Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reduced expression of decay-accelerating factor 1 on CD4+ T cells in murine systemic autoimmune disease.

OBJECTIVE Deficiency of decay-accelerating factor 1 (termed Daf1 in mice) has been shown to exacerbate autoimmunity, and recent studies have suggested that this may be explained by Daf1 acting as a regulator of T cell immunity. The aim of this study was to determine whether Daf1 expression on T cells is modulated during development of autoimmunity in mice. METHODS To test this hypothesis, we examined Daf1 levels in NZB, DBA/2, and B10.S mice before and after induction of murine mercury-induced autoimmunity (mHgIA). Daf1 was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometry, and levels of Daf1 were correlated with markers of lymphocyte activation and cytokine production. RESULTS Autoimmune-prone NZB mice had low endogenous levels of Daf1 irrespective of the induction of mHgIA. Induction of autoimmunity reduced Daf1 expression in mHgIA-sensitive B10.S mice, particularly on activated/memory (CD44(high)) CD4+ T cells that accumulate as a result of exposure to mercury. Murine mercury-induced autoimmunity-resistant DBA/2 mice, which fail to accumulate CD44(high) T cells, showed no change in Daf1 expression. Modulation of Daf1 expression was found to require CD4+ T cell costimulation, since B10.S mice deficient in CD28 were unable to down-regulate Daf1 or accumulate activated/memory CD4+ T cells. In B10.S mice exposed to mercury, the production of interleukin-4 (IL-4), but not that of IL-2 or interferon-gamma, in the spleen was associated with CD44(high),Daf1(low),CD4+ T cells. CONCLUSION These findings demonstrate that reduction of Daf1 expression is closely associated with CD4+ T cell activation and the accumulation of CD44(high)(activated/memory),CD4+ T cells in both spontaneous and induced systemic autoimmune disease.
Managing "keep" factors of office tenants to raise satisfaction and loyalty

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to add to behavioural property literature and improve the landlord‐tenant relationship, through exploring the effect of office (location and building) “keep”, push and pull factors on satisfaction and loyalty of tenants.Design/methodology/approach – Structured face‐to‐face interviews with 38 office tenants are used to identify the important push, pull and “keep” factors and their effects. The results are placed within marketing theories on competition and customer intimacy, and translated into management implications.Findings – The analyses indicate that retaining a tenant requires more relationship efforts than competing through offering a good price/quality ratio. A lot of subjectivity is involved in the tenant's valuation process of “keep” factors, which are mostly functional. Push and pull factors are mostly technical, but can only raise satisfaction up to a certain level.Research limitations/implications – The sample was confined to two multi‐tenant buildings wi.
Lean information management: the use of observational data in health care

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast traditional data collection methodologies employed in health care with more practical observational methods which are closely aligned with Lean thinking. When combined with problem solving, observational approaches achieve demonstrable improvements in clinical outcomes, productivity and efficiency. The paper aims to describe the changes in mindset and behaviour that are required to adopt the observational methods.Design/methodology/approach – The approach is to describe and evaluate case study examples on the use of observational data in the National Health Service in the UK. This is then used to derive generic principles about the wider application of observational data in health care.Findings – Traditional data collection methodologies are often insufficient to expose the root cause of a problem and therefore may result in little or no action. The observational methods identify the root cause and as such offer a much more practical and real‐.
Market share, market value and innovation in a panel of British manufacturing firms

This paper examines the empirical relationship between technological innovations, market share and stock market value. New developments in the estimation of dynamic count data models are used to control for unobserved firm specific heterogeneity. We find a robust and positive effect of market share on observable headcounts of innovations and patents although increased product market competition in the industry tends to stimulate innovative activity. Furthermore, the impact of innovation on market value is larger for firms with higher market shares. We argue that our results are consistent with models where high market share firms have incentives to pre-emptively innovate.
The impact of low-frequency noise on human mental performance.

OBJECTIVES There is a growing body of data showing that low frequency noise (LFN), defined as broadband noise with dominant content of low frequencies (10-250 Hz) differs in its nature from other environmental noises at comparable levels. The aim of the study was to investigate whether exposure to LFN at levels normally occurring in the industrial control rooms can influence human mental performance (e.g., visual functions, concentration, continuous and selective attention) and subjective well-being. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study included 96 female and male volunteers, aged 19-27 years, categorized in terms of sensitivity to LFN. They worked with four standardized psychological tests (Signal Detection, Stroop Color-Word, Comparing of Names, and Continuous Attention) during exposure to LFN or broadband noise without dominant low frequency content (reference noise) at a level of 50 dB(A). Each subject was studied only once at randomly-assigned exposure conditions. RESULTS In the Comparing of Names Test, the subjects, regardless of the LFN sensitivity, showed tendency to make more errors during exposure to LFN than in the reference noise, and in the Signal Detection Test, they generally reacted faster (had shorter median detection time). In those noise conditions, however, the high-sensitive to LFN subjects, showed tendency to work less precisely (achieved lower number of correct responses in the Signal Detection Test) compared with the low-sensitive ones, while in the reference noise there was no difference related to noise sensitivity. The subjects categorized as high-sensitive to LFN also showed poorer performance than others during exposure to LFN in the Stroop Color-Word Test (a significant interaction between noise and noise sensitivity in case of reading interference index) and in the Continuous Attention Test (a tendency to more erroneous reactions). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that LFN at moderate levels might adversely affect visual functions, concentration, continuous and selective attention, especially in the high-sensitive to LFN subjects.
Use of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion MR Imaging to Assess Placental Perfusion in a Murine Model of Placental Insufficiency

ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to evaluate the potential of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) magnetic resonance imaging at 4.7 T to distinguish decreased placental perfusion from normal perfusion in a controlled murine model and to determine the effect of transient maternal hyperoxygenation on placental microvascularization. Materials and MethodsThe study was approved by our animal care committee. Ten pregnant rats underwent ligation of the left uterine vascular pedicle on the 17th embryonic day (E17). A multishot diffusion-weighted spin-echo echo-planar imaging sequence, using 14 b values (b10 to b800), was performed on the 19th embryonic day (E19) under room air and during maternal hyperoxygenation. For each placenta and its 2 layers, the signal intensity decay curve according to the b values was obtained. The following IVIM parameters were calculated using biexponential fitting: the diffusion coefficient (D), the pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*), and the perfusion fraction (f). Mixed regression modeling was used to analyze the effect of ligation status, oxygenation, and the placental layer on IVIM parameters. ResultsSeventy-three placentas were examined: 23 in the ligated horn and 50 in the nonligated control horn. The IVIM parameters were obtained for 67% of the placentas. In the control horn, the mean (SD) values on room air were 28% (13%), 9.6 (9) ×10−3 mm2/s, and 0.88 (0.36) ×10−3 mm2/s for the perfusion fraction, the pseudodiffusion coefficient, and the diffusion coefficient, respectively. The perfusion fraction was significantly decreased in the ligated horn (−6.7% [1.9%]; P = 0.001) and during maternal hyperoxygenation (−3.3 [1.64%]; P = 0.047). The diffusion coefficient increased significantly during the hyperoxygenation (0.26 [0.04] × 10−3 mm2/s; P = 0.0001) and in the inner placental layer (0.21 [0.05] ×10−3 mm2/s; P = 0.0001). ConclusionsThe perfusion fraction is a sensitive marker of decreased placental perfusion. The perfusion fraction and the diffusion coefficient are modified during the hyperoxygenation. Our IVIM-based approach may help in the investigation and early diagnosis of vascular diseases during pregnancy.
Exploring the Link between Stuttering and Phonology: A Review and Implications for Treatment

Abstract Three lines of research have been pursued in the literature to study the link between phonology and stuttering: (1) effects of phonological complexity on the location (loci) of stutter events; (2) outcomes of standardized test measures in children who do and do not stutter; and (3) studies of phonological encoding in children and adults who stutter. This review synthesizes findings from these three lines of research to address the purported link between phonology and stuttering and its potential implications for stuttering treatment. Results from the loci studies offer some support for the role of phonological complexity in the occurrence of stuttering. Studies of performance in standardized tests of phonology have not identified differences between children who do and do not stutter. Studies of phonological encoding have been equivocal in reporting differences between children and adults who stutter and those who do not stutter. Several cautions are raised in interpreting the findings from the discussed studies, and despite the mixed findings, some implications for treatments are considered.
The Initial Private Placement of Equity and Changes in Operating Performance in Taiwan

We propose the corporate governance hypothesis which suggests that the outside blockholders arising from the private placement of equity are more likely to have a significantly positive effect on firms with poor corporate governance. Using a sample of Taiwan‐listed firms with initial private placements of equity, our study’s results indicate that an improvement in operating performance is more likely to be seen after a private placement for those firms that are without independent directors, are controlled by a family, have lower insider shareholdings or are characterized by a pyramidal ownership structure. These findings are consistent with our hypothesis.
Institutional Shareholdings and Corporate Dividend Policy in Pakistan

The present study investigates the impact of institutional ownership and growth opportunities on dividend policy based on the sample of 120 Listed Companies of Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), Pakistan, during 2002 to 2007. The estimated results, using OLS and Tobit regression models, suggest that dividend payouts are positively affected by growth opportunities, proportion of shares held by insurance companies and profitability and negatively affected by leverage. However, no significant impact of ownership by Modarbah, NIT and miscellaneous institutions on dividend payout is observed. Large companies are less likely to pay high dividends but the relationship of size with dividend payout is insignificant. Estimated results are robust to alternative proxy of dividend policy that is, Dividend Intensity.
Benefits expected by accounting firm partners selling their firms to publicly listed companies

In the 1990s and 2000s publicly quoted companies acquired thousands of accounting partnerships in Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). Little is known of why the partners sold. This study examines the benefits expected by partners who sold their practices to two Australian publicly listed accounting companies. The findings suggest that there were many reasons for selling and a range of expected benefits, with some partners seeing the sale as a 'silver bullet' solution to all of the challenges of operating a small to medium-sized accounting practice
Polyharmonic distortion modeling

For more than a quarter of a century, microwave engineers have had the benefit of a foundation of mutually interacting components of measurement, modeling, and simulation to design and test linear components and systems. S-parameters are perhaps the most successful behavioral models ever. They have the powerful property that the S-parameters of individual components are sufficient to determine the S-parameters of any combination of those components. S-parameters of a component are sufficient to predict its response to any signal, provided only that the signal is of sufficiently small amplitude. We have presented the PHD modeling approach. It is a black-box frequency-domain model that provides a foundation for measurement, modeling, and simulation of driven nonlinear systems. The PHD model is very accurate for a wide variety of nonlinear characteristics, including compression, AM-PM, harmonics, load-pull, and time-domain waveforms. The PHD model faithfully represents driven nonlinear systems with mismatches at both the fundamental and harmonics. This enables the accurate simulation of distortion through cascaded chains of nonlinear components, thus providing key new design verification capabilities for RF and microwave modules and subsystems
Milk and Cereals: Identifying Food and Food Identity among Fallāhīn and Bedouin in Jordan

Abstract This article outlines traditional ways that food, principally wheat and milk products, are prepared for storage and eaten in the Levant. Food is an important component of human culture, which not only provides nutrition, but is also used to cement social ties and mark occasions. Foods prepared and consumed by farming and pastoral groups help to define their respective identities and emphasise difference. All the groups discussed here, sedentary farmers, semi-nomadic farmers and goat-herding bedouin, rely on similar raw ingredients and preparation of foodstuffs, but some aspects are unique to one and not to the others. Changes in local diet over the past 100 years also reflect profound social and political changes within the region over this period.
The Firm-Specific Nature of Debt Tax Shields and Optimal Corporate Investment Decisions

Purpose - While an operation's unlevered value is objective, the value of the debt tax shield is subjective since it depends on the capital structure policy of the firm that owns the operation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of this subjective nature of debt tax shield value for corporate investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach - The study develops a simple theoretical model. Findings - The paper shows that even a low probability of selling a project in the future to a firm with a different tax shield value can significantly affect a project's weighted average cost of capital (WACC) and total value. Practical implications - Managers should be aware of this issue when making corporate investment decisions. Originality/value - This is the first study to address the implication of the subjective nature of debt tax shield value.
A new DNA target model for track structure calculations and its first application to I-125 Auger electrons.

A DNA target model has been developed, based on the geometrical co-ordinates of individual atoms. This model is used to analyse DNA damage produced by Auger electron tracks from the decay of 125I. The high resolution of this target model enables the distinction between direct and indirect electron hits, i.e. hits inside the atomic volumes of the DNA molecule and those hitting the water molecules assumed in the space between the atomic volumes. Three types of calculations have been performed: (1) the evaluation of the energy deposition in the surroundings of the decaying 125I nuclide demonstrating different fractions of direct to indirect hits at different parts of the DNA molecule (phosphate/sugar strand or bases), (2) a detailed energy deposition pattern in the radiolabelled base, indicating that this most burdened molecule is not necessarily destroyed by direct hits, and (3) a calculation of single- and double- strand breaks by using different threshold values for effective direct and indirect hits, resulting in a good correlation with experimental data on strand break efficiency.
Asset Price Bubbles, Liquidity Preference and the Business Cycle

In his Treatise on Money, Keynes relied on two different themes to argue that the interest rate need not rise with rising levels of expenditure. One of these was the elasticity of the money supply, and the other was the interaction between financial and industrial circulation. A decrease (increase) in what Keynes called the bear position was similar in its impact to that of a policy-induced increase (decrease) in the money supply. In the General Theory, this second line of argument lost much of its force as it became reformulated under the rubric of Keynes liquidity preference theory of interest. Assuming that the interest rate sets the return on capital, Keynes ignored the effect of bull or bear sentiment in equity markets as a second order complication that can be ignored in analyzing the equilibrium level of investment and output. The objective of this paper is to go back to this old theme from the Treatise and underscore its importance for Keynesian theory of the business cycle.
Transaction Data Tests of S&P 100 Call Option Pricing

Abstract This paper examines the pricing of S&P 100 calls using 14 months of transactions data. We find that market prices of S&P 100 calls differ systematically from Black-Scholes values. The biases in Black-Scholes model prices are both statistically and economically significant and correspond to biases that arise if market prices incorporate a stochastically changing volatility of the index.
Birth Weight: Analysis of Variance and the Linear Additive Model.

Sir, We would like to comment on the paper by Mitchell et a1 (January, 1979) describing plasma melatonin levels found in pregnant and labouring women, and in their babies at birth. Investigations in a variety of animals have demonstrated that serum melatonin levels usually show a circadian rhythm related to the day-night cycle with a nocturnal peak and a diurnal trough. A prominent circadian rhythm has been demonstrated in the blood (Smith et al, 1977) and urine (Lynch et al, 1975) of human adults, which is resistant to short term disruption of the light-dark cycle (Jimerson et al, 1977) although inter-individual differences are great. A circadian rhythm of plasma melatonin has been described in pregnant women (Matthews et al, 1977). We have measured cord blood melatonin (Evans et al, 1979) in mixed arterial and venous cord blood samples, and showed a circadian rhythm of melatonin levels, low by day and high by night. We therefore feel that it is essential to state accurately the time at which blood is sampled for melatonin. Mitchell et a1 only stated that samples were taken between 0900 and 2230, and it is therefore not surprising that their mean values fall between the trough and peak values reported by Matthews et al (1979).
Taming of a Poison: Biosynthesis of the NiFe-Hydrogenase Cyanide Ligands

NiFe-hydrogenases have an Ni-Fe site in which the iron has one CO and two CN groups as ligands. Synthesis of the CN ligands requires the activity of two hydrogenase maturation proteins: HypF and HypE. HypF is a carbamoyltransferase that transfers the carbamoyl moiety of carbamoyladenylate to the COOH-terminal cysteine of HypE and thus forms an enzyme-thiocarbamate. HypE dehydrates theS-carbamoyl moiety in an adenosine triphosphate–dependent process to yield the enzyme thiocyanate. Chemical model reactions corroborate the feasibility of this unprecedented biosynthetic route and show that thiocyanates can donate CN to iron. This finding underscores a striking parallel between biochemistry and organometallic chemistry in the formation of an iron-cyano complex.
A prediction for AKP’s nationwide vote share in the 29 March 2009 Turkish local elections

The expected nationwide vote share of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the March 29, 2009 Turkish local administrations election is predicted based on historical patterns rather than poll data. For this purpose a vote equation developed by Akarca and Tansel (2006) is used, after it is revised and updated. This model considers the credit or blame the government gets due to economic conditions, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of incumbency. It also takes into account strategic voting by the electorate to balance the power of the government, which is more pronounced in elections for local administrations. In the estimation of the equation, data pertaining to twenty-six parliamentary and local administrations elections held between 1950 and 2007 is utilized. If history is any guide, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) should be expected to receive about 40 percent of the vote in the coming election.
Location-dependent Ethnic Differences in the Risk of Colorectal Adenoma: A Retrospective Multiethnic Study

Background and Aims: Epidemiological data have demonstrated that Hispanics have a lower incidence rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) compared with other major race/ethnicity groups in the United States. However, data regarding the relative prevalence of colorectal adenomas (CRAs) in Hispanic versus non-Hispanic populations are currently sparse and inconclusive. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of colonoscopy patients (n=1656) at a single tertiary-care community hospital from 2007 to 2011, to evaluate the association of self-reported race/ethnicity status with CRA prevalence and characteristics. Established CRC risk factors were also included in multivariate regression models. Results: Overall, the CRA prevalence was lower in Hispanic subjects than non-Hispanic subjects (14.8% vs. 22.5%) and this difference was statistically significant (adjusted odds ratio, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.47-0.96; P<0.01). Conversely, no difference in CRA prevalence was observed between non-Hispanic white and black subjects. Further analyses by adenoma location revealed more pronounced reduction in proximal CRA prevalence for Hispanics versus non-Hispanics (5.3% vs. 13.1%; adjusted odds ratio, 0.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.70; P<0.001), whereas CRA prevalence in distal colon, rectum or multiple locations did not differ significantly between race/ethnicity groups. Conclusions: Our data showed a marked distinction in CRA prevalence, particularly proximal adenomas, between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. Additional multicenter studies are needed to confirm these findings, elucidate the underlying mechanisms, and clarify the implications for CRC screening and other preventive and/or therapeutic interventions.