Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Immune Regulation of Human Herpesviruses and Its Implications for Human Transplantation

Human herpesviruses including cytomegalovirus, Epstein–Barr virus, HHV6, HHV7, HHV8, Herpes simplex virus (HSV)‐1 and HSV‐2 and varicella zoster virus (VZV) have developed an intricate relationship with the human immune system. This is characterized by the interplay between viral immune evasion mechanisms that promote the establishment of a lifelong persistent infection and the induction of a broad humoral and cellular immune response, which prevents the establishment of viral disease. Understanding the immune parameters that control herpesvirus infection, and the strategies the viruses use to evade immune recognition, has been critical in understanding why immunological dysfunction in transplant patients can lead to disease, and in the development of immunological strategies to prevent and control herpesvirus associated diseases.
HIV prevention with persons with mental health problems

Abstract The HIV seroprevalence rate among persons with mental health problems (PMHP) is substantially higher than that of the general population in the United States. This study examines the efficacy over 12 months of an HIV prevention program with 99 individuals attending outpatient mental health clinics who were randomly assigned to receive either: (a) a seven-session, small-group intervention of Project LIGHT (Living in Good Health Together); or (b) a one-session video intervention. Regression analyses of data from 87% of the sample interviewed at 1-year follow-up revealed that intervention group membership was associated with significantly fewer sexual risk acts. A significant intervention effect for condom use was found for 72% of the sample who were African American, but not for Latino or Caucasian participants. Results from this study suggest that HIV risk reduction groups such as Project LIGHT may have utility in public mental health care settings.
Effects of Systematic Risk Factors on Profitability of Cassava Farming in Zanzibar

Backbone of Zanzibar economy is farming. Farming contributes much in the form of profitability generated that is influenced by systematic risk factors. This study aim is to find the effect of systematic risk factors on the profitability of cassava farming in Zanzibar. The sales margin is used to measure the profitability of cassava farming in Zanzibar; while real GDP, inflation rate, lending interest rate and broad money are used as systematic risk factors. By using annual time series data from 1985 to 2016, Ordinary least square (OLS) method is employed in running the regression. The finding of the study shows a significant negative effect of the inflation rate, broad money and lending interest rate. Therefore, the Government should closely monitor and prudently manage the systematic risk factors. Moreover, Cassava producers should be aware of the changes in systematic risk factors.
Fully Computable Bounds for the Error in Nonconforming Finite Element Approximations of Arbitrary Order on Triangular Elements

We obtain a fully computable a posteriori error bound on the broken energy norm of the error in the nonconforming finite element approximation on triangles of arbitrary order of a linear second order elliptic problem with variable permeability. The estimator is completely free of unknown constants and provides a guaranteed numerical bound on the broken energy norm of the error. This estimator is shown to be efficient in the sense that it also provides a lower bound for the broken energy norm of the error up to a constant and higher order data oscillation terms.
Immune responses to tumour and embryo cells in patients with mammary carcinoma.

Cytotoxicity microassays were used to study cellular and humoral responses of patients with breast carcinoma against in vitro cultured target cells of breast carcinomata and of human embryos. Peripheral lymphocytes were cytotoxic on both target cell types, whereas sera exerted a complement-dependent cytotoxicity on breast cancer cells only. The immunosensitivity of the breast cancer cells to patient lymphocytes was augmented by restraining cell growth before test with a decreased quantity of foetal calf serum.
Methods to analyze treatment effects in the presence of missing data for a continuous heavy drinking outcome measure when participants drop out from treatment in alcohol clinical trials.

BACKGROUND Attrition is common in alcohol clinical trials and the resultant loss of data represents an important methodological problem. In the absence of a simulation study, the drinking outcomes among those who are lost to follow-up are not known. Individuals who drop out of treatment and continue to provide drinking data, however, may be a reasonable proxy group for making inferences about the drinking outcomes of those lost to follow-up. METHODS We used data from the COMBINE study, a multisite, randomized clinical trial, to examine drinking during the 4 months of treatment among individuals who dropped out of treatment but continued to provide drinking data (i.e., "treatment dropouts;" n = 185). First, we estimated the observed treatment effect size for naltrexone versus placebo in a sample that included both treatment completers (n = 961) and treatment dropouts (n = 185; total N = 1,146), as well as the observed treatment effect size among just those who dropped out of treatment (n = 185). In both the total sample (N = 1,146) and the dropout sample (n = 185), we then deleted the drinking data after treatment dropout from those 185 individuals to simulate missing data. Using the deleted data sets, we then estimated the effect of naltrexone on the continuous outcome percent heavy drinking days using 6 methods to handle missing data (last observation carried forward, baseline observation carried forward, placebo mean imputation, missing = heavy drinking days, multiple imputation (MI), and full information maximum likelihood [FIML]). RESULTS MI and FIML produced effect size estimates that were most similar to the true effects observed in the full data set in all analyses, while missing = heavy drinking days performed the worst. CONCLUSIONS Although missing drinking data should be avoided whenever possible, MI and FIML yield the best estimates of the treatment effect for a continuous outcome measure of heavy drinking when there is dropout in an alcohol clinical trial.
Bank Deposits and Liquidity Regulation: Evidence from Ethiopia

The regulation of bank liquidity can create a commitment device on repaying depositors in bad states, if deposit insurance is absent. A theoretical model shows that liquidity regulation can: 1) stimulate a deposit in flow, moderating the limited liability inefficiency; 2) promote lending and branching, if deposit growth exceeds the intermediation margin decline. Our empirical test exploits an unexpected policy change, which fostered the liquid assets of Ethiopian banks by 25% in 2011. Exploiting the cross-sectional heterogeneity in bank size and bank-level databases, we find an increase in deposits, loans and branches, with no decline in profits. JEL code: G21, G32, O16, O55 Keywords: Banking, Liquidity Risk, Financial Development, Ethiopia
Low oxygen tension increases mRNA levels of alpha 1 (I) procollagen in human dermal fibroblasts

Dermal fibroblasts exposed to low oxygen tension show upregulated synthesis of transforming growth factor‐beta 1 (TGF‐beta 1), an established stimulatory peptide in the formation of extracellular matrix proteins. In this report, procollagen synthesis was measured in cultures of confluent adult human dermal fibroblasts exposed to either standard (20%) or low (2%) oxygen tension. By Northern blot analysis the steady state levels of alpha 1 (I) procollagen mRNA were increased by 75 to 150% of control (standard oxygen) as early as 12 hours and more than 200% 96 hours after exposure of cells to low oxygen. Similar increases in procollagen mRNA levels were obtained in hypoxic fibroblast cultures in a collagen lattice. The stimulatory effect of hypoxia on procollagen mRNA levels in fibroblast monolayers was diminished by antibodies to TGF‐beta, and could not be augmented further by the addition of TGF‐beta 1, evidence that hypoxic fibroblasts may already be maximally stimulated by TGF‐beta 1. We conclude that low oxygen tension enhances Steady state mRNA levels of alpha 1 (I) procollagen, and that this effect is mediated at least in part by TGF‐beta 1. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Disruption of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) Induces Regression of the Seminal Vesicle in Aged Male Mice

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that mediates diverse dioxin toxicities. Despite mediating the adverse effects, the AhR gene is conserved among animal species, suggesting important physiological functions for AhR. In fact, a recent study revealed that AhR has an intrinsic function in female reproduction, though its role in male reproduction is largely unknown. In this study, we show age-dependent regression of the seminal vesicles, probably together with the coagulating gland, in AhR(–/–) male mice. Knockout mice had abnormal vaginal plugs, low sperm counts in the epididymis, and low fertility. Moreover, serum testosterone concentrations and expression of steroidogenic 3βhydroxysteroiddehydrogenase (3βHsd) and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) in testicular Leydig cells were decreased in AhR(–/–) males. Taken together, our results suggest that impaired testosterone synthesis in aged mice induces regression of seminal vesicles and the coagulating glands. Such tissue disappearance likely resulted in abnormal vaginal plug formation, and eventually in low fertility. Together with previous findings demonstrating AhR function in female reproduction, AhR has essential functions in animal reproduction in both sexes.
An Integrated Power and Efficiency Model of Contractual Channel Governance: Theory and Empirical Evidence

Power theories (e.g., social exchange theory, resource dependence theory) and efficiency theories (e.g., transaction cost analysis) offer very different perspectives on the design of contractual governance in marketing channels. Whereas power theory suggests that governance will reflect the preferences of powerful firms, efficiency theories argue that governance will maximize joint value. In this research, the authors provide an integrative framework that reconciles power and efficiency perspectives in the context of contractual marketing channel relationships. This framework discriminates between two methods of exercising power: ex ante (through a tightly specified, efficient contract that rewards the powerful firm through the price mechanism while providing strong safeguards for the weak firm) or ex post (through a loosely specified, inefficient contract that allows the powerful firm to exploit its power during renegotiations). The authors argue that power will cause channel governance to deviate from the efficient choice, but only to the extent that the powerful firm cannot price out (i.e., extract) the value it offers to the weaker firm ex ante. As exchange conditions become more uncertain, power will demonstrate stronger effects on governance. This theory is supported with data from studies on contractual research-and-development relationships and procurement contracts for customized industrial products.
Delayed-choice gedanken experiments and their realizations

The wave-particle duality dates back to Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect through quanta of light and de Broglie's hypothesis of matter waves. Quantum mechanics uses an abstract description for the behavior of physical systems such as photons, electrons, or atoms. Whether quantum predictions for single systems in an interferometric experiment allow an intuitive understanding in terms of the particle or wave picture, depends on the specific configuration which is being used. In principle, this leaves open the possibility that quantum systems always either behave definitely as a particle or definitely as a wave in every experimental run by a priori adapting to the specific experimental situation. This is precisely what is tried to be excluded by delayed-choice experiments, in which the observer chooses to reveal the particle or wave character -- or even a continuous transformation between the two -- of a quantum system at a late stage of the experiment. We review the history of delayed-choice gedanken experiments, which can be traced back to the early days of quantum mechanics. Then we discuss their experimental realizations, in particular Wheeler's delayed choice in interferometric setups as well as delayed-choice quantum erasure and entanglement swapping. The latter is particularly interesting, because it elevates the wave-particle duality of a single quantum system to an entanglement-separability duality of multiple systems.
Persistence of suicides in G20 countries: SPSM approach to three generations of unit root tests

Suicides represent an encompassing measure of psychological well-being, emotional stability as well as life satisfaction and have been recently identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a major global health concern. The G20 countries represent the powerhouse of global economic governance and hence possess the ability to influence the direction of global suicide rates. In applying the sequential panel selection method (SPSM) to three generations of unit root testing procedures, the study investigates whether G20 countries should be concerned with possible persistence within suicide rates. The results obtained from all three generation of tests provide rigid evidence of persistence within the suicides for most member states of the G20 countries hence supporting the current strategic agenda pushed by the WHO in reducing suicides to a target rate of 10 percent. In addition, we further propose that such strategies should emulate from within G20 countries and spread globally thereafter.
Venture capital vs. equity crowdfunding in Finnish entrepreneurial ventures - the strategic reasons behind the choice of funding and the impact on company growth and international expansion

Entrepreneurial ventures are the key drivers of innovation, job creation and economic growth worldwide. These entrepreneurial ventures however require external assistance to be able to compete against bigger players in the global market. It has been recognized that the main issue in hindering growth of these entrepreneurial ventures relates to the lack of financial resources and also partly the lack of knowledge and expertise of global markets. Due to the shortages in available capital, alternative forms of financing have emerged in addition to the more traditional venture capital. One of these emerging forms of financing is called equity crowdfunding, which is essentially collecting monetary investments from a large pool of people through an online platform. With relation to the often highlighted resource shortages hindering the growth of entrepreneurial ventures, the objective of this study was to investigate the differences between venture capital and equity crowdfunding in the context of Finnish entrepreneurial ventures. In more detail, this research examines the strategic reasons that companies have on choosing their funding instruments and how this choice affects the company’s growth and internationalization in the subsequent years. The empirical part of this study has been conducted as a multiple case study with six entrepreneurial ventures all operating in the technology sector. In addition the empirical part of this study also utilizes three industry expert opinions in order to provide a more in-depth data collection process. Research data was collected through nine semi-structured thematic interviews, with six interviews with the entrepreneurs of the chosen case companies and three external industry experts, who represented the views and opinions of the venture capital and equity crowdfunding industries. The findings of this study demonstrate that Finnish entrepreneurial ventures primarily prefer venture capital as their financing instrument. The entrepreneurs perceive that venture capital aids them in their growth and international expansion through the connections and experience of the venture capitalist, while also future funding and exit opportunities were seen as major strategic reasons to choose venture capital. Equity crowdfunding on the other hand was primarily seen as a complicated financing instrument, which is still suffering from the previous legal restrictions, which prevented companies from utilizing online crowdfunding to the fullest potential. Strategic factors related to equity crowdfunding were focused on the additional visibility and market traction it creates, while also on the flexibility in terms of governance. Finally this study finds that both of these funding instruments can be seen to aid companies in growth and international expansion through the non-monetary assets they provide, however venture capital was found to provide even better foundations for this growth.
Audit Committee Effectiveness:Relationship between Audit Committee Characteristics and Audit Fees and Non-Audit Service Fees

Audit committee responsibilities have increased significantly in recent years due to uncertainties arising from a changing statutory, regulatory, legal and risk environment for companies. Over the past two decades their role has evolved into an independent oversight responsibility for the audit processes and the financial reporting process. The results highlight that the audit committee size and the presence of independent directors on the audit committee board have a higher demand for oversight and thus a higher requirement for audit effort resulting in higher audit fees. The results indicate that higher audit fees entail increased audit testing and higher audit quality. Audit committee expertise is related to lower audit fees indicating that high-quality audit committees are in a position to effectively oversee the financial reporting process themselves and require less audit efforts from the external auditor.
Microcystic Adnexal Carcinoma First Reported Case in a Black Patient

background. Microcystic adnexal carcinoma is an uncommon malignancy of the skin with a propensity for local aggressive growth and high rates of recurrence. To date, this neoplasm has been described mainly in the Caucasian population. We describe here the first reported case in a black patient. objective. To discuss the successful identification and management of this aggressive neoplasm in the non‐Caucasian population. methods. Mohs micrographic surgery was performed on this tumor. results. The tumor was successfully excised without evidence of recurrence at 6 months. conclusions. We present the first reported case of microcystic adnexal carcinoma in a black patient. This tumor was identified in its early stages and removed by Mohs micrographic surgery without sequelae.
MEASURING PERFORMANCE OF MIDDLE EAST AIRLINES – AHP APPROACH

Over the past decade, the airline industry has undergone a number of changes thanks to accelerated technological progress, changes in consumer preferences and turbulent political events. Bearing in mind the dynamic development of the airline industry, the concept of performance evaluation has been given increasing importance. Therefore, there is a need to further explore the defined terms and relations in order to properly respond to the changes that have occurred. Using the models of multi-criteria analysis, it is possible to perform a comprehensive assessment of an airline’s performance. Accordingly, the study used the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in order to evaluate the performance of three Middle East airlines, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, with the goal of improving the service quality and customer satisfaction. For the purpose of conducting a comprehensive analysis, besides the AHP model, statistical non-parametric tests were used as well, in order to examine the preference of tangible and intangible components of service quality.
Exploring the Relationship between Perceived Value and Intention to Purchase in Hotel Restaurants

Restaurants affiliated with the hotel industry play an important role in increasing revenue and responding effectively to customer expectations. This paper examines how perceived value relates to intention to purchase (ITP) in the context of hotel restaurant dining using a quantitative approach involving multiple regression analysis. In addition, the findings indicate that there are three significant key variables that positively contribute to ITP: perceived brand image, perceived quality and perceived sacrifice (both monetary and non-monetary price).
Texture from touch

Texture from touch refers to the processing of information about surface material and microgeometry obtained from tactile exploration. Though textural information can be obtained both visually (Heller 1989) and auditorily (Lederman 1979), touch yields much finer and more complex textural information than do the other sensory modalities.
The Relationship between Systematic Risk, Previous Returns and Expected Stock Returns in Iranian Companies

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between systematic risk criteria, previous return and expected return of Iranian companies. This study is a library and analytical-causal research and is based on the analysis of panel data. In this research, financial data of 105 firms accepted in Tehran Stock Exchange during the period of 2010-2015 has been investigated. The results of the research regarding the confirmation of the first hypothesis of the research showed that there is a significant and direct relationship between the systemic risk criteria and the previous returns of the firms. Also, according to the analysis done in connection with the confirmation of the second research hypothesis, we concluded that there is a significant and direct relationship between the systematic risk criteria and the expected return of the firms.
Video indexing using MPEG motion compensation vectors

In the last years a lot of work has been done on color, textural, structural and semantic indexing of "content-based" video databases. Motion-based video indexing has been less explored, with approaches generally based on the analysis of optical flows. Compressed videos require the decompression of the sequences and the computation of optical flows, two steps computationally heavy. In this paper we propose some methods to index videos by motion features (mainly related to camera motion) and by motion-based spatial segmentation of frames, in a fully automatic way. Our idea is to use MPEG motion vectors as an alternative to optical flows. Their extraction is very simple and fast; it doesn't require a full decompression of the stream and saves us from computing optical flows. Additional computational economy comes from having one motion vector each 16/spl times/16 sub-image; this makes the algorithms faster than working with dense optical flows. Experimental results reported at the end of this paper show that MPEG motion compensation vectors are suitable for this kind of applications.