Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Maternal conjugated linoleic acid modulates TAG metabolism in adult rat offspring

Abstract Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) might regulate the lipid depots in liver and adipose tissue. As there is an association between maternal nutrition, fat depots and risk of offspring chronic disease, the aim was to investigate the effect of maternal CLA consumption on TAG regulation and some inflammatory parameters in adult male rat offspring receiving or not receiving CLA. Female Wistar rats were fed control (C) or CLA-supplemented (1 %, w/w) diets during 4 weeks before and throughout pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, male offspring of CLA rats were fed C or CLA diets (CLA/C and CLA/CLA groups, respectively), whereas C male rat offspring were fed a C diet (C/C group) for 9 weeks. Serum TAG levels were increased in the CLA/CLA and CLA/C groups, associated with a reduction of lipoprotein lipase activity and weights of adipose tissue. The liver TAG levels were decreased in the CLA/CLA group, related to a significant reduction of fatty acid synthase (FAS), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase enzyme activities, as well as to the mRNA levels of FAS, ACC, stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c. Even though normal TAG levels were found in the liver of CLA/C rats, a reduction of lipogenesis was also observed. Thus, these results demonstrated a programming effect of CLA on the lipid metabolic pathways leading to a preventive effect on the TAG accretion in adipose tissue and the liver of male rat offspring. This knowledge could be important to develop some dietary strategies leading to a reduced incidence of obesity and fatty acid liver disease in humans.
Beach Nourishment as a Dynamic Capital Accumulation Problem

Abstract Beach nourishment is a common coastal management strategy used to combat erosion along sandy coastlines. It involves building out a beach with sand dredged from another location. This paper develops a positive model of beach nourishment and generates testable hypotheses about how the frequency of nourishment responds to property values, project costs, erosion rates, and discounting. By treating the decision to nourish as a dynamic capital accumulation problem, the model produces new insights about coupled economic geomorphological systems. In particular, determining whether the frequency of nourishment increases in response to physical and economic forces depends on whether the decay rate of nourishment sand exceeds the discount rate.
Stakeholders’ views of enclave tourism

Using a grounded theory approach, this study investigates stakeholders’ views of enclave tourism in the island of Mauritius. In-depth interviews with tourism stakeholders were conducted and data were analyzed using the principles of grounded theory. Seven subthemes emerged from the analysis and these were categorized into two main themes: enclave tourism as an agent of empowerment/improvement and enclave tourism as a force of sociocultural destruction/denial of freedom. The themes suggest that stakeholders’ views are nuanced and often contradictory. In line with the principles of grounded theory, a conceptual framework explaining stakeholders’ views of enclave tourism is developed. The findings are discussed with existing literature and similarities and contradictions are noted. Unlike what is usually claimed by researchers and scholars, enclave tourism development results in some environmental and socioeconomic benefits, particularly with respect to sustainable hotel operations, empowerment of local community and women, and entrepreneurial opportunities.
Research Note---Estimating Heterogeneous Price Thresholds

A brand choice model with heterogeneous price-threshold parameters is used to investigate a three-regime piecewise-linear stochastic utility function. The model is used to explore the relationships between aspects of consumer price sensitivity and price thresholds using hierarchical Bayes modeling with the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. This study contributes to the modeling literature on discontinuous likelihoods in choice models. The empirical application using our scanner panel data set shows that the reference effect and loss aversion are more marked after price thresholds are taken into heterogeneous price response models. Furthermore, loss aversion is attenuated by using price thresholds than by an aggregate (homogeneity) model without price thresholds.
WHAT IF MAINSTREAM SCIENCE IS RIGHT? THE ROUT OF KNOWLEDGE AND ANALYSIS IN AUSTRALIAN CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY (AND A CHANCE OF RECOVERY?)

The integrated wisdom of mainstream science and mainstream economics identifies risks to established patterns of human civilisation from unmitigated or weakly mitigated climate change. These risks are important in all countries, and greater in Australia than in any other developed country. They have been more elaborately analysed in Australia than in most other countries, and our community has had access to large amounts of reliable information on the risks. And yet at times, including the present, Australia has been a significant brake on international progress on mitigation policy. The Australian political discussion of climate change policy took a new turn with the formation of minority Government after the 2010 election, the establishment of a Multi-Party Climate Change Committee, and a new commission from the Government for me to update independently the 2008 independent Garnaut Climate Change Review. This lecture describes the approach to decision-making on climate change policy utilised in the 2008 Review, discusses and assesses the public commentary on methodological issues after the Review’s publication, and concludes with some observations about the role of knowledge and analysis in climate change policy in the new circumstances.
Imported Intermediate Inputs, R&D, and Productivity at Firm Level: Evidence from Indian Manufacturing Industries

This article examines the effects of imported intermediary inputs and in-house research and development (R&D) on productivity growth, using firm-level data from Indian manufacturing industries for the period 2000–09. For this purpose, we adopted two empirical frameworks: production function and growth accounting method. The estimated results from the production function framework suggest that the impact of imported intermediary goods on output is reasonably sizable. The role of R&D activities under this framework is found to be insignificant. The analysis based on the growth accounting suggests that total factor productivity of firms is linked with import and R&D activities.
Cognitive function across manic or hypomanic, depressed, and euthymic states in bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVE The study aims were to address neuropsychological functioning across different states of bipolar illness and to determine relationships among clinical features, neuropsychological performance, and psychosocial functioning. METHOD Several domains of cognitive function were examined in 30 depressed bipolar patients (DSM-IV criteria for major depression, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score > or = 17), 34 manic or hypomanic bipolar patients (DSM-IV criteria for manic or hypomanic episode, Young Mania Rating Scale score > or = 12), and 44 euthymic bipolar patients (6 months of remission, Hamilton depression scale score < or = 8, and Young Mania Rating Scale score < or = 6). The comparison group consisted of 30 healthy subjects without history of neurological or psychiatric disorders. A neuropsychological battery assessed executive function, attention, and verbal and visual memory. RESULTS The three groups showed cognitive dysfunction in verbal memory and frontal executive tasks in relation to the comparison group. Low neuropsychological performance was associated with poor functional outcome. Impairment of verbal memory was related to the duration of illness and the numbers of previous manic episodes, hospitalizations, and suicide attempts. CONCLUSIONS A poorer performance was observed in all bipolar groups regarding executive function and verbal memory in relation to the healthy comparison subjects. These cognitive difficulties, especially related to verbal memory, may help explain the impairment regarding daily functioning, even during remission. Further studies should focus on testing, whether optimizing prophylactic pharmacological treatment and psychoeducation might reduce cognitive impairment, and whether bipolar patients would benefit from neuropsychological rehabilitation in order to reduce the impact of cognitive impairment in their overall functioning.
THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL EXAMINATIONS OF DECISION-MAKING UNDER DIFFERENT INSTITUTIONS

Institutional frameworks are important to consider because of the way in which they shape the incentive structures and types of trade-offs economic agents inherently face when making economic decisions. This dissertation studies, both theoretically and empirically, economic agents' decision-making when operating under differing forms of institutional environments. Two general forms of institutional environments are examined, one being an example of a non-market allocation environment, and the other an example of a market allocation environment. Each environment is studied separated in separate parts of the dissertation.
Inhibition of Transcription and DNA Replication by the Papillomavirus E8⁁E2C Protein Is Mediated by Interaction with Corepressor Molecules

ABSTRACT Papillomavirus genomes replicate as nuclear plasmids at a low copy number in undifferentiated keratinocytes. Papillomaviruses encode the E1 and E2 proteins that bind to the origin of replication and are required for the activation of replication. In addition to E2, several papillomaviruses express an E8⁁E2C protein, which is generated by alternative splicing and functions as a transcriptional repressor and inhibitor of the E1/E2-dependent replication of the viral origin. Previous analyses suggested that the E8 domain functions as a transferable repression domain. In this report we present evidence that the E8 domain is responsible for the interaction with cellular corepressor molecules such as histone deacetylases, the histone methyltransferase SETDB1, and the TRIM28/KAP-1/TIF1β/KRIP-1 protein. Whereas the interaction with histone deacetylases is involved only in transcriptional repression, the interaction with TRIM28/KAP-1/TIF1β/KRIP-1 contributes to the inhibition of E1/E2-dependent replication. The corepressor TRIM28/KAP-1/TIF1β/KRIP-1 has been described to be part of multicomponent complexes involved in transcriptional regulation and functions as a scaffold protein. Since neither histone deacetylases nor the histone methyltransferase SETDB1 appears to be involved in the inhibition of E1/E2-dependent replication, most likely the modification of non-histone proteins contributes to the replication repression activity of E8⁁E2C.
The Inclusion Problem of Context-Free Languages: Some Tractable Cases

We study the problem of testing whether a context-free language is included in a fixed set L0, where L0 is the language of words reducing to the empty word in the monoid defined by a complete string rewrite system. We prove that, if the monoid is cancellative, then our inclusion problem is polynomially reducible to the problem of testing equivalence of straight-line programs in the same monoid. As an application, we obtain a polynomial time algorithm for testing if a context-free language is included in a Dyck language (the best previous algorithm for this problem was doubly exponential).
Share Repurchases and Pay-Performance Sensitivity of Employee Compensation Contracts

I show that share repurchases increase pay-performance sensitivity of employee compensation and lead to greater employee effort and higher stock prices. Consistent with the model, I find that after repurchases, employees and managers receive fewer stock option and equity grants, and that the market reacts favorably to repurchase announcements when employees have many unvested stock options. Managers are more likely to initiate share repurchases when employees hold a large stake in the firm. Moreover, since employees are forced to bear more risk in firms that repurchase shares, they exercise their stock options earlier and receive higher compensation. Copyright (c) 2009 The American Finance Association.
Noninvasive tests of vascular function and structure: why and how to perform them.

BACKGROUND Early atherosclerosis involves the endothelium of many arteries. Information about peripheral arterial anatomy and function derived from vascular imaging studies such as brachial artery reactivity (BAR) and carotid intima media thickness (IMT) may be pertinent to the coronary circulation. The prevention and early treatment of atherosclerosis is gaining more attention, and these tests might be used as indications or perhaps guides to the effectiveness of therapy, but their application in clinical practice has been limited. This review seeks to define the anatomy and pathophysiology underlying these investigations, their methodology, the significance of their findings, and the issues that must be resolved before their application. METHODS The literature on BAR and IMT is extensively reviewed, especially in relation to clinical use. RESULTS Abnormal flow-mediated dilation is present in atherosclerotic vessels, is associated with cardiovascular risk factors, and may be a marker of preclinical disease. Treatment of known atherosclerotic risk factors has been shown to improve flow-mediated dilation, and some data suggest that vascular responsiveness is related to outcome. Carotid IMT is associated with cardiovascular risk factors, and increased levels can predict myocardial infarction and stroke. Aggressive risk factor management can decrease IMT. CONCLUSIONS BAR and IMT are functional and structural markers of the atherosclerotic process. The clinical use of BAR has been limited by varying reproducibility and the influence by exogenous factors, but IMT exhibits less variability. A desirable next step in the development of BAR and IMT as useful clinical tools would be to show an association of improvement in response to treatment with improvement in prognosis.
Corporatism in Decline?

During the 1970s and early 1980s most studies on corporatism indicated that corporatist policies led to lower unemployment and inflation and higher economic growth rates. In the mid- and late 1980s, however, voices claiming that corporatism is in “decline” became more and more frequent although hardly any empirical examinations were undertaken. The purpose of this study is to estimate empirically the influence of corporatist arrangements on macroeconomic performance and industrial disputes in the 1980s as compared with the 1970s and 1960s. This pooled time-series/cross-sectional analysis provides evidence that corporatist policies have not lost their capacity to achieve the desired macroeconomic goals in the 1980s; in addition, corporatism significantly reduces the number of working days lost. However, no evidence was found that corporatism leads to increased economic growth. There is evidence that economic growth is adversely affected by government outlays.
Voices of Innovation: Building a Model for Curriculum Transformation

Abstract Innovation in nursing education curriculum is critically needed to meet the demands of nursing leadership and practice while facing the complexities of today’s health care environment. International nursing organizations, the Institute of Medicine, and; our health care practice partners have called for curriculum reform to ensure the quality and safety of patient care. While innovation is occurring in schools of nursing, little is being researched or disseminated. The purposes of this qualitative study were to (a) describe what innovative curricula were being implemented, (b) identify challenges faced by the faculty, and (c) explore how the curricula were evaluated. Interviews were conducted with 15 exemplar schools from a variety of nursing programs throughout the United States. Exemplar innovative curricula were identified, and a model for approaching innovation was developed based on the findings related to conceptualizing, designing, delivering, evaluating, and supporting the curriculum. The results suggest implications for nursing education, research, and practice.
THE DIFFICULTY AND GRADED SCORING OF ELITHORN'S PERCEPTUAL MAZE TEST.

This paper describes an attempt to relate the subjective difficulty of a maze test, as provided by the success of a panel of subjects in solving it, with certain definable physical parameters of the maze. By assuming that the fewer solution paths there are through the maze the harder it is to find one, the correlation between subjective and calculated difficulty is + 0·77. By empirically including the complications of maze saturation and of the number of ‘legs' in the solution path, this value is increased to + 0·94. Using these ideas, a weighted scoring scheme is suggested whose values correlate more highly with subjects' Progressive Matrices scores than does the right-wrong value.
Place-Bound Jobs at the Intersection of Policy and Management: Comparing Employer Practices in U.S. and Canadian Chain Restaurants

Debate about the United States’ minimum wage spiked several years ago at a time when its role in influencing employment conditions had become complicated by firms’ increasing use of job outsourcing and “offshoring. ” Yet the latter labor strategies are not obviously applicable to employment revolving around in-person transactions between workers and customers, or “place-bound” work. Such jobs present an opportunity for studying human resource management, and the capacity of public policy to shape it, when policy may be at its most influential over employer practices. The current article considers such a case, investigating how minimum wage rates, other public policies and programs associated with work, and firms’ human resource practices interact in the place-bound position of restaurant waiter. Using new data collected from managers of a sample of 21 sites of two low-end, full-service restaurant chains, the author examined the relationships between management practices for wages and tips, fringe benefits, and staffing and scheduling and the public policy contexts in which they were embedded in suburban Seattle, Chicago, and Vancouver, British Columbia. The author found that employer practices varied by geographic area as a product of contrasts in public regulation of employers as well as supports to workers and families; that employer practices varied between the two chains, independent of geographic location; and that those practices were often poised to have dramatic impacts on waiters’ income and benefits access. The author concludes by discussing some of the limitations of and prospects for applying public tools to promote the quality of private, hourly jobs.
Poverty, Risk Aversion, and Path Dependence in Low‐Income Countries: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia

In most low-income countries, rural households depend on mixed rain-fed agriculture/livestock production, which is very risky. Due to numerous market failures, there are few ways to shift risks to third parties. The literature has focused on what determines the responses of households in such environments. Of special concern are path dependencies in which households experiencing failure are prone to further failure and potential poverty traps. This paper estimates levels and determinants of risk aversion in the highlands of Ethiopia. We find high risk aversion and evidence that constraints have important impacts on risk-averting behavior with perhaps significant implications for long-term poverty. The results also suggest the possibility of path dependence and offer insights into links between risk aversion and poverty traps. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.
Determinants of the Use of Advanced Technologies

There is an extensive literature about the influences on the adoption of new technologies. However, while we often assert the role of qualifications and skills in the innovation and diffusion processes, there has been little formal econometric work in this area. One of the key reasons for this is the lack of information about human capital in firm accounts, at all levels of the organisation, including the top executive and board of directors. This paper draws on a large, firm level data set to explore the linkages between the adoption and use of 13 advanced technologies and the qualification and skill structure of the enterprise. In addition, it provides a number of further insights about the effects of ownership, firm size and industry structure.
Transfusion-related acute lung injury: advances in understanding the role of proinflammatory mediators in its genesis

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is the most common cause of serious morbidity and mortality due to hemotherapy. The pathogenesis is the result of two events: the first related to the recipient’s clinical condition, predisposing to acute lung injury (ALI) through neutrophil or polymorphonuclear leukocyte sequestration, and the second being the infusion of antibodies or mediators that activate these adherent polymorphonuclear neutrophils, resulting in endothelial damage, capillary leak and ALI. TRALI is most prevalent in the critically ill, although many of these cases are termed ALI. Although mitigation strategies, such as the use of male-only plasma, have decreased the number of TRALI cases and deaths, TRALI still occurs. This review will detail the pathophysiology of TRALI, provide insight into newer areas of research and critically assess current practices to mitigate TRALI and improve transfusion safety.
FDI, Growth and the Asian Financial Crisis: The Experience of Selected Asian Countries

This paper studies the trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into selected South-East Asian and East Asian economies after the Asian crisis. Empirical evidence indicates that South-East and East Asian economies are recovering from the Asian crisis with strong output growth driven largely by export growth. However, output growth in the post-crisis period is also accompanied by rising unemployment rates, growing government deficits, and declining FDI inflows into the South-East Asian region. The declining FDI inflows into South-East Asia after the crisis is of concern, as our empirical results show that FDI is important for output growth in the region. Our results also suggest that there might have been structural changes in the regional economies that could have led to a downward shift in the output growth of Asian economies in the post-crisis period. This raises the issue of the sustainability of their output growth in the post-crisis period.
Chief Executive Turnover and Firm Performance in Japan

Abstract In this article, I examine CEO turnover and its relationship to firm performance in Japan by using a newly assembled longitudinal data set. The longitudinal data allow me to analyze the effect of long-run performance of individual executives on their turnover. I find that while contemporaneous poor sales growth and employment growth increase turnover probability, other contemporaneous firm performance measures are not significantly related to CEO turnover. On the other hand, the long-run performance measures of individual CEOs (the annualized average of cumulative performance as a CEO) are significantly related to turnover. J. Japan. Int. Econ., March 1997, 11 (1), pp. 2–26. Faculty of Economics, Nagoya City University, Yamanohata, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467, Japan
Linking Measured Risk Aversion to Individual Characteristics

From the stated price of a specified lottery in three unrelated surveys we deduce individuals' Arrow-Pratt measure of risk aversion. We find that risk aversion indeed falls with income and wealth. Entrepreneurs are less risk averse than employees, civil servants are more risk averse than private sector employees, and women are more risk averse than men. A simple lottery question appears a promising survey instrument to explore risk attitude and its relation to personal characteristics. Copyright 2002 by WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG