Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The evolution of intra- and inter-sector knowledge spillovers in the EU Framework Programmes

In this paper we compute knowledge spillovers springing from R&D co-operation in the EU Framework Programmes. Contrary to most other methods we estimate spillovers in a direct way, following a limited number of assumptions. Intra- and inter-sector spillovers are computed for the first four FWPs, to analyse the evolution of the pattern of co-operation in response to policy and other (e.g. technology) shifts. We endorse a ‘learning by networking’ perspective, which acknowledges that knowledge flows are not limited to flows of codified information and argue that measuring spillovers is essential in assessing the rationale and the impact of network-promoting policies.
High Al-Content AlGaN Transistor With 0.5 A/mm Current Density and Lateral Breakdown Field Exceeding 3.6 MV/cm

We report on ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) Al<sub>0.7</sub>Ga<sub>0.3</sub>N channel metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Employing reverse Al composition graded ohmic contact layers and 20 nm Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> gate-dielectric, 250 nm thick Al<sub>0.7</sub>Ga<sub>0.3</sub>N:Si channel MOSFETs resulted in the maximum current density of 0.5 A/mm, which is the highest value reported for AlGaN channels with Al composition >0.25. Transistors with a gate-drain spacing (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$L_{\mathrm{ GD}})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.7~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> demonstrated a breakdown voltage (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$V_{\mathrm{ DG}})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of ~620 V, translating in an average lateral breakdown field of ~3.6 MV/cm. This work establishes UWBG AlGaN as a promising candidate for advanced RF applications.
Putting critical realism to work

In the preceding chapters we have made it clear that research based upon scientism (its ontology, epistemology, methodology and aetiology and the quantitative, empirical, statistical techniques it sponsors), has seriously misled research on the HRM–P link. The previous chapter drew upon critical realism to sketch some of the meta-theoretical building blocks on which an alternative approach to research on the HRM–P link might be undertaken in future. This leaves two possible directions for us to travel. One direction would lead us in the direction of undertaking empirical research ourselves, exploring the relation between HRM and organisational performance not via scientism, but via critical realism and the research techniques it sponsors. This direction is not, unfortunately, open to us at the moment. It would, of course, take years to fund, design, undertake and then report upon such empirical research, and we simply did not want to delay publication of the book any further. In any case, the main purpose of this book is to convince the reader that current research on the HRM–P link is flawed and alternatives need to be sought. The other direction is to make use of interviews we carried out with senior HR professionals to ascertain their views on the meta-theory underpinning research on the HRM–P link. This research led us to conclude that many senior HR professionals are not only unhappy with scientism, they are far happier with critical realism as it meshes with their own implicit modus operandi. This is the direction we took. Most HR professionals are not, of course, experts in meta-theory so the way we approach this research is to use language that they understand. We do not, then, ask them for their ‘views on the deductive method’ or, for that matter, their ‘views on the use of closed system modelling’. We take meta-theoretical concepts, translate them into questions using ‘everyday’ language, then translate the answers, often couched in metaphor, back into meta-theoretical concepts. When, in a particular context our respondents say they ‘lift up the stones and have a look underneath’, we are able to translate this into them saying they retroduce to a mechanism that is causing some phenomena that they seek an explanation to.
Increased glycosaminoglycans in the urine of asthmatic children on inhaled corticosteroids

Increased extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in the airway wall contributes to the airway remodeling in asthmatics. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are polysaccharides attached to a protein core in order to form proteoglycans, a component of the ECM. In this study, we investigated the possible influence of long‐term treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on urinary GAGs levels of asthmatic children. Seventy asthmatic children (41 boys), aged 6.8–12.5 yr, participated in the study. About 44 were treated with inhaled budesonide via turbuhaler for 2–35 months (median 12 months) and 26 were on relief medications. About 30 healthy controls were also studied. GAGs were precipitated from early morning urine samples, collected, isolated and quantified using uronic acid‐carbazole reaction and expressed as uronic acid (UA) in μg/g/Cru/m2. Urinary GAGs values did not differ significantly between controls and asthmatics but significant differences were found between children on ICS and asthmatics on relief medications (p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between the daily dose of inhaled budesonide and the urinary GAGs values (r = 0.32, p = 0.037) whereas a threshold distinguishing ‘low’ vs. ‘high’ doses of ICS was found to be at 300 μg/m2 per day with a significant difference in urinary GAGs secretion (p = 0.006). Our data show that urinary GAGs secretion is reduced in asthmatic children that used only relief medication but it is increased in those on long‐term treatment with ICS. A dose dependent effect of ICS was also detected.
Characterization and localization of a putative oxytocin receptor in the cervix of the oestrous ewe.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the presence of high-affinity oxytocin-binding sites (putative oxytocin receptors) in the cervix of the non-pregnant ewe. [3H]Oxytocin binding to the peripheral layers of cervical tissue (comprising the serosal layer and the least dense collagenous and muscular layers) and the remaining dense collagenous cervical tissue were studied separately. [3H]Oxytocin-binding sites were detected in membrane fractions prepared from both of these regions, but binding to the peripheral cervix was variable and binding site concentrations were low, hence these were not characterized further. A high-affinity oxytocin-binding site, having a dissociation constant of 1.8 nmol/l, was characterized in the dense collagenous regions of the cervix of ewes killed during the oestrous period. Similar dissociation constants were determined for [Arg8]-vasopressin and the oxytocin-specific agonist [Thr4, Gly7]-oxytocin in competition studies. [3H]Oxytocin binding to peripheral cervical tissue and to the dense collagenous cervix was generally low or undetectable during the luteal phase, but increased in both tissues around the time of luteolysis. Although specific binding to both tissues was variable during the oestrous period, it was higher at this time than during the luteal phase. [3H]Oxytocin-binding site concentrations were also found to be higher within the inner dense collagenous cervix of oestrous ewes than of pregnant, ovariectomized or anoestrous animals. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Neurotoxins Distinguish Between Different Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit Combinations

Neuronal and muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit combinations expressed in Xenopus oocytes were tested for sensitivity to various neurotoxins. Extensive blockade of the α3β2 neuronal subunit combination was achieved by 10 nM neuronal bungarotoxin. Partial blockade of the α4β2 neuronal and α1β1γδ muscle subunit combinations was caused by 1,000 nM neuronal bungarotoxin. The α2β2 neuronal subunit combination was insensitive to 1,000 nM neuronal bungarotoxin. Nearly complete blockade of all neuronal subunit combinations resulted from incubation with 2 nM neosurugatoxin, whereas 200 nM neosurugatoxin was required for partial blockade of the α1β1γδ muscle subunit combination. The α2β2 and α3β2 neuronal subunit combinations were partially blocked by 10,000 nM lophotoxin analog‐1, whereas complete blockade of the α4β2 neuronal and α1β1γδ muscle subunit combinations resulted from incubation with this concentration of lophotoxin analog‐1. The α1β1γδ muscle subunit combination was blocked by the α‐conotoxins G1A and M1 at concentrations of 100 nM. All of the neuronal subunit combinations were insensitive to 10,000 nM of both α‐conotoxins. Thus, neosurugatoxin and the α‐conotoxins distinguish between muscle and neuronal subunit combinations, whereas neuronal bungarotoxin and lophotoxin analog‐1 distinguish between different neuronal subunit combinations on the basis of differing α subunits.
Development of Force Observer in Series Elastic Actuator for Dynamic Control

Recently, a series elastic actuator (SEA) has emerged as a potential actuator system for various robotic applications where safe and precise interactive force control is required. Even though lots of research has been conducted on the mechanical/controller design and the development of applications for SEAs, the accurate force observation issue has not been highlighted much. Only the simple law, that is, the spring in an SEA can measure interactive force has been repeatedly mentioned and utilized. However, this is not true when the load-side dynamics affects the spring deformation significantly. This paper tackles this problem by demonstrating the imprecise force observation of the spring deformation and proposing two types of external force observers to address the problem. A reaction force-sensing SEA (RFSEA) is adopted in this paper, and its dynamic characteristic is analyzed in detail using the Lagrangian mechanics. Based on the analyzed dynamics, force observers are designed and verified through simulations and experiments. An XY stage driven by RFSEAs is developed so that the stage can be force controlled, and the proposed force observers are applied to this. Human interactive forces on the developed XY stage, the impedance of which is controlled in several ways, are estimated and compared with a force plate. Various experimental results validate the performance and potential of the proposed force observer for SEA systems.
Effect of tumor necrosis factor α on intrahepatic bile duct epithelial cell of rat liver

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α), which is primarily produced by macrophages, is a cytokine with various biological activities. Macrophage infiltration often accompanies experimental cholangitis in rats, and chronic cholangitis in humans. The pathophysiologic significance of TNF‐α in cholangitis is not known. We used cultured, polarized intrahepatic bile duct epithelial cells (IBDECs) from rat liver to determine whether TNF‐α directly affects the organization of IBDEC monolayers. The addition of recombinant TNF‐α (rTNF‐α) to culture media at concentrations from 10 to 200 U/mL lacked cytotoxicity to the IBDECs as judged by trypan blue exclusion and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. rTNF‐α transiently reduced transepithelial electrical resistance in a dose‐dependent manner. During this decrease in resistance, the cellular tight junctions became leaky, allowing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) penetration. rTNF‐α, at concentrations up to 200 U/mL, did not detach IBDECs from Matrigel, an artificial basement membrane. Electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry for F‐actin showed a well‐preserved cell structure and organization of IBDECs. Results suggest that TNF‐α is nontoxic to IBDECs, and that it increases the permeability of tight junctions. TNF‐α may thus disturb the barrier function of the bile duct.
Differential Effects of Parasympathetic Blockade and Parasympathetic Withdrawal on Heart Rate Variability

Parasympathetic Withdrawal and Blockade Effects on HRV. introduction: Low heart rate variability (HRV) has been shown to have important prognostic significance in multiple settings. Although this is believed to reflect reduced parasympathetic tone, the physiology of reduced parasympathetic tone has not been elucidated.
Discrete Time Shock Models in a Markovian Environment

This paper deals with two different shock models in a Markovian environment. We study a system from a reliability point of view under these two shock models. According to the first model, the system fails if the cumulative shock magnitude exceeds a critical level, while in the second model the failure occurs when the cumulative effect of the shocks in consecutive periods is above a critical level. The shock occurrences over discrete time periods are assumed to be Markovian. We obtain expressions for the failure time distributions of the system under the two model. Illustrative computational results are presented for the survival probabilities and mean time to failure values of the system.
The transformation from grid cells to place cells is robust to noise in the grid pattern

Spatial navigation in rodents has been attributed to place‐selective cells in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. However, there is currently no consensus on the neural mechanisms that generate the place‐selective activity in hippocampal place cells or entorhinal grid cells. Given the massive input connections from the superficial layers of the entorhinal cortex to place cells in the hippocampal cornu ammonis (CA) regions, it was initially postulated that grid cells drive the spatial responses of place cells. However, recent experiments have found that place cell responses are stable even when grid cell responses are severely distorted, thus suggesting that place cells cannot receive their spatial information chiefly from grid cells. Here, we offer an alternative explanation. In a model with linear grid‐to‐place‐cell transformation, the transformation can be very robust against noise in the grid patterns depending on the nature of the noise. In the two more realistic noise scenarios, the transformation was very robust, while it was not in the other two scenarios. Although current experimental data suggest that other types of place‐selective cells modulate place cell responses, our results show that the simple grid‐to‐place‐cell transformation alone can account for the origin of place selectivity in the place cells. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Trophoblasts and Shear Stress Induce an Asymmetric Distribution of ICAM‐1 in Uterine Endothelial Cells

Problem We have used an in vitro co‐culture system consisting of early gestation macaque trophoblasts cultured on top of human uterine microvascular endothelial cells (UtMVECs) to investigate the inflammatory response of endothelial cells to trophoblasts under shear stress conditions.
Enhancement of presynaptic calcium current by cysteine string protein

The isolated chick ciliary neuron calyx synapse preparation was used to test cysteine string protein (CSP) action on presynaptic N‐type Ca2+ channels. Endogenous CSP was localized primarily to secretory vesicle clusters in the presynaptic nerve terminal. Introduction of recombinant CSP into the voltage clamped terminal resulted in a prominent increase in Ca2+ current amplitude. However, this increase could not be attributed to a change in Ca2+ channel kinetics, voltage dependence, prepulse inactivation, or G protein inhibition but was attributed to the recruitment of dormant channels. Secretory vesicle associated endogenous CSP may play an important role in enhancing Ca2+ channel activity at the transmitter release site.
Long-term morbidity, mortality, and economics of rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To estimate the morbidity, mortality, and lifetime costs of care for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS We developed a Markov model based on the Arthritis, Rheumatism, and Aging Medical Information System Post-Marketing Surveillance Program cohort, involving 4,258 consecutively enrolled RA patients who were followed up for 17,085 patient-years. Markov states of health were based on drug treatment and Health Assessment Questionnaire scores. Costs were based on resource utilization, and utilities were based on visual analog scale-based general health scores. RESULTS The cohort had a mean age of 57 years, 76.4% were women, and the mean duration of disease was 11.8 years. Compared with a life expectancy of 22.0 years for the general population, this cohort had a life expectancy of 18.6 years and 11.3 quality-adjusted life years. Lifetime direct medical care costs were estimated to be $93,296. Higher costs were associated with higher disability scores. CONCLUSION A Markov model can be used to estimate lifelong morbidity, mortality, and costs associated with RA, providing a context in which to consider the potential value of new therapies for the disease.
[The early diagnosis of juvenile germinoma originating from the basal ganglia and thalamus].

OBJECTIVE To explore the early diagnosis of germinoma originating from the basal ganglia (BG) and thalamus during juveniles. METHODS Retrospective analysis was done with the clinical cases of germinomas in BG and thalamus from 2000 to 2009. The symptoms, signs, neuroimaging, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings were analyzed and related literature were reviewed. RESULTS Eight patents were collected. The main symptoms were hemiplegia, associated with aphasia and/or impaired cognition. Brain CT showed high density and calcification. Abnormal T1 and T2 signal were found in brain MRI frequently associated with ipsilateral hemisphere atrophy. MRS showed increased choline and decreased N-acetylaspartate level. Elevated CSF human chorionic gonadotrophin level were found in two of them. CONCLUSIONS Germinoma in BG and thalamus predominates in a boy. The neuroimaging features are very informative for early diagnosis.
The Association between Human Leukocyte Antigens and Hypertensive End-Stage Renal Failure among Yemeni Patients.

OBJECTIVES Many studies have attempted to locate a connection between various genetic factors and the pathogenesis of certain diseases. A number of these have found human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) to be the most significant genetic factors affecting the susceptibility of an individual to a certain disease. The present case-control study aimed to determine the connection between class I and class II HLAs and cases of hypertensive end-stage renal failure (HESRF), as contrasted with healthy controls, in Yemen. METHODS The study was carried out between March 2013 and March 2014 and included 50 HESRF patients attending the Urology & Nephrology Center at Al-Thawra University Hospital in Sana'a, Yemen, and 50 healthy controls visiting the same centre for kidney donation. Among both patients and controls, HLA class I (A, B and C) and class II (DRB1) genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reactions. RESULTS There was an association (odds ratio: 4.0) with HLA-A9(24) and HESRF, although this was not statistically significant. A significant protective function was found for the HLA-CW3 and DRB1-8 genes against the development of HESRF. Although HLA-B14 was present in some patients (0.06) and not in the controls, this difference was not statistically significant enough to conclude that HLA-B14 plays a role in the genetic predisposition for end-stage renal disease development. There was a high frequency of HLA-A2, B5, CW6, DRB1-3, DRB1-4 and DRB1-13 in both patients and controls. CONCLUSION Although no HLAs were found to play a highly significant role in genetic predisposition to HESRF, certain HLA genes could be considered as protective genes against HESRF development.
Multimerization Determinants Reside in Both the Catalytic Core and C Terminus of Avian Sarcoma Virus Integrase (*)

We have shown previously that the active form of avian sarcoma virus integrase (ASV IN) is a multimer. In this report we investigate IN multimerization properties by a variety of methods that include size exclusion chromatography, chemical cross-linking, and protein overlay assays. We show that removal of the nonconserved C-terminal region of IN results in a reduced capacity for multimerization, whereas deletion of the first 38 amino acids has little effect on the oligomeric state. Binding of a full-length IN fusion protein to various IN fragments indicates that sequences in both the catalytic core (residues 50-207) and a C-terminal region (residues 201-240) contribute to IN self-association. We also observe that the isolated C-terminal fragment (residues 201-286) is capable of self-association. Finally, a single amino acid substitution in the core domain (S85G) produces a severe defect in multimerization. We conclude from these analyses that both the catalytic core and a region in the nonconserved C terminus are involved in ASV integrase multimerization. These results enhance our understanding of integrase self-association determinants and define a major role of the C-terminal region of ASV integrase in this process.
Enhanced production of silymarin by Ag+ elicitor in cell suspension cultures of Silybum marianum

Cell suspension cultures of Silybum marianum L. Gaertn (Compositae) produce silymarin, a mixture of flavonolignans. In an attempt to increase cell growth and silymarin production, we exposed cell cultures to various levels of Ag+ (0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1, and 2 mM) for different exposure times (12, 24, 48, 72, 144, and 216 h). A dramatic increase in cell growth was observed after 12 h in media supplemented with 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1 mM Ag+, and the value in medium treated by 1 mM Ag+ after 72 h was 7.21 g, which was about two-fold that of the control (3.32 g). The highest silymarin production reached about 56 μg g−1 DW, 24 h after treatment with Ag+ (0.8 mM), which was 30-fold that of the control. Silybin, isosilybin, silychristin, silydianin, and taxifolin were abundant flavonolignans. Ag+ in low concentrations is a positive elicitor for cell growth and silymarin production in cell suspension cultures of Silybum marianum.