Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Designated Market Makers: Competition and Incentives

Do competition and incentives offered to designated market makers (DMMs) improve market liquidity? Using data from NYSE Euronext Paris, we show that an exogenous increase in competition among DMMs leads to a significant decrease in quoted and effective spreads, mainly through a reduction in adverse selection costs. In contrast, changes in incentives, through small changes in rebates and requirements for DMMs, do not have any tangible effect on market liquidity. Our results are of relevance for designing optimal contracts between exchanges and DMMs and for regulatory market oversight.
The Formation and Effects of Exploitative Dynamic Capabilities and Explorative Dynamic Capabilities: An Empirical Study

Although previous studies have explored the formation and effects of dynamic capabilities, much remains to be learned on this topic. There has been little research on the formation and effects of exploitative dynamic capabilities and explorative dynamic capabilities. This paper provides an explanation of how entrepreneurial leadership style and slack resources affect the formation of exploitive dynamic capabilities and explorative dynamic capabilities and evaluates the effects of exploitive dynamic capabilities and explorative dynamic capabilities on competitive advantage. Based on a sample of 382 Chinese firms, the empirical results show that a transactional leadership style and absorbed slack resources can encourage the formation of exploitative dynamic capabilities, and that a transformational leadership style and unabsorbed slack resources are conducive to the development of explorative dynamic capabilities. Furthermore, exploitative dynamic capabilities and explorative dynamic capabilities can reinforce and complement each other. Exploitative dynamic capabilities positively impact explorative dynamic capabilities, and explorative dynamic capabilities enhance exploitative dynamic capabilities. In particular, exploitative dynamic capabilities have an important effect on short-term financial performance, and explorative dynamic capabilities lead to a significant long-term competitive advantage. The results show that explorative dynamic capabilities surpass exploitative dynamic capabilities in terms of competitive advantage, even if both have a positive influence on competitive advantage. This study validates and develops the theory of dynamic capabilities.
Volume nucleation rates for homogeneous freezing in supercooled water microdroplets: results from a combined experimental and modelling approach

Abstract. Temperature-dependent volume nucleation rate coefficients for supercooled water droplets, JV(T), are derived from infrared extinction measurements in a cryogenic laminar aerosol flow tube using a microphysical model. The model inverts water and ice aerosol size distributions retrieved from experimental extinction spectra by considering the evolution of a measured initial droplet distribution via homogeneous nucleation and the exchange of vapour-phase water along a well-defined temperature profile. Experiment and model results are reported for supercooled water droplets with mean radii of 1.0, 1.7, and 2.9 μm. Values of mass accommodation coefficients for evaporation of water droplets and vapour deposition on ice particles are also determined from the model simulations. The coefficient for ice deposition was found to be 0.031 ± 0.001, while that for water evaporation was 0.054 ± 0.012. Results are considered in terms of the applicability of classical nucleation theory to the freezing of micrometre-sized droplets in cirrus clouds, with implications for the parameterization of homogeneous ice nucleation in numerical models.
A morphological and morphometric study of foramen ovale in dry skulls of Indian population

Background and Aim The foramen ovale is a clinically significant foramen present in the skull base. The mandibular nerve is an important structure traversing this foramen and the trigeminal ganglion is also located just above the foramen ovale in the Meckel's cave. These two structures are targeted by neurosurgeons and pain physicians in patients with trigeminal neuralgia. Clinical procedures for treating trigeminal neuralgia necessitate very precise knowledge about the foramen ovale. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the morphology and morphometry of foramen ovale and its variations in dry skulls of India. Materials and Methods This study was conducted in 100 adult dry skulls of either sex. The foramen ovale was assessed for morphology and morphometry bilaterally using digital Vernier calipers. The summary data for all the measurements are presented in this study. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 19. Results The most common shape of the foramen ovale was found to be oval. Oval-shaped foramen ovale was present in 72% (right side) and 68% (left side) of dry skulls that were examined. A mean length of 6.62 ± 1.11 mm (right side) and 6.72 ± 1.08 mm (left side) and width of 3.78 ± 0.89 mm (right side) and 3.89 ± 0.73 mm (left side) were observed. The distance between the foramen ovale and the zygomatic point was 35.65 ± 3.24 mm (right side) and 34.91 ± 2.58 mm (left side). The distance between the zygomatic point and the anterior margin of the external auditory meatus was 21.79 ± 3.25 mm (right side) and 18.62 ± 2.37 mm (left side). Conclusion An in-depth knowledge of the morphology and morphometry which include the different metric and nonmetric parameters and the variations in foramen ovale in dry skulls has been studied, which will be helpful to neurosurgeons and pain physicians to plan their clinical procedures which involve the base of skull.
Antigen-Containing Liposomes Engrafted with Flagellin-Related Peptides Are Effective Vaccines That Can Induce Potent Antitumor Immunity and Immunotherapeutic Effect

The bacterial protein flagellin can trigger immune responses to infections by interacting with TLR5 on APCs, and Ag-flagellin fusion proteins can act as effective vaccines. We report that flagellin-related peptides containing a His-tag and sequence related to conserved N-motif (aa 85–111) of FliC flagellin, purportedly involved in the interaction of flagellin with TLR5, can be used to target delivery of liposomal Ag to APCs in vitro and in vivo. When engrafted onto liposomes, two flagellin-related peptides, denoted as 9Flg and 42Flg, promoted strong liposome binding to murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells and CD11c+ splenocytes, and cell binding correlated with expression of TLR5. Liposomes engrafted with 9Flg or 42Flg induced functional MyD88-dependent maturation of dendritic cells in vivo. The vaccination of mice with 9Flg liposomes containing OVA induced OVA-specific T cell priming, increased the number of Ag-responsive IFN-γ–producing CD8+ T cells, and increased Ag-specific IgG1 and IgG2b in serum. Importantly, the vaccination of C57BL/6 mice with syngeneic B16-OVA–derived plasma membrane vesicles, engrafted with 9Flg or 42Flg, potently inhibited tumor growth/metastasis and induced complete tumor regression in the majority of mice challenged with the syngeneic B16-OVA melanoma, in the lung and s.c. tumor models. Strong antitumor responses were also seen in studies using the s.c. P815 tumor model. Therefore, vaccination with Ag-containing liposomes engrafted with 9Flg or 42Flg is a powerful strategy to exploit the innate and adaptive immune systems for the development of potent vaccines and cancer immunotherapies.
Role of YopK in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Resistance against Polymorphonuclear Leukocyte Defense

ABSTRACT The enteropathogen Yersinia pseudotuberculosis can survive in the harsh environment of lymphoid compartments that abounds in immune cells. This capacity is dependent on the plasmid-encoded Yersinia outer proteins (Yops) that are delivered into the host cell via a mechanism involving the Yersinia type III secretion system. We show that the virulence protein YopK has a role in the mechanism by which Y. pseudotuberculosis avoids the polymorphonuclear leukocyte or neutrophil (PMN) defense. A yopK mutant, which is attenuated in the mouse infection model, where it fails to cause systemic infection, was found to colonize Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes more rapidly than the wild-type strain. Further, in mice lacking PMNs, the yopK mutant caused full disease with systemic spread and typical symptoms. Analyses of effects on PMNs revealed that both the wild-type strain and the yopK mutant inhibited internalization and reactive oxygen species production, as well as neutrophil extracellular trap formation by PMNs. However, the wild-type strain effectively avoided induction of PMN death, whereas the mutant caused a necrosis-like PMN death. Taken together, our results indicate that YopK is required for the ability of Yersinia to resist the PMN defense, which is critical for the virulence of the pathogen. We suggest a mechanism whereby YopK functions to prevent unintended Yop delivery and thereby PMN disruption, resulting in necrosis-like cell death, which would enhance the inflammatory response favoring the host.
Psychological adjustment to systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE To examine the role of demographic, disability, appraisal, and coping variables in predicting psychological adjustment in individuals with systemic sclerosis. METHODS Two hundred forty-two individuals with systemic sclerosis (SSc; diffuse and limited) were surveyed by mail. Demographics, functional disability, pain, control appraisals, 8 types of coping, and individual psychosocial adjustment were assessed by self-report questionnaires with established reliability and validity. RESULTS In regression analysis, 3 coping strategies emerged as significant predictors of adjustment: Wishful Thinking, Blaming Self, and Problem-Focused Coping. Self-reports of disability and control appraisals were also significant predictors. Collectively, 46% of the variance in adjustment was explained by these 5 predictor variables. The strongest predictor of overall adjustment was wishful thinking, explaining 22% of the variance in adjustment. CONCLUSIONS Potentially modifiable appraisal and coping variables, along with disease-related disability, appear to play an important role in predicting adjustment to SSc, while demographic variables explained little of the variability in patient adjustment.
Understanding Farm Diversity to Promote Agroecological Transitions

Agroecology is increasingly promoted by scientists, non-governmental organisations (NGO’s), international organisations and peasant movements as an approach to foster the transition to sustainable and equitable food systems. The challenges to agroecological transitions are not the same for all farmers, as they can face different social and bio-physical conditions. We developed a farm typology combining participatory and quantitative methodologies to assess and categorise farm diversity and its implications for developing strategies to promote agroecological transitions. The participatory typology was developed during workshops to acquire insights on local farmers’ perceptions and knowledge, and to generate hypotheses on family farm diversity. The participatory-based hypotheses were tested in the quantitative farm characterisation, which provided information on household characteristics, production strategies, land use, participation in public policies and extension services. Farms were located in Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais, Brazil, which harbour a wide diversity of farmers and where different actors have been engaged in agroecological transitions for the past 30 years. Our main findings were: (i) In the face of agroecological transitions, farmers differ in their management strategies, practices and principles; (ii) farmers identified as agroecological typically had stronger engagements in a network composed of farmers’ organisations, universities and NGO’s; (iii) agroecological farms showed great potential to provide a wide range of ecosystem services as they featured a higher crop diversity and a higher number of crops for self-consumption; (iv) to promote agroecology, it is crucial to recognise peasant knowledge, to change the dominant discourse on agriculture through social movement dynamics, and to generate support from public policies and funds; and (v) participatory and quantitative methodologies can be combined for more precise and relevant assessments of agroecological transitions.
Dual Sheet Meshing: An Interactive Approach to Robust Hexahedralization

The combinatorial dual of a hex mesh induces a collection of mutually intersecting surfaces (dual sheets). Inspired by Campen et al.'s work on quad meshing [CBK12, CK14], we propose to directly generate such dual sheets so that, as long as the volume is properly partitioned by the dual sheets, we are guaranteed to arrive at a valid all‐hex mesh topology. Since automatically generating dual sheets seems much harder than the 2D counterpart, we chose to leave the task to the user; our system is equipped with a few simple 3D modeling tools for interactively designing dual sheets. Dual sheets are represented as implicit surfaces in our approach, greatly simplifying many of the computational steps such as finding intersections and analyzing topology. We also propose a simple algorithm for primalizing the dual graph where each dual cell, often enclosing singular edges, gets mapped onto a reference polyhedron via harmonic parameterization. Preservation of sharp features is simply achieved by modifying the boundary conditions. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach through various modeling examples.
Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Patients Treated with ATRA - A Manifestation of the Basic Disease or the Treatment

All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) is considered the recommended induction treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia. In the pre-ATRA era pulmonary bleeding was a common cause of death in these patients, mostly due to disseminated intravascular coagulation which was further exacerbated by the administration of chemotherapy. Although ATRA syndrome, the most serious adverse effect of ATRA treatment, involves the lungs, pulmonary hemorrhage has only rarely been reported as a manifestation of ATRA syndrome. Here we describe 2 patients who developed diffuse alveolar hemorrhage during treatment with ATRA. The possible mechanisms of pulmonary bleeding in these cases are discussed.
New platelet functional method for identification of pathogenic antibodies in HIT patients

Abstract Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a thrombotic complication of heparin therapy. The most used functional method for HIT diagnosis is serotonin release assay (SRA). A different functional method based on ATP release with luciferin/luciferase long-life and stable luminescent signal is used here, which is shown to be comparable for accuracy with SRA in both negative (patients 4Ts ≤3, and negative for both anti-PF4/heparin immunoassay and SRA) and positive (4Ts >3, and positive for both PF4/heparin antibodies and SRA) patients. Our results show that ATP release is higher in washed platelets activated by sera from positive patients than in platelets activated by sera from negative patients. In conclusion, we demonstrate that ATP release assay is a valid alternative method to SRA for the identification of pathogenic anti-PF4/heparin antibodies.
Human Multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cells from Fetal Lung Expressing Pluripotent Markers and Differentiating into Cell Types of Three Germ Layers

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a promising cell type for cell transplantation; however, their utilization remains limited until the availability of adequate alternative sources of MSCs and the thorough understanding of the biology of MSCs isolated from various sources are realized. Fetal lung has been identified as a rich source of MSCs. To explore the therapeutic potential of passaged fetal lung MSCs (FLMSCs), the present study evaluated their growth kinetics, telomere length, karyotype, immunophenotype, and the differentiation potential during in vitro expansion. FLMSCs could be easily amplified in vitro with no significant shorting of telomere length and had a normal karyotype. No significant differences between passage 5 or passage 25 were observed in the immunophenotype analysis using flow cytometry. Moreover, flow cytometry results provided the first demonstration, to our knowledge, that FLMSCs stably expressed pluripotent markers including Oct4, Nanog, Sox2, TRA-1-60, c-Myc, and SSEA-4 through 25 passages. In vitro differentiation studies as identified by confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry showed that FLMSCs had extended capacity of differentiating into mesodermal, ectodermal, and endodermal lineages, and that their potential for adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic differentiation may be maintained over 25 passages. Furthermore, osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation was used as an indicator of their differentiation capability in vivo, as evidenced by ectopic bone and cartilage formation. In summary, these results suggest that FLMSCs are a primitive population and that their extensive in vitro expansion does not involve significant functional modification of the cells, including morphology, growth, karyotype, immunophenotype, and mesodermal differentiation potential. Hence, FLMSCs might constitute an attractive cell resource for cell transplantation to induce regeneration of damaged tissues/organs.
Characterization of Gene Amplification–Driven SKP2 Overexpression in Myxofibrosarcoma: Potential Implications in Tumor Progression and Therapeutics

Purpose: Myxofibrosarcoma remains obscure in molecular determinants of clinical aggressiveness, for which we elucidated implications of SKP2 amplification. Experimental Design: Array comparative genomic hybridization was applied on samples and cell lines (NMFH-1 to OH931) to search causal genes of tumor progression. SKP2 gene dosage was determined in 82 independent tumors for clinical correlates. Stable SKP2 knockdown was achieved in myxofibrosarcoma cells to assess its oncogenic attributes and candidate mediators in prometastatic function. Pharmacologic assays were evaluated in vitro and in vivo for the therapeutic relevance of bortezomib. Results: DNA gains frequently involved 5p in which three amplicons were differentially overrepresented in samples behaving unfavorably, encompassing mRNA-upregulated TRIO, SKP2, and AMACR genes. Detected in NMFH-1 cells and 38% of tumors, SKP2 amplification was associated with SKP2 immunoexpression and adverse prognosticators and independently predictive of worse outcomes. Nevertheless, SKP2-expressing OH931 cells and 14% of such tumors lacked gene amplification. Knockdown of SKP2 suppressed proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, migration, and invasion of sarcoma cells and downregulated motility-promoting genes, including ITGB2, ACTN1, IGF1, and ENAH. In vitro, bortezomib downregulated SKP2 expression at the mRNA level with p27kip1 accumulation, induced caspase activation, and decreased cell viability in myxofibrosarcoma cells but not in fibroblasts. In vivo, bortezomib inhibited growth of NMFH-1 xenografts, the cells of which displayed decreased SKP2 expression but increased p27kip1 and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase–mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL). Conclusions: As a predominant mechanism driving protein overexpression, SKP2 amplification confers tumor aggressiveness in myxofibrosarcoma. The sensitivity of myxofibrosarcoma cells to bortezomib with SKP2-repressing effect indicates the potentiality of ubiquitin-proteasome pathway as a therapeutic target. Clin Cancer Res; 18(6); 1598–610. ©2012 AACR.
Treatment of Vaginal Intraepithelial Neoplasia With Laser and Topical 5-Fluorouracil

The records of 59 women with grades 2 and 3 vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia were reviewed to define the role of CO2 laser ablation and topical 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the treatment of vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia. The patients in each treatment group were comparable in their personal characteristics and in distribution and severity of the lesions. Thirty-one patients used prophylactic 5-FU. Seventy-eight percent of all patients were free of vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia at the first follow-up examination. The results of treatment were not influenced by the grade of the lesion or previous radiation exposure of the patient. Topical 5-FU appeared to be as effective as laser. Periodic applications of 5-FU (once weekly for 10 weeks) were as effective as 5-FU applied in a continuous fashion (three 7-day courses 1 week apart), and caused fewer side effects. (Obstet Gynecol 73:657, 1989)
BreathPrint: Breathing Acoustics-based User Authentication

We propose BreathPrint, a new behavioural biometric signature based on audio features derived from an individual's commonplace breathing gestures. Specifically, BreathPrint uses the audio signatures associated with the three individual gestures: sniff, normal, and deep breathing, which are sufficiently different across individuals. Using these three breathing gestures, we develop the processing pipeline that identifies users via the microphone sensor on smartphones and wearable devices. In BreathPrint, a user performs breathing gestures while holding the device very close to their nose. Using off-the-shelf hardware, we experimentally evaluate the BreathPrint prototype with 10 users, observed over seven days. We show that users can be authenticated reliably with an accuracy of over 94% for all the three breathing gestures in intra-sessions and deep breathing gesture provides the best overall balance between true positives (successful authentication) and false positives (resiliency to directed impersonation and replay attacks). Moreover, we show that this breathing sound based biometric is also robust to some typical changes in both physiological and environmental context, and that it can be applied on multiple smartphone platforms. Early results suggest that breathing based biometrics show promise as either to be used as a secondary authentication modality in a multimodal biometric authentication system or as a user disambiguation technique for some daily lifestyle scenarios.
Effects of transportation and storage duration of Japanese quail eggs on hatchability

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of transportation from breeder’s farm to hatchery, and of storage duration on the hatchability of quail eggs. Hatching eggs were divided into two groups. The first group was stored for seven days and the second for 14 days. Half of each group was subjected to 200 km transportation before initiation of embryonic development, and the other half was not transported. Relative weight loss ratios varied significantly with storage duration, but did not vary after transportation. Hatchability of fertile eggs varied with storage duration and transportation, but only the effects of storage x transportation were found to be significant. Embryonic mortality for the first period of 14-day storage (22.1%) was significantly higher than those stored for seven days. In the second period (days 10 - 16), embryonic mortality ratios varied significantly with storage and transportation. Transportation after 7-day storage influenced the hatchability of fertile eggs negatively, compared with non-transported eggs stored for seven days. On the other hand, transportation after long-term storage had a higher hatchability of the fertile eggs than the non-transported eggs stored for the long time. These findings suggest that the vibration through transportation over the secondary road after long-term storage influenced the embryonic development of hatching eggs positively. Thus, the discarded chick ratio of the long-term + transport group was lower than short-term + transport group, and improved the hatchability of fertile eggs. Keywords: discarded chick, hatchability of fertile eggs, relative weight loss