Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Earnings Pressure on Exploratory Innovation

While earnings expectation has been shown to determine a firm&#8217;s investment decisions, the knowledge about how such expectation influences a firm&#8217;s investment horizon for innovation is still blurred. This study therefore addresses this research issue by examining the relationship between earnings pressure and exploratory innovation while investigating the moderating effects of cross&#8208;rival effect and resource availability. By examining high&#8208;tech industrial firms in S&amp;P 1500 from 2000 to 2012, the results indicate that stock analysts, as information intermediaries between innovation firms and the capital market, impose pressure through earnings forecasts on firms&#8217; exploratory innovation. Our findings also reveal that the earnings pressure&#8208;exploratory innovation relationship can be mitigated when its competitors encounter a higher level of earnings pressure. However, a firm&#8217;s financial slack shows less significant association to moderate the earnings pressure&#8208;exploratory innovation relationship. Possible explanations for the results in regard to their theoretical and practical implications are discussed in this study.
The dynamics of X‐inactivation skewing as women age

Non‐random X‐chromosome inactivation (XCI) has been associated with X‐linked diseases, neoplastic diseases, recurrent pregnancy loss, and trisomy risk. It also occurs more commonly in older female populations. To understand the etiology of non‐random XCI and utilize this assay appropriately in clinical research and practice, the age‐related alteration in XCI patterns in normal females needs to be clearly defined. In the present study, we evaluated the XCI status in 350 unselected women aged 0–88 years with unknown history of genetic disorders or abnormal pregnancies. DNA samples were extracted from peripheral blood and analyzed by a methylation‐based assay at the androgen receptor locus. A weak but significant positive correlation was observed between age and degree of skewing in XCI over the whole age range (r = 0.23, p < 0.0001), and skewing values become non‐normally distributed at older ages. However, the increase in skewed XCI appears to be more pronounced after age 30 than at younger ages. This trend supports the model of increased skewing with age as a consequence of hematopoietic stem cell senescence. An alternative possibility is that there is allele‐specific loss of methylation with time that results in the appearance of increased XCI skewing using a methylation‐based assay.
The effect of modifications of the charged residues in the transmembrane helices on the transport activity of the melibiose carrier of Escherichia coli.

The melibiose transport carrier of Escherichia coli (coded by melB gene) is a cotransport system which couples the transport of a-galactosides to protons, sodium, or lithium ions. The charged amino acid residues in membrane-spanning helices are of considerable interest because many of them have important function in substrate recognition. In most cases changing these charged residue to an uncharged residue (cysteine) results in total loss of activity. In this communication we describe experiments in which the cysteine substitution for a charged residue was chemically changed by sulfhydryl reagents (MTSEA and MTSET to restore a positive charge and MTSES a negative charge) or by iodoacetic acid or through oxidation by hydrogen peroxide so as to regain the original negative charge. In two cases (D55C and D124C) the reconstructed negative charges via the oxidation of the thiol to the sulfinic and/or sulfonic acid resulted in partial recovery of transport: D55C up to 27% of the normal and D124C up to 4% of the normal in melibiose accumulation; D55C up to 36% of the normal and D124 up to 4.5% of the normal in downhill transport. Sulfhydryl reagents and iodoacetic acid failed to recover transport in all cases. We infer that the configurations of the charges as well as the structure of the side chains that carry them are critical in the maintenance of the transport.
Long-term results of surgical minimally invasive pulmonary vein isolation for paroxysmal lone atrial fibrillation.

AIMS Transcatheter pulmonary vein ablation is the current treatment of choice for symptomatic drug-refractory atrial fibrillation (AF). Video-assisted surgical pulmonary vein isolation (sPVI) is an alternative therapy to percutaneous ablation for the treatment of AF. Long-term results of sPVI are currently unknown. The aim of this study was to report on the long-term efficacy and safety of sPVI in patients with paroxysmal AF. METHODS AND RESULTS The study design was observational and retrospective. From July 2005 to January 2011, 42 patients with drug-refractory paroxysmal AF underwent video-assisted sPVI in two different centres. Patients were eligible for sPVI when suffering from symptomatic, drug-refractory paroxysmal AF and they agreed to the alternative of sPVI. The median preoperative AF duration was 24 months (range 3-200). Success was defined as the absence of AF on 24 h or 96 h Holter monitoring during follow-up, off antiarrhythmic drugs (AAD). Adverse events and follow-up monitoring were based on the Heart Rhythm Society Consensus Statement 2012 for the catheter and surgical ablation of AF. Mean age was 55 ± 10 years, and 76% were males. After a mean follow-up of 5 years (SD 1.7), 69% of all patients were free from atrial arrhythmias without the use of AAD, and 83% with the use of AAD. Major peri-procedural adverse events occurred in four (9.5%) patients, no strokes or mortalities were registered during long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION This retrospective study shows that sPVI for the treatment of paroxysmal AF is effective and that the outcomes are maintained at long-term follow-up.
Rethinking Performance Gaps: A Regenerative Sustainability Approach to Built Environment Performance Assessment

Globally, there are significant challenges to meeting built environment performance targets. The gaps found between the predicted performance of new or retrofit buildings and their actual performance impede an understanding of how to achieve these targets. This paper points to the importance of reliable and informative building performance assessments. We argue that if we are to make progress in achieving our climate goals, we need to reframe built environment performance with a shift to net positive goals, while recognising the equal importance of human and environmental outcomes. This paper presents a simple conceptual framework for built environment performance assessment and identifies three performance gaps: (i) Prediction Gap (e.g., modelled and measured energy, water consumption); (ii) Expectations Gap (e.g., occupant expectations in pre- and post-occupancy evaluations); and, (iii) Outcomes Gap (e.g., thermal comfort measurements and survey results). We question which of measured or experienced performance is the ‘true’ performance of the built environment. We further identify a “Prediction Paradox”, indicating that it may not be possible to achieve more accurate predictions of building performance at the early design stage. Instead, we propose that Performance Gaps be seen as creative resources, used to improve the resilience of design strategies through continuous monitoring.
Planning the driverless city

ABSTRACT AV technologies have the potential to transform urban landscapes and existing transport systems and networks. Yet, the utopian imaginary of reduced automobile ownership and a new shared economic future sits in tension with suggestions that car dependency, urban sprawl and transport inaccessibility will be exacerbated. The issues are situated in a complex governance landscape involving an influential private sector who are increasingly setting the agenda. The public sector may be forced into reacting to the new innovations by information technology and automobile companies as they are introduced into existing built environments. Drawing on an extensive literature base and interviews with public sector planners, this paper reveals the conceptual gaps in the framing of AV technology – the prospects and limits – and how these are conceived. The paper raises questions about the role urban planning can play in the rollout of AVs in order to anticipate and mediate unwanted built environment and socio-spatial impacts, as well as reconciling the ambition of transport innovation with the public purpose of planning.
Use of specified critical periods of different congenital abnormalities instead of the first trimester concept.

BACKGROUND Previously the first trimester, later the 2nd and/or 3rd gestational months were evaluated at the analysis of different exposures in different congenital abnormalities. However, different congenital abnormalities have different critical periods. The objective of this study was to check the feasibility of a new approach to consider the specified critical periods of different congenital abnormalities separately. METHODS The potential teratogenic effect of oral ampicillin treatment and maternal influenza/fever during the study pregnancy regarding any time in pregnancy, during the first trimester, in the 2nd and/or 3rd gestational months, and finally in the specified critical periods of given congenital abnormalities were evaluated in the population-based large data set of the Hungarian Case-Control Surveillance System of Congenital Abnormalities. RESULTS Of 22,843 cases, 1644 (7.2%) and 1328 (5.8%) were born to mothers who had oral ampicillin treatment or were affected with influenza/fever during the study pregnancy, while of 38,151 control newborns without any defect, 2631 (6.9 %) and 1838 (4.8%) had mothers with ampicillin treatment or influenza/fever, respectively. The analysis of different exposure time windows showed some difference in the risk for congenital abnormalities. The use of specified critical periods of different congenital abnormalities was feasible. CONCLUSIONS The use of specified critical periods of different congenital abnormalities seems to be more scientific-based than the previously accepted methods for the evaluation of different exposure time windows. Thus this new and feasible approach is recommended for the controlled epidemiological studies in the future after an international consensus in the specified critical periods of different congenital abnormalities and other methodological issues.
Pathogenesis of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Infection in Gnotobiotic Pigs

The pathogenesis of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) was determined in gnotobiotic pigs by studying the sequential development of microscopic lesions and sites of virus distribution and replication. Thirty-two pigs (three pigs/infected group and one pig/control group) were inoculated by nasal instillation of either PRRSV isolate ATCC VR-2332 (total dose 102,6 TCID50) or uninfected cell culture supernatant. Infected and control pigs were euthanized at 12 hours, and 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 14, and 21 days postexposure (PE). Gnotobiotic pigs experimentally infected with PRRSV were viremic by 12 hours PE and subsequently developed pneumonia, lymphadenopathy, vasculitis, myocarditis, and encephalitis. Lung lesions developed by day 3 PE, persisted through day 21 PE and were characterized by alveolar septa thickened by macrophages, alveolar proteinaceous and karyorrhectic debris, alveolar syncytial cells, and multifocal type II pneumocyte hypertrophy. Lymph node lesions varied in distribution and severity and were characterized by germinal center hypertrophy and hyperplasia, lymphocyte necrosis, multiple cystic spaces, and polykaryocytes within the cystic spaces. Heart lesions were a late feature of infection and all infected pigs had heart lesions on day 21 PE characterized by subendocardial, myocardial, and perivascular foci of lymphocytes. Vasculitis also varied in distribution and severity and affected all sizes of vessels. Results of this experiment indicate that PRRSV is a multisystem disease characterized initially by viremia with subsequent virus distribution and replication in multiple organs causing interstitial pneumonia, vasculitis, lymphadenopathy, myocarditis, and encephalitis.
Coding assignments of double-stranded RNA segments of SA 11 rotavirus established by in vitro translation

The segmented double-stranded (ds) RNA genome of the simian rotavirus SA 11, after denaturation, can be translated in a cell-free protein synthesizing system. Of the 11 genome segments, 9 can be resolved on polyacrylamide gels and thus could be individually isolated and translated, providing a means of identifying the polypeptide encoded by each segment. On the basis of electrophoretic mobility of products in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, the probable gene-coding assignments of dsRNA segments 1 to 6 were determined. RNA segments 1 to 4 code for polypeptides I1, I2, I3, and I4, respectively; segment 5 codes for a polypeptide very similar in mobility to a minor polypeptide present in SA 11-infected cells, O1A; and segment 6 codes for the major inner-capsid polypeptide I5.
VISUAL ACUITY IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME

The authors used the Teller acuity cards to assess the visual acuity of 51 infants and children with Down syndrome aged between two months and 18 years. The success rate and test times were comparable to those reported for normally developing children. Even those subjects in the study who were free of ocular disorders and/or who were wearing optical correction during testing showed significantly poorer visual acuity than individuals without Down syndrome. The development of visual acuity in infants and children with Down syndrome lags behind that of age‐matched peers without Down syndrome, especially after the age of six months. These findings are discussed in terms of the neurological and optical factors that might account for the deficits in visual acuity that were observed.
Respiratory modulation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity is not increased in essential hypertension or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Non‐Technical Summary High blood pressure is known to be caused by an increase in activity of the sympathetic nerves that constrict blood vessels in skeletal muscle and the gut. Experiments in the spontaneous hypertensive rat (SHR) suggest that the hypertension is brought about by an increase in coupling between respiration and sympathetic outflow. We tested whether this mechanism occurs in two models of elevated muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in human subjects: essential hypertension (HT) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Unlike the SHR model, respiratory modulation of MSNA was not increased in either HT or COPD. These results help us understand how the cardiovascular and respiratory systems interact in health and disease.
Ptk7 promotes non-canonical Wnt/PCP-mediated morphogenesis and inhibits Wnt/β-catenin-dependent cell fate decisions during vertebrate development

Using zebrafish, we have characterised the function of Protein tyrosine kinase 7 (Ptk7), a transmembrane pseudokinase implicated in Wnt signal transduction during embryonic development and in cancer. Ptk7 is a known regulator of mammalian neural tube closure and Xenopus convergent extension movement. However, conflicting reports have indicated both positive and negative roles for Ptk7 in canonical Wnt/β-catenin signalling. To clarify the function of Ptk7 in vertebrate embryonic patterning and morphogenesis, we generated maternal-zygotic (MZ) ptk7 mutant zebrafish using a zinc-finger nuclease (ZFN) gene targeting approach. Early loss of zebrafish Ptk7 leads to defects in axial convergence and extension, neural tube morphogenesis and loss of planar cell polarity (PCP). Furthermore, during late gastrula and segmentation stages, we observe significant upregulation of β-catenin target gene expression and demonstrate a clear role for Ptk7 in attenuating canonical Wnt/β-catenin activity in vivo. MZptk7 mutants display expanded differentiation of paraxial mesoderm within the tailbud, suggesting an important role for Ptk7 in regulating canonical Wnt-dependent fate specification within posterior stem cell pools post-gastrulation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a plasma membrane-tethered Ptk7 extracellular fragment is sufficient to rescue both PCP morphogenesis and Wnt/β-catenin patterning defects in MZptk7 mutant embryos. Our results indicate that the extracellular domain of Ptk7 acts as an important regulator of both non-canonical Wnt/PCP and canonical Wnt/β-catenin signalling in multiple vertebrate developmental contexts, with important implications for the upregulated PTK7 expression observed in human cancers.
Vaginal orgasm is associated with vaginal (not clitoral) sex education, focusing mental attention on vaginal sensations, intercourse duration, and a preference for a longer penis.

INTRODUCTION Evidence was recently provided for vaginal orgasm, orgasm triggered purely by penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI), being associated with better psychological functioning. Common sex education and sexual medicine approaches might undermine vaginal orgasm benefits. AIMS To examine the extent to which women's vaginal orgasm consistency is associated with (i) being told in childhood or adolescence that the vagina was the important zone for inducing female orgasm; (ii) how well they focus mentally on vaginal sensations during PVI; (iii) greater PVI duration; and (iv) preference for above-average penis length. METHODS In a representative sample of the Czech population, 1,000 women reported their vaginal orgasm consistency (from never to almost every time; only 21.9% never had a vaginal orgasm), estimates of their typical foreplay and PVI durations, what they were told in childhood and adolescence was the important zone for inducing female orgasm, their degree of focus on vaginal sensations during PVI, and whether they were more likely to orgasm with a longer than average penis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The association of vaginal orgasm consistency with the predictors noted above. RESULTS Vaginal orgasm consistency was associated with all hypothesized correlates. Multivariate analysis indicated the most important predictors were being educated that the vagina is important for female orgasm, being mentally focused on vaginal sensations during PVI, and in some analyses duration of PVI (but not foreplay) and preferring a longer than average penis. CONCLUSIONS Focusing attention on penile-vaginal sensation supports vaginal orgasm and the myriad benefits thereof. Brody S, and Weiss P. Vaginal orgasm is associated with vaginal (not clitoral) sex education, focusing mental attention on vaginal sensations, intercourse duration, and a preference for a longer penis.
Acceleration of TDP43 and FUS/TLS protein expressions in the preconditioned hippocampus following repeated transient ischemia

The 43‐kDa transactivation response DNA binding protein (TDP43), fused in sarcoma/translocated in liposarcoma (FUS/TLS), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), and β‐amyloid (Aβ) are induced and involved in cerebral ischemia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Alzheimer's disease (AD), but their relationships in ischemic tolerance have never been examined, although they could be involved in endogenous neuroprotection under ischemic preconditioning. In the present study, Mongolian gerbils were subjected to one or three incidents of basically nonlethal 2‐min transient common carotid arteries occlusion (tCCAO). Hippocampal CA1 neurons were lost only in the 2‐min three times group at 3 and 7 days, which then gradually recovered from 1 to 6 months. Inductions of TDP43 and FUS/TLS were accelerated from 3 months to 7 days or from 7 days to 1 day, respectively, after 2‐min three times ischemia compared with once. The cytoplasmic stainings of TDP43 and FUS/TLS showed a further acceleration of the peaks from 1 months to 3 days or from 1 months to 7 days, respectively, after 2‐min three times ischemia compared with once. In contrast, HSP70 was induced only at 7 days after 2‐min tCCAO for three times, with no expression for Aβ. These data show that ischemic preconditioning offers a way to induce endogenous neuroprotection and neurogenesis in gerbils, with TDP43, FUS/TLS, and HSP70 involved in this function. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Robust adaptive control of sawyer motors without current measurements

We address nonlinear robust adaptive dynamic output feedback of voltage-fed dual-axis linear stepper (Sawyer) motors using a detailed motor model with electrical dynamics and significant uncertainties and disturbances. A coordinate transformation is proposed to decouple the model into three third-order subsystems along with an appended fifth-order subsystem. The controller utilizes only position and velocity measurements in each axis and achieves practical stabilization of position tracking errors. Adaptations are utilized so as not to require any knowledge of electromechanical system parameters. The controller is robust to load torques, friction, cogging forces, and other disturbances satisfying certain bounds. The controller corrects for the yaw rotation to achieve synchrony of motor and platen teeth.
Mdm20 protein functions with Nat3 protein to acetylate Tpm1 protein and regulate tropomyosin–actin interactions in budding yeast

The evolutionarily conserved Mdm20 protein (Mdm20p) plays an important role in tropomyosin–F-actin interactions that generate actin filaments and cables in budding yeast. However, Mdm20p is not a structural component of actin filaments or cables, and its exact function in cable stability has remained a mystery. Here, we show that cells lacking Mdm20p fail to N-terminally acetylate Tpm1p, an abundant form of tropomyosin that binds and stabilizes actin filaments and cables. The F-actin-binding activity of unacetylated Tpm1p is reduced severely relative to the acetylated form. These results are complemented by the recent report that Mdm20p copurifies with one of three acetyltransferases in yeast, the NatB complex. We present genetic evidence that Mdm20p functions cooperatively with Nat3p, the catalytic subunit of the NatB acetyltransferase. These combined results strongly suggest that Mdm20p-dependent, N-terminal acetylation of Tpm1p by the NatB complex is required for Tpm1p association with, and stabilization of, actin filaments and cables.
Early saccades in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Abstract Our objective was to correlate saccadic abnormalities, including early saccades, in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with measures of motor and functional impairment. A portable saccadometer was used to record saccades in ALS patients and control subjects. The linear approach to threshold with ergodic rate model was used to characterize saccades, including sub-populations of early saccades. Patients with established cognitive impairment or frontotemporal dementia were excluded. Limb-onset (Limb ALS) and bulbar-onset (Bulbar ALS) patient groups were compared and saccadic abnormalities were correlated with measures of motor and functional impairment. In total, 48 participants were included in the study; 24 patients with ALS (15 males, 9 females; mean age 57.0 +/− 13.9 years; mean symptom duration 22.4 +/− 16.3 months, of whom 62.5% had Limb ALS) and 24 age-matched controls. Early saccades were increased in both Limb ALS and Bulbar ALS patients, but other saccadic parameters were normal in ALS. Saccadic abnormalities did not correlate with motor or functional impairment. In conclusion, ALS patients show increased early saccades, but exhibit no significant differences across ALS phenotypes.