Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the role of Metformin on DNA damage and DNA damage response in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is one of the most common and lethal types of cancer among women. The increased mortality rate reflects the need for discovery of new therapeutic venues. The anti-diabetic drug Metformin has started to show anti-cancer potential as epidemiological studies have associated its long-term use with reduced risk of ovarian cancer and increased survival for ovarian cancer patients. However, the underlying mechanisms of Metformin’s effects are not well understood, especially its association with DNA damage which remains controversial. In this study, we evaluated the role of Metformin in DNA damage and DNA damage response in two ovarian cancer cell lines. Immunofluorescence experiments and colony formation assays suggest that Metformin potentiated the DNA-damaging effects of irradiation as it delayed the resolution of protein foci associated with DNA double-strand breaks and reduced cell survival respectively. Furthermore, Metformin had a greater effect in replicating cells and increased the cytotoxic effects of the nucleoside analog Gemcitabine. Thus, our data suggest that Metformin may delay or impair the DNA damage response and may have a stronger effect during replication. However, further studies are essential for verification and discovery of the underlying mechanisms of Metformin in the DNA damage response in ovarian cancer.
Determinants of returns and decision making of Turkish fund managers: survey evidence from four banks

Using original survey data collected by the authors in 2005 we investigate the determinants of Turkish fund managers’ portfolio returns and use of judgement in investment decision making. Employing truncated regression we find that the primary determinant of return is holding a master’s degree, with a positive correlation. Years of experience and holding a Business degree are also found to negatively influence return, if the results are fragile. Our finding that some fund managers are systematically better than others is consistent with Chevalier and Ellision’s (1999) results for the USA and is consonant with their rationalization that this may reflect that managers operate in a nearly, rather than fully, efficient market. Using ordered probit models we find that the sole determinant of the use of judgement in making investment decisions is years of experience as a manger – this had the expected positive relationship. However, differences in the degree of judgement that fund managers use have no systematic impact upon returns.
Chapter 13 Progress of Studies of Citations and PageRank

A number of citations have been used to measure the value of paper. However, recently, Google’s PageRank is also extensively applied to quantify the worth of papers. In this chapter, we summarize the recent progress of studies on citations and PageRank. We also show our latest investigations of the citation network consisting of 34,666,719 articles and 591,321,826 citations. We propose the generalized beta distribution of the second kind to explain the distribution of citation and introduce the stochastic model with aging effect and super preferential attachment. Furthermore, we clarify the positive linear relation between citations and Google’s PageRank. By using this relationship as the benchmark to classify papers, we extract extremely prestigious papers, popular papers, and rising papers.
PREDICTION OF BIOAVAILABILITY OF CHLORPYRIFOS RESIDUES IN SOIL TO EARTHWORMS

An incubation test was conducted to investigate the effect of aging on bioavailability of chlorpyrifos in soil and to assess the feasibility of chemical extraction techniques for predicting bioavailability of chlorpyrifos in soil. Chlorpyrifos was spiked into sterilized soil and aged in microcosms for up to 120 days. The earthworms were incubated in the spiked soils, at 0, 7, 14, 30, 60, and 120 days after spiking, for a period of 7 days. After exposure, chlorpyrifos concentrations in the earthworm tissues were determined. Change in chemical extractability of soil-chlorpyrifos was measured using a several solvent systems including methanol, methanol-water (9:1), acetone-water (5:3), and water. The results show that chemical extractability and earthworm bioavailability of chlorpyrifos in soil decreased with aging. The amount of aged and unaged chlorpyrifos recovered from soil varied with the individual chemical extractant and extraction method. Concentrations of chlorpyrifos in Eisenia foetida were significantly higher than in Allolobophora caliginosa, suggesting that the bioavailability of chlorpyrifos was a species-dependent process. The extractability of chlorpyrifos by chemical solvents was significantly correlated with bioavailability fraction of E. foetida and A. caliginosa, showing that these extraction techniques may be efficient for predicting bioavailability of chlorpyrifos in soil.
“A Country in Order”: Technopolitics, Nation Building, and the Development of ICT in Ethiopia

Focusing on the case of two ambitious government-led ICT projects in Ethiopia, Woredanet and Schoolnet, this article offers a detailed analysis of how political and technical forces interact and negotiate in authoritarian, yet developmentally oriented regimes. The article builds on and extends the concept of “technopolitics,” which emerged in the history of technology tradition to account for the ability of competing actors to envision and enact political goals through the support of technical artifacts. The findings suggest that, even in a developing country that heavily relies on international assistance (such as Ethiopia), discrepancies between interpretations of the same artifacts emerging internationally and locally may lead to processes of substantial reshaping. Rather than employing ICTs according to donors’ demands of openness and democratization, the Ethiopian government has appropriated them to support its ambitious state- and nation-building process, while marginalizing alternative ICT uses promoted by other components of society, such as the private sector and Ethiopians in the diaspora.
Cooperation and Competition in an R&D Market with Spillovers

In a general setting with uncertainty and spillovers in R&D activity, we consider the incentive to cooperate among firms at any or all of the following three stages. Firms can jointly agree on the level of R&D expenditures, they can set up joint research facilities, and/or they can engage in an information sharing agreements, by which they agree to share any findings with the other firm. We compare expenditures on R&D, profit levels, and welfare levels across the different possible cooperative and competitive setups and offer antitrust implications. Our model differs from previous analyses in three important ways. First, most studies consider only research aimed at lowering production costs, and therefore consider only situations where total industry profits fall as spillovers increase. We allow for the industry profits to increase, and define the concepts of offsetting spillovers (falling total profits) and incremental spillovers (when total profits increase as spillovers increase). Second, we consider a wider variety of cooperation possibilities than do most prior studies. Finally, we use far more general functional forms than is usual in the literature.
TESTING SHARE REPURCHASES HYPOTHESES: A CONDITIONAL STUDY

In the past 20 years share buybacks have experienced a tremendous growth. Yet, we still don’t have a clear understanding of this phenomenon, also because of limited samples available on these corporate decisions. This paper aims at testing the main hypotheses on buybacks drivers and effects by analysing the impact of share repurchase announcements on the performance of companies listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, conditional and unconditional on the 1998 introduction of the Capital Market Reform. Our findings show that, by imposing more stringent rules on transparency and equal treatment of shareholders in buybacks operations, the change in regulation has increased the volume and frequency of share repurchases announcements. Analogously, the number of repurchasing companies has soared as well. Finally, market reaction to buybacks, as measured by abnormal returns and cumulative abnormal returns has consistently reversed switching from negative to positive long term CARs.
Bio-inspired green surface functionalization of PMMA for multifunctional capacitors

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based dielectric materials are of prime interest for many electronic and power devices. However, the low dielectric constant and hydrophobic nature of PMMA limit its success in many applications. This work presents an environmentally friendly approach to surface-functionalize PMMA, exploring the use of dopamine (DOPA), to develop multifunctional polymers with enhanced dielectric properties. The reaction of dopamine with plasma pre-activated PMMA was carried out in an aqueous medium without using any toxic chemicals. The functionalized PMMA films exhibited enhanced dielectric properties compared to pristine PMMA films. As an example, below 100 Hz, the dielectric constant of functionalized PMMA films increased by 70% compared to pristine PMMA films. Interestingly, functionalization changed the storage modulus and the Tg of PMMA. The enhanced dielectric properties of the functionalized PMMA films may originate from the excellent intrinsic properties of DOPA, which was effectively functionalized on the surface of PMMA.
Rounding the Corners of the Policy Trilemma: Sources of Monetary Policy Autonomy

A central result in international macroeconomics is that a government cannot simultaneously opt for open financial markets, fixed exchange rates, and monetary autonomy; rather, it is constrained to choosing no more than two of these three. In the wake of the Great Recession, however, there has been an effort to address macroeconomic challenges through intermediate measures, such as narrowly targeted capital controls or limited exchange rate flexibility. This paper addresses the question of whether these intermediate policies, which round the corners of the triangle representing the policy trilemma, afford a full measure of monetary policy autonomy. Our results confirm that extensive capital controls or floating exchange rates enable a country to have monetary autonomy, as suggested by the trilemma. Partial capital controls, however, do not generally enable a country to have greater monetary control than is the case with open capital accounts unless they are quite extensive. In contrast, a moderate amount of exchange rate flexibility does allow for some degree of monetary autonomy, especially in emerging and developing economies.
Feasibility and Validity of a Wearable GPS Device for Measuring Outings after Stroke

Aim. Self-report diaries are a low-cost method of measuring community participation but may be inaccurate, while the “gold standard,” observation is time consuming and costly. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and validity of a global positioning system (GPS) for measuring outings after stroke. Design. Cross-sectional cohort study. Methods. Twenty ambulant people with stroke wore a GPS device and kept a diary for 7 days, and 18 were observed for half a day. We recorded recruitment rate, user perceptions, and data extraction time. GPS data were analysed against Google maps. Percent exact agreement (PEA) with observation was calculated for GPS and diary. Results. Of 23 eligible participants, 20 consented (mean 3.6 years after stroke). GPS data recovery was high (87%). Some participants had difficulty operating the on/off switch and reading the small screen. Data extraction took an average of 5 hours per participant. PEA with observation was high for number of outings (GPS 94%; diary 89%) but lower for purpose of outings (GPS 71%; diary 82%). Conclusions. The GPS device and diary were both feasible and valid for measuring outings after stroke. Simultaneous use of GPS and diaries is recommended for comprehensive analysis of outings.
Spicule formation by ion-neutral damping

The possible mechanism of generation of spicules by Alfvenic waves is studied in dissipative MHD where dissipation is mainly caused by ion-neutral collision damping, as suggested by Haerendel ([CITE]). Ion-neutral damping becomes non-negligible at the high cyclic frequencies involved, typically greater than $0.1~{\rm Hz}$, and the potential role played by this effect in both forming and supporting solar spicules is investigated. The propagation of high frequency Alfven waves on vertically open solar magnetic flux tubes is considered. The flux tubes are taken to be axisymmetric and initially untwisted with the field strength declining from $1600~{\rm G}$ in the photosphere to $20~{\rm G}$ in the corona. Their propagation is investigated by numerically solving a set of fully nonlinear, dissipative 1.5D MHD equations with the waves being generated by a continuous sinusoidal driver introduced into the equation of angular momentum in the low atmosphere of the Sun. Spicule-like structures with heights of around $5000{-}6000~{\rm km}$ were formed. The formation was found to be primarily caused by the impact of a series of slow shocks generated by the continuous interaction between the upward propagating driven wave train and the downward propagating train of waves created by reflection off the transition region. At the lower end of frequencies considered the heating due to ion-neutral damping was found to provide only a small benefit due to the increased thermal pressure gradient. At higher frequencies, whilst the heating effect becomes stronger, the much reduced wave amplitude reaching the transition region hinders spicule formation. The adiabatic results suggest that ion-neutral damping may not support spicules as described by Haerendel ([CITE]). However, the effect is highly sensitive to the level of ionisation and therefore the energy balance. Including the effects of thermal conduction and radiation may well lead to different results and thus it would be premature to dismiss the mechanism at this point.
EFFECT OF RUTHENIUM ON MICROSTRUCTURE AND STRESS RUPTURE PROPERTIES OF A SINGLE CRYSTAL NICKEL-BASE SUPERALLOY

The effect of Ru on microstructure and stress rupture properties of an advanced Ni base single crystal alloy has been investigated. The experimental results showed that the addition of 4 wt. % Ru had hardly effect on the phase precipitation behavior of as-cast alloy, i. e. , the microstructure is composed of γ and γ' phases for both Ru free and Ru containing alloys. However, under the heat treatments of 1305℃-1315 /16h ℃ solutioning and 1140℃/4h＋ 870 /20h ℃ aging, and the thermal exposure under 1100 /1000h, ℃ the addition of 4 wt. % Ru restrained the precipitation and growth of TCP phase evidently, and increased the rafting structure tendency of γ/γ' phases. The results of stress rupture tests showed that the addition of 4 wt. % Ru in the alloy improved the stress rupture lives significantly for as-cast, as-heat treated and thermal exposed samples. The improvement of the stress rupture properties may be attributed to the restraint of μ phase precipitation and growth by the proper addition of Ru.
The Relationship between Servant Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Executive Organizations of Guilan Province

Now that the importance of citizens as one of the important resources of the organization is realized, their behavior can also be of great importance. That is why many researchers have analyzed citizenship behavior. Organizational citizenship behavior is a set of voluntary and optional behaviors which are not part of individual’s official duties. However, they are carried out and lead to effective improvement of tasks and roles at the organization. Moreover, research has shown that helping the growth and success of followers is a kind of servant leadership in order to trigger organizational citizenship behavior. It is said that servant leadership predicts organizational citizenship behavior. Servant leadership is an understanding and practice of leadership that places the good of those led over the self-interest of the leader. According to what was said, four hypotheses were formed: there’s a relationship between dimensions of servant leadership (service, humility, trusty, kindness) and organizational citizenship behavior. The population consisted of all Guilan province executive organizations, and the simple random sampling method was used. Questionnaire was used as the instrument making use of field data collection method. In order to test the hypotheses Pearson Correlation Coefficient and regression were used with the help of SPSS software. In the end all hypotheses were confirmed.
A Review of the Modification of PCDTBT Structure Used in the PolymericSolar Cells

This paper is a review about the modification of poly[N-9′-heptadecanyl- 2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) structure over the last few years. This manuscript presents the various carbazole, benzothiadiazole, and π-bridge modified units in PCDTBT. These modifications include fluorination, π-bridge alteration, ladderization of donor unit, substitution of selenium, and architecture of donor-acceptor arrangement along the polymeric backbone, such as D-π- A1-π-A2-π and et cetera. All the resulting PCDTBT derivatives were studied for the purpose to enhance the photovoltaic performance of the resulting polymeric solar cell. Although the power conversion efficiency of these modified PCDTBTs has yet surpassed 10%, PCDTBT-based copolymers still remain as one of the significant polymers in the research of the polymeric solar cell.
Communication and Involvement: what are the Possibilities of Interconnection between Family-school?

Family and school are considered essential environments for human development and it is desirable that a close bond be established between them. Based on this premise, this study analyzes the relationships established between school and the families of children with low school performance in a context in which the school adopts the Continuous Progression system - an educational system that avoids holding students in the same grade at the end of the school year. Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological perspective is the theoretical framework used in this study. Six children, their parents or caretakers, and tea- chers participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews and observation were used for collecting data, which were then evaluated regarding two categories: involvement and communication. Even though the results highlight communication as the main means of exchange between both contexts, communication still needs to be improved. Families and schools understand they must collaborate with each other, but such a relationship needs to be re-constructed because it is currently asymmetrical and loaded with prejudice.
Characteristic Variables and Entrainment in 3-D Density Currents

A CFD code has been developed to describe the salt solution density current, which propagates three-dimensionally in deep ambient water. The height and width of the dense layer are two dominated length scales in a 3-D structure of the density current. In experimental e orts, it is common to measure the height and width of this current via its brightness. Although there are analytical relations to calculate the current height in a two-dimensional ow, these relations cannot be used to identify the width and height of a 3-D density current, due to the existence of two unknown parameters. In the present model, the height and width of the dense layer are obtained by using the boundary layer concept. Also, a comparison is made between depth averaged and characteristic variables. Then, the computed velocity and concentration pro les are compared with the experimental data and the results show good agreement between them. In this work, the entrainment coecient was also calculated using depth-averaged parameters and compared with the experimental data. The result has the same trend as the Ellison and Turner experiments. Present results show that the boundary layer concept can be useful in identifying the height and width of a 3-D density current.
Corruption and Bank Risk-Taking: Evidence from Emerging Economies

This paper addresses the impact of corruption on banks' risk-taking behavior, using bank-level data from more than 1200 banks in 35 emerging economies during the period 2000–2012. We find consistent evidence that higher levels of corruption increase the risk-taking behavior of banks, in favor of the “sand the wheel” view in the corruption-development nexus. In addition, we examine the indirect effects of corruption on bank risks, and find evidence that the impact of monetary policy on banks' risk-taking behavior is more pronounced with the increasing severity of corruption.
Impact of selenium enrichment on seed potato tubers

Suomessa perunaa joudutaan varastoimaan pitkaan. Varastoinninaikana siemenperunassa tapahtuu fysiologisia ja biokemiallisia muutoksia, jotka johtavat hiljalleen fysiologiseen vanhenemiseen ja sita kautta mukulan elinvoiman ja sadonmuodostuskyvyn alenemiseen. Seleeni (Se) on valttamaton alkuaine ihmisten ja elainten terveydelle. Viljelykasvien ei ole katsottu valttamatta tarvitsevan seleenia. Kuitenkin pienen seleenilisayksen on havaittu lisaavan kasvien antioksidatiivista kapasiteettia, parantavan kasvien kasvua, satoa ja laatua seka hidastavan kasvien vanhenemista. Helsingin yliopistossa Soveltavan biologian laitoksella tutkittiin voiko seleeni edistaa siemenperunan elinvoiman sailymista seka hidastaa vanhenemista varastoinnin aikana. Seleenirikastetut siemenperunat tuotettiin edellisena kasvukautena kasvihuoneessa kasveissa, jotka kasvatettiin nousevilla seleenimaarilla (0, 0.0035, 0.01, 0.075 ja 0.9 mg Se kg-1) lannoitetussa kvartsihiekassa, joilla siemenperunoiden seleenipitoisuudet olivat keskimaarin 0.01, 0.09, 0.20, 1.33 and 16 Eg Se g-1 kuivapainoa, tassa jarjestyksessa. Seleenin vaikutusta siemenperunan itujen kasvuun tutkittiin maarittamalla itujen lukumaara ja itamiskapasiteetti. Iduista maaritettiin vapaiden polyamiinien pitoisuus. Malondialdehydin (MDA) ja liukoisten sokereiden kertyminen seka tarkkelyksen hajoaminen maaritettiin siemenperunoista varastoinnin aikana. Siemenperunoiden elinvoima tutkittiin kasvihuonekokeissa maarittamalla taimettumisaika, kukinnan alkamisaika, paaversojen lukumaara seka kasvikohtaisesti sato, mukulalukumaara ja mukulapaino. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, etta korkeimmat seleenilisaykset (0.075 ja 0.9 mg kg-1) paransivat itamiskapasiteettia eli suurempi osa olemassa olevista iduista oli lahtenyt kasvuun. Korkeimmalla seleenirikastuksella oli positiivinen vaikutus itujen vapaan putreskiinin pitoisuuteen. Lisaantynyt itujen kasvu ei ollut yhteydessa siemenperunoiden elinvoimaan eli tuotetun sadon maaraan. Seleenirikastuksella ei ollut vaikutusta perunoiden MDA:n eika liukoisten sokereiden kertymiseen eika tarkkelyksen hajoamiseen. Korkein sato tuotettiin kuusi kuukautta varastoidulla siemenperunalla, riippumatta seleenilisayksesta. Kahdeksan kuukautta varastoidut siemenperunat sen sijaan tuottivat alhaisemman sadon, mika viittaa siihen, etta siemenperunan optimaalinen ika oli jo ohitettu. Tulokset osoittavat, etta seleenirikastuksella ei ollut selvaa siemenperunoiden vanhenemista hidastavaa eika niiden elinvoimaa edistavaa vaikutusta.