Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urinary mutagenesis and fried red meat intake: Influence of cooking temperature, phenotype, and genotype of metabolizing enzymes in a controlled feeding study

Meat cooked at high temperatures contains potential carcinogenic compounds, such as heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Samples from a 2‐week controlled feeding study were used to examine the relationship between the intake of mutagenicity from meat fried at different temperatures and the levels of mutagenicity subsequently detected in urine, as well as the influence of the genotype of drug metabolizing enzymes on urinary mutagenicity. Sixty subjects consumed ground beef patties fried at low temperature (100°C) for 1 week, followed by ground beef patties fried at high temperature (250°C) the second week. Mutagenicity in the meat was assayed in Salmonella typhimurium TA98 (+S9), and urinary mutagenicity was determined using Salmonella YG1024 (+S9). Genotypes for NAT1, NAT2, GSTM1, and UGT1A1 were analyzed using blood samples from the subjects. Meat fried at 100°C was not mutagenic, whereas meat fried at 250°C was mutagenic (1023 rev/g). Unhydrolyzed and hydrolyzed urine samples were 22× and 131× more mutagenic, respectively, when subjects consumed red meat fried at 250°C compared with red meat fried at 100°C. We found that hydrolyzed urine was ∼8× more mutagenic than unhydrolyzed urine, likely due to the deconjugation of mutagens from glucuronide. The intake of meat cooked at high temperature correlated with the mutagenicity of unhydrolyzed urine (r = 0.32, P = 0.01) and hydrolyzed urine (r = 0.34, P = 0.008). Mutagenicity in unhydrolyzed urine was not influenced by NAT1, NAT2, or GSTM1 genotypes. However, a UGT1A1*28 polymorphism that reduced UGT1A1 expression and conjugation modified the effect of intake of meat cooked at high temperature on mutagenicity of unhydrolyzed urine (P for interaction = 0.04). These mutagenicity data were also compared with previously determined levels of HCAs (measured as MeIQx, DiMeIQx, and PhIP) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the meat, levels of HCAs in the urine, and CYP1A2 and NAT2 phenotypes. The levels of mutagenicity in the meat fried at low and high temperatures correlated with levels of HCAs, but not levels of PAHs, in the meat. Also, levels of mutagenicity in unhydrolyzed urine correlated with levels of MeIQx in unhydrolyzed urine (r = 0.36; P = 0.01), and the levels of mutagenicity of hydrolyzed urine correlated with levels of MeIQx (r = 0.34; P = 0.01) and PhIP (r = 0.43; P = 0.001) of hydrolyzed urine. Mutagenicity in unhydrolyzed urine was not influenced by either the CYP1A2 or NAT2 phenotype. The data from this study indicate that urinary mutagenicity correlates with mutagenic exposure from cooked meat and can potentially be used as a marker in etiological studies on cancer. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 43:53–74, 2004. Published 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
CONTROLLING GROUNDWATER QUALITY WITH ENDOGENOUS REGULATORY INSTRUMENTS

ABSTRACT. This research presents a competitive dynamic model that endogenously evaluates the economics of regulatory tax‐policy options. This model is then applied to an irrigated corn production area west of Kearney, Nebraska, where the average groundwater contamination level from nitrates is reported to be 8.7 parts per million (ppm). Results indicate that no regulatory policies are necessary for maintaining potable groundwater quality with either a surge‐flow irrigation system or a sprinkler irrigation system. In areas where conventional furrow irrigation technology is being used, higher net economic benefits result from the adoption of a variable‐tax on nitrogen fertilizer use, followed by a constant‐unit tax and a pollution tax.
B cell subpopulations separated by CD27 and crucial collaboration of CD27+ B cells and helper T cells in immunoglobulin production

B cell immunoglobulin production is regulated by helper T cells through direct interaction and secreted cytokines. In the present study, we functionally analyzed CD27 in cord and peripheral blood B cells. Adult peripheral blood B cells were separated into CD27+ and CD27− cells, which differed in their morphology. Cord blood B cells did not express CD27, and CD27 expression on peripheral blood B cells increased with age. Only CD27+ B cells had the ability to produce immunoglobulin, which was increased by contact with a tumor necrosis factor‐related transmembrane ligand, CD70. Adult peripheral blood CD27+ B cells can be further subdivided into two discrete subtypes: IgD−CD27+ and IgD+ CD27+ B cells. IgD− CD27+ B cells produce IgG, IgM and IgA, whereas IgD+ CD27+ B cells predominantly produce IgM. The addition of activated CD4+ CD45RO T cells expressing CD70 caused down‐regulation of CD27 expression on activated B cells, and this down‐modulation was completely blocked by anti‐CD70 monoclonal antibody, indicating direct T‐B cell contact via CD27/CD70. The triggering via CD27 and CD40 additively increased the immunoglobulin production under Staphylococcus aureus Cowan strain plus interleukin‐2 stimulation. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that peripheral blood B cells are separated into subpopulations by CD27 and IgD expression and that CD27+ B cells produce large amounts of immunoglobulin by interaction with the CD70 molecule.
Cell-type specific dendritic contacts between retinal ganglion cells during development.

The extent of a neuron's dendritic field defines the region within which information is processed. The dendritic fields of functionally distinct ON and OFF center retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) form separate mosaics across the retina. Within each mosaic, neighboring dendritic fields overlap by a constant amount, sampling the visual field with the appropriate coverage. Contact-mediated lateral inhibition between neighboring RGCs has long been thought to regulate both the extent and overlap of dendritic fields during development. Here we show that dendro-dendritic contact exists between developing RGCs and occurs in a manner that would regulate the formation of ON and OFF mosaics separately. Dye-filled neighboring ON and OFF ferret alpha RGCs were reconstructed using multiphoton microscopy. At all neonatal ages examined, we observed dendro-dendritic contacts between RGCs of the same sign (ON/ON; OFF/OFF), but never between cells of opposite signs (ON/OFF). Terminal dendrites of one cell often touched a dendrite of its neighbor as they intersected. In some instances, the distal dendrite of one cell formed a fascicle with the proximal process of its neighbor. Alpha cells did not form contacts with neighboring beta cells of the same sign. Together, these observations suggest that dendro-dendritic contact between RGCs is cell-type specific. Dendritic contacts were observed even before the alpha cell arbors were completely stratified, suggesting that cell-cell recognition may take place early in their development. For each cell type, the relative overlap of dendritic fields was constant with age, despite a two-fold increase in field area. We suggest that dendro-dendritic contacts may be sites of intercellular signaling that could regulate local extension of dendrites to maintain the relative overlap of RGCs within a mosaic during development.
IgVH mutations in blastoid mantle cell lymphoma characterize a subgroup with a tendency to more favourable clinical outcome

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is associated with a very unfavourable clinical course. This is particularly true for mantle cell lymphoma of the blastoid subtype (MCL‐b). In order to define prognostic factors, we analysed the impact of immunoglobulin heavy chain variable (IgVH) gene somatic hypermutations on clinical outcome in a series of 21 cases of morphologically, phenotypically, and genotypically well‐characterized MCL‐b. Testing and estimation were performed using log‐rank statistics and displayed on Kaplan–Meier graphs. Thirteen of 21 cases of MCL‐b revealed a homology rate of ≥99% compared to IgVH germ‐line sequences in the databases and were scored as non‐mutated. Eight of 21 cases (38%) of MCL‐b were mutated. In MCL‐b the mutation frequency was usually low and the mutation pattern was only rarely antigen‐selected, in contrast to a control group of 11 cases with morphologically almost identical, but phenotypically and genotypically clearly distinguishable, diffuse large B cell lymphoma, derived, most likely, from germinal centre B cells. In our series of 21 MCL‐b, positive IgVH mutational status, irrespective of varying homology thresholds, had no statistically significant prognostic impact on event‐free or overall survival. However, mutated MCL‐b tended to present more frequently at an earlier stage and without bone marrow involvement and to show lower rates of relapse and death, resulting in a more favourable clinical outcome. Copyright © 2005 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
EXTERNAL DEBT, DEFENCE EXPENDITURES AND POLITICAL BUSINESS CYCLES IN TURKEY

This paper investigates the relationship between external debt, defence expenditures and political business cycles in Turkey for 1960–2002. Here, two important aspects of the political business cycle, the electoral effects and the partisan effects, were investigated. The empirical finding of impulse response functions of defence expenditures to a shock in the partisan effect is positive. The results reported here indicate that political colours of parties appear to be important. This suggests that defence expenditure is influenced by political ideology and the fiscal policy of governments after elections. Moreover, the impulse response functions of external debt stock to shocks to the electoral effects and the response of external debt stock shocks to the partisan effects increased over the whole period.
Brief report: The role of point of care testing for patients with acute pharyngitis

AbstractBACKGROUND: There is no consensus favoring a particular strategy for evaluating patients with pharyngitis. OBJECTIVE: To compare a clinical decision aid and a rapid office-based point of care (POC) test with routine culture for group A β-hemolytic streptococcus (GAS). DESIGN: Prospective observational study. PARTICIPANTS: Among 179 patients enrolled, 150 were eligible and 148 had POC testing and cultures initially performed. MEASUREMENTS: An encounter form included eligibility criteria, clinical information based upon the Centor rule, and treatment provided. Sensitivity and specificity of POC test compared to routine culture for GAS. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients (25.7%) had a positive GAS culture. The POC test was 92.1% sensitive (95% confidence interval [CI] 80% to 98%) and 100% specific (95% CI 97% to 100%). Although the Centor rule did not adequately discriminate among symptomatic patients with or without GAS (receiver operating curve area 0.63), the 3 patients with a false-negative POC test had a Centor score of less than 2. Among patients with a negative POC test, 26% initially received antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with a Centor score of ≥2, a POC test was highly sensitive for GAS. Future studies should confirm these results and assess whether implementation of POC testing as part of a local practice guideline can decrease variability in testing and treatment.
The role of line managers in employee career management: an attachment theory perspective

Line managers increasingly play a key role in organizational career development systems, yet few studies have examined the nature of this role or its implications for employee career attitudes and behaviors. In two studies, we used attachment theory to explore this issue. In Study 1, in-depth interviews (N = 20) showed that employees viewed career management as a relational process in which line managers are expected to act as ‘caregiver’ to support individualized career development. Study 2 was a large-scale international survey (N = 891). Participants scoring higher on attachment avoidance in their line manager relationships reported more negative perceptions of career growth opportunities, lower participation in organizational career development activities and higher turnover intentions. Trust in the organization partially mediated the relationship. Theoretical and practical implications for HRM are discussed.
The Forgotten Summer: Does the Offer of College Counseling After High School Mitigate Summer Melt Among College-Intending, Low-Income High School Graduates?

Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry and success among low‐income students, considerable gaps by socioeconomic status remain. To date, policymakers have overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students’ transition to college, yet recent research documents high rates of summer attrition from the college pipeline among college‐intending high school graduates, a phenomenon we refer to as “summer melt. ” We report on two randomized trials investigating efforts to mitigate summer melt. Offering college‐intending graduates two to three hours of summer support increased enrollment by 3 percentage points overall, and by 8 to 12 percentage points among low‐income students, at a cost of $100 to $200 per student. Further, summer support has lasting impacts on persistence several semesters into college.
An investigation of perceptions of Vietnamese teachers and students toward Cooperative Learning (CL)

The present study examined how cooperative learning (CL) is implemented in Vietnamese classrooms, how local teachers' and students' perceived this approach to learning, and what were the local barriers that hindered its implementation. Forty teachers and forty students from twenty Vietnamese colleges completed a questionnaire about CL and follow-up interviews were conducted with ten students and ten teachers on their perceptions of this practice. The results showed that CL has become a common and preferred method of instruction in Vietnam. However, the functions of CL were often not understood correctly because the teachers and students maintained that CL mainly helped the students remember information rather than develop a deep understanding of the text they were studying. Responses also revealed that CL was hindered by a number of local cultural and institutional barriers such as class size, curriculum coverage and workload division. Future research may need to identify strategies to correct mismatches between CL principles and local barriers so that this approach to learning becomes more adaptive to the local context.
Computers and the changing skill-intensity of jobs

This paper investigates the impact of computer usage at work and other job features on the changing skills required of workers. It compare skills utilization in Britain at three data points: 1986, 1992 and 1997, using proxies for the level of skills actually used in jobs. This study questions the validity of investigating the facts about, and the sources of, rising skills by using just educational attainment or occupational grouping data. This paper finds that: • Job skills have increased, more quickly for women than for men; these increases are more extensive than those captured by changes in the occupational class structure. • The spread of computer usage is very strongly associated with the process of upskilling, and accounts in part for narrowing of the gender skills gap; expanded use of quality circles is also linked to upskilling. • Evidence for any direct role of trade in inducing skills increases is weak. • Using the qualification held or occupation as a skills measure can lead to erroneous conclusions as to the origin of skills changes.
An Exploration of the Relationship between Training Grants and Profitability of UK Construction Companies

A levy/grant system exists in the UK construction industry to provide financial support for companies undertaking training activities. With the current UK government skills policy, there is an emphasis on ensuring that training support provided to employers is aimed at enhancing companies' profitability. This paper explores the profitability of construction companies in relation to training grants. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyze a uniquely combined dataset over the period 2002-2005. The research revealed that there is not a simple linear relationship between training grants and profitability. However, large and more profitable companies claimed more training grants in relation to the following areas of training: management, qualifying their existing workforce (certifying the skills of their existing workforce) and developing training plans. The authors argue that training grants should be targeted and focused towards specific areas of training if profitability gains are to be achievable. Future research should consider training grant utilization within the context of construction companies in order to ascertain the real contribution of training grants to their profitability.
Development of an EORTC quality of life phase III module measuring cancer‐related fatigue (EORTC QLQ‐FA13)

European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) has developed a new multidimensional instrument measuring cancer‐related fatigue that can be used in conjunction with the quality of life core questionnaire, EORTC QLQ‐C30. The paper focuses on the development of the phase III module, collaborating with seven European countries, including a patient sample of 318 patients.
The Implications of Using Stock-Split Adjusted I/B/E/S Data in Empirical Research

The purpose of this study is to highlight issues of interest to researchers employing the I/B/E/S earnings and forecast data. I/B/E/S has traditionally provided per share data on a split‐adjusted basis, rounded to the nearest penny. In doing so, per share amounts are comparable over time. However, because not all prior forecasts and earnings per share amounts divide precisely to a penny, adjusting for stock splits and rounding to the nearest penny can cause a loss of information. Researchers are prohibited in many cases from determining the amounts actually reported in prior years, leading to misclassified observations. We obtain actual (unadjusted) earnings and forecast data from I/B/E/S and compare results to those generated using the a djusted I/B/E/S data. We replicate prior studies and find that conclusions are affected when using the actual I/B/E/S data.
Social Stability and Equilibrium

This paper constructs a two-country (Home and Foreign) general equilibrium model of Schumpeterian growth without scale effects. The scale effects property is removed by introducing two distinct specifications in the knowledge production function: the permanent effect on growth (PEG) specification, which allows policy effects on long-run growth; and the temporary effects on growth (TEG) specification, which generates semi-endogenous long-run economic growth. In the present model, the direction of the effect of the size of innovations on the pattern of trade and Home's relative wage depends on the way in which the scale effects property is removed. Under the PEG specification, changes in the size of innovations increase Home's comparative advantage and its relative wage, while under the TEG specification, an increase in the size of innovations increases Home's relative wage but with an ambiguous effect on its comparative advantage.
A survey of female nursing students’ knowledge, health beliefs, perceptions of risk, and risk behaviors regarding human papillomavirus and cervical cancer

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess knowledge of, perceived susceptibility to, perceived seriousness of, and risk behaviors regarding human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer among female nursing students. Data sources: A 40‐item survey of HPV and cervical cancer was distributed to a convenience sample of 240 female nursing students enrolled in a baccalaureate nursing program. Conclusions: Female nursing students participate in high‐risk sexual behaviors and have a fairly low knowledge level, low perceived susceptibility, and low perceived seriousness regarding HPV and cervical cancer. Knowledge and perceived susceptibility were positively related to number of sexual partners. This may indicate that the women who engage in riskier behavior are more knowledgeable about HPV and their risk of contracting the disease. Implications for practice: Results indicate that all practitioners involved in the care of women should educate them about HPV and its relationship to cervical cancer. Education should include the need to use condoms to prevent HPV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Hedge fund activism: insights from a French clinical study

Over the period from October 2006 to May 2008, Atos Origin, a French information technology company, was the target of two activist hedge funds, Centaurus and Pardus. This article investigates in detail how the activists initiated their actions, how the management organized its defence and how both were received by the market. The analysis reveals that, although Atos seemed to be an attractive opportunity, the funds failed in their primary objective, the sale of the target. In fact, the chairmen of Atos succeeded in discrediting the two hedge funds by getting support in the French context, not particularly prone to and sometimes even hostile towards shareholder's interests. Our findings show that the success/failure classification used in large-sample studies, and based very often on officially stated goals, bears a considerable risk of misinterpretation. The Atos case shows that empirical studies should more heavily rely on what really matters for hedge fund activism, i.e. the sale of the target, spin-offs or cash-outs. While governance related motives are often mentioned and easily enforced, they do not make activism profitable and cannot, by themselves, be considered as primary motives for hedge fund activism. As a consequence, the success of hedge fund activism should be assessed considering primary motives only.
Performance measurement in strategic buyer‐supplier relationships: The mediating role of socialization mechanisms

Purpose – Close links between buyers and suppliers are increasingly cited as a critical differentiator of high and low performers in global supply chains. While the application of performance measures to manage supplier relationships has been well‐identified and encouraged in the literature, comparatively little research exists on the inter‐organizational socialization mechanisms that underlie the flow of learning and information within supply chains. The authors aim to develop a model positing that socialization mechanisms play an important role in mediating the relationship between supplier performance measures and performance outcomes.Design/methodology/approach – A structural equation model, using a sample of 142 manufacturing and service firms based in the UK, tests this hypothesised model.Findings – The theoretical framework was supported, with results indicating that socialization mechanisms fully mediate the effects of supplier performance measures (communication and operational‐based) on firm per.
Investor Protection and Analysts' Cash Flow Forecasts Around the World

We find that analysts are more likely to provide cash flow forecasts in countries with weak investor protection. This finding is consistent with our hypothesis that market participants demand (and analysts supply) cash flow information when weak investor protection results in earnings that are less likely to reflect underlying economic performance. Our results suggest that information intermediaries respond to market-based incentives to attenuate the adverse effects of country-level institutional factors on earnings’ usefulness. These findings contribute to the literature by shedding light on the institutional determinants of analysts’ research activities, and on the nature of the financial information they generate.