Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Requirement of heparan sulfate for bFGF-mediated fibroblast growth and myoblast differentiation

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) binds to heparan sulfate proteoglycans at the cell surface and to receptors with tyrosine kinase activity. Prevention of binding between cell surface heparan sulfate and bFGF (i) substantially reduces binding of fibroblast growth factor to its cell-surface receptors, (ii) blocks the ability of bFGF to support the growth of Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts, and (iii) induces terminal differentiation of MM14 skeletal muscle cells, which is normally repressed by fibroblast growth factor. These results indicate that cell surface heparan sulfate is directly involved in bFGF cell signaling.
Brand Equity and Brand Loyalty: New Perspective

Several studies have examined the antecedents of brand loyalty, whereas little research mentioned in political marketing context. This research empirically aims to investigate the relationship between multi dimensions of brand equity and loyalty to party brand among Jordanian voters in order to address the mixed results in earlier researches and to close this gap in literature of marketing. The research applies Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) techniques to a sample of 208 voters to test hypothesized relationships. Interestingly, the findings show that there is a positive support for two of hypotheses, meanwhile the others rejected.
An evolutionary approach to automatic Chinese text segmentation

Textual information written in Chinese now represents a huge knowledge repository. The first step of managing and processing information in written Chinese text is segmentation. A new method for automatic Chinese text segmentation using evolutionary algorithms and Web search statistical data is outlined. This proposed method considers Web text a de facto corpus that updates automatically, thus eliminating the need for statistics training. It treats the segmentation as a process that finds out the best probability of how individual characters are combined into sentences, paragraphs, and articles, thus producing segmentation results that are tailored to the text in question and are independent of segmentation standards.
Chemokine receptor CCR 5 promotes leukocyte trafficking to the brain and survival in West Nile virus infection

The molecular immunopathogenesis of West Nile virus (WNV) infection is poorly understood. Here, we characterize a mouse model for WNV using a subcutaneous route of infection and delineate leukocyte subsets and immunoregulatory factors present in the brains of infected mice. Central nervous system (CNS) expression of the chemokine receptor CCR5 and its ligand CCL5 was prominently up-regulated by WNV, and this was associated with CNS infiltration of CD4 and CD8 T cells, NK1.1 cells and macrophages expressing the receptor. The significance of CCR5 in pathogenesis was established by mortality studies in which infection of CCR5 / mice was rapidly and uniformly fatal. In the brain, WNV-infected CCR5 / mice had increased viral burden but markedly reduced NK1.1 cells, macrophages, and CD4 and CD8 T cells compared with WNV-infected CCR5 / mice. Adoptive transfer of splenocytes from WNVinfected CCR5 / mice into infected CCR5 / mice increased leukocyte accumulation in the CNS compared with transfer of splenocytes from infected CCR5 / mice into infected CCR5 / mice, and increased survival to 60%, the same as in infected CCR5 / control mice. We conclude that CCR5 is a critical antiviral and survival determinant in WNV infection of mice that acts by regulating trafficking of leukocytes to the infected brain.
Human performance during exposure to toluene.

PURPOSE The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of inhalation of toluene on respiratory function and neuropsychological performance of humans. METHODS We exposed six healthy adults to 100 ppm toluene or air (control) for 6 h, in a double-blind, randomized fashion, with exposures separated by at least 14 d and including 30 min of exercise at a level that quadrupled minute ventilation. Blood and exhaled air toluene levels were measured before, during, immediately, and 1 and 2 h post-exposure. Lung function was measured before and immediately after exposure. Three repetitions of two computerized neuropsychological tests were performed, including a brief standard neuropsychological battery (ANAM) and a 1-h complex performance test (SYNWORK). Statistical analysis of the psychological data was conducted as a repeated measures ANOVA. FINDINGS Following exercise, the mean blood and exhaled air toluene levels averaged 1.5 micrograms and 28 ppm, respectively. Lung function was unchanged post-exposure. On the SYNWORK test, the Composite score obtained over time during toluene exposure was lower than that during room air (F = 29.20, p = 0.005), with the score from the final hour reduced by 10%. On standard neuropsychological tests, latency but not accuracy proved the sensitive measure for five of the seven subtests presented. CONCLUSIONS Performance of complex tests and response time to simple brief tests can be disrupted by toluene inhalation at 100 ppm. Differences in performance between air and toluene conditions were greatest after exercise, indicating that physical activity may enhance the response to volatile organic solvents.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, OWNERSHIP CONCENTRATION AND FIRM PERFORMANCE IN A DEVELOPING FINANCIAL MARKET

This paper seeks to examine the role of blockholders (majority shareholders) in affecting the value of a firm (BVF) in the developing (Malaysian) financial market characterized by the existence of additional imperfections in this market. The data is collected by using stratified random sampling for the firms listed in the Kuala Lumpur Securities Exchange for the years 2000-2003 to perform multiple regression analysis. The results of the study suggest that blockholders play a negative role in affecting the firms’ value explaining market operations in the selected market, and contradicting the foundation of the developing market and convergence of interest hypothesis. In addition, the bigger board, liquid market, correct valuation of securities and effective utilization of assets improve shareholders’ value in the selected financial market. This paper contributes to the literature by performing a comprehensive study on the poorly researched topic of the BVF relationship. Furthermore, a correct proxy to value a firm is used and additional tests for robustness are performed to provide valid results on this relationship. Finally, the role of additional imperfections and implications of different management theories in explaining the BVF relationship is also provided in this study. The results provide new insights and highlight the importance of corporate governance provisions relevant for the firms of the developing market. The results of the study can be used by the regulatory regime to make effective corporate governance policies.
Achieving preferred customer status in the Dutch plastics recycling industry

The aim of this research is to gain insight into the aspects and processes in the Dutch plastic recycling industry which might lead to a preferred customer status and acquiring benefits once the status has been reached. The whole process of reaching preferred customer status goes through various phases in which customer attractiveness, supplier satisfaction, commitment and reinforcement play a role. The study used a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were held with suppliers, customers and traders in the plastic recycling industry in the Netherlands. The results show that during the customer attractiveness phase, a customer needs to convince the supplier that they are dealing with a trustworthy partner. Relational dimensions are not a priority for the supplier but do play a role if operational aspects are seen as more or less equal, which is often likely to be the case in a competitive market. In contrast, traders do attach importance to the personal relationship with customers from the start. A supplier will confer a preferential status to customers who (according to their feelings) will deliver the highest levels of satisfaction. Alternatives seem to come into question mainly where someone is significantly dissatisfied with the existing customer or if a significantly better alternative arises. The whole study is summarised in a reverse marketing model.
The Relationship Between Glycemic Control and Health‐Related Quality of Life in Patients With Non‐Insulin‐Dependent Diabetes Mellitus

The relationship between glycemic control and health-related quality of life was examined in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Within the context of a randomized controlled trial, 275 patients with NIDDM receiving primary care from a Veteran's Administration general medical clinic were enrolled and monitored for 1 year. Glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin levels) and health-related quality of life (Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36-item Health Survey [SF-36]) were assessed at baseline and at 1 year. Multivariate regression modeling using baseline and change scores during a 1− year period did not find a linear or curvilinear relationship between glycosylated hemoglobin and SF-36 scores (P = .15); this was true even after controlling for five covariates identified a priori (insulin use, number of diabetic complications, duration of diabetes, education, number of hyper-, or hypoglycemic episodes during the preceding month). Health services researchers and clinicians alike need to be aware that these two important outcomes may not be directly related. This lack of association could contribute to the high noncompliance rates observed among patients prescribed complex diabetic regimens. Unless patients perceive a benefit from following such regimens, good glycemic control may continue to be an elusive therapeutic goal, especially in patients with long-standing disease.
Transcriptional control of the agr‐dependent virulence gene regulator, RNAIII, in Staphylococcus aureus

Many of the genes coding for extracellular toxins, enzymes and cell-surface proteins in Staphylococcus aureus are regulated by a 510 nt RNA molecule, RNAIII. Expression of the RNAIII gene is positively controlled by the closely linked agr operon, which encodes a multicomponent signal-transduction system, and by an unlinked operon called sar. We have analysed the 120 bp region that separates the RNAIII promoter, P3, from the divergent agr promoter, P2. By transcription analysis, it was shown that P3 can function in trans of the agr operon. A stretch of 53 bp upstream of P3, containing an interrupted repeat of 7 bp, was found to be required for the agr-dependent expression of RNAIII. A single cytoplasmic protein was shown to bind to at least two sites within this regulatory region. The protein, which was absent in extracts from a sarA mutant, was identified as the sarA product by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. A DNA fragment from the P2 region, encompassing an almost identical repeated DNA motif, competed for the same protein. No interaction between the regulatory DNA sequence and any agr-dependent products could be demonstrated. The results of this study suggest that P3 and P2 are controlled by a mechanism involving the binding of the SarA protein to multiple sites within the regulatory regions immediately upstream of each promoter, and the as yet unknown activity of AgrA.
Crying in Psychotherapy: The Perspective of Therapists and Clients

Eighteen U.S.-based doctoral students in counseling or clinical psychology were interviewed by phone regarding experiences of crying in therapy. Specifically, they described crying as therapists with their clients, as clients with their therapists, and experiences when their therapists cried in the participants’ therapy. Data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research. When crying with their clients, therapists expressed concern about the appropriateness/impact of crying, cried only briefly and because they felt an empathic connection with their clients, thought that the crying strengthened the relationship, discussed the event with their supervisor, and wished they had discussed the event more fully with clients. Crying as clients was triggered by discussing distressing personal events, was accompanied by a mixture of emotions regarding the tears, consisted of substantial crying to express pain or sadness, and led to multiple benefits (enhanced therapy relationship, deeper therapy, and insight). When their therapists cried, the crying was brief, was triggered by discussions of termination, arose from therapists’ empathic connection with participants, and strengthened the therapy relationship. Implications for research, training, and practice are presented.
Generation-Y turnover intention in business process outsourcing sector

Employee turnover is a perpetual problem in any organisation. However, the situation has never been more acute as when it involves the workforce from the Generation Y or also known as the Millenials. It is deemed that the highest turnover rate is coming from these groups of people (Sujansky and Ferri-Reed, 2009). Apparently, human resource strategies to retain employees that had worked very well during the industrial economy are now rendered less effective in the knowledge economy. The Millennials are found to be of a different paradigm compared to previous generations and one clear difference about the Millennials is how fast they are changing jobs. This is further compounded by the ease of job mobility enabled by the borderless world and the nature of upbringing experienced by the Millennials that shape their character and attitude. This research seeks to study and understand the Generation Y (Millennial) workforce from the perspective of strategic human capital management with specific emphasis their turnover intention in the business process outsourcing sector.
Corporate Governance and Earnings Management: A Case of Karachi Stock Exchange Listed Companies

Abstract The prime aim of this study is to investigate the impact of corporate governance practices on earnings management. We employed fixed effect estimators on a sample of 89 non-financial companies listed on KSE (Karachi Stock Exchange), for the period 2003–2012. Corporate governance has been quantified through its four different practices (namely, board size, managerial ownership, CEO–chair duality, and audit committee independence) whereas discretionary accruals have been used as a proxy for measuring earnings management and are calculated through modified Jones model developed by Dechow, Sloan and Sweeney (1995). The empirical findings are quite in line with the philosophy of corporate governance. Audit committee independence and earnings management are negatively correlated. Similarly, CEO–chair duality is positively associated with earnings management. However, two of the corporate governance variables (i.e., board size and managerial ownership) are found insignificantly related to earnings management. The study contributes in general to the existing literature on corporate governance and earnings management by examining their relationship; that corporate governance is negatively associated with earnings management. The study contributes specifically by evidencing that in developing countries like Pakistan, where the interest war is more prominent among the minority shareholder and controlling shareholders than among management and owners, corporate governance is playing an effective role to overcome these problems.
ARTICLE—THE MANY FACETS OF OPIOID RECEPTOR PHOSPHORYLATION Role of Phosphorylation Sites in Desensitization of m-Opioid Receptor

Phosphorylation of residues in the C-terminal tail of the m-opioid receptor (MOPr) is thought to be a key step in desensitization and internalization. Phosphorylation of C-terminal S/T residues is required for internalization (Just et al., 2013), but its role in desensitization is unknown. This study examined the influence of C-terminal phosphorylation sites on rapid desensitization of MOPr. Wild-type MOPr, a 3S/T-A mutant (S363A, T370A, S375A) that maintains internalization, 6S/T-A (S363A, T370A, S375A, T376A, T379A, T383A) and 11S/T-A (all C-terminal S/T residues mutated) mutants not internalized by MOPr agonists were stably expressed in AtT20 cells. Perforated patch-clamp recordings of MOPrmediated activation of G-protein–activated inwardly rectifying potassium channel (Kir3.X) (GIRK) conductance by submaximal concentrations of Met-enkephalin (ME) and somatostatin (SST; coupling to native SST receptor [SSTR]) were used to examine desensitization induced by exposure to ME and morphine for 5 minutes at 37°C. The rates of MEand morphine-induced desensitization did not correlate with phosphorylation using phosphorylation site-specific antibodies. ME-induced MOPr desensitization and resensitization did not differ from wild-type for 3S/T-A and 6S/T-A but was abolished in 11S/T-A. Morphineinduced desensitization was unaffected in all three mutants, as was heterologous desensitization of SSTR. Morphine-induced desensitization (but not ME) was reduced by protein kinase C inhibition in wild-type MOPr and abolished in the 11S/T-A mutant, as was heterologous desensitization. These findings establish that MOPr desensitization can occur independently of S/T phosphorylation and internalization; however, C-terminal phosphorylation is necessary for some forms of desensitization because mutation of all C-terminal sites (11S/T-A) abolishes desensitization induced byME.
Effective treatment of chemotherapy induced atypical Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome: a case series of 7 treated patients

native immunosuppression in patients failing immunosuppression with ATG who are not transplant candidates: Campath (alemtuzumab). Bone Marrow Transplantation, 48, 186–190. Risitano, A.M., Selleri, C. , Serio, B. , Torelli, G.F. , Kulagin, A. , Maury, S. , Halter, J., Gupta, V. , Bacigalupo, A. , Socie, G. , Tichelli, A. , Schrezenmeier, H. , Marsh, J., Passweg, J. & Rotoli, B. ; Working Party Severe Aplastic Anaemia (WPSAA) of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). (2010) Alemtuzumab is safe and effective as immunosuppressive treatment for aplastic anaemia and single-lineage marrow failure: a pilot study and a survey from the EBMT WPSAA. British Journal of Haematology, 148, 791–796. Scheinberg, P., Nunez, O. , Weinstein, B. , Scheinberg, P., Wu, C.O. & Young, N.S. (2012) Activity of alemtuzumab monotherapy in treatmentnaive, relapsed, and refractory severe acquired aplastic anemia. Blood, 119, 345–354. Willis, F. , Marsh, J.C. , Bevan, D.H. , Killick, S.B. , Lucas, G. , Griffiths, R. , Ouwehand, W. , Hale, G. , Waldmann, H. & Gordon-Smith, E.C. (2001) The effect of treatment with campath-1H in patients with autoimmune cytopenias. British Journal of Haematology, 114, 891–898. Young, N.S. & Maciejewski, J. (1997) The pathophysiology of acquired aplastic anemia. The New England Journal of Medicine, 336, 1365–1372.
Perceptions of executives from seven selected companies of the use of social media in marketing practices

The problem addressed in this study is that the rec ncy of the social media phenomena created a research gap in terms of understanding ho w companies exploit various social media platforms for marketing purposes and measure the ffectiveness of their social media marketing campaigns. Thus, there is a need f or increased understanding of the effectiveness of social media marketing techniques. Social media marketing is defined as the blending of sociology and technology as a means to change marketing efforts from a monologue to a dialogue. The purpose of this study was to determine, based on research participants’ perceptions, the reasons that select organizations use social media marketing, the different social media marketing str ategies that companies utilized, and the perceived effect of social media marketing on r evenue generation. In particular, the research questions concerned whether social media m arketing had its own specific social metrics, and the study investigated the evolution o f social media marketing and the benefits that social media brings to traditional ma rketing approaches. The overall research design employed semi-structured, in-depth, individual interviews with seven executives in regard to their use of social media m arketing and its role as part of an integrated marketing approach. Commonalities in th e interview data were color coded and analyzed, and field notes, verbatim transcripti ons, and member checks were used to triangulate the data. The results of the study gen erated three specific categories: engagement with customers, the essence of social me dia presence, and communication by choice. Knowledge in each of these categories prov ides companies with a deeper understanding of the social consumer and enhances t he value of social media marketing in terms of competitiveness. Specifically, based o n such knowledge, companies have a
Tizanidine in the Management of Trigeminal Neuralgia

In a double-blind study the efficacy and tolerability of tizanidine was compared with those of carbamazepine in the management of trigeminal neuralgia. Six patients were allocated to treatment with tizanidine and six to carbamazepine. After individual titration the maximum daily doses were 18 mg and 900 mg, respectively. Among the efficacy factors used, the visual analog scale (VAS) and the overall efficacy as assessed by patients and investigator turned out to be the most appropriate. The results indicate that tizanidine was well tolerated, but the effects, if any, were inferior to those of carbamazepine.
Personal sun exposure and risk of non Hodgkin lymphoma: A pooled analysis from the Interlymph Consortium

In 2004–2007 4 independent case‐control studies reported evidence that sun exposure might protect against NHL; a fifth, in women only, found increased risks of NHL associated with a range of sun exposure measurements. These 5 studies are the first to examine the association between personal sun exposure and NHL. We report here on the relationship between sun exposure and NHL in a pooled analysis of 10 studies participating in the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium (InterLymph), including the 5 published studies. Ten case‐control studies covering 8,243 cases and 9,697 controls in the USA, Europe and Australia contributed original data for participants of European origin to the pooled analysis. Four kinds of measures of self‐reported personal sun exposure were assessed at interview. A two‐stage estimation method was used in which study‐specific odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for potential confounders including smoking and alcohol use, were obtained from unconditional logistic regression models and combined in random‐effects models to obtain the pooled estimates. Risk of NHL fell significantly with the composite measure of increasing recreational sun exposure, pooled OR = 0.76 (95% CI 0.63–0.91) for the highest exposure category (p for trend 0.01). A downtrend in risk with increasing total sun exposure was not statistically significant. The protective effect of recreational sun exposure was statistically significant at 18–40 years of age and in the 10 years before diagnosis, and for B cell, but not T cell, lymphomas. Increased recreational sun exposure may protect against NHL. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.