Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Role of a Cytoplasmic Dual-function Glycosyltransferase in O2 Regulation of Development in Dictyostelium*

In the social amoeba Dictyostelium, a terminal step in development is regulated by environmental O2. Prolyl 4-hydroxylase-1 (P4H1) was previously implicated in mediating the O2 signal, and P4H1-null cells require elevated O2 to culminate. The E3-ubiquitin ligase adaptor Skp1 is a P4H1 substrate, and here we investigate the function of PgtA, a dual function β3-galactosyltransferase/α2-fucosyltransferase that contributes the 2nd and 3rd sugars of the pentasaccharide cap formed on Skp1 hydroxyproline. Although pgtA-null cells, whose Skp1 contains only a single sugar (N-acetylglucosamine or GlcNAc), show wild-type O2 dependence of culmination, cells lacking AgtA, an α3-galactosyltransferase required to extend the trisaccharide, require elevated O2 as for P4H1-null cells. Skp1 is the only detectable protein modified by purified PgtA added to pgtA-null extracts. The basis for specificity of PgtA was investigated using native Skp1 acceptor glycoforms and a novel synthetic peptide containing GlcNAcα1,4-hydroxy(trans)proline. Cysteine-alkylation of Skp1 strongly inhibited modification by the PgtA galactosyltransferase but not the fucosyltransferase. Furthermore, native and synthetic Skp1 glycopeptides were poorly galactosylated, not processively fucosylated, and negligibly inhibitory, whereas the fucosyltransferase was active toward small substrates. In addition, the galactosyltransferase exhibited an atypical concentration dependence on UDP-galactose. The results provide the first evidence that Skp1 is the functional target of P4H1 in O2 regulation, indicate a gatekeeper function for the β3-galactosyltransferase in the PgtA dual reaction, and identify an unexpected P4H1-dependent yet antagonistic function for PgtA that is reversed by AgtA.
Nonparametric Estimation of Crop Yield Distributions: Implications for Rating Group‐Risk Crop Insurance Contracts

We use nonparametric density estimation procedures to evaluate county-level crop yield distributions. Implications for rating area-yield crop insurance contracts are discussed. The procedures developed are used to measure yield risk and calculate insurance premium rates for wheat and barley in the 1995–96 Group Risk Program. Copyright 1998, Oxford University Press.
pH-Dependence of Extension Growth in Avena Coleoptiles and Its Implications for the Mechanism of Auxin Action.

The pH-dependence of acid-induced growth in excised segments of Avena sativa coleoptiles has been reinvestigated in the pH range 3 to 7. In contrast to previous reports (e.g. DL Rayle [1973] Planta 114: 63-73), only acidic buffers with a pH below 5.0 induce an extension response. A pH of 3.5 to 4.0 is required to mimic auxin-mediated growth. Very similar pH-response curves are obtained with both intact (abraded) and peeled coleoptiles. These results agree with the recent finding of a similarly low sensitivity to protons in maize coleoptiles. It is shown that the apparently much higher sensitivity to protons previously reported for peeled Avena coleoptiles is due to incubating the tissue in buffer of pH 6.8 between peeling and measuring the effect of acidic buffers. Neutral pH reversibly inhibits the spontaneous extension burst originating on release from tissue tension after removing the epidermis. Reversal of this inhibition can be achieved by buffers of pH 5.0 to 6.0 (or distilled water), thereby simulating an acid-induced growth response in this pH range. It is concluded that true acid-induced wall-loosening generally does not take place above pH 5.0 and that a pH considerably below 4.0 is required in order to stimulate growth to an extent comparable to that obtained in response to auxin. The "acid-growth theory," which requires an acid-mediated loosening of the cell wall in the pH range 5 to 6, this pH being established by auxin-induced proton excretion, can therefore also not be substantiated in Avena.
Wage Convergence and Inequality after Unification: (East) Germany in Transition

This paper investigates the wage convergence between East German workers and their West German counterparts after reunification. Our research is based on a comparison of three groups of workers defined as stayers, migrants and commuters to West Germany, who lived in East Germany in 1989, with groups of West German statistical twin workers, all taken from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). According to our findings, wage convergence for stayers is roughly 75 percent and for commuters 85 percent. Wages of migrants to West Germany equal the ones of their West German statistical twins. We conclude that labor markets in East and West Germany are still characterized by wage differences but that the degree of inequality in both regions converged.
Industrial R&D Investment: a Comparative Analysis of the Top EU and non-EU Companies Based on the EU 2004 R&D Scoreboard

This paper presents the main resulte from the 2004 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, whith liste the top 500 EU companies and the top 500 non-EU companies ranked by their R&D investment. After a short description of the definitions and objectives of the exercise, its content and main findings are shown together with results from other analyses performed within The European Common Directorate General, Joint Research (JRC) -Seville, showing the impact of the degree of concentration at the company's level on the overala industrial R&D stance. There seems to be a correlation between R&D intensity growth and net sales growth. Despite a competitive total amount of R&O investment, the average overall R&O intensity of the sampled European Union companies is much smaller than for their non-EU counterparts. This e related to a smaller proportion of output from sectors with high intrinsic R&O intensity, which is particuiarly noticeable in IT Hardware and Software and Computer Services. Although REDO investment amounts are comparable for the biggest firms, the share of R&O performers at the middle and the bottom of the EU-500 Scoreboard is much smaller in the EU than the non-EU. The analysis indicates that national, regional and sectoral patterns deviate considerably from the overall picture of the EU. An entire section of the paper is dedicated to an inter-sector comparison of RE&D-related indicators. The issue of concentration of R&O investment among top companies investing in research is investigated to more detail, in large companies, by sector of activity and by location. It la also proved that the sample of top R&D investing companies is statistically characterised by heteroscedasticity.
Logic, information and conversation

• A submitted manuscript is the author's version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website. • The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review. • The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers.
Firm Growth Type and Capital Structure Persistence

We find that growth type (identified by a two-way sort on firm initial market-to-book ratio and asset tangibility) can parsimoniously predict significantly dispersed and persistently distinct future leverage ratios. Growth type is persistent; growth-type-sorted cross-sections of corporate fundamental variables (such as tangible versus intangible investment style) are also meaningfully persistent. As economic and market conditions improve, low growth type firms are keener to issue new debt than equity, whereas high growth type firms are least likely to issue debt and keenest to issue equity. These findings demonstrate that firms rationally invest and seek financing in a manner compatible with their growth types. Consistent with a generalized Myers–Majluf framework, growth type compatibility enables distinct growth types and hence specifications of market imperfection or informational environments to persist. Growth type is apparently a fundamental factor for capital structure persistence.
Teacher ratings of resilience and peer relationships of preschoolers whose fathers died unexpectedly

ABSTRACT This study endeavors to compare resilience and peer relationships of children who lost their fathers in a major mining accident in Soma with those who did not. Teachers rated 51 preschoolers whose fathers died, and 53 preschoolers whose fathers were alive. On the negative side, bereaved children had lower resilience and higher exclusion; on the positive side, bereaved children had lower peer victimization and higher prosocial behavior. Death of fathers is associated with lower resilience and more exclusion among young children, but others treat them better as well.
Venture Capital, High Technology and Regional Development

FLORIDA R. L. and Kenney M. (1988) Venture capital, high technology and regional development, Reg. Studies 22, 33–48. This paper explores the role of venture capital in technological innovation and regional development. Both aggregate data and a unique firm level data base are employed to determine the location of major centres of venture capital, flows of venture capital investments, and patterns of investment syndication or coinvestment among venture capital firms. Three major centres of venture capital are identified: California (San Francisco–Silicon Valley); New York; and New England (Massachusetts–Connecticut): as well as three minor venture capital centres: Illinois (Chicago); Texas; and Minnesota. Venture capital firms are found to cluster in areas with high concentrations of financial institutions and those with high concentrations of technology-intensive enterprises. Venture capital firms which are based in financial centres are typically export-oriented, while those in technology centres tend t.
Effect of 5-fluorocytosine and amphotericin B on Candida albicans infection in mice.

The effects of administration of 5-fluorocytosine alone or in combination with amphotericin B on the course of fatal Candida albicans infection in mice were studied. The survival rate was 13.7% for mice treated with 5-fluorocytosine and 15.9% for mice treated with amphotericin B. When both agents were given, the rate of survival increased to 79.5%. Counts of C. albicans in the kidneys of infected mice treated with 5-fluorocytosine and amphotericin B were 100- and 10fold less when compared with numbers in the kidneys of mice treated with either agent alone or not treated at all, respectively.
INSTITUTIONS AND POLICY CHANGE IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES: THE CASE OF MERGER CONTROL1

The supranational regulation of merger and acquisition activity presents valuable evidence for examining the dynamics of policy change within the European Communities. Over the years four merger regimes can be seen to have existed. The first, restricted to the coal and steel industries, originated in the specific postwar wish to control (German) heavy industry and retains its separate character. Other industries were a matter for the later Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (ECC). It was not until 1989 that a clear ECC regime was established after two ‘false starts’ arising from rulings by the European Court of Justice on specific mergers. Agreement eventually came once ministers and industrialists realized that clear rules were needed, if the necessary orderly corporate restructuring were to be facilitated in the run-up to completion of the single market. A ‘new institutionalist’ approach is adopted in analysing the evolution of supranational merger regulation. Accordingly, the article examines how far the capacity of the two treaties, and the capacities of the individual institutions, can explain the resultant pattern of supranational merger regulation.
Complexities and Controversies in Linking HRM with Organizational Outcomes

Our understanding of the way in which human resource management (HRM) is linked to organizational performance is still limited, despite recent advances that use a quantitative approach to argue for a strong positive relationship between 'High Performance Work Practices' and firm financial performance. These studies are limited by their reliance on a single informant in each organization, and their emphasis on financial performance at the expense of a broader range of outcome variables. This paper contributes to the debate by analysing in detail the human resource policies and practices of one case-study organization over a two-year time period, using a variety of methodologies and drawing on a broad range of informants across the organization. Instead of devising a list of 'best practice' HRM from the literature and testing its impact on performance, we instead invert the question and take a firm that is financially successful and ask what HR policies and practices it uses. We also examine the way in which these policies are enacted. This methodology enables us to show that even successful organizations do not always implement 'best practice' HRM, and that there is frequently a discrepancy between intention and practice. Outcomes at the individual and organizational levels are complex and often contradictory; we question the extent to which is it possible or meaningful to attempt to measure the interrelationship between HRM, at the level of the formal system, and organizational performance, without taking into consideration the role played by the informal organization in the process and implementation of HR policies.
Using fuzzy cognitive map and structural equation model for market-oriented hotel and performance

Firms are different from markets, resources and managerial expertise. Many studies strongly advocate that firms adopt a market orientation to achieve competitive advantage and can transform firm assets into superior performance. A paucity of research exists on how to develop market-oriented hotel and performance and is lacking an integrated framework to establish them. For establishing a guideline enabling systematic approaches to understand them, find or choose which combinations of changes in factors that would lead to the most desirable outcomes in order to adapt to the objectives of the hotel and to fill some research gaps. This study adopts concept of Total Quality Management (TQM’s) IPO (Input-Processing-Output) and Resource-Based View to construct research model and use the Fuzzy Cognitive map and Structural Equation Model. By these objective methods make the decision maker has a clear picture of building competitive advantages in the hotel industry, identify and assess a lot of hypothetical situations which might occur in reality and to detect a group of the most desirable outcomes in limited hotel resource. Key words: Competitive advantage, market orientation, resource-based view, structural equation model, fuzzy cognitive map.
The impact of ownership structure on corporate reputation: evidence from Spain

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This study examines the influence of firms' ownership structure on corporate reputation. Research Findings/Insights: Using archival data from a panel of firms in Spain for 2000–2007, we found that ownership concentration in the hands of the largest shareholder erodes corporate reputation, whereas contestability of the main shareholder's power enhances it. Insider ownership shows a non-linear relationship with corporate reputation, with lower corporate reputation at low and very high levels of insider ownership. Finally, if the largest shareholder is either a pressure-resistant or a pressure-sensitive institutional investor, as opposed to other types of largest shareholder, corporate reputation is lower. This last finding markedly differentiates our sample of firms in Spain, a civil law country, from firms in common law countries such as the US and the UK, where studies have found a positive relationship between institutional investors and corporate reputation. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Drawing on signaling and agency theories, our paper is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to analyze the influence of ownership structure on corporate reputation in civil law countries. Practitioners/Policy Implications: This study suggests that managers and directors should recognize how each characteristic of ownership structure influences the expectations of stakeholders. Low levels of ownership concentration in the hands of the largest shareholders, low differences in ownership concentration between first and second largest shareholders, and moderate levels of insider ownership are positive signals that should be communicated to foster corporate reputation. High levels of ownership concentration in the hands of the largest shareholders or high differences in ownership concentration between first and second largest shareholders impair corporate reputation and should be compensated by introducing corporate governance mechanisms that favor corporate reputation, such as increasing the number of independent directors or avoiding CEO duality.
Estimating Retail Demand with Poisson Mixtures and Out-of-Sample Likelihood

Estimation of retail demand is critical to decisions about procuring, shipping, and shelving. The idea of Poisson demand process is central to retail inventory management and numerous studies suggest that negative binomial (NB) distribution characterize retail demand well. In this study we reassess the adequacy of estimating retail demand with the NB distribution. We propose two Poisson mixtures – the Poisson-Tweedie (PT) family and the Conway-Maxwell Poisson (CMP) distribution – as generic alternatives to the NB distribution. Based on the principle of likelihood and information theory, we adopt out-of-sample likelihood (OSL) as a metric for model selection. We test the procedure on consumer demand for 580 SKU-store sales datasets. Overall the PT family and the CMP distribution outperform the NB distribution for 70% of the tested samples. As a general case of the NB model, the PTF family has particularly strong performance for datasets with relatively small means and high dispersion. Our finding carries useful implications for researchers and practitioners who seek for flexible alternatives to the oft-used NB distribution in characterizing retail demand.
Designing a social enterprise: Organization configuration and social stakeholders’ work involvement

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine, drawing on organization studies and stakeholder theories, the organizational configuration that enables the social enterprise to succeed by combining social and economic imperatives in a sustainable way. Design/methodology/approach – The research project is based on the analysis of a multiple cross-national case study consisting of seven social enterprises that are active in the drug rehabilitation context. Multiple rounds of data gathering and analysis combined with within-case analysis and cross-case comparison enabled the authors to evaluate the perceived, declared and subjective organizational perspectives. Findings – Results suggest that organizational performance – measured as the ability to achieve social goals, generate resources and pursue sustainability over time – depends on the implementation of a participative organizational configuration defined by the interaction of six organizational components (i.e. time and space designed for collective .
Education, experience and earnings : a multilevel analysis - a case study of the manufacturing sector in Iran.

This thesis examines the relationship between education, experience, and earnings in the context of human capital theory in the manufacturing sector of Iran. Using a sample of 15755 full-time male workers clustered within 35 firms, both single-level and multilevel statistical techniques were employed to evaluate the contribution of education and experience to earnings. The research also examines the advantages of applying a multilevel method of analysis to investigate the above relationship. This study has shown that, in the manufacturing sector of Iranian industry, the amount of education and experience is significantly and systematically associated with the earnings of employees. This helps to corroborate the notion that human capital acquired through education and experience provides individual economic benefits through improving the earning capacity of individuals. These findings are consistent with many other analyses of earnings based on human capital theory. The multilevel analysis showed that data used are affected by a hierarchical or clustered structure and the relationship between human capital variables and earnings varies across firms. As a result, as argued by multilevel methodologists and confirmed by our findings, the application of the OLS models in a hierarchical structure leads to incorrect inferences. This study has also shown that the relatively new statistical technique of multilevel modelling provides a powerful tool for examining earnings differentials and some of the effects of labour market structures on earnings. In general the use of a multilevel model provides evidence for the pecuniary externality effects of human capital. By treating individual firms as second level units of analysis, it has been shown that part of the differences in earnings can be attributed to the firms in which individuals are working. In particular clusters of highly educated people seem to have a positive effect on the amount of human capital created through experience. It would be interesting to see whether this finding has wider application. The multilevel technique also strengthens the explanatory power of human capital variables. Using qualitative methods, this research also examines the question "why does investment in human capital increase earnings? " The main findings tend to support the human capital interpretation of education rather than pure screening.
Procrastination in Preparing for Retirement

Investing for retirement is one of the most important tasks of a person’s life, and yet many people do a very poor job. This paper argues that a plausibly important source of poor performance is procrastination. We present a simple model and calibration exercises showing how a person who naively procrastinates due to a time-inconsistent taste for immediate gratification may put off investigating, or implementing, superior investment strategies. Even when the person knows that the benefits of finding a superior investment enormously outweigh the short-term effort costs, she may significantly procrastinate because she repeatedly plans to put in the effort soon. We conclude by discussing some policies that might be used to influence the savings behavior of procrastinators, with an emphasis on policies aimed at default options and short-term incentives that do not significantly alter long-term incentives.