Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pleiotrophin (PTN) is expressed in vascularized human atherosclerotic plaques: IFN‐γ/JAK/STAT1 signaling is critical for the expression of PTN in macrophages

Neovascularization is critical to destabilization of atheroma. We previously reported that the angiogenic growth factor pleiotrophin (PTN) coaxes monocytes to assume the phenotype of functional endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo. In this study we show that PTN expression is colocalized with capillaries of human atherosclerotic plaques. Among the various reagents that are critical to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, interferon (IFN)‐γ‐ was found to markedly induce PTN mRNA expression in a dose‐dependent manner in macrophages. Mechanistic studies revealed that the Janus kinase inhibitors, WHI‐P154 and ATA, efficiently blocked STAT1 phosphorylation in a concentration‐ and time‐dependent manner. Notably, the level of phosphorylated STAT1 was found to correlate directly with the PTN mRNA levels. In addition, STAT1/ STAT3/p44/42 signaling molecules were found to be phosphorylated by IFN‐γ in macrophages, and they were translocated into the nucleus. Further, PTN promoter analysis showed that a gamma‐activated sequence (GAS) located at –2086 to –2078 bp is essential for IFN‐γ‐regulated promoter activity. Moreover, electrophoretic mobility shift, supershift, and chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses revealed that both STAT1 and STAT3 bind to the GAS at the chromatin level in the IFN‐γ stimulated cells. Finally, to test whether the combined effect of STAT1/STAT3/p44/42 signaling is required for the expression of PTN in macrophages, gene knockdowns of these transcription factors were performed using siRNA. Cells lacking STAT1, but not STAT3 or p42, have markedly reduced PTN mRNA levels. These data suggest that PTN expression in the human plaques may be in part regulated by IFN‐γ and that PTN is involved in the adaptive immunity. —Li, F. , Tian, F. , Wang, L. , Williamson, I. K. , Sharifi, B. G. , Shah, P. K. Pleiotrophin (PTN) is expressed in vascularized human atherosclerotic plaques: IFN‐γ/ JAK/STAT1 signaling is critical for the expression of PTN in macrophages FASEBJ. 24, 810–822 (2010). www.fasebj. org
Adding dynamics to core competence concept applications

Purpose – This paper seeks to enhance practical applications, by refining the original core competence concept to better fit dynamic environments.Design/methodology/approach – This paper combines theoretical research streams treating core competence and dynamic capability.Findings – The original core competence concept cannot help managers with today's dynamic business environments. This paper theoretically reviews conceptions of core competence to enhance dynamism and better align theory and practice. The author concludes that a core competence could become more dynamic in three ways, by: balancing itself with the external environment and including external activities and processes; reducing path‐dependency influences; and carefully “orchestrating” resources, by guidance rather than control, to release the inherent potential of project teams.Research limitations/implications – The author rejuvenates a popular concept by including contemporary, more dynamic considerations; however, his propositions need t.
The Coefficient of Resource Utilization

Abstract : A numerical evaluation of the 'dead loss' associated with a nonoptimal situation (in the Pareto sense) of an economic system is sought. Use is made of the intrinsic price systems associated with optimal situations of whose existence a noncalculus proof is given. A coefficient of resource-utilization yielding measures of the efficiency of the economy is introduced. The treatment is based on vector set properties in the commodity space. (Author)
What Price Prohibition? An Estimate of the Costs of Australian Drug Policy

The prohibition against Australians using illicit drugs is ineffective, but still imposes a high burden on government revenues and indirectly contributes (because of its ineffectiveness) to additional costs paid by Australian households. These are the claims of those who argue for a change in policy in Australia towards illicit drugs and their use. How much does present policy cost the Australian taxpayer? To what extent does the ineffectiveness of the law in preventing illicit drug use indirectly add to costs paid by Australian households? We argue that the Cleeland Report underestimates the true costs of the law enforcement against illicit drug use by a factor of at least two. We argue that a large proportion of these costs would be eliminated if the drugs were made available, at cost, to regulated drug users. We estimate a total annual cost to Australia of $776 million, as well as forced transfers of $656 million (in 1987–88).
Forecasting House Prices in the 50 States Using Dynamic Model Averaging and Dynamic Model Selection

We examine house price forecastability across the 50 states using Dynamic Model Averaging and Dynamic Model Selection, which allow for model change and parameter shifts. By allowing the entire forecasting model to change over time and across locations, the forecasting accuracy improves substantially. The states in which housing markets have been the most volatile are the states in which model change and parameter shifts have been needed the most.
Accelerated Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Injury in Autoimmunity-Prone Mice12

Natural Abs have been implicated in initiating mesenteric ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced tissue injury. Autoantibodies have affinity and self-Ag recognition patterns similar to natural Abs. We considered that autoimmunity-prone mice that express high titers of autoantibodies should have enhanced I/R-induced injury. Five-month-old B6.MRL/lpr mice displayed accelerated and enhanced intestinal I/R-induced damage compared with 2-mo-old B6.MRL/lpr and age-matched C57BL/6 mice. Similarly, older autoimmune mice had accelerated remote organ (lung) damage. Infusion of serum IgG derived from 5-mo-old but not 2-mo-old B6.MRL/lpr into I/R resistant Rag-1−/− mice rendered them susceptible to local and remote organ injury. Injection of monoclonal IgG anti-DNA and anti-histone Abs into Rag-1−/− mice effectively reconstituted tissue injury. These data show that like natural Abs, autoantibodies, such as anti-dsDNA and anti-histone Abs, can instigate I/R injury and suggest that they are involved in the development of tissue damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
An Enforcement Taxonomy of Regulatory Agencies

A variety of multivariate techniques were used to develop a taxonomy of regulatory agencies from the first comprehensive study of the disparate enforcement strategies employed by business regulatory agencies in one country. Seven types of agencies were identified: Conciliators, Benign Big Guns, Diagnostic Inspectorates, Detached Token Enforcers, Detached Modest Enforcers, Token Enforcers and Modest Enforcers. Agencies were distinguished primarily according to their orientation to enforcement versus persuasion, according to their commitment to detached (or arms length) command and control regulation versus cooperative fostering of self-regulation, and according to their attachment to universalistic rulebook regulation versus particularistic regulation. Nevertheless, it is not unreasonable to view regulatory agencies as lying on a single continuum from particularistic non-enforcers who engage in cooperative fostering of self-regulation to rulebook enforcers whose policy is detached command and control. This approximates the suggestions of Hawkins and Reiss for distinguishing regulatory agencies according to a “sanctioning/deterrence” versus “compliance” dimension. The predominant regulatory style in Australia, however, is distant from both poles, being a perfunctory regulatory approach which is neither distinctively diagnostic and educative nor litigiously “going by the book”; rather it amounts to “going through the motions”. The typology also partially conforms to Black's categorisation of social control as penal, therapeutic, conciliatory and compensatory.
Fourier volatility forecasting with high-frequency data and microstructure noise

We study the forecasting performance of the Fourier volatility estimator in the presence of microstructure noise. Analytical comparison and simulation studies indicate that the Fourier estimator significantly outperforms realized volatility-type estimators, particularly for high-frequency data and when the noise component is relevant. We show that the Fourier estimator generally exhibits better performance, even compared with methods specifically designed to handle market microstructure contamination.
An investigation of the increasing prevalence of nonpurchase of meat by British households

The purpose of the analysis has been to investigate the determinants of the household's decisions regarding the purchase of meat in Great Britain. The approach, using a Box-Cox generalization of the ‘double hurdle’ model, has depicted the household making two choices, namely whether or not to purchase the product (the participation decision) and then, for those households which do purchase, how much to buy (the expenditure decision). The determinants considered are socioeconomic variables, such as the total expenditure of the household, market prices, characteristics of the householder (age, gender, education, type of employment) and characteristics of the household (location, presence of children, etc.). By conducting the analysis over several years of survey data (1975–1993) it is possible to investigate whether the influence of these variables has changed over time. The bulk of the empirical analysis has concerned single adult households (with or without children).
Temporary Workers and Direct Voting Systems for Workers’ Representation

In this article, the author analyses whether in direct voting systems of workers’ representation the voting probability is affected by the contract type, using the Spanish union elections as a ‘natural’ experiment. Although temporary workers are formally covered by this electoral system, the author finds that it strongly discourages the participation of temporary workers in elections. The main consequence is that unions have fewer incentives to include temporary workers’ preferences in collective bargaining, and temporary workers lose an institutional channel to pressure for improvements in their inferior working conditions. The importance of other channels to include interests of temporary workers in unions’ strategies (such as membership) is discussed as well.
Crafting the TALE: Construction of a measure to assess the functions of autobiographical remembering

Theory suggests that autobiographical remembering serves several functions. This research builds on previous empirical efforts (Bluck, Alea, Habermas, & Rubin, 2005) with the aim of constructing a brief, valid measure of three functions of autobiographical memory. Participants (N=306) completed 28 theoretically derived items concerning the frequency with which they use autobiographical memory to serve a variety of functions. To examine convergent and discriminant validity, participants rated their tendency to think about and talk about the past, and measures of future time orientation, self-concept clarity, and trait personality. Confirmatory factor analysis of the function items resulted in a respecified model with 15 items in three factors. The newly developed Thinking about Life Experiences scale (TALE) shows good internal consistency as well as convergent validity for three subscales: Self-Continuity, Social-Bonding, and Directing-Behaviour. Analyses demonstrate factorial equivalence across age and gender groups. Potential use and limitations of the TALE are discussed.
Personalities and Public Sector Performance: Evidence from a Health Experiment in Pakistan

This paper provides evidence that the personality traits of policy actors matter for policy outcomes in the context of two large-scale experiments in Punjab, Pakistan. Three results support the relevance of personalities for policy outcomes. First, doctors with higher Big Five and Perry Public Sector Motivation scores attend work more and falsify inspection reports less. Second, health inspectors who score higher on these personality measures exhibit a larger treatment response to increased monitoring. Last, senior health officials with higher Big Five scores are more likely to respond to a report of an underperforming facility by compelling better subsequent staff attendance.
Accountability and Inaction: NGOs and Resource Lodging in Development

From the late 1980s, research on NGOs had a normative focus and was vulnerable to changing donor preoccupations. This article contributes a new conceptual approach, analysing the practices through which relationships and resources are translated into programmes and projects. The theoretical justification for this move combines the new ethnography of development practice with a re-agency approach to transactions across time and space. The study is based on data including thirty hours of video ethnography involving interviews and field visits with Kenyan NGOs in a variety of sectors. The analysis focuses on the problem of accountability that emerged through the interactions of donors and state corruption. We argue that NGOs operating in capital cities often provide organizational solutions to this problem. Depending on donor preferences, varying amounts of resources become ‘lodged’ or absorbed in ‘capital NGOs’ as they provide accounts of programmes that satisfy donors. However, no matter the donor preferences, capital NGOs provide accountability independently of increased action with communities or increased resources transferred to them. We conclude that the institutionalization of the NGO field as a well-grounded specialization depends in part on the degree to which researchers can sideline the stories generated in inter-organizational contexts such as workshops and policy meetings, and substitute understandings based on accounting practices, resource flows and social ties.
Energy expenditure and EPOC between water-based high-intensity interval training and moderate-intensity continuous training sessions in healthy women

ABSTRACT The present study compared the energy expenditure (EE) during and after two water aerobics protocols, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate continuous training (CONT). A crossover randomized design was employed comprising 11 healthy young women. HIIT consisted of eight 20s bouts at 130% of the cadence associated with the maximal oxygen consumption (measured in the aquatic environment) with 10s passive rest. CONT corresponded to 30 min at a heart rate equivalent to 90–95% of the second ventilatory threshold. EE was measured during and 30 min before and after the protocols and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) was calculated. Total EE during session was higher in CONT (227.62 ± 31.69 kcal) compared to HIIT (39.91 ± 4.24 kcal), while EE per minute was greater in HIIT (9.98 ± 1.06 kcal) than in CONT (7.58 ± 1.07 kcal). Post-exercise EE (64.48 ± 3.50 vs. 63.65 ± 10.39 kcal) and EPOC (22.53 ± 4.98 vs.22.10 ± 8.00 kcal) were not different between HIIT and CONT, respectively. Additionally, oxygen uptake had already returned to baseline fifteen minutes post-exercise. These suggest that a water aerobics CONT session results in post-exercise EE and EPOC comparable to HIIT despite the latter supramaximal nature. Still, CONT results in higher total EE.
A Prospective Study of Alcohol, Smoking, Caffeine, and the Risk of Duodenal Ulcer in Men

The associations between smoking, caffeine, and alcohol intake and the risk of duodenal ulcer have rarely been investigated prospectively. We examined these associations in a prospective cohort of 47,806 men, 40–75 years of age, using a mailed baseline questionnaire in 1986, with follow‐up every 2 years through 1992. During 6 years of follow‐up, we documented 138 newly diagnosed cases of duodenal ulcer. After adjustment for age, energy‐adjusted dietary fiber, body mass index, and use of aspirin or other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, current smoking was not associated with a substantial risk of duodenal ulcer [relative risk (RR) = 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.61–1.89]. Overall, past smokers were not at increased risk compared with never‐smokers (RR = 0.99; 95% CI = 0.69–1.42). Adjusting for other risk factors, alcohol intake (comparing those who drink >30 gm of alcohol per day to nondrinkers) was not associated with higher risk of duodenal ulcer (RR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.42–1.29). We observed little association between caffeine, caffeine‐containing beverages, and decaffeinated coffee and the risk of duodenal ulcer. These results indicate that smoking is not associated with a substantial increase in risk of duodenal ulcer, nor is high intake of alcohol and caffeine.
Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor-γ Activation Enhances Insulin-stimulated Glucose Disposal by Reducing ped/pea-15 Gene Expression in Skeletal Muscle Cells

Background: PPARγ modulation of glucoregulatory response in skeletal muscle has been only partially elucidated. Results: PPARγ inhibits the transcription of the diabetes-associated gene ped/pea-15 via AP-1. Conclusion: ped/pea-15 is downstream of a PPARγ-regulated inflammatory network. Significance: These studies further elucidate the gene network responsible for inflammation-induced insulin resistance. The gene network responsible for inflammation-induced insulin resistance remains enigmatic. In this study, we show that, in L6 cells, rosiglitazone- as well as pioglitazone-dependent activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) represses transcription of the ped/pea-15 gene, whose increased activity impairs glucose tolerance in mice and humans. Rosiglitazone enhanced insulin-induced glucose uptake in L6 cells expressing the endogenous ped/pea-15 gene but not in cells expressing ped/pea-15 under the control of an exogenous promoter. The ability of PPARγ to affect ped/pea-15 expression was also lost in cells and in C57BL/6J transgenic mice expressing ped/pea-15 under the control of an exogenous promoter, suggesting that ped/pea-15 repression may contribute to rosiglitazone action on glucose disposal. Indeed, high fat diet mice showed insulin resistance and increased ped/pea-15 levels, although these effects were reduced by rosiglitazone treatment. Both supershift and ChIP assays revealed the presence of the AP-1 component c-JUN at the PED/PEA-15 promoter upon 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate stimulation of the cells. In these experiments, rosiglitazone treatment reduced c-JUN presence at the PED/PEA-15 promoter. This effect was not associated with a decrease in c-JUN expression. In addition, c-jun silencing in L6 cells lowered ped/pea-15 expression and caused nonresponsiveness to rosiglitazone, although c-jun overexpression enhanced the binding to the ped/pea-15 promoter and blocked the rosiglitazone effect. These results indicate that PPARγ regulates ped/pea-15 transcription by inhibiting c-JUN binding at the ped/pea-15 promoter. Thus, ped/pea-15 is downstream of a major PPARγ-regulated inflammatory network. Repression of ped/pea-15 transcription might contribute to the PPARγ regulation of muscle sensitivity to insulin.
Mortality Rates in the General Irish Population Compared to those with an Intellectual Disability from 2003 to 2012.

BACKGROUND Historically, there has been higher and earlier mortality among people with intellectual disability as compared to the general population, but there have also been methodological problems and differences in the available studies. METHOD Data were drawn from the 2012 National Intellectual Disability Database and the Census in Ireland. A standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated, as well as average age at death. Ratios and differences were further examined for the influence of age, gender and level of intellectual disability. RESULTS Mortality in persons with intellectual disability was four times higher and they were, on average, dying 19 years earlier than peers in the general population. Women with intellectual disability were living longer than males with intellectual disability, but differences in survival as compared to the general population were greater for these women. There was little change in average age at death over 10 years, and death was earlier the more severe the level of intellectual disability. DISCUSSION The use of mortality ratios rather than average age at death alone is recommended, as well as greater standardization in use of data sets including the whole population, given high levels of earlier deaths in people with intellectual disability.
Mental Health Service Utilization Among College Students in the United States

We aimed to provide the most comprehensive picture, to date, of service utilization and help-seeking behavior for mental health problems among college students in the United States. We conducted online surveys in 2007 and 2009 of random samples of students in 26 campuses nationwide. Among students with an apparent mental health problem (32% of the weighted sample), 36% received any treatment in the previous year. The prevalence of psychotherapy and medication use was approximately equal. Treatment prevalence varied widely across campuses, with some campuses having prevalence 2 to 3 times higher than those of others. Apparent barriers to help-seeking included skepticism on treatment effectiveness and a general lack of perceived urgency. Overall, the findings indicate that help-seeking for mental health varies substantially across student characteristics and across campuses. Strategies to address the low prevalence of treatment will need to be responsive to this diversity.
Evaluating failure in the innovation process: the micropolitics of new product development

For almost 40 years academics from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds have sought to improve our understanding of the innovation process. In this paper, we examine the contribution made by those such as Kotler who have attempted to describe a rational approach to New Product Development (NPD). We argue that such frameworks offer a view of organisational activity which substantially understates the political activity associated with managing the innovation process. Most of those writing from a marketing perspective acknowledge external political influences such as government policies and the leverage of ‘special interest groups’. We focus on the work of Burns and Stalker who clearly recognised the way in which internal political struggles to access resources or to improve career prospects impact on innovation. To analyse the role of micropolitics in the NPD process we describe the case of WEL, a medium-sized manufacturing firm, as managers and engineers attempted to develop an important new product. We conclude that it is essential to incorporate the role of internal politics into any framework which claims to offer a realistic account of NPD.