Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Good Management in Banking

We present and estimate a model of management practices as technology of the banking firm. Management is an unobserved (latent) input in the production function of banks, which we estimate at the bank-quarter level using data for all U.S. banks from 1984 to 2016 and Bayesian techniques. We show that management practices are, next to deposits funding, the most important input in the banks’ production process, explaining an important part of bank performance and risk. We validate our approach using repeated random sampling (Monte Carlo simulation) within a rather unfavorable environment. Our model can be considered as benchmark to robustly estimate good management practices, to analyze their sources, and to establish good management as an important determinant of efficient and sound banking.
MANAGEMENT OF ENDOCRINE DISEASE: Clinical management of paragangliomas

Paragangliomas (PGLs) are rare vascular, neuroendocrine tumors of paraganglia, which are associated with either sympathetic tissue in adrenal (pheochromocytomas (PCCs)) and extraadrenal (sympathetic paraganglioma (sPGLs)) locations or parasympathetic tissue of the head and neck paragangliomas (HNPGLs). As HNPGLs are usually benign and most tumors grow slowly, a wait-and-scan policy is often advised. However, their location in the close proximity to cranial nerves and vasculature may result in considerable morbidity due to compression or infiltration of the adjacent structures, necessitating balanced decisions between a wait-and-see policy and active treatment. The main treatment options for HNPGL are surgery and radiotherapy. In contrast to HNPGLs, the majority of sPGL/PCCs produces catecholamines, in advanced cases resulting in typical symptoms and signs such as palpitations, headache, diaphoresis, and hypertension. The state-of-the-art diagnosis and localization of sPGL/PCCs are based on measurement of plasma and/or 24-h urinary excretion of (fractionated) metanephrines and methoxytyramine (MT). sPGL/PCCs can subsequently be localized by anatomical (computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging) and functional imaging studies (123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine-scintigraphy, 111In-pentetreotide scintigraphy, or positron emission tomography with radiolabeled dopamine or dihydroxyphenylalanine). Although most PGL/PCCs are benign, factors such as genetic background, tumor size, tumor location, and high MT levels are associated with higher rates of metastatic disease. Surgery is the only curative treatment. Treatment options for patients with metastatic disease are limited. PGL/PCCs have a strong genetic background, with at least one-third of all cases linked with germline mutations in 11 susceptibility genes. As genetic testing becomes more widely available, the diagnosis of PGL/PCCs will be made earlier due to routine screening of at-risk patients. Early detection of a familial PGL allows early detection of potentially malignant PGLs and early surgical treatment, reducing the complication rates of this operation.
Increased mitochondrial fission is critical for hypoxia-induced pancreatic beta cell death

Hypoxia-mediated pancreatic beta cell death is one of the main causes of pancreatic beta celldeath, which leads to the loss of functional pancreatic beta cell mass and type 1 diabetes andtype 2 diabetes.However, the molecular mechanisms that control life and death of pancreatic beta cells remain poorly understood. Here we showed that mitochondrial fission was strongly induced in pancreatic beta cellsmainly due to an elevation of DRP1S616 phosphorylation through HIF-1αactivation and subsequent DRP1 mitochondrial translocation. Hypoxia-induced pancreatic beta cell death can be reversed by the inhibition of mitochondrial fission viaDRP1 knockdown. We further demonstrated that hypoxia-induced mitochondrial fission untightened the cristae formation, which subsequently triggers mitochondrial cytochrome c release and consequent caspase activation. Moreover, treatment with mitochondrial division inhibitor-1 (Mdivi-1), a specific inhibitor of DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission, significantly suppressedbeta cell death in vitro, indicating a promising therapeutic strategy for treatment of diabetes.Taken together, our results reveal a crucial role for the DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission in hypoxia-induced beta cell death, which provides a strong evidence for thisprocess as drug target indiabetestreatment.
Key success factors for quality management implementation: evidence from the public sector

The purpose of this paper is to identify the crucial factors for the successful implementation of a quality management/total quality management (TQM) process, particularly in the public sector. The paper adopts an explanatory longitudinal case study, using case research design to support the investigation. The case study consists of three government agencies where the results and outcomes of a quality management programme differed. This programme was launched by a specific ministry in Portugal, linked to organisational change and delivering excellence. The study was built on quality management literature, highlighting the contributions of J. S. Oakland [(2004). Oakland on quality management. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann] and J. Oakland [(2011). Leadership and policy deployment: The backbone of TQM. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 22(5), 517–534]. The key findings of the paper show that the main items delivering excellence, identified in the ‘Oakland TQM model’ (the 4Ps and the 4Cs), primarily explain the different perceptions of results and outcomes. The investigation also identified other factors that can help account for successful implementation of quality management, such as ‘power’ and ‘collective involvement’. Consequently, a refined ‘Oakland TQM model’ is proposed, as well as a visualisation of the interaction of the items/factors involved in an input/output perspective.
Expert Opinions and Logarithmic Utility Maximization for Multivariate Stock Returns with Gaussian Drift

This paper investigates optimal trading strategies in a financial market with multidimensional stock returns where the drift is an unobservable multivariate Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. Information about the drift is obtained by observing stock returns and expert opinions. The latter provide unbiased estimates on the current state of the drift at discrete points in time. The optimal trading strategy of investors maximizing expected logarithmic utility of terminal wealth depends on the filter which is the conditional expectation of the drift given the available information. We state filtering equations to describe its dynamics for different information settings. Between expert opinions this is the Kalman filter. The conditional covariance matrices of the filter follow ordinary differential equations of Riccati type. We rely on basic theory about matrix Riccati equations to investigate their properties. Firstly, we consider the asymptotic behaviour of the covariance matrices for an increasing number of expert opinions on a finite time horizon. Secondly, we state conditions for the convergence of the covariance matrices on an infinite time horizon with regularly arriving expert opinions. Finally, we derive the optimal trading strategy of an investor. The optimal expected logarithmic utility of terminal wealth, the value function, is a functional of the conditional covariance matrices. Hence, our analysis of the covariance matrices allows us to deduce properties of the value function.
Biodegradation of asphaltene and petroleum compounds by a highly potent Daedaleopsis sp.

Petroleum, as the major energy source, is indispensable from our lives. Presence of compounds resistant to degradation can pose risks for human health and environment. Basidiomycetes have been considered as powerful candidates in biodegradation of petroleum compounds via secreting ligninolytic enzymes. In this study a wood‐decaying fungus was isolated by significant degradation ability that was identified as Daedaleopsis sp. by morphological and molecular identification methods. According to GC/MS studies, incubation of heavy crude oil with Daedaleopsis sp. resulted in increased amounts of C24 compounds. Degradation of asphaltene, anthracene, and dibenzofuran by the identified fungal strain was determined to evaluate its potential in biodegradation. After 14 days of incubation, Daedaleopsis sp. could degrade 93.7% and 91.2% of anthracene and dibenzofuran, respectively, in pH 5 and 40 °C in optimized medium, as revealed by GC/FID. Notably, analysis of saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes showed a reduction of 88.7% and 38% in asphaletene and aromatic fractions. Laccase, lignin peroxidase, and manganese peroxidase activities were enhanced from 51.3, 145.2, 214.5 U ml−1 in the absence to 121.5, 231.4, and 352.5 U ml−1 in the presence of heavy crude oil, respectively. This is the first report that Daedaleopsis sp. can degrade asphaltene and dibenzofuran. Moreover, compared to the reported results of asphaltene biodegradation, this strain was the most successful. Thus, Daedaleopsis sp. could be a promising candidate for biotransformation of heavy crude oil and biodegradation of recalcitrant toxic compounds.
3D charge and 2D phonon transports leading to high out-of-plane ZT in n-type SnSe crystals

SnSe doped a different way Heat can be converted into electricity by thermoelectric materials. Such materials are promising for use in solid-state cooling devices. A challenge for developing efficient thermoelectric materials is to ensure high electrical but low thermal conductivity. Chang et al. found that bromine doping of tin selenide (SnSe) does just this by maintaining low thermal conductivity in the out-of-plane direction of this layered material. The result is a promising n-type thermoelectric material with electrons as the charge carriers—an important step for developing thermoelectric devices from SnSe. Science, this issue p. 778 In the out-of-plane direction, n-type SnSe shows intriguing thermoelectric properties. Thermoelectric technology enables the harvest of waste heat and its direct conversion into electricity. The conversion efficiency is determined by the materials figure of merit ZT. Here we show a maximum ZT of ~2.8 ± 0.5 at 773 kelvin in n-type tin selenide (SnSe) crystals out of plane. The thermal conductivity in layered SnSe crystals is the lowest in the out-of-plane direction [two-dimensional (2D) phonon transport]. We doped SnSe with bromine to make n-type SnSe crystals with the overlapping interlayer charge density (3D charge transport). A continuous phase transition increases the symmetry and diverges two converged conduction bands. These two factors improve carrier mobility, while preserving a large Seebeck coefficient. Our findings can be applied in 2D layered materials and provide a new strategy to enhance out-of-plane electrical transport properties without degrading thermal properties.
A framework for genomic sequencing on clusters of multicore and manycore processors

The advances in genomic sequencing during the past few years have motivated the development of fast and reliable software for DNA/RNA sequencing on current high performance architectures. Most of these efforts target multicore processors, only a few can also exploit graphics processing units, and a much smaller set will run in clusters equipped with any of these multi-threaded architecture technologies. Furthermore, the examples that can be used on clusters today are all strongly coupled with a particular aligner. In this paper we introduce an alignment framework that can be leveraged to coordinately run any “single-node” aligner, taking advantage of the resources of a cluster without having to modify any portion of the original software. The key to our transparent migration lies in hiding the complexity associated with the multi-node execution (such as coordinating the processes running in the cluster nodes) inside the generic-aligner framework. Moreover, following the design and operation in our Message Passing Interface (MPI) version of HPG Aligner RNA BWT, we organize the framework into two stages in order to be able to execute different aligners in each one of them. With this configuration, for example, the first stage can ideally apply a fast aligner to accelerate the process, while the second one can be tuned to act as a refinement stage that further improves the global alignment process with little cost.
1H NMR investigation of normal and osteoarthritic synovial fluid in the horse

Summary Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR) has been successfully used in the study of many biological fluids. The data presented here report on the metabolic profiles of normal equine synovial fluids compared with osteoarthritic (OA) fluids. Twenty-five OA synovial fluid samples and eight normal ones were collected from the forelimb fetlock joint in 22 horses, aged between five and 24 years. 1H NMR spectroscopy was carried out with a Bruker Avance DRX 500 equiped with a cryomagnet working at 11 Tesla, and ‘Mestre-C 4.9. 9.6’ software was used to analyze the spectra. The study assessed the increase of lactate, alanine, acetate, N-acetylglucosamine, pyruvate, citrate, creatine/creatinine, glycerol, HDL choline, and α-glucose in OA synovial fluid. The variations observed in samples from horses with OA compared to those in the control group, and similar data found in other studies, confirm that this technique may be useful in the study of joint metabolism. Its practical application may be in the evaluation of the treatment of OA in athletic horses.
w09, a novel autophagy enhancer, induces autophagy-dependent cell apoptosis via activation of the EGFR-mediated RAS-RAF1-MAP2K-MAPK1/3 pathway

ABSTRACT The EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) signaling pathway is frequently deregulated in many malignancies. Therefore, targeting the EGFR pathway is regarded as a promising strategy for anticancer drug discovery. Herein, we identified a 2-amino-nicotinonitrile compound (w09) as a novel autophagy enhancer, which potently induced macroautophagy/autophagy and consequent apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that EGFR-mediated activation of the RAS-RAF1-MAP2K-MAPK1/3 signaling pathway played a critical role in w09-induced autophagy and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Inhibition of the MAPK1/3 pathway with U0126 or blockade of autophagy by specific chemical inhibitors markedly attenuated the effect of w09-mediated growth inhibition and caspase-dependent apoptosis. Furthermore, these conclusions were supported by knockdown of ATG5 or knockout of ATG5 and/or ATG7. Notably, w09 increased the expression of SQSTM1 by transcription, and knockout of SQSTM1 or deleting the LC3-interaction region domain of SQSTM1, significantly inhibited w09-induced PARP1 cleavage, suggesting the central role played by SQSTM1 in w09-induced apoptosis. In addition, in vivo administration of w09 effectively inhibited tumor growth of SGC-7901 xenografts. Hence, our findings not only suggested that activation of the EGFR-RAS-RAF1-MAP2K-MAPK1/3 signaling pathway may play a critical role in w09-induced autophagy and apoptosis, but also imply that induction of autophagic cancer cell death through activation of the EGFR pathway may be a potential therapeutic strategy for EGFR-disregulated gastric tumors.
Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Papillary Renal-Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND Papillary renal-cell carcinoma, which accounts for 15 to 20% of renal-cell carcinomas, is a heterogeneous disease that consists of various types of renal cancer, including tumors with indolent, multifocal presentation and solitary tumors with an aggressive, highly lethal phenotype. Little is known about the genetic basis of sporadic papillary renal-cell carcinoma, and no effective forms of therapy for advanced disease exist. METHODS We performed comprehensive molecular characterization of 161 primary papillary renal-cell carcinomas, using whole-exome sequencing, copy-number analysis, messenger RNA and microRNA sequencing, DNA-methylation analysis, and proteomic analysis. RESULTS Type 1 and type 2 papillary renal-cell carcinomas were shown to be different types of renal cancer characterized by specific genetic alterations, with type 2 further classified into three individual subgroups on the basis of molecular differences associated with patient survival. Type 1 tumors were associated with MET alterations, whereas type 2 tumors were characterized by CDKN2A silencing, SETD2 mutations, TFE3 fusions, and increased expression of the NRF2-antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway. A CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) was observed in a distinct subgroup of type 2 papillary renal-cell carcinomas that was characterized by poor survival and mutation of the gene encoding fumarate hydratase (FH). CONCLUSIONS Type 1 and type 2 papillary renal-cell carcinomas were shown to be clinically and biologically distinct. Alterations in the MET pathway were associated with type 1, and activation of the NRF2-ARE pathway was associated with type 2; CDKN2A loss and CIMP in type 2 conveyed a poor prognosis. Furthermore, type 2 papillary renal-cell carcinoma consisted of at least three subtypes based on molecular and phenotypic features. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health.).
Privacy-Preserving Predictive Modeling: Harmonization of Contextual Embeddings From Different Sources

Background Data sharing has been a big challenge in biomedical informatics because of privacy concerns. Contextual embedding models have demonstrated a very strong representative capability to describe medical concepts (and their context), and they have shown promise as an alternative way to support deep-learning applications without the need to disclose original data. However, contextual embedding models acquired from individual hospitals cannot be directly combined because their embedding spaces are different, and naive pooling renders combined embeddings useless. Objective The aim of this study was to present a novel approach to address these issues and to promote sharing representation without sharing data. Without sacrificing privacy, we also aimed to build a global model from representations learned from local private data and synchronize information from multiple sources. Methods We propose a methodology that harmonizes different local contextual embeddings into a global model. We used Word2Vec to generate contextual embeddings from each source and Procrustes to fuse different vector models into one common space by using a list of corresponding pairs as anchor points. We performed prediction analysis with harmonized embeddings. Results We used sequential medical events extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III database to evaluate the proposed methodology in predicting the next likely diagnosis of a new patient using either structured data or unstructured data. Under different experimental scenarios, we confirmed that the global model built from harmonized local models achieves a more accurate prediction than local models and global models built from naive pooling. Conclusions Such aggregation of local models using our unique harmonization can serve as the proxy for a global model, combining information from a wide range of institutions and information sources. It allows information unique to a certain hospital to become available to other sites, increasing the fluidity of information flow in health care.
Exploring the Head Versus Tail‐End Dichotomy on Yield and Farm Incomes in Smallholder Irrigation Schemes in Tanzania

Variations in water supply and their impact on farm production in smallholder irrigation schemes are often associated with the location of irrigators at either the head or tail‐end, with tail‐enders usually considered to be at a severe disadvantage. However, it is rare that the impact of multidimensional proxies of water (capturing adequacy, timing, and location) on farm production and income have been evaluated in conjunction with other relevant variables. Using GIS analysis, this study combines irrigation household surveys, irrigation area characteristics, and cadastral data from two smallholder irrigation schemes in southern Tanzania. The results indicate that location at both the head‐end and tail‐end had a negative significant impact on farm yields, but not farm incomes. Also, being further downstream the secondary canals (but not necessarily away from the system's intake) had a significant negative effect on both yields and incomes. Surprisingly, increased tomato production drove a decline in incomes, thus raising the importance of crop selection and productivity barriers linked to markets and knowledge. In absence of actual quantitative measures of water supply, this study concludes that using a multidimensional water proxy can uncover important effects that would otherwise remain overlooked by the widespread head versus tail‐end dichotomy, commonly used in the study of water distribution within smallholder irrigation systems.
Membrane Skeleton Detachment in Spherical and Cylindrical

We observed that amphiphile-induced microexovesicles may be spherical or cylindrical, depending on the species of the added amphiphile. The spherical microexovesicle corresponds to an extreme local difference between the two monolayer areas of the membrane segment with a fixed area, while the cylindrical microexovesicle corresponds to an extreme local area difference if the area of the budding segment is increased due to lateral influx of anisotropic membrane constituents. Protein analysis showed that both types of vesicles are highly depleted in the membrane skeleton. It is suggested that a partial detachment of the skeleton in the budding region is favoured due to accumulated skeleton shear deformations in this region.
Characterization of the dry bean polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein ( PGIP ) gene family during Sclerotinia sclerotiorum ( Sclerotiniaceae ) infection

Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins are leucine-rich repeat proteins that inhibit fungal endopolygalacturonases. The interaction of polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein with endopolygalacturonases limits the destructive potential of endopolygalacturonases and may trigger plant defense responses induced by oligogalacturonides. We examined the expression of fungal pg and plant Pvpgip genes in bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) stems infected with Sclerotinia sclerotiorum to determine whether any of them are associated with the infection process. Transcriptional analysis was carried out by means of semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR or real-time PCR. The sspg1 gene was highly expressed during infection; sspg3 was regulated during the later phases of infection; sspg5 was more uniformly expressed during infection, whereas sspg6 was only weakly expressed. During the course of infection, Pvpgip1 transcripts were not detected at early stages, but they appeared 72 h post-inoculation. High levels of Pvpgip2 expression were observed during the initial phase of infec-