Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Implications of group III and IV muscle afferents for high‐intensity endurance exercise performance in humans

Non‐Technical Summary We investigated the influence of group III/IV muscle afferents on central motor drive, the development of peripheral locomotor muscle fatigue, and endurance performance time during high‐intensity constant‐load cycling exercise to exhaustion. Our findings suggest that, on the one hand, afferent feedback ensures adequate circulatory and ventilatory responses to exercise which optimizes muscle O2 transport and thereby facilitates exercise performance by preventing premature peripheral fatigue. On the other hand, afferent feedback inhibits central motor drive, which is reflected in the restriction of the neural excitation of the locomotor musculature and the reduced tolerance for peripheral muscle fatigue, and thereby limits exercise performance. Taken together, the current investigation revealed the net effects of sensory afferent feedback on time to exhaustion during high‐intensity constant‐load cycling exercise and showed that intact group III/IV muscle afferent feedback is a vital component in achieving optimal endurance performance.
Stereotaxic Summation Analysis of Human Cerebral Benzodiazepine Binding Maps

Summation analysis strategies are recognized throughout diverse scientific fields as powerful means of differentially enhancing experimental signals over random fluctuations (noise). Such techniques, applied to emission tomographic cerebral blood flow scans, reveal subtle alterations in neuronal activity during specific behavioral states. In the present work, we extend the principles of intersubject image summation analysis to the evaluation of emission tomographic ligand-binding studies. A general methodology is presented that may be applied to a wide variety of binding site determinations. The procedure consists of anatomic standardization of individual brains to a common stereotaxic orientation, followed by statistical analyses of group versus group or individual versus group differences. We develop and evaluate performance of our technique with the use of positron emission tomographic [11C]flumazenil scans from normal volunteers, depicting the regional cerebral distribution of benzodiazepine binding sites.
Specificity of Interactions between mDia Isoforms and Rho Proteins*

Formins are key regulators of actin nucleation and polymerization. They contain formin homology 1 (FH1) and 2 (FH2) domains as the catalytic machinery for the formation of linear actin cables. A subclass of formins constitutes the Diaphanous-related formins, members of which are regulated by the binding of a small GTP-binding protein of the Rho subfamily. Binding of these molecular switch proteins to the regulatory N-terminal mDiaN, including the GTPase-binding domain, leads to the release of auto-inhibition. From the three mDia isoforms, mDia1 is activated only by Rho (RhoA, -B, and -C), in contrast to mDia2 and -3, which is also activated by Rac and Cdc42. Little is known about the determinants of specificity. Here we report on the interactions of RhoA, Rac1, and Cdc42 with mDia1 and an mDia1 mutant (mDiaN-Thr-Ser-His (TSH)), which based on structural information should mimic mDia2 and -3. Specificity is analyzed by biochemical studies and a structural analysis of a complex between Cdc42·Gpp(NH)p and mDiaN-TSH. A triple NNN motif in mDia1 (amino acids 164-166), corresponding to the TSH motif in mDia2/3 (amino acids 183-185 and 190-192), and the epitope interacting with the Rho insert helix are essential for high affinity binding. The triple N motif of mDia1 allows tight interaction with Rho because of the presence of Phe-106, whereas the corresponding His-104 in Rac and Cdc42 forms a complementary interface with the TSH motif in mDia2/3. We also show that the F106H and H104F mutations drastically alter the affinities and thermodynamics of mDia interactions.
Distributed Modeling of Layout Parasitics in Large-Area High-Speed Silicon Power Devices

This paper reports a technique for generating a lumped-element distributed model for silicon power devices that takes into account the effect of layout parasitics. The proposed methodology exploits the high-frequency modeling approach of microstrips and striplines to describe both the passive parts of the device and elementary transistor cells. A semi-empirical model for the elementary transistor cells of the power device is also proposed. Parameter extraction is described and validated by direct comparison with device simulations of an actual device. The proposed modeling approach is employed to investigate the internal current distribution of a high-voltage silicon power MOSFET supplied by STMicroelectronics during the turnoff transient. The tradeoff that must be accomplished between accuracy and complexity is discussed. The effect of increased switching frequency on the device current distribution is also reported explaining how it may lead to performance degradation and device failure.
Mass Spectrometry-Based Adrenal and Peripheral Venous Steroid Profiling for Subtyping Primary Aldosteronism.

BACKGROUND Differentiating patients with primary aldosteronism caused by aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) from those with bilateral adrenal hyperplasia (BAH), which is essential for choice of therapeutic intervention, relies on adrenal venous sampling (AVS)-based measurements of aldosterone and cortisol. We assessed the utility of LC-MS/MS-based steroid profiling to stratify patients with primary aldosteronism. METHODS Fifteen adrenal steroids were measured by LC-MS/MS in peripheral and adrenal venous plasma from AVS studies for 216 patients with primary aldosteronism at 3 tertiary referral centers. Ninety patients were diagnosed with BAH and 126 with APAs on the basis of immunoassay-derived adrenal venous aldosterone lateralization ratios. RESULTS Among 119 patients confirmed to have APAs at follow-up, LC-MS/MS-derived lateralization ratios of aldosterone normalized to cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone, and androstenedione were all higher (P < 0.0001) than immunoassay-derived ratios. The hybrid steroids, 18-oxocortisol and 18-hydroxycortisol, also showed lateralized secretion in 76% and 35% of patients with APAs. Adrenal venous concentrations of glucocorticoids and androgens were bilaterally higher in patients with BAH than in those with APAs. Consequently, peripheral plasma concentrations of 18-oxocortisol were 8.5-fold higher, whereas concentrations of cortisol, corticosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone were lower in patients with APAs than in those with BAH. Correct classification of 80% of cases of APAs vs BAH was thereby possible by use of a combination of steroids in peripheral plasma. CONCLUSIONS LC-MS/MS-based steroid profiling during AVS achieves higher aldosterone lateralization ratios in patients with APAs than immunoassay. LC-MS/MS also enables multiple measures for discriminating unilateral from bilateral aldosterone excess, with potential use of peripheral plasma for subtype classification.
Lentiviral transduction of human hematopoietic cells by HIV‐1‐ and SIV‐based vectors containing a bicistronic cassette driven by various internal promoters

Lentiviral gene transfer into hematopoietic cells has been mostly optimized with vectors carrying a single reporter gene. For many clinical applications, lentiviral vectors should contain more than one gene because transduced cells should be enriched by a selectable marker or killed for safety reasons after use. Thus, we compared various vectors containing a bicistronic cassette driven by different ubiquitous promoters for their ability to transduce human T‐lymphocytes, CD34+‐cells, and dendritic cells (DCs) derived from CD34+‐cells or monocytes.
The Blue Line on Thin Ice: Police Use of Force in the Era of Cameraphones, 'Citizen Journalism', and YouTube

In today's urban environments the ubiquity of camera phones and the entrenchment of both 'citizen journalism' and Web 2.0 media into social life and socio-political discourses have exponentially increased the public's exposure to police violence. This thesis investigates the impact on contemporary policing of the 'new visibility' of police conduct. Findings emerged from the surveying of 231 front-line officers in Toronto and Ottawa, follow-up interviews with 20 of these officers, and interviews with 8 policing officials in those two cities. It was determined that widespread video oversight of policing and the ability of citizens to disseminate imagery through social media is profoundly embedded in the consciousness of operational officers and has resulted in various behavioural changes through the deterrence of certain 'performances', including significant moderations in police use of force practices. Technological innovations have enabled transformative changes in the public-police relationship and power dynamic through a democratizing social levelling.
USING TOTAL WATER FOOTPRINT OF NATIONAL CONSUMPTION AS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATOR – A CRITICAL REVIEW

In highly competitive and modern economies, water represents a determinant productive resource and using the water footprint (WF) as a possible indicator in assessing sustainable development is integrated in the overall framework of macroeconomic efficiency analysis. The main aim of this paper is to argue that water footprint could represent a proper indicator in analyzing the sustainable economic development. In this context the territorial distribution of water footprint across the 28 EU countries is analyzed in order to substantiate decisions and achieve sustainable economic development forecasts and strategies at European level. The results have led to the conclusion that, overall, the total water footprint of national consumption in the 28 EU Member States has a very low degree of concentration, therefore, tends towards uniformity. With regard to the three types of water footprint, the main characteristic outcome of the research is the low degree of concentration for gray and green water footprint, while blue water footprint proves a moderate degree of concentration.
Environmental sustainability orientation and performance of family and nonfamily firms

Despite the growing research evidence on the effect of environmental sustainability orientation (ESO) on firm outcomes, contingent factors that may influence the strength of this relationship have received little scholarly attention. In this study, we use insights from the literature on ESO and family business to introduce family status and firm age as moderators in the ESOperformance linkage. Using time-lagged data from 253 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, we found the impact of ESO on firm performance is amplified for nonfamily firms but not significant for family firms. Our evidence suggests it is stronger among older firms than younger ones. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Inducibility of CYP1A2 by omeprazole in vivo related to the genetic polymorphism of CYP1A2.

AIMS To evaluate the effect of the CYP1A2*1C and CYP1A2*1F polymorphisms on the inducibility of CYP1A2 by omeprazole in healthy subjects. METHODS Mutations of CYP2C19 and CYP1A2 were identified by PCR-RFLP. Omeprazole, 120 mg day-1, was given to 12 extensive metabolizers (EM) with respect to CYP2C19 (six CYP1A2*1F/CYP1A2*1F and six CYP1A2*1C/CYP1A2*1F of CYP1A2) for 7 days. CYP1A2 activity was determined on three occasions, namely on day 1, day 9 and day 16 using the caffeine plasma index (the ratio of the concentrations of paraxanthine to caffeine), 6 h after oral administration of 200 mg caffeine. RESULTS There was a significant difference (P = 0.002) between the caffeine ratios for CYP1A2*1F/CYP1A2*1F and CYP1A2*1C/CYP1A2*1F genotypes on day 9, but not on day 1 or day 16 (P > 0.05). The changes in the ratios from day 9 to day 1 (48% +/- 20%vs 19% +/- 20%) and from day 9 to day 16 (50% +/- 31%vs 15% +/- 22%) were significantly different (P < 0.05) between the CYP1A2*1F/CYP1A2*1F and CYP1A2*1C/CYP1A2*1F genotypes. CONCLUSION The CYP1A2*1C and CYP1A2*1F genetic polymorphisms influenced the induction of CYP1A2 activity in vivo by omeprazole.
Markers of vascular inflammation are associated with the extent of atherosclerosis assessed as angiographic score and treadmill walking distances in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease

The importance of inflammation in atherosclerosis is well established in cardiovascular disease. However, limited data exist on the relationship between vascular inflammation and the severity of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD). We investigated the relationship between biochemical markers of vascular inflammation and the diagnostic measures of PAD: ankle-brachial pressure index (ABI), maximum treadmill walking distance and angiographic score. In 127 patients (mean age 66 years; 64% males) with angiographically verified PAD, fasting blood samples were drawn for determination of selected soluble cell adhesion molecules, cytokines and chemokines. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interleukin-6 (IL-6), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and CD40 ligand (CD40L) were all significantly correlated with the angiographic score (p < 0.05 for all). After adjustment for relevant co-variates, MCP-1 and CD40L remained statistically significant (p < 0.01 for both). IL-6 was, independent of other risk factors, inversely correlated with the maximum treadmill walking distance (p < 0.01). Our cross-sectional study in PAD patients showed that the vascular inflammatory markers MCP-1, CD40L and IL-6 were significantly associated with the extent of atherosclerosis, assessed by angiographic score and maximum treadmill walking distance. These findings indicate that vascular inflammation is implicated in PAD, which might be of importance in future diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth: Evidence from China

Since Chinese ‘The Reform and Opening’, FDI has been considered as one of the drivers to uplift Chinese economy. However, Chinese economy appear dualistic feature, that is there are a huge gap between eastern and western region while the distribution of FDI also mainly concentrates on the eastern coastal area. In addition, Chinese economy has stepped into ‘New Normal’ and we believe new priorities should be addressed in the new stage. Many studies have proved the positive relationship between FDI and Chinese economy, but few of them considered the different time period and in the different regions. Hence we want to use empirical model to study whether FDI stimulate the Chinese economy during each period and whether the imbalance inflows of FDI accelerated the inequality between western and eastern economy. We set econometric model and used the panel data from 31 provinces in China during 2001-2009 and during 2010-2016 to study the relationship between economic growth and FDI and other economic variables. We found that 1) FDI stimulates the economic growth in both periods while contributes more during 2001-2009, which indicates new requirements for economy development in the ‘New Normal Stage’. 2) During 2001 to 2009, FDI has weak impact on economy in the eastern region while has crowing-out effect on the western area. To some extent, FDI contributed to the inequality between western and eastern economy. During 2010 to 2016, FDI is no longer the variable that cause the imbalance. 3) To narrow the gap between eastern, central and western regions, we must take care of different economic variables that affect the regional economy most. Based on the empirical study results and other facts, we offer some suggestions for the 3 important player: Chinese government, Chinese enterprises and foreign enterprises. In the new stage, the priority for Chinses government is to realize the industrial structure transformation. We use German ‘Industry 4.0’ as an example to offer some practical path to developing high-tech manufacturing industry and producer services. In the FDI policy, Sweden regional encouragement policy could be taken as reference to encourage FDI flowing to western China. Chinses enterprises should take advantage of Internet and increase innovation capability. As for foreign enterprises, we conducted on Chinese retail industry to shed a light on how foreign enterprises can adapt to Chinese dynamic market. Key word: Foreign Direct Investment, Chinese economic growth, Chinese government, Industrial structure transformation TABLE OF CONTENTS
Imperfect Competition in Firm-to-Firm Trade

This paper studies the implications of imperfect competition in firm-to-firm trade. Exploiting data on the universe of sales relationships between Belgian firms, we document that firms’ markups increase in the average input shares among their buyers. Motivated by this fact, we develop and estimate a model where firms charge buyer-supplier-specific markups that depend on the bilateral input shares. We find markup dispersion within firms across buyers creates substantial welfare loss: Aggregate welfare increases by around 6% when firms are banned from charging different markups across buyers.
The Impact of Foreign Investors on the Stock Price of Korean Enterprises during the Global Financial Crisis

This paper investigates the impact and behavior of foreign equity investment on the price of the nine largest KOSPI (Korea Composite Stock Price Index) enterprises and Samsung Electronics preference stocks in terms of market capitalization during the global financial crisis (2 January 2007 to 30 December 2008). The empirical results indicate that foreign investors show strong, positive feedback trading behavior with regard to the stock price of Samsung Electronics, which is the largest KOSPI enterprise in terms of market capitalization. We also found evidence that the behavior of foreign investors significantly increased volatility in the stock returns of the two largest Korean conglomerates (Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motors), which account for approximately 25 percent of total KOSPI market capitalization.
The Effect of Religiosity on Stock Market Speculation

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether religiosity affects stock market speculation. We use data from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries characterized by a high level of religiosity and clearly defined religious rules on investing. We find that during Ramadan, the stock markets of these countries encounter relatively lower levels of market volatility, idiosyncratic volatility, and trading frequency. We do not find significant changes in absolute returns during Ramadan compared with other months. However, a drop in volatility leads to higher risk-adjusted returns. Our results indicate that religiosity is negatively related to stock market speculation.
Potentiation of 2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine Activity by Bryostatin 1 in the Resistant Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cell Line (WSU-CLL): Association with Increased Ratios of dCK/5'-NT and Bax/Bcl-2

The activities of 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CdA) metabolizing enzymes, deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) and cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase (5'-NT) were measured in control and bryostatin 1 treated CLL cells using an EBV-negative WSU-CLL cell line. This cell line was established from a patient with CLL resistant to fludarabine. The results revealed a significant increase in dCK activity in bryostatin 1 treated cells at 48 and 72 h compared with the control. 5'-NT activity decreased significantly at 48 h. The ratio of dCK to 5'-NT activity was significantly increased in bryostatin 1 treated WSU-CLL cells after 48 h. WSU-CLL cells treated with bryostatin 1 exhibited an increase in the percentage of apoptotic and dead cells from control levels of 16% to 40%. This percentage was further increased to 67% following the addition of 11.2 microM 2-CdA to WSU-CLL cells pretreated with bryostatin 1. Results from Western blot analysis indicate that WSU-CLL cells express high levels of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and c-myc, and a low level of Bax. p53 in untreated WSU-CLL cells is undetectable. WSU-CLL cells treated with bryostatin 1 showed a significant increase in the ratio of Bax to Bcl-2. To demonstrate that the bryostatin 1 mediated enhancement of 2-CdA efficacy was not restricted to in vitro cell culture, we have studied the tumor growth delay of WSU-CLL xenografts treated with placebo, bryostatin 1, 2-CdA, and bryostatin 1 followed by 2-CdA. SCID mice given bryostatin 1 at 75 microg x kg(-1) x d(-1) for 5 days followed by 30 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1) 2-CdA for 5 days in two cycles, had significantly improved tumor growth delay (P = 0.05). We conclude that bryostatin 1 is not only capable of inducing apoptosis by itself, but also sensitizes de novo resistant WSU-CLL cells to the chemo-therapeutic effects of 2-CdA. The bryostatin 1-induced increased ratio of dCK/5'-NT activity and an increased ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 are at least two mechanisms through which this natural compound is able to potentiate the anti-tumor activity of 2-CdA in otherwise resistant CLL cells.
Scale Development and Validation for Measuring the Adoption of Mobile Banking Services

Mobile banking (m-banking) has provided new opportunities to banks to engage more effectively with customers. With increasing smartphone penetration and affordable internet connectivity, both urban and rural India are witness to an increase in the number of mobile internet users. A majority of the recent studies on m-banking are focused on developed countries. Among Indian studies, a majority of them focus on internet banking, not many exist that explore the factors which influence user attitude (ATT) and intentions to adopt m-banking. This article aims to propose a scale to study m-banking adoption and validate it in the Indian context. An exploratory study was conducted through a literature review, a focus group discussions and some personal interviews. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out which resulted in seven factors labelled as ease of use (EOU), ATT, lifestyle (LS), convenience (CON), efficiency (EFF), trust (TR) and behavioural intention (BI). The measurement model was estimated using confirmatory factor analysis to test the reliability and validity of the scale. The study improves the technology acceptance model (TAM) by adding TR, CON and EFF as relevant factors. The scale also integrates LS to the existing factors and focuses on both socio-technical aspects. The scale can be used by banks to assess how consumers perceive their m-banking service and identify gap areas and opportunities for developing viable m-banking services.
Entrepreneurial Leadership and Turnover Intention in Startups: Mediating Roles of Employees’ Job Embeddedness, Job Satisfaction and Affective Commitment

Entrepreneurial leadership is critical for the sustainable development of start-ups and plays a key role in employees’ turnover intentions. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and turnover intentions of employees within enterprises established in the last five years. This paper explored this relationship through multiple serial mediators, specifically, employee affective commitment, job embeddedness, and job satisfaction. A quantitative approach was employed on a sample of 403 participants from 62 ventures. The results demonstrated that entrepreneurial leadership can reduce employee turnover intentions, and the impact is through job embeddedness, job satisfaction, and affective commitment, in series. This study is the first try of a three-serial-mediator model for the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and turnover intentions, and it leads to a better understanding of the significance of entrepreneurial leadership.