were females and 82 (32%) were males. Of these 221 subjects (86.66%) had NAFLD. Diabetic nephropathy was observed among 33% of individuals, microalbuminuria among 32% and macroalbuminuria in 10% of all individuals. Duration of diabetes, Body Mass Index (BMI), hypertriglyceridemia, and HbA1c were significantly associated with incidence of NAFLD. Also, duration of diabetes and HbA1c were significantly associated with diabetic nephropathy in patients with T2DM. CONCLUSION NAFLD in patients with T2DM is extremely common. NAFLD is not considered as a risk factor for diabetic nephropathy. To better understand the pathogenesis of NAFLD and its causal relationship with complications of diabetes such as diabetic nephropathy, prospective studies and long term follow up are needed.
Advancing Point-of-Care (PoC) Testing Using Human Saliva as Liquid Biopsy

Salivary diagnostics is an emerging field for the encroachment of point of care technology (PoCT). The necessity of the development of point-of-care (PoC) technology, the potential of saliva, identification and validation of biomarkers through salivary diagnostic toolboxes, and a broad overview of emerging technologies is discussed in this review. Furthermore, novel advanced techniques incorporated in devices for the early detection and diagnosis of several oral and systemic diseases in a non-invasive, easily-monitored, less time consuming, and in a personalised way is explicated. The latest technology detection systems and clinical utilities of saliva as a liquid biopsy, electric field-induced release and measurement (EFIRM), biosensors, smartphone technology, microfluidics, paper-based technology, and how their futuristic perspectives can improve salivary diagnostics and reduce hospital stays by replacing it with chairside screening is also highlighted.
Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria as a Molecular Disease

&NA; Abbreviations used in this article: DAF, decay accelerating factor; ETN, ethanolamine; EtNP, phosphoethanolamine; GDP, guanosyl‐5'‐diphosphate; GlcNAc, N‐acetylglucosamine; GluN, N‐glucosamine; GPI, glycosylphosphatidylinositol; GTP, guanosine triphosphate; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; MIM, Mendelian Inheritance in Man (reference 158a) entry number; PI, phosphatidylinositol; PIGA, gene defective in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria; piga, mouse homolog of PIGA; pig‐A, protein defective in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria; PIPLC, phosphatidylinositol‐speciflc phospholipases C; PNH, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria; UPAR, urokinase plasminogen activator receptor.
Hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of Japanese script

The Japanese written language comprises both a logographic (kanji) and a phonetic (kana) script. Patterns of hemispheric asymmetry in the encoding of these scripts have been found to differ. The present study examined the way in which hemispheric differences at the level of orthographic encoding impact at the level of lexical access. A total of 32 participants performed a lexical decision task within an associative priming paradigm across both scripts. The results showed a right visual field advantage for the processing of kana, but no lateralised advantage for kanji stimuli. Patterns of facilitation also differed, with kanji stimuli eliciting a late-developing and eventually stronger priming effect in the left visual field. The results are discussed with reference to the recognition-with-phonology model in the processing of logographic script.
The Development of East Asian Countries towards a Knowledge-based Economy: A DEA Analysis

Abstract This paper measures the knowledge-based development of nine countries in the two categories of developed and emerging economies. The developed economies selected include the three bench-marking developed countries from three different regions; they are the United States from the North American region, Finland from Europe and Japan, Korea and Singapore from the Asia region. The emerging economies, on the other hand, include China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. The performances of these countries are evaluated by two means: the radar charts and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The first analysis shows that developed countries have accumulated more knowledge stock. They have also shaped a better resource environment relative to emerging countries. On the other hand, the DEA scores indicate that four of the small countries, Finland, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, are relatively more efficient in generating further K-outputs when compared with the large economic giants such the US and Japan, and also other less-developed peers in term of GNI per capita.
Learning manifolds with the parametrized self-organizing map and unsupervised kernel regression

This thesis presents several new developments in the field of manifold learning and nonlinear dimensionality reduction. The main text can be divided into three parts, the first of which presents a smoothness-based regularizer that is specifically tuned to the Parametrized Self-Organizing Map (PSOM). The regularization approach makes it possible to deal with noisy or missing data in a principled manner, and it facilitates the construction of PSOMs from data that are not organized in a grid topology. In the second part, the manifold learning algorithm Unsupervised Kernel Regression (UKR) is introduced as a counterpart to the classical Nadaraya-Watson estimator. In a nutshell, UKR requires very little parameters to be chosen a priori: In its simplest form, a UKR model is fully specified by the dimensionality of latent space and the choice of a density kernel, and it can be regularized automatically by using leave-one-out cross-validation without additional computational cost. The low dimensional coordinates (latent variables) together with a mapping from latent space to data space are retrieved by minimizing some error criterion. The third part presents four possible extensions to UKR, specifically 1) a more general cross-validation scheme, aimed at avoiding unsmooth manifolds, 2) the inclusion of loss functions beyond the usual squared error, which can enhance the robustness towards outliers, and by which UKR can be tuned to specific noise levels, 3) a "landmark" variant which helps to reduce the computational cost, and 4) Unsupervised Local Polynomial Regression, where the Nadaraya-Watson estimator is replaced by local linear or local quadratic regression models, the latter showing less bias in the presence of curvature.
Business strategy, market structure and risk-return relationships: a structural approach

A structural model is proposed which integrates and extends previous findings on the interrelations between risk—return outcomes, market share, firm conduct attributes, and inter-firm rivalry. It is argued that the relative impact of market share and firm conduct attributes on risk—return outcomes depends on the intensity of rivalry. The empirical setting is commerical banking in Indiana (1975–79). Latent variable path analysis (partial least-squares) is used to estimate the model. The effect of market share is found to be quite important, even when possible ‘spurious’ effects due to differences in individual firm attributes are controlled for. Given consistent indications of oligopolistic coordination found in various parts of the model, it is inferred that the measured effect of market share reflects the exercise of market power.
The location by regional cooling of central temperature receptors in the conscious rabbit

The experiments described here were devised to locate the central receptors that have been postulated as being concerned with the regulation of body temperature, and to study their behaviour. Most previous experiments with similar purpose have had two defects; they have been based on an unverified assumption that the receptors are localized in the brain, or they have been done under anaesthesia, which notably interferes with the reflex mechanisms involved. What we have tried to devise, therefore, was a method by which known amounts of heat could be extracted from definable territories of the body, and the consequent increase in oxygen consumption measured, all in the conscious animal.