Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The spatial extent over which neurons in macaque striate cortex pool visual signals

We recorded activity of single units in macaque monkey primary visual cortex (V1) to define the retinotopic extent of the visual inputs that drive or modulate V1 neuron responses in parafoveal and peripheral (calcarine) cortex. We used high-contrast drifting grating stimuli to define the extent of the area over which responses summate and the extent of the receptive-field surround. We found responses of most V1 cells to summate over 1 deg, with a suppressive surround typically twice that in diameter, though for some cells (even in parafoveal V1) surrounds exceeded 13 deg in diameter. Surprisingly, we found no significant laminar differences in these dimensions or in the strength of surround suppression. We found that surround suppression in most cells arises from both the ends and sides of the receptive field. Our measures indicate that the strongest modulatory input arises from regions immediately adjacent to the excitatory summation area. These physiological measures suggest that the high-contrast summation field of V1 neurons can be accounted for by the sum of lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) inputs offered to the local cortical column, with monosynaptic lateral connections within area V1 adding the larger dimensions of the low-contrast summation field and the near surround. Neither of these inputs suffice to explain the largest surrounds, which most likely derive from feedback from extrastriate visual areas.
Welfare through skills development: A Case of Traditional and Modern Construction Workers in Pune, India

Economic liberalization and structural reform agenda of 1990’s in India led to a boom in infrastructure development and expansion. The construction sector in India is one of the largest employers of workers, next only to agriculture. Informal, unskilled workers form a major part of this labor force. In this context, social assistance provided for workers by the Government of India has particularly focused on preventing exploitative conditions at the worksite. Seldom is it directed towards skills, wages, and productivity nexus to uplift livelihood of workers. Hence, there is a need to understand how employers structure welfare through skill upgradation; and how the worker locates himself amongst the organizational, institutional and monetary choices, within a geographical region. Types of skill acquisition and development become primary intervention tools for safeguarding livelihood generation and welfare of a construction worker. This thesis concerns with traditional and modern construction skills development with respect to social mobility in the context of public and private institutional frameworks.
Reaching a climate agreement - do we have to compensate for energy market effects of climate policy?

Because of large economic and environmental asymmetries among world regions and the incentive to free ride, an international climate Regime with broad participation is hard to reach. Most of the so far proposed Regimes base on an allocation of emission rights that is to be perceived as fair. Yet, there are also some arguments to focus more on the actual welfare implications of different Regimes and to aim for a "fair" Distribution of resulting costs. Using the Cpmputable General Equilibrium model DART, we analyze the driving Forces of welfare implications in different Scenarios where a global Emission target derived from the 2 degree target is reached. These include two Regimes that are often presumed to be "fair", namely a harmonized international carbon tax and a cap and trade System based on the convergence of per capita Emission rights, and additionally an "equal loss" Scenario where welfare losses relative to a Business as usual Scenario are equal for all Major world regions. We show that "eqaual losses" would mean in particular to compensate for the effects of climate policy on energy markets and e.g. to compensate for the loss of oil revenues as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) argues for.
Supporting Teachers In Learning About Inquiry, Nature Of Science, And In Teaching Through Inquiry

This review brings together the literature on inquiry-based teaching and learning and science teacher professional development (PD). We present a targeted critical review of research focused specifically on the nature of PD programs purported to emphasize inquiry. Our review analyzes the features of each program and critiques the reported outcomes of each study. Findings from this review suggest a general alignment with recommended features of effective PD as outlined in the literature with a few notable exceptions, including: supporting teachers in developing inquiry-based lesson plans, providing authentic inquiry experiences, and focusing on science content for teachers. More importantly, our review reveals that no reported study has connected participation in inquiry-based PD with all the desired outcomes of teacher PD: enhanced teacher knowledge, change in beliefs and practice, and enhanced student achievement. Implications for future research on inquiry-based PD programs are discussed.
The Contribution, Power and Influence of Part-time Board Members

The paper compares the contribution, power and influence of non-executive directors and part-time chairpersons within large UK PLC's, using interview data collected for a pilot study. Two questions are addressed: What contribution, if any, is made by non-executive directors and part-time chairmen? How, if at all, do part-time chairpersons exercise power and influence? The paper reveals that part-time chairmen and non-executive directors claim to contribute to a broad range of issues, ranging from the strategy of the firm, to the appointment, selection and dismissal of board members. Contribution is made by part-time chairmen and non-executive directors converting power sources into influence. A variety of influence methods are used by part-time chairmen and non-executive directors to contribute as board members. Part-time chairmen influence most by assertiveness, using the authority that comes with leading the board. Non-executive directors influence most through persuasion and coalition formation. Non-executive directors less on their positional authority to exert influence, and more on their personal knowledge, experience and expertise, as well as their ability to form relationships with individuals both inside and outside of the boardroom.
Bisphenol A migration from cans containing coffee and caffeine

This study was conducted to reconfirm the possibility and level of bisphenol A (BPA) migration from cans containing coffee and test the relationship between caffeine concentration and BPA migration from the can coating. BPA migration from cans containing decaffeinated and non-decaffeinated instant coffee averaged 66.2 and 84.0 ng ml-1, respectively. In our study, the possibility of BPA migration from cans containing coffee after processing was found. In addition, the more caffeine content in the water solution of caffeine increased, the more BPA migration grew. This means that caffeine can have an effect on BPA migration from the can coating.
Political Connections and the Process of Going Public: Evidence from China

We examine how political connections impact the process of going public. Specifically, we test how political connections impact the pricing of the newly offered shares, the magnitude of underpricing, and the fixed cost of going public. Based on the experience of the newly public firms from Chinese security markets and using multiple measures of political connections, we find robust evidence that the issuing firms with political connections reap significant preferential benefits in the process of going public. To be specific, we find that firms - irrespective of their ownership status - with greater political connections have relatively higher offering price, lower underpricing, and lower fixed costs during the going-public process.
Michigan residents’ perceptions of wetlands and mitigation

The regulation and management of wetlands is often contentious because wetlands share characteristics of both land, typically a private good, and water, typically treated as a public good. Landowners’ desires to develop “their property” with wetlands tend to conflict with the public benefits associated with healthy, intact wetland ecosystems. To understand better how residents in the state of Michigan, USA understand and perceive wetlands, a statewide telephone survey was undertaken. The survey of 1012 Michigan residents revealed most people to be very familiar with wetlands and think it very important to protect them. Across demographic groups, at least 60 percent of respondents believe it to be very important that wetlands exist both now and in the future. Multiple regression analysis suggests that younger, better educated, and wealthier people place greater importance than others on wetland existence; the analysis also indicates that Republicans seem to value wetlands slightly less than Democrats and Independents. Interestingly, respondents’ community type (e.g., rural, urban, suburban) appears to make relatively little difference on the importance of wetland existence.
Comprehensive flood control measures in the Tsurumi River Basin in Japan

ABSTRACT With its 42.5-km-long main channel and catchment area of 235 km2. the Tsurumi may be a small river even in Japan, but it flows through the central part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. The percentage of urbanized areas in the basin, which had been only 20 per cent 30 to 40 years ago, has increased to 80 per cent. The change of land use increased the flood runoff and necessitated the repeated revision of the channel improvement plan. Without nonstructural measures like onsite storage of rainwater traditional structural measures like river channel improvement works cannot save the basin from habitual flooding. The Ministry of Construction and the local municipalities responsible for river improvement, sewerage, and regional development established the Tsurumi River Basin Comprehensive Flood Control Council in 1980. Efforts are being made to maintain the retention and detention functions of the river basin and encourage land uses compatible with the conditions of flood control structures.
Sitagliptin: a review

Introduction: The ever-increasing burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and inadequate control in the majority of patients has led to a quest for newer therapeutic options. There have been recent exciting advances in the treatment of T2DM, targeting the enteroinsular axis with incretin-based therapies that include the dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors. Areas covered: The background, pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profile of sitagliptin and important clinical trials with this drug are discussed in this paper. This review is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the DPP-IV inhibitor sitagliptin, its clinical use and an expert opinion about its place in the treatment algorithm of diabetes management. Expert opinion: Sitagliptin is a well-tolerated, moderately efficacious, weight-neutral oral antidiabetic agent, with a low incidence of hypoglycemia. It may have a particular role in the management of diabetic patients with kidney or liver dysfunction. Animal studies indicate a protective effect on the pancreatic beta cell, thus limiting the progression of the disease, but this remains to be proven in humans.
National intellectual capital performance: a strategic approach

Purpose – The paper concerns the research problem of how to analyse the performance of a knowledge society as a whole, and in particular, of how to analyse national intellectual capital. The paper aims to build a conceptual foundation for national intellectual capital performance, and based on this, to construct a multidimensional measurement system for Finland and to investigate its usefulness.Design/methodology/approach – The framework and measurement system of national intellectual capital performance is constructed on the basis of the intellectual capital and knowledge management research literature. The illustration of the measurement system is carried out using empirical data from various institutions.Findings – The paper argues for the strategic, dialogic and societal measurement of national intellectual capital.Research limitations/implication – There was neither an exact purpose of measurement nor a detailed strategy for the knowledge society to aim at. Because of this, the measurement system ser.
Efficacy and safety of iodopovidone pleurodesis in malignant pleural effusions

Background and objective: Pleurodesis is one of the best methods of controlling malignant pleural effusions (MPE), a distressing complication of metastatic disease. In recent studies of a wide range of pleural diseases, iodopovidone was used as a sclerosing agent for pleurodesis and demonstrated good results with low morbidity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of iodopovidone pleurodesis in MPE.
Stock returns and consumption factors in the Australian market: Cross-sectional tests

We test conditional consumption capital asset pricing models (CCAPMs) in the Australian equity market. The conditional variables used are Lettau and Ludvigson’s (2001a, b) consumption–wealth ratio, Campbell and Cochrane’s (1999) surplus consumption ratio and Santos and Veronesi’s (2006) labour income to consumption ratio. We examine the cross-sectional implications of these variables using the Fama–French 25 size and book-to-market portfolios and Australian industry portfolios. The Fama–MacBeth (1973) cross-sectional regressions on the 25 size/book-to-market portfolios show that the conditional models perform better than the unconditional models. However, these conditional models cannot outperform the Fama–French three-factor model. The conditional CCAPM, with the labour income to consumption ratio as a scaling factor, can match more closely the performance of the Fama–French three-factor model. We also find that consumption growth is non-contemporaneously related to portfolio returns.
Inflation and Market Uncertainty in South Africa

Comparison of the movements in the VIX index, the rand – dollar exchange rate and South African CPI inflation reveals a striking resemblance between them, raising the question as to whether or not there is an empirical relationship among them. The aim of this paper is to determine whether or not changes in market uncertainty, as reflected in the VIX index, influence South African inflation. Given that the VIX index reflects market uncertainty, its impact on the inflation rate may differ between times of heightened uncertainty and normality, thus suggesting the presence of multiple regimes. To cater for this possibility, the analysis first uses the general-to-specific procedure (including squared and cubed values of dependent and independent variables) with impulse indicator saturation dummies to look for non-linear behaviour in the form of statistically significant squared and cubed variables and clustered periods of outlier dummies that might reflect an alternative regime. Finding such periods, the analysis next uses a Markov-switching model to model this non-linear behaviour explicitly. The results show that market volatility as measured by the VIX indeed explains South African inflation. Moreover, as shown by the second regime of the Markov-switching model, when market volatility is elevated, its influence on inflation also increases.
New Method for Evaluation of Virucidal Activity of Antiseptics and Disinfectants

ABSTRACT Counting culturable viruses adsorbed to cellulose nitrate filters (the VIRADEN method) is proposed as a simple procedure for the evaluation of the virucidal activity of antiseptics and disinfectants. The virucidal activities of two different doses of iodine, chlorine, glutaraldehyde, and chlorhexidine digluconate on poliovirus 1 were tested with a standardized procedure and with the VIRADEN method. The two procedures assayed provided similar results.
Cellular Choline and Glycine Betaine Pools Impact Osmoprotection and Phospholipase C Production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

ABSTRACT Choline is abundantly produced by eukaryotes and plays an important role as a precursor of the osmoprotectant glycine betaine. In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, glycine betaine has additional roles as a nutrient source and an inducer of the hemolytic phospholipase C, PlcH. The multiple functions for glycine betaine suggested that the cytoplasmic pool of glycine betaine is regulated in P. aeruginosa. We used 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) to demonstrate that P. aeruginosa maintains both choline and glycine betaine pools under a variety of conditions, in contrast to the transient glycine betaine pool reported for most bacteria. We were able to experimentally manipulate the choline and glycine betaine pools by overexpression of the cognate catabolic genes. Depletion of either the choline or glycine betaine pool reduced phospholipase production, a result unexpected for choline depletion. Depletion of the glycine betaine pool, but not the choline pool, inhibited growth under conditions of high salt with glucose as the primary carbon source. Depletion of the choline pool inhibited growth under high-salt conditions with choline as the sole carbon source, suggesting a role for the choline pool under these conditions. Here we have described the presence of a choline pool in P. aeruginosa and other pseudomonads that, with the glycine betaine pool, regulates osmoprotection and phospholipase production and impacts growth under high-salt conditions. These findings suggest that the levels of both pools are actively maintained and that perturbation of either pool impacts P. aeruginosa physiology.
The venture capitalist-entrepreneur relationship: Control, trust and confidence in co-operative behaviour

This article acknowledges the importance of achieving confidence in partner co-operation within the venture capitalist (VC)-entrepreneur relationship. The entrepreneur and the VC need to balance the level of control and trust building mechanisms so that the optimal level of confidence in partner co-operation can be achieved. The study proposes that the entrepreneur can build trust with the VC (and vice versa) by signaling commitment and consistency, being fair and just, obtaining a good fit with one's partner, and with frequent and open communication. Open and frequent communication acts as a catalyst for the other trust building mechanisms. This theoretical framework acts as a counter weight to most previous studies on the VC-entrepreneur relationship that have emphasized control mechanisms in order to build partner co-operation without sufficient consideration of how this might effect trust and how trust and control jointly effect confidence in partner cooperation.
Survey of needle-stick injuries in paediatric health personnel of 5 university hospitals in Tehran.

OBJECTIVE To study the prevalence and correlates of needle-stick injury in the health personnel of the Paediatric Department of five university-affiliated hospitals in Tehran, from April till June 2009. METHODS Cross-sectional questionnaire survey. Physicians undergoing paediatric training and nurses working in the paediatric departments filled up a pre-designed questionnaire. Relevant variables were compared between doctors and nurses. RESULTS Three-hundred fifty-five health personnel were enrolled. Of these 49.3% had incurred needle stick injury at least once, 36.7% doctors and 54.9% nurses (p=0.002). Nurses fared better than the doctors as regards knowledge about hazards of improper needle disposal. Correct answers from doctors and nurses respectively were: 45.6% vs. 59.3% about needle separation and 41.9% vs. 81.2% about recapping, (p=0.02 and <0.001). Doctors 11.1% and Nurses 37.7% believed injections to be better than oral medication for children, (p<0.001), however, 68.9% of doctors and 46.6% of nurses believed that parents preferred injections to oral medicines for their children, (p<0.001). Only 26.6% knew about auto-disable syringes. Vaccinated against Hepatitis B was present in 92.7%. Doctors 58.7% and 55.3% nurses knew HBV to be the most common needle transmitted infection, (p=0.56). CONCLUSION Needle-stick injuries are common among Paediatric health care personnel and their knowledge about prevention strategies is suboptimal. Most, health personnel are immunized against Hepatitis B.
Implications of a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND The largest recorded outbreak of a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV), detected in Nigeria, provides a unique opportunity to analyze the pathogenicity of the virus, the clinical severity of the disease, and the effectiveness of control measures for cVDPVs as compared with wild-type poliovirus (WPV). METHODS We identified cases of acute flaccid paralysis associated with fecal excretion of type 2 cVDPV, type 1 WPV, or type 3 WPV reported in Nigeria through routine surveillance from January 1, 2005, through June 30, 2009. The clinical characteristics of these cases, the clinical attack rates for each virus, and the effectiveness of oral polio vaccines in preventing paralysis from each virus were compared. RESULTS No significant differences were found in the clinical severity of paralysis among the 278 cases of type 2 cVDPV, the 2323 cases of type 1 WPV, and the 1059 cases of type 3 WPV. The estimated average annual clinical attack rates of type 1 WPV, type 2 cVDPV, and type 3 WPV per 100,000 susceptible children under 5 years of age were 6.8 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.9 to 7.7), 2.7 (95% CI, 1.9 to 3.6), and 4.0 (95% CI, 3.4 to 4.7), respectively. The estimated effectiveness of trivalent oral polio vaccine against paralysis from type 2 cVDPV was 38% (95% CI, 15 to 54%) per dose, which was substantially higher than that against paralysis from type 1 WPV (13%; 95% CI, 8 to 18%), or type 3 WPV (20%; 95% CI, 12 to 26%). The more frequent use of serotype 1 and serotype 3 monovalent oral polio vaccines has resulted in improvements in vaccine-induced population immunity against these serotypes and in declines in immunity to type 2 cVDPV. CONCLUSIONS The attack rate and severity of disease associated with the recent cVDPV identified in Nigeria are similar to those associated with WPV. International planning for the management of the risk of WPV, both before and after eradication, must include scenarios in which equally virulent and pathogenic cVDPVs could emerge.
Reversal by omeprazole of the depression of gastrin cell function by fasting in the rat.

1. Gastrin (G)‐cell function is controlled by gastric acid, which has inhibitory effects, and food in the gastric lumen, which has stimulatory effects. We have examined the role of acid in mediating the depression of G‐cell function that occurs in fasting in the rat. 2. Rats were fasted for 48 h, and received either the H(+)‐K(+)‐ATPase inhibitor omeprazole, to reduce acid secretion, or vehicle. Basal acid secretion was not significantly different after fasting for 24 or 48 h. Fasted rats which received omeprazole were achlorhydric. 3. In rats treated with vehicle and fasted for 48 h, plasma and tissue gastrin concentrations were significantly depressed. The fall in both parameters suggests an inhibition of gastrin synthesis and consistent with this a decrease was observed in tissue gastrin mRNA abundance and in phosphorylation of progastrin‐derived peptides. 4. In fasted rats treated with omeprazole, tissue gastrin concentrations were not significantly different from those of rats fed ad libitum, but plasma gastrin concentrations were significantly higher than in rats fed ad libitum. Gastrin mRNA abundance and the phosphorylation of progastrin‐derived peptides in omeprazole‐treated rats was not significantly different from rats fed ad libitum. 5. The data suggest that the depression of G‐cell function which occurs in fasted rats can be attributed to the inhibitory action of intraluminal acid on the G‐cell. Gastric acid appears to regulate several different aspects of G‐cell function, including gastrin synthesis, post‐translational processing and secretion.