Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel mutation in the NOD2 gene associated with Blau syndrome: a Norwegian family with four affected members

Background: Blau syndrome is a chronic granulomatous disease with an autosomal dominant trait characterized by the triad granulomatous dermatitis, arthritis, and uveitis. It is caused by mutations in the NOD2 gene, also termed the CARD15 gene. Objective: To report a novel mutation in the NOD2 gene associated with Blau syndrome. Methods and results: The proband was a 68‐year‐old ethnic Norwegian male who had uveitis and arthritis since 10 years of age followed by lifelong recurrent arthritis and chronic eye involvement. Genetic analysis showed a heterozygous c.1814 C>A, T605N mutation in NOD2 that has not previously been described. All of his three children had Blau syndrome and had inherited the NOD2 mutation. The proband's first son had exanthema, arthritis, and uveitis from 10 years of age and later presented with granulomatous lymphadenopathy, granulomatous parotitis, and granulomatous intestinal inflammation. The proband's daughter had arthritis, uveitis, and exanthema from 3 years of age. The proband's second son had uveitis, exanthema, and arthritis from 1.5 years of age. None of the cases had any involvement of the heart or lungs. Conclusion: We report a novel Blau syndrome‐associated mutation with an autosomal dominant heritage. Most likely the mutation has arisen de novo in the proband. Genetic counselling and antenatal diagnostics should be available to the involved families.
Variations in farm performance in transitional economies: Evidence from the Czech Republic

This paper revisits the literature on farm restructuring in the CEECs by analysing the variations in farm performance in the Czech Republic a decade after the start of the transition process. It identifies seven clusters of farms that differ in their productivity and profitability usng data from 1998 and 1999. The analysis reveals that the vast majority of farms are unprofitable, and there is no strong evidence that individual farms perform better than corporate farms. In fact, there are large numbers of individual farms that are loss‐making on their agricultural activity with low factor productivity. Producer co‐operatives and limited liability companies suffer from debts inherited from the reform process. Future restructuring is likely to occur in all clusters rather than affecting just corporate farms.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHER EDUCATION AS PERCEIVED BY BEGINNING TEACHERS IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION

The presence of a highly qualified and certified teacher in every classroom is a noble goal, but one questions whether or not this goal is attainable given the present difficulty in finding enough certified career and technical education teachers to teach in America’s schools. Beginning agriculture teachers in a Southern state were asked to determine the quality of their teacher-preparation experience. The study also sought to determine if a relationship exists between a teacher’s overall sense of preparedness and teacher efficacy, and determine if a difference exists between agriculture teachers prepared through a pre-service program at a teacher education institution and agriculture teachers who had no formal preparation experience. Based upon the findings of this study, agriculture teachers with less than three years of professional experience believed that their teacher preparation programs, in most cases, adequately prepared them to teach. The study also determined that the teacher’s degree of confidence in their ability to teach was positively related to their perceived effectiveness in the classroom. The study did not find any differences between methods of preparation by which a teacher enters the profession.
Automatic Control in Anesthesia: A Comparison in Performance Between the Anesthetist and the Machine

This report is divided into two parts. First, we developed two new servo control systems by modifying an existing one. The original system was designed to control inspired halothane concentration using mean arterial pressure; the two new systems were designed to control inspired halothane concentration using end-tidal concentration or to control mean arterial pressure using the automated infusion of nitroprusside. Second, we compared the performance of each of the three systems against the performance of experienced physician and nurse anesthetists (nine, six, and six experiments, respectively). The experiments incorporated a standardized testing sequence of two changes in desired blood pressure (set point) and two pharmacologically induced disturbances in blood pressure (perturbations). The scoring was designed to examine how fast blood pressure changed (90% response time), how far past the set point it went (overshoot), how long it took to eliminate most of the fluctuations in blood pressure (settling time), and the degree of fluctuation of blood pressure after settling (stability). Given three systems to be tested, there were (3 × 14) 42 possible mean scores for the machine and 42 for the anesthetists. The machine scored better than the anesthetists in 38 out of 42 of the mean scores; the differences were statistically significant in 19 out of 42 scores. The wide scatter in performances of the anesthetists prevented the achievement of significance in nine cases with large differences between means. Thus when the scores from the three systems were combined to achieve a larger n value, the machine outperformed the anesthetist in 12 out of 14 scores. We concluded that systems such as these could assume certain discrete tasks of the anesthetist, much as the mechanical ventilator has, and possibly perform better than anesthetists in these tasks.
Single-Phase Improved Active Clamp Coupled-Inductor-Based Converter With Extended Voltage Doubler Cell

In this paper, A single-phase improved active clamp coupled-inductor-based converter with extended voltage doubler cell is proposed for large-voltage conversion ratio applications. The secondary winding of the coupled inductor is inserted into the half-wave voltage doubler cell to extend the voltage gain dramatically and decrease the switch voltage stress effectively. By combining the coupled inductor and voltage doubler cell structure, the disadvantage of the potential resonance between the leakage inductance and the diode stray capacitor is cancelled, and the unexpected high pulsed current in the voltage doubler cell is decreased due to the inherent leakage inductance of the coupled inductor. Meanwhile, the active clamp scheme is employed to recycle the leakage energy, suppress the switch turn-off voltage spikes, and implement zero-voltage-switching turn-on operation. In addition, there is only one magnetic component in the proposed converter and the coupled inductor operates not only as a filter inductor, but also as a transformer when the main switch is in the ON state, which reduces the volume of the magnetic core and improves the power density of the converter. A 500 W prototype operating at 100 kHz with 48 V input and 380 V output is built to verify the analysis. The maximum efficiency of the prototype is nearly 97% and the efficiency is higher than 96% over a wide load range.
How Powerful CFOs Camouflage and Exploit Equity-Based Incentive Compensation

While numerous studies have examined the impact that powerful CEOs have on their compensation and overall firm decisions, relatively little is known about how powerful CFOs influence their compensation and important firm financial reporting and operational outcomes. This is somewhat surprising given the critical role CFOs play in the financial reporting process of a firm. Using managerial power theory (Bebchuk and Fried in J Econ Perspect 17:71–92, 2003) and the theory of power and self-focus (Pitesa and Thau in Acad Manag J 56(3):635–658, 2013), we predict that powerful CFOs employ a two-part strategy to camouflage excessive incentive compensation above what efficient contracting would dictate. First, powerful CFOs use their power and influence to negotiate shorter incentive pay duration to maximize the present value of their performance—based compensation. Second, when their incentive equity compensation vests, we suggest that CFOs manage earnings to further enhance their personal income. Consistent with our theoretical expectations, we find higher levels of income-increasing accrual-based earnings management and real transactions management, a potentially unethical practice, in firms with powerful CFOs who have short pay durations. We discuss the implications of our analysis in the context of mitigating CFO power and managing the ethical environment “tone at the top. ”
Firms' capital structure under Akerlof's separating equilibrium

ABSTRACT We use a sample of seven countries, for the period 2001–2006 to test the hypotheses related to the separating theorem proposed by Akerlof (1970) applied to firms' capital structure. We develop an empirical integrated model of capital structure that takes into account the trade-off, the pecking order and the market timing theories. We conclude that: 1. Being part of the market index is a guarantee of the quality of the firm which reduces the need for debt; 2. Indexed companies with growth opportunities use less debt to finance their investments to avoid debt overhang; 3. Non-indexed firms with a deficit of funds for financing their investments face higher financial constraints than indexed firms with a deficit of funds in particular in bearish markets, and 4. The capital structure of non-indexed firms is more influenced by market timing than the capital structure of indexed firms.
Do Survey Data Estimate Earnings Inequality Correctly?: Measurement Errors Among Black and White Male Workers

Few studies have considered how earnings inequality estimates may be affected by measurement error in self-reported earnings in surveys. Utilizing restricted-use data that links workers in the Survey of Income and Program Participation with their W-2 earnings records, we examine the effect of measurement error on estimates of racial earnings inequality. Results show that varying levels of mean-reverting error causes underestimation of earnings inequality. Notably, mean reversion is steeper for Black men than for White men, bringing about substantial downward bias in the estimated earnings gaps between Whites and Blacks at lower percentiles as well as large underestimation of within-racial group inequality for Black men. Together, our results call attention to the potential distortions generated by systematic measurement error on economic inequality estimates.
The Prsp Approach and the Illusion of Improved Aid Effectiveness: Lessons from Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua

Since 1999, poor countries that want to qualify for concessionary IMF loans and debt relief must elaborate and implement Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. Donors claim that the PRSP approach will increase aid effectiveness since PRSPs will enhance broad country ownership and lead to better 'partnership' with donors, implying more donor co-ordination under government leadership. By examining the experiences of Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua, this article finds that the results are disappointing. The article also shows that, by emphasising rational planning and ignoring politics, the PRSP approach has unintended and sometimes harmful consequences. This leads to recommendations for changes of the approach.
Multiple Modes of Action of a Monoclonal Antibody against Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Sequence Type 131-H30

ABSTRACT The multidrug-resistant H30 subclone of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131-H30) has spread worldwide. This clone expresses a conserved lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O antigen, O25b. Previously, we described monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific to the O25b antigen and characterized them as diagnostic and therapeutic tools. In this study, evidence is provided that besides the previously shown complement-mediated bactericidal effect, an O25b-specific humanized MAb, A1124, also enhances opsonophagocytic uptake by the murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7. Both phagocyte-dependent killing and phagocyte-independent killing, triggered by A1124, were confirmed in human whole blood. Furthermore, A1124 was shown to neutralize endotoxin activity of purified LPS of clinical isolates. This activity was demonstrated in vitro using both RAW 264.7 cells and a human Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) reporter cell line, as well as in a murine model of endotoxemia using purified LPS for challenge. Significant protective efficacy of A1124 at low doses (<1 mg/kg of body weight) was shown in murine and rat models of bacteremia. The contribution of the bactericidal and anti-inflammatory effects was dissected in the mouse bacteremia model through depletion of complement with cobra venom factor (CVF). Protective efficacy was lost in complement-depleted mice, suggesting the essential role of complement-mediated activities for protection in this model. These data suggest that A1124 exhibits different mechanisms of action, namely, direct complement-mediated and opsonophagocytic killing as well as endotoxin neutralization in various challenge models. Which of these activities are the most relevant in a clinical setting will need to be addressed by future translational studies.
The Supply of Female Scientists Conundrum: An International Study Exploring the Predictors of Females' Intentions to Major in Science Postsecondary Education

The goal of this study was to perform an exploratory analysis of a comprehensive list of independent variables identified from literature to determine which, if any, are effective predictors in forecasting a female’s intention to study science postsecondary. This is likely to be indicative of interest to study science when pursing higher education as well as choice of major and possible career. The postulated model guiding this analysis, which was based on prior research, recognized that factors pertaining to students, parents, schools, and peers are all important. This study used logistic regression to analyze data from the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The findings of this study suggest that external factors, such as those considered from the environment, are indeed important in determining a female’s intention to study science postsecondary. The findings of this study provided further refinement by demonstrating that for the 15 countries included in this analysis from the Oceania, Latin America, European, and Asian regions there were some overarching and consistent factors that are positively associated with females’ intentions to study science postsecondary. These findings essentially paint a portrait of females who intend to study science postsecondary, which are used to suggest additional research as well as interventions to help mitigate the female scientist conundrum observed worldwide.
Executive stock options and corporate report disclosures: managerial power and outrage costs perspectives

This study examines annual report disclosures of executive stock option(s) (ESOs) values by Australian listed companies for periods ending 2002 and 2003. This period was a 'one-time' window of opportunity in which the Australian regulations for disclosing option values in financial statements were unclear, thus allowing preparers some latitude in the application of pricing regimes for the purpose of disclosure. The study further investigates the relation between reported option values and factors known to influence option valuations. Given the growing public concerns regarding director's excessive compensation schemes and the governance of enterprises generally, this study provides evidence that directors have incentives to underreport the value of executive options. The evidence suggests that not only do directors have the power to award themselves excessive compensation, but also the mechanisms to camouflage excessive remuneration to avoid stakeholder dissent. This is the first known Australian study that examines option valuations in the context of managerial power and outrage cost theories.
Toeholds and the Bidder Shareholder Wealth Effects of Takeover Announcements

This paper provides new evidence regarding the bidder shareholder wealth effects of takeover announcements by utilizing a robust method not previously employed in the area, namely Barber and Lyon's (1997) control firm approach. Thereafter, the study offers the first Australian evidence of the impact of toeholds on bidder abnormal returns. Finally, it considers whether this effect differs between single-bidder and multiple-bidder takeover contests. Using a dataset of 122 takeover announcements made by Australian listed companies between 1997 and 2004 inclusive, no significant bidder abnormal returns are documented in response to takeover announcements on average. However, examination of the cross-sectional variation in these wealth effects reveals a significantly positive association between the presence of toeholds/toehold size and bidder abnormal returns. Furthermore, immediate market reaction is consistent with Bukart's (1995) and Singh's (1998) Overbidding Hypothesis, which predicts a less pronounced toehold impact for rivaled bidders. Nonetheless, market expectation of overbidding for toehold bidders proves incorrect in the long-run post-announcement period, where the positive impact of toeholds does not differ between different models of takeover contests.
Equilibrium and Economic Growth: Spatial Econometric Models and Simulations

Neoclassical theory assumes diminishing returns to capital and spatially constant exogenously-determined technological progress, although it is questionable whether these are realistic assumptions for modeling manufacturing productivity growth variations across European Union (E.U.) regions. In contrast, the model developed in this paper assumes increasing returns and spatially varying technical progress, and is linked to endogenous growth theory and particularly to 'new economic geography' theory. Simulations, involving 178 E.U.regions, show that productivity levels and growth rates are higher in all E.U. regions when the financially assisted (Objective 1) regions have faster output growth. This also reduces inequalities in levels of technology. Allowing the core regions to grow faster has a similar effect of raising productivity growth rates across the E.U., although inequality increases. Thus, the simulations are seen as an attempt to develop a type of 'computable geographical equilibrium' model which, as suggested by Fujita, Krugman, and Venables (1999), is the way theoretical economic geography needs to evolve in order to become a predictive discipline. Copyright 2001 BlackwellPublishers
E-LEARNING FOR AGRICULTURE EDUCATION IN INDIA

E-learning is a modern way of learning now days. It includes electronic media in the field of educatio n. E-learning makes use of (ICT) information and communication technology. Now a day , In every field like learning in medical or learni ng in agriculture, e-learning is going popular to use. E-learning involves various t ypes of media that provide video, audio, images and text. E-learning uses the intranet/ extranet / internet, and widens the horiz on of traditional learning. This article explores t he time when the concept of elearning was introduced, mentions its basic princip les, discuss the ways in which it is superior than the traditional educational system. E-Agriculture is a rising field that specialize in the improvement of agricultural and rural developme nt through improved and updated information and communication processes. Specifical ly, e-Agriculture involves the conceptualization, d esign, development, analysis and application of innovative ways in which to use information and communication technologies (IT) wit hin the rural domain, with a primary specialize in agriculture. E-Agriculture ma y be a comparatively new term and that we totally e xpect its scope to alter and evolve as our understanding of the realm grows.
Risk of suicide in Australian adults with diabetes: the Fremantle Diabetes Study

Type 1 diabetes is associated with increased suicide risk. Data for older diabetic individuals are inconsistent. In longitudinal data from 1413 adults recruited to the Fremantle Diabetes Study from 1993–1996 and 5660 matched non‐diabetic residents, followed to end‐2012, the age and sex‐adjusted sub‐hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) for suicide in diabetic versus non‐diabetic individuals was 1.16 (0.38–3.51). Older Australians with diabetes are not at increased suicide risk.
Attitudes of medical and nursing students towards blood donation.

BACKGROUND Data on the attitudes of medical and nursing students towards blood donation are scanty. Since this group is a potential but under-utilized source of blood donors, studying their attitudes could provide insights into donor-related behaviour and, hence have implications for donor recruitment programmes. METHODS The attitudes towards blood donation and frequency of donation of 307 medical and nursing students were studied using a scale to measure affect, behaviour and cognition. RESULTS The attitudes were found to be positive in all three scales. While the behaviour scale significantly discriminated donors from non-donors, no significant differences were observed in the affect and cognition scales. CONCLUSION In a medically-oriented population, donors and non-donors do not differ significantly in their sentiments towards blood donation. Other social variables may account for donor behaviour which need to be studied further.
Lemons or Cherries? Growth Opportunities and Market Temptations in Going Public and Private

Abstract Is the decision to go public or private a stock-market-driven “sideshow” or does it have significant effects on investment and profitability? We address this issue using a comprehensive data set of private and public companies in the U.K. during 1996–2006. Firms with high investment-financing needs, lower information-production costs, and high industry market-to-book ratios are more likely to go public. In contrast to the literature, we find that capital investment and profitability increase substantially after the initial public offering (IPO). Consistent with the agency-cost-based theories of going private, firms decrease investment but increase profits after going private, especially firms bought out by private equity investors. Our analysis also highlights the effects of market conditions on the ownership structure decision.