Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lung inflammation promotes metastasis through neutrophil protease-mediated degradation of Tsp-1

Significance Lungs are highly susceptible to inflammation. However, molecular insights into how external inflammation enhances metastatic outgrowth in the lungs remain lacking. Clinically, approaches are required to block tumor outgrowth in secondary organs for effective treatment of metastatic cancers. We demonstrate a previously unidentified mechanism of thrombospondin-1 (Tsp-1) regulation by inflammatory neutrophil proteases in the metastatic organ. Our findings suggest the potential of using neutrophil protease inhibitors as antimetastatic therapies. Inflammation is inextricably associated with primary tumor progression. However, the contribution of inflammation to tumor outgrowth in metastatic organs has remained underexplored. Here, we show that extrinsic inflammation in the lungs leads to the recruitment of bone marrow-derived neutrophils, which degranulate azurophilic granules to release the Ser proteases, elastase and cathepsin G, resulting in the proteolytic destruction of the antitumorigenic factor thrombospondin-1 (Tsp-1). Genetic ablation of these neutrophil proteases protected Tsp-1 from degradation and suppressed lung metastasis. These results provide mechanistic insights into the contribution of inflammatory neutrophils to metastasis and highlight the unique neutrophil protease–Tsp-1 axis as a potential antimetastatic therapeutic target.
What Do We Know About Preferential Trade Agreements and Temporary Trade Barriers?

Two of the most important trade policy developments to take place since the 1980s are the expansion of preferential trade agreements and temporary trade barriers, such as antidumping, safeguards, and countervailing duties. Despite the empirical importance of preferential trade agreements and temporary trade barriers and the common feature that each can independently have quite discriminatory elements, relatively little is known about the nature of any relationships between them. This paper surveys the literature on some of the political-economic issues that can arise at the intersection of preferential trade agreements and temporary trade barriers and uses four case studies to illustrate variation in how countries apply the World Trade Organization's global safeguards policy instrument. The four examples include recent policies applied by a variety of types of countries and under different agreements: large and small countries, high-income and emerging economies, and free trade areas and customs unions. The analysis reveals important measurement and identification challenges for research that seeks to find evidence of systematic relationships between the formation of preferential trade agreements, the political-economic implications of their implementation, and the use of subsequent temporary trade barriers.
Measures of growth in children at risk for Huntington disease

Objective: The effect of mHTT on human development was examined by evaluating measures of growth in children at risk for Huntington disease (HD). Methods: Children at risk for HD with no manifest symptoms (no juvenile HD included) were enrolled and tested for gene expansion for research purposes only. Measurements of growth (height, weight, body mass index [BMI], and head circumference) in children tested as gene-expanded (n = 20, 7–18 years of age, CAG repeats ≥39) were compared to those of a large database of healthy children (n = 152, 7–18 years of age). Results: Gene-expanded children had significantly lower measures of head circumference, weight, and BMI. Head circumference was abnormally low even after correcting for height, suggesting a specific deficit in brain growth, rather than a global growth abnormality. Conclusions: These results indicate that, compared to a control population, children who were estimated to be decades from HD diagnosis have significant differences in growth. Further, they suggest that mHTT may play a role in atypical somatic, and in particular, brain development.
A study of failure models in feedback control systems

Feedback control systems have a peculiar behavior that allows them to compensate for disturbances in the controlled application. This paper investigates whether this resilience also extends to disturbances originating from faults in the controller itself. The question of what kind of failure model is more effective in this type of system is addressed, with three different models being studied: arbitrary failure, fail-silent, and fail-bounded. The study is conducted essentially by experimental fault injection in the controller of one of the best known and most demanding of the benchmarks used in the control systems area: an inverted pendulum. The considered failure models are compared according to criteria based on the quality of the control action. Other insights gained from the experiments made are described, for instance on how to significantly increase dependability at a very low cost in the feedback controllers, and on the need for a different kind of real-time scheduling algorithm.
A Model for Assessing Learning Management System Success in Higher Education in Sub‐Saharan Countries

In recent years, there has been an increasing adoption of various Learning Management Systems (LMS) in higher education in Sub‐Saharan countries. Despite the perceived benefits of these systems to leverage challenges facing education sector in the region, studies show that the majority of them tend to fail; partially or totally. This paper presents a model for evaluating LMS deployed in Higher Education Institutions in Sub‐Saharan countries through adopting and extending the updated DeLone and McLean information system success model. The proposed model and the instrument have been validated through a survey of 200 students enrolled in various courses offered via Moodle LMS at University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The findings of this study will help those who are involved in the implementation of LMS in higher education in Sub‐Saharan countries to evaluate their existing systems and/or to prepare corrective measures and strategies to avoid future LMS failures.
Source-channel optimized trellis codes for bitonal image transmission over AWGN channels

We consider the design of trellis codes for transmission of binary images over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. We first model the image as a binary asymmetric Markov source (BAMS) and then design source-channel optimized (SCO) trellis codes for the BAMS and AWGN channel. The SCO codes are shown to be superior to Ungerboeck's codes by approximately 1.1 dB (64-state code, 10(-5) bit error probability), We also show that a simple "mapping conversion" method can be used to improve the performance of Ungerboeck's codes by approximately 0.4 dB (also 64-state code and 10 (-5) bit error probability). We compare the proposed SCO system with a traditional tandem system consisting of a Huffman code, a convolutional code, an interleaver, and an Ungerboeck trellis code. The SCO system significantly outperforms the tandem system. Finally, using a facsimile image, we compare the image quality of an SCO code, an Ungerboeck code, and the tandem code, The SCO code yields the best reconstructed image quality at 4-5 dB channel SNR.
Including Estimates of the Future in Today's Financial Statements

This paper explains why the question is how, not if, today's financial statements should include estimates of the future. Including such estimates is not new, but their use is increasing. This increase results primarily because standard setters believe asset and liability measures that reflect current economic conditions and up-to-date expectations of the future will result in more useful information for making economic decisions, which is the objective of financial reporting. This is why standard setters seem focused on fair value accounting. How estimates of the future are incorporated in financial statements depends on the asset and liability measurement attribute, and on financial reporting definitions of assets and liabilities. The present definitions depend on identifying past transactions or events that give rise to expected inflows or outflows of economic benefits and, for inflows, control over the expected benefits. Thus, not all expected inflows or outflows of economic benefits are recognised. Note disclosures can help users understand recognised estimates, and can provide information about unrecognised estimates. Including more estimates of the future in today's financial statements would result in an income measure that differs from today's income, but arguably provides better information for making economic decisions.
Coupon Attractiveness and Coupon Proneness: A Framework for Modeling Coupon Redemption

The measurement of consumers’ coupon proneness and the prediction of their redemption behavior is important to the evaluation of marketers’ couponing programs. Although considerable attention has been paid in the couponing literature to the identification of factors that influence coupon usage behavior, relatively little work has been done to develop models that can help managers predict consumer response to specific coupons and design effective coupon promotions. The authors propose a model of coupon redemption that extends previous models of coupon usage by considering the joint effects of coupon attractiveness and coupon proneness on redemption, and does not require explicit measurement of these variables. Empirical application of the model shows that it correctly predicts redemption intentions for nearly 90% of consumers in a holdout sample and substantially outperforms a logit model that includes traditional measures of coupon proneness, coupon characteristics, and demographics. The proposed model also provides insights into consumer response to coupons that are not provided by the logit model. Overall, the model shows considerable promise as an aid to managers in designing coupon promotions and developing precision targeting strategies.
Stable morphological–physiological and neural protein expression changes in rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells treated with electromagnetic field and nitric oxide

As an external physical factor, electromagnetic field (EMF) may influence cellular processes and nitric oxide (NO) by serving as a secondary messenger molecule in intracellular signaling cascades. Effects of these factors were evaluated simultaneously on viability, morphology, and variation of calcium ion content, and neural protein marker expression in rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from rat bone marrow and cultured. Deta‐NO as a donor molecule of NO was added to cell culture medium after several passages. These cells were also exposed by retinoic acid (RA, a molecule inducing cell differentiation) and EMF (50 Hz and 20 mT). Despite the effect observed with low concentration of NO, the high concentration of NO in the presence of EMF decreased cell viability and changed cell morphology. EMF increased entry of calcium ion into the cell. Effect of RA on cell death and morphology changes also intensified in the presence of NO and EMF. BMSCs maintained their proliferative state and continued to remain as a stem cell in low concentration of NO. The decrease of cell viability, and increase in number and length of cell neurites and percentage of cells expressing Map2 marker can be a sign of progression for cell neuronal differentiation treated by high concentration of NO with EMF. Bioelectromagnetics. 38:592–601, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Pharmacokinetics of Single-Dose Daptomycin in Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Neurological Infections

ABSTRACT There are currently few or no published data on the amount of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) penetration of daptomycin in patients with suspected or documented neurosurgical infections. We conducted a prospective study, assessing the pharmacokinetics and CSF penetration of a single intravenous daptomycin dose administered at 10 mg/kg, based on total body weight (TBW), in six neurosurgical patients with indwelling external CSF shunts with suspected or documented meningitis or ventriculitis. Each patient had four blood and CSF samples drawn simultaneously at specific times after the end of infusion: 30 min, 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h. Pharmacokinetic parameters of daptomycin in serum were calculated using standard noncompartmental methods, and daptomycin was assayed using high-performance liquid chromatography (for serum) or liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry (for CSF). The mean (± standard deviation [SD]) maximum measured daptomycin concentrations were 93.7 ± 17.3 mg/liter in serum at 0.5 h postinfusion and 0.461 ± 0.51 mg/liter in CSF at 6 h postinfusion. The mean (± SD) daptomycin minimum concentrations were 13.8 ± 4.8 mg/liter in serum at 24 h postinfusion and 0.126 ± 0.12 mg/liter in CSF at 0.5 h postinfusion. The mean daptomycin penetration, determined by the area under the concentration-time curve in CSF (AUCCSF)/(AUCserum ratio), was 0.8%. Corrected for protein binding, the overall CSF penetration was 11.5%. Additional pharmacokinetic studies evaluating multiple and/or higher dosages of daptomycin are necessary in human subjects to better characterize the CSF penetration of daptomycin in neurosurgical patients.
Relative Size in Mergers and Operating Performance: Indian Experience

In today's globalised economy, mergers and acquisitions are being increasingly used the world over as a strategy for achieving a larger size and asset base, faster growth in market share and for becoming more competitive through economies of scale. One of the important factors that could affect the outcome of a merger is the relative size of the acquiring and acquired companies. This paper studies the impact of mergers on the operating performance of acquiring corporates by examining some pre- and post-merger financial ratios with a sample of firms chosen from all mergers involving public limited and traded companies in India between 1991 and 2003. The results suggest that there are minor variations in terms of the impact on operating performance following mergers, when the acquiring and acquired firms are of different relative sizes, as measured by market value of equity.
Are the European Carbon Markets Efficient?

This paper examines the efficiency of the European market for carbon dioxide emission allowances. To this end, spot and futures market data are analyzed from Powernext, Nord Pool and ECX, the three main exchanges under the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The methodology employs econometric testing procedures and trading strategies based on technical analysis rules and na? ve forecasts. The empirical results suggest that the behavior of the markets under consideration is not consistent with weak form efficiency. It is argued that this could be due to the immaturity of the EU ETS and to the restrictions imposed on short-selling and on "banking" of emission allowances. The results are particularly important for emission intensive firms, policy makers, risk managers and for active or passive investors in the emerging class of energy and carbon hedge funds.
The Performance of Leveraged Buyout-Backed Initial Public Offerings in the UK

This paper investigates the long-term stock price performance of initial public offering (IPO) firms in the United Kingdom that were previously owned by leveraged buyout (LBO) funds. A sample of 128 LBO-backed IPOs and 1,121 non-LBO-backed IPOs between 1990 and 2006 is analysed for the long-term performance of these offerings. The analysis suggests that LBO-backed IPOs beat the stock market and outperform non-LBO-backed IPOs. The analysis identifies factors driving outperformance, most significantly the percentage of share capital held by the buyout group after the offering.
Do UK Outside CEOs Engage More in Tax Planning than the Insiders

ABSTRACT Firms engage in tax planning to varying extents. One potential determinant of such variations may be the characteristics of senior executives. The objective of this study is to investigate whether CEO origin (insiders or outsiders) and departing CEO tenure are significant in explaining the extent of corporate tax planning. The sample is non-financial London Stock Exchange listed firms from 2005 to 2011. Upon regressing tax planning on CEO origin, departing CEO tenure and other control variables, we find robust evidence that outsiders are associated with higher levels of tax planning than the insiders. Our results also reveal a negative moderating influence of departing CEO tenure on tax planning levels of current CEOs. Collectively, this paper provides the first UK evidence on the influence of CEO origin and departing CEO tenure on tax planning. This paper has important implications for tax authorities since it highlights CEO characteristics can be relevant indicators in a tax avoidance-risk assessment exercise. The findings will also be of interest to management and its board when considering factors of interest in a turnover scenario. Keywords: Tax planning; CEO origin; departing CEO tenure; upper echelons theory ABSTRAK Darjah keterlibatan syarikat dalam perancangan cukai adalah berbeza di antara sebuah syarikat dengan syarikat yang lain. Ciri-ciri pegawai eksekutif kanan merupakan faktor yang berkemungkinan mempengaruhi perbezaan berkenaan. Objektif penyelidikan ini adalah untuk menyiasat sama ada ciri asal ketua pegawai eksekutif (CEO dalaman atau luaran) dan tempoh perkhidmatan CEO terdahulu adalah signifikan dalam menerangkan tahap perancangan cukai syarikat. Sampel kajian ini ialah syarikat bukan kewangan yang tersenarai di London Stock Exchange untuk tempoh 2005 sehingga 2011. Dengan menjalankan analisa regresi perancangan cukai ke atas ciri asal CEO, tempoh perkhidmatan CEO terdahulu dan pembolehubah kawalan yang lain, kami mendapati penemuan yang kukuh bahawa kadar keterlibatan CEO luar dalam perancangan cukai lebih tinggi berbanding CEO dalaman. Keputusan kajian ini juga mendapati bahawa tempoh perkhidmatan CEO terdahulu mempengaruhi hubungan berkenaan secara negatif. Kajian ini adalah yang pertama seumpamanya yang mengetengahkan penemuan tentang pengaruh ciri asal CEO dan tempoh perkhidmatan CEO terdahulu terhadap perancangan cukai di UK. Kajian ini mempunyai implikasi penting kepada pihak berkuasa percukaian kerana ia mencadangkan ciri-ciri CEO sebagai faktor penentu dalam analisis risiko pengelakan cukai. Hasil kajian ini juga dapat dimanfaatkan pihak pengurusan dan badan pengarah dalam menentukan faktor-faktor pertukaran CEO. Kata kunci: Perancangan cukai; ciri asal CEO; tempoh perkhidmatan CEO terdahulu; Teori upper echelons
Stock price reaction to share repurchase announcements by banks in normal and crisis times

This paper studies stock price reaction to share repurchases announced by U.S. banks between January 2002 and December 2008. Using the standard event study method, we find that the average abnormal return around share repurchase announcements is positive in both normal and crisis times. We also find that the average abnormal return is significantly higher in crisis times. Our results are consistent with the signaling hypothesis for share repurchases.
Subconjunctival nanoparticle carboplatin in the treatment of murine retinoblastoma.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of subconjunctival nanoparticle carboplatin in the treatment of transgenic murine retinoblastoma. METHODS Dendrimeric nanoparticles loaded with carboplatin were prepared. Forty LHbeta-Tag mice were randomly assigned into 4 groups and treated at 10 weeks of age. Each mouse received a single subconjunctival injection in one eye, and the opposite eye was left untreated as a control. Group 1 (high-dose nanoparticle carboplatin) received 37.5 mg/mL of nanoparticle carboplatin; group 2 (low-dose nanoparticle carboplatin) received 10 mg/mL of nanoparticle carboplatin; group 3 (conventional carboplatin) received 10 mg/mL of carboplatin in aqueous solution; and group 4 (phosphate-buffered saline) received phosphate-buffered saline. Mice were killed on day 22 after treatment. Eyes were serially sectioned, and retinal tumor burden was quantified by histopathologic analysis. RESULTS Mean tumor burden in the treated eyes was significantly smaller compared with the untreated eyes in the same mice in both nanoparticle carboplatin groups (group 1, P = .02; group 2, P = .02) and the treated eyes in the conventional carboplatin group (group 1 vs group 3, P < .01; group 2 vs group 3, P = .01) and phosphate-buffered saline group (group 1 vs group 4, P < .01; group 2 vs group 4, P = .01). The untreated eyes in the high-dose nanoparticle carboplatin group showed significantly smaller tumor mass compared with the conventional carboplatin (P = .03) and PBS (P = .04) groups. No toxic effects were observed in any of the groups. CONCLUSION A single injection of subconjunctival nanoparticle carboplatin was effective in the treatment of transgenic murine retinoblastoma, with no associated toxic effects. The higher dose of subconjunctival nanoparticle carboplatin decreased the tumor burden in the contralateral eye. CLINICAL RELEVANCE This model provides a basis to test carboplatin nanoparticles for the treatment of human retinoblastoma.
Ion mobility mass spectrometry analysis of isomeric disaccharide precursor, product and cluster ions.

RATIONALE Carbohydrates are highly variable in structure owing to differences in their anomeric configurations, monomer stereochemistry, inter-residue linkage positions and general branching features. The separation of carbohydrate isomers poses a great challenge for current analytical techniques. METHODS The isomeric heterogeneity of disaccharide ions and monosaccharide-glycolaldehyde product ions was evaluated using electrospray traveling wave ion mobility mass spectrometry (Synapt G2 high-definition mass spectrometer) in both positive and negative ion modes. RESULTS The separation of isomeric disaccharide ions was observed but not fully achieved based on their mobility profiles. The mobilities of isomeric product ions, the monosaccharide-glycolaldehydes, derived from different disaccharide isomers were measured. Multiple mobility peaks were observed for both monosaccharide-glycolaldehyde cations and anions, indicating that there was more than one structural configuration in the gas phase as verified by NMR in solution. More importantly, the mobility patterns for isomeric monosaccharide-glycolaldehyde product ions were different, which enabled partial characterization of their respective disaccharide ions. Abundant disaccharide cluster ions were also observed. The results showed that a majority of isomeric cluster ions had different drift times and, moreover, more than one mobility peak was detected for a number of specific cluster ions. CONCLUSIONS It is demonstrated that ion mobility mass spectrometry is an advantageous method to assess the isomeric heterogeneity of carbohydrate compounds. It is capable of differentiating different types of carbohydrate ions having identical m/z values as well as multiple structural configurations of single compounds.