Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clostridium difficile toxin A induces multinucleation in the human leukemic T cell line JURKAT.

Clostridium difficile toxin A is a cytotoxic enterotoxin known to be active on all mammalian cell lines tested up to now. It induces a disruption of the cytoskeleton, particularly the microfilament system, leading to inhibition of cell proliferation. Here, we describe some effects of toxin A on the leukemic T cell line JURKAT. Cells exposed to the toxin did not divide, as cell numbers remained constant for 3 days in the presence of 0.5 to 1.0 micrograms/ml of the toxin. However, these cells were found to become multinucleated, a phenomenon which was time- and dose-dependent. After treatment for 72 h with 0.5 micrograms/ml toxin A, 95% of the cells were multinucleated and had a considerably increased cell diameter. These effects in JURKAT cells were partially reversible upon removal of the toxin within 12 h after the beginning of toxin exposure, but irreversible after 24 h of toxin treatment. These results suggest a continuing nuclear division in the absence of cytoplasmic division, i.e., an effect of toxin A on contractile ring formation. The JURKAT cell is the first cell type reported to respond to toxin A with multinucleation.
Financial Development and Economic Growth: Is Schumpeter Right?

Aim: The aim of the study is to test the validity of Schumpeter’s prediction that finance promotes growth using annual time series data from South Africa. Study Design: Case Study Place and Duration of Study: South Africa. Time series data ranging from 1965 to 2010. Methodology: The study employs unit root testing, co-integration analysis, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) regression, Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) regression, Error Correction Model and Pairwise Granger Causality test technique to analyze annual time series data from South Africa. Two measures of financial development are used: domestic credit as a share of GDP measuring the degree of financial intermediary services; and broad money supply as a share of GDP measuring the overall size of the financial intermediary sector. Control variables included in the model are inflation, size of government, openness of the South African economy, and a dummy variable accounting for financial reforms that began in South Africa in the 1980s. Results: Contrary to the prediction of Schumpeter that finance promotes growth, the empirical results suggest that financial development does not promote economic growth both in the short run and in the long run. The Pairwise Granger Causality test result supports the assertion that there is a unidirectional causality from financial development to economic growth in South Africa. Conclusion: The paper concludes that Schumpeter may not be right in theorizing that finance promotes economic growth. Case Study
La santé des seniors selon leur origine sociale et la longévité de leurs parents

This article analyses the role played by childhood circumstances, especially social and family background in explaining health status in adulthood. The influence of social and health characteristics is also considered, whereby characteristics in a generation impacts the health status in the following generation, in spite of evidence showing that this happens in different ways. In this study, we particularly explore the hypothesis of an intergenerational transmission of health inequalities using a survey conducted on a general population. Since the impact of both social background and parents’ health on health status in adulthood represent circumstances independent of individual responsibility, this study allows us to test for the existence in France of inequalities of opportunity in health related to families and social determinism. Empirically, our study relies on tests of stochastic dominance at first order that are supplemented by a multivariate regression analysis. This analysis shows inequalities of opportunity in health in adulthood according to social background and parents’ longevity. We obtained different results from the two parents. The mother’s social status has a direct effect on the health of her offspring. By contrast, the effect on the descendant’s health from the father’s social status is indirect only, going through the descendant’s social status as an adult. Furthermore, there is a direct effect of each parent’s relative longevity on health in adulthood.
Time to fatigue is increased in mouse muscle at 37°C; the role of iron and reactive oxygen species

Studies exploring the rate of fatigue in isolated muscle at 37°C have produced mixed results. In the present study, muscle fibre bundles from the mouse foot were used to study the effect of temperature on the rate of muscle fatigue. Provided iron was excluded from the solutions, time to fatigue at 37°C was increased compared to 22°C (125 ± 8% of 22°C fatigue time). In contrast, when iron was present (∼1 μm), fatigue was accelerated (68 ± 10%). Iron can increase reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are believed to accelerate fatigue. The addition of 25–100 μm H2O2 at 22°C reduced time to fatigue to 80–20% of the control, respectively. Iron was added to cultured primary skeletal muscle cells to determine if iron could increase ROS production. Neither iron entry nor ROS production were detected in non‐contracting muscle cells. The addition of 8‐hydroxyquinoline, which facilitates iron entry, to iron–ascorbic acid solutions caused a rapid rise in intracellular iron and ROS. Our results indicate that time to fatigue in vitro is increased at 37°C relative to 22°C, but the addition of ROS can accelerate fatigue. An increase in muscle iron can accelerate ROS production, which may be important during or following exercise and in haemochromatosis, disuse atrophy and sarcopenia.
Language deficits and altered hemispheric lateralization in young people in remission from BECTS

Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is associated with language disturbances during the active phase of the seizure disorder. However, it is not yet known whether these deficits are reversible or have long‐term impact on the development of language skills. We report on a study conducted in 13 patients in remission from BECTS and 13 age‐matched controls, who underwent neuropsychological assessments. We also recorded event‐related potentials (ERPs) during a verb generation task, to determine cortical lateralization of language. The BECTS group showed significant language deficits compared to controls as well as a pattern of atypical ERP lateralization in frontal regions. These findings support the view that BECTS in childhood may lead to enduring effects on brain maturation and language development.
LEVERAGE AND THE COST OF CAPITAL IN A LESS DEVELOPED CAPITAL MARKET: COMMENT

THIS PAPER PRESENTS the results of a comparative study of the effects of capital structure on the cost of capital in a less developed and less efficient capital market (Indian) and in a highly developed and efficient capital market (United States). Specifically, the effect of leverage on the cost of capital is tested on a sample of 28 Indian utilities and on a sample of 77 American utilities. The results for the American utilities are consistent with the Modigliani-Miller thesis that after allowing for the tax advantage of debt financing the cost of capital is independent of capital structure. These results for the American utilities provide a useful benchmark in comparing the relative efficiency of the Indian capital market. The results for the Indian utilities are inconsistent with the Modigliani-Miller independence hypothesis and support the more traditional approach to valuation that moderate amounts of debt will lower the firm's cost of capital. In a recent article L. V. L. N. Sarma and K. S. Hanumanta Rao [7] presented empirical results inconsistent with the Modigliani-Miller thesis and concluded "that investors prefer corporate to personal leverage and, therefore, the value of a firm rises up to a leverage rate considered prudent. " Their sample consisted of 30 Indian Engineering firms. Sarma and Rao do not consider the possibility that their findings could be attributed to the fact that the Indian capital market is less efficient than the United States capital market. Indeed they seem to imply that their conclusions are general enough to be extended to the American capital market. The present study confirms their findings for the Indian capital market but avoids potential sources of bias in their study. ' The results of the present study do not, however, support the generalization of their conclusions to the American capital market.
Do Analysts Matter for Governance? Evidence from Natural Experiments

Building on two sources of exogenous shocks to analyst coverage (broker closures and mergers), we explore the causal effects of analyst coverage on mitigating managerial expropriation of outside shareholders. We find that as a firm experiences an exogenous decrease in analyst coverage, shareholders value internal cash holdings less, its CEO receives higher excess compensation, its management is more likely to make value-destroying acquisitions, and its managers are more likely to engage in earnings management activities. Importantly, we find that most of these effects are mainly driven by the firms with smaller initial analyst coverage and less product market competition. We further find that after exogenous brokerage exits, a CEO׳s total and excess compensation become less sensitive to firm performance in firms with low initial analyst coverage. These findings are consistent with the monitoring hypothesis, specifically that financial analysts play an important governance role in scrutinizing management behavior, and the market is pricing an increase in expected agency problems after the loss in analyst coverage.
Effect of Gender Differences on Job Satisfaction of the Female Employees in Pakistan

The objective of this research is to further determine the gender differences while controlling the effect of selected variables on job satisfaction using data gathered from employees working in the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and public sector schools of selected Districts of Southern Punjab. This research was based on primary data which was collected from 90 employees (45 females and 45 males) working with the Ngo’s and Schools. The research results showed that there is a positive significant relationship between selected independent variables with dependent variable. The research results also indicated that in Pakistan, male employees are more satisfied with their jobs as compared to female employees. This study is helpful for management to revise their policies to eliminate the differences of job benefits for males and females in order to increase the job satisfaction of female employees.
GRN topology identification using likelihood maximization and relative expression level variations

Structure identification is investigated in this paper for a gene regulatory network (GRN) using knock out/down steady state experimental data. Through incorporating sparsity of a large scale GRN, estimates are derived respectively for the wild-type expression level of a gene and the variance of its measurement errors by means of likelihood maximization. Using these estimates, relative expression level variations (RELV) of a gene are further estimated that are due to gene knock out/down experiments. An algorithm is suggested through normalizing and modifying the magnitude of this RELV to identify direct causal regulations of a GRN. Computation results with the Size 100 sub-challenges of both DREAM3 and DREAM4 show that, compared with some well known Z-score based methods, prediction performances are substantially improved by the suggested method, especially the AUPR specification. Moreover, this method can even outperform the best team of both DREAM3 and DREAM4.
Building knowledge through action systems, process leadership and organizational learning

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the notion of organizational learning as a way of collective knowledge construction to achieve long‐term competitive advantage. It proposes a theoretical framework based on action systems and process leadership perspective, integrating five key themes: systems, interaction and relationship, teambuilding, change, and renewal.Design/methodology/approach – Literature review was adopted to determine the main streams of theoretical contribution on organizational learning and knowledge acquisition. Five distinct yet interrelated themes have been identified as contributing to the theoretical framework proposed.Findings – It has been found that leaders play a crucial role in facilitating systems dynamics, influencing the rate and degree at which organizational members learn. Two such intervening factors as dialogue and reflection have been found to be the leitmotif of learning and knowledge co‐construction in the workplace.Research limitations/implications – The paper.
The Information Content of Concurrently Announced Earnings, Cash Dividends, and Stock Dividends: An Investigation of the Chinese Stock Market

The firms listed on China’s stock market are less than ten years old and to date there has been relatively little research on the usefulness of their accounting disclosures for investors. This study focuses on the information content of annual earnings and dividend announcements made by listed Chinese companies. Earnings, cash dividends, and stock dividends are announced concurrently in China and so this allows for tests of their information usefulness and of the interactions between the three signals. Based on a data set of up to 1,232 announcements, we find that unexpected earnings, proxied by earnings changes, are positively related to abnormal returns. Thus, earnings are used by investors in setting market prices. Stock dividends corroborate or attenuate the earnings signal. If the sign of the unexpected stock dividend (increase, decrease) is the same as the sign of the unexpected earnings, then the earnings signal is stronger. If the signs are opposite, the earnings signal is weaker. Unexpected cash dividends have little impact on the earnings signal. Stock dividends per se have a small association with stock returns. In contrast, cash dividends have no discernible association with stock returns and this is consistent with dividend irrelevance arguments. Our results are robust across a number of sensitivity tests.
L-lactate transport in Ehrlich ascites-tumour cells.

Ehrlich ascites-tumour cells were investigated with regard to their stability to transport L-lactate by measuring either the distribution of [14C]lactate or concomitant H+ ion movements. The movement of lactate was dependent on the pH difference across the cell membrane and was electroneutral, as evidenced by an observed 1:1 antiport for OH- ions or 1:1 symport with H+ ions. 2. Kinetic experiments showed that lactate transport was saturable, with an apparent Km of approx. 4.68 mM and a Vmax. as high as 680 nmol/min per mg of protein at pH 6.2 and 37 degrees C. 3. Lactate transport exhibited a high temperature dependence (activation energy = 139 kJ/mol). 4. Lactate transport was inhibited competitively by (a) a variety of other substituted monocarboxylic acids (e.g. pyruvate, Ki = 6.3 mM), which were themselves transported, (b) the non-transportable analogues alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate (Ki = 0.5 mM), alpha-cyano-3-hydroxycinnamate (Ki = 2mM) and DL-p-hydroxyphenyl-lactate (Ki = 3.6 mM) and (c) the thiol-group reagent mersalyl (Ki = 125 muM). 5. Transport of simple monocarboxylic acids, including acetate and propionate, was insensitive to these inhibitors; they presumably cross the membrane by means of a different mechanism. 6. Experiments using saturating amounts of mersalyl as an "inhibitor stop" allowed measurements of the initial rates of net influx and of net efflux of [14C]lactate. Influx and efflux of lactate were judged to be symmetrical reactions in that they exhibited similar concentration dependence. 7. It is concluded that lactate transport in Ehrlich ascites-tumour cells is mediated by a carrier capable of transporting a number of other substituted monocarboxylic acids, but not unsubstituted short-chain aliphatic acids.
A NusE:NusG Complex Links Transcription and Translation

Transcription and Translation in Train In bacteria, translation of messenger RNA into proteins by the ribosome usually begins soon after the ribosome binding site emerges from RNA polymerase. Now there is evidence for direct coupling between transcription and translation in bacteria. Proshkin et al. (p. 504; see the Perspective by Roberts) show that the trailing ribosome controls the rate of transcription by preventing RNA polymerase from spontaneous backtracking, which allows precise adjustment of transcriptional yield to translational needs under various growth conditions. Burmann et al. (p. 501; see the Perspective by Roberts) provide a potential mechanism for coupling by showing that the transcription factor NusG, which binds RNA polymerase through its amino-terminal domain, competitively binds either a ribosomal protein or the Rho transcription termination factor through its carboxy-terminal domain. Rho binding might occur after release of the ribosome from messenger RNA, thus linking termination of transcription and translation. The ribosome pushes RNA polymerase to prevent backtracking, which links rates of translation with transcription. Bacterial NusG is a highly conserved transcription factor that is required for most Rho activity in vivo. We show by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy that Escherichia coli NusG carboxyl-terminal domain forms a complex alternatively with Rho or with transcription factor NusE, a protein identical to 30S ribosomal protein S10. Because NusG amino-terminal domain contacts RNA polymerase and the NusG carboxy-terminal domain interaction site of NusE is accessible in the ribosomal 30S subunit, NusG may act as a link between transcription and translation. Uncoupling of transcription and translation at the ends of bacterial operons enables transcription termination by Rho factor, and competition between ribosomal NusE and Rho for NusG helps to explain why Rho cannot terminate translated transcripts.
Antecedents of Shareholder Activism in Target Firms: Evidence from a Multi-Country Study

This study seeks to understand target firm specific antecedents of shareholder activism, and how the causal relationships vary depending on the governance environments in a multi-country setting, comprising three common law countries (USA, UK and Australia) and three civil law countries (Japan, Germany & South Korea). Our findings suggest that the antecedents of shareholder activism vary by the motivation of the activist. We identify that activists target firms with two motives, (a) to improve the financial performance, and (b) to improve the social performance of the firm. With respect to the target firm level antecedents, we find that firm size is unrelated to financial activism, but positively related to social activism; ownership concentration is negatively related to both financial and social activism; and prior profitability is negatively related to financial activism, but positively related to social activism. Further, these relationships in the case of financial activism are generally stronger in common law legal systems, whereas those in the case of social activism are generally stronger in environments with a greater level of income inequality.
The Case for Demoicracy in the European Union

The debate on the European Union's democratic deficit usually operates within a national-democratic framework of analysis. This article argues for a change in methodology. It follows the thesis that the EU is a ‘demoicracy’– a polity of multiple demoi– and has to be evaluated as such. Core principles of demoicracy are developed and the EU is assessed accordingly. Such an evaluation is not only more adequate, but also provides original insights: it is found that, whereas the constitutional development of the EU has approached demoicratic standards in general, major deficits remain at the national level.
Efficient Estimation of Linear Asset Pricing Models with Moving-Average Errors

This paper explores in depth the nature of the conditional moment restrictions implied by log-linear intertemporal capital asset pricing models (ICAPMs) and shows that the generalized instrumental variables (GMM) estimators of these models (as typically implemented in practice) are inefficient. The moment conditions in the presence of temporally aggregated consumption are derived for two log-linear ICAPMs. The first is a continuous time model in which agents maximize expected utility. In the context of this model, we show that there are important asymmetries between the implied moment conditions for infinitely and finitely-lived securities. The second model assumes that agents maximize non-expected utility, and leads to a very similar econometric relation for the return on the wealth portfolio. Then we describe the efficiency bound (greatest lower bound for the asymptotic variances) of the CNN estimators of the preference parameters in these models. In addition, we calculate the efficient CNN estimators that attain this bound. Finally, we assess the gains in precision from using this optimal CNN estimator relative to the commonly used inefficient CMN estimators.
Pre-harvest accumulation of deoxynivalenol in sweet corn ears inoculated with Fusarium graminearum

Three types of commercial sweet corn hybrids [sugary (su1), shrunken or ‘supersweet’ (sh2) and sugary enhancer (se1)] were silk channel inoculated in 1996 and 1997 with a macroconidial suspension of Fusarium graminearum to determine how early the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol accumulates in kernels. Disease symptoms rapidly developed on all hybrids and were apparent 4 days after inoculation. Symptoms stabilized by 28 days after inoculation. Toxin levels were greater than 1 μg/g in kernels as early as 2 weeks after silk emergence and rapidly increased to extremely high levels. Susceptibility in all hybrids decreased as the silk dried out. Deoxynivalenol concentrations were correlated to disease severity. There was some indication that the sh2 genotype was more susceptible than the su1 or se1 genotypes. These results suggest that improvement needs to be made in sweet corn with respect to resistance to gibberella ear rot.
A Finance Approach to Estimating Consumption Parameters

This paper relates consumption economics more closely to an aggregate financial variable than in any previous research. We compile the net real rate of return on a synthetic mutual fund (SMF) encompassing all major classes of financial assets and residential real estate. Return on the SMF better represents the market return of financial portfolio theory than any measure in use today and we demonstrate its merit in an expected utility model to estimate consumption parameters, the coefficient of relative risk aversion (CRRA), and intertemporal elasticity of substitution (IES). The estimates are stable across varying time periods and alternative measures of consumption.