Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Potentiation of TRPV4 signalling by histamine and serotonin: an important mechanism for visceral hypersensitivity

Background Although evidence points to a role for histamine and serotonin in visceral hypersensitivity, activation of calcium channels such as transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) also causes visceral hypersensitivity. We hypothesised that TRPV4 is important for the generation of hypersensitivity, mediating histamine- and serotonin-induced visceral hypersensitivity. Methods In response to histamine, serotonin and/or TRPV4 agonist (4αPDD), calcium signals and TRPV4 localisation studies were performed on dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons projecting from the colon. To evaluate visceral nociception, colorectal distension (CRD) was performed in mice treated with serotonin or histamine and with 4αPDD. Intrathecal injection of TRPV4 silencer RNA (SiRNA) or mismatch SiRNA was used to target TRPV4 expression. Results Pre-exposure of DRG neurons projecting from the colon, to histamine or serotonin, increased Ca2+ responses induced by 4αPDD by a protein kinase C (PKC), phospholipase Cβ (PLCβ), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK) and phospholipase A2 (PLA2)-dependent mechanisms. Serotonin or histamine treatments enhanced TRPV4 expression at the plasma membrane by a MAPKK mechanism. Hypersensitivity induced by serotonin or histamine were both significantly inhibited by TRPV4 SiRNA intrathecal injection. Administration of sub-nociceptive doses of serotonin or histamine potentiated 4αPDD-induced hypersensitivity in response to CRD. Conclusions Serotonin and histamine sensitise TRPV4 response to 4αPDD both in vivo (increased visceral hypersensitivity) and in vitro, in sensory neurons, by a PKC, PLA2, PLCβ and MAPKK-dependent mechanism. Serotonin and histamine caused a MAPKK-dependent increase in TRPV4 expression in colonic sensory neurons plasma membranes. Further, histamine- or serotonin-mediated visceral hypersensitivity depend on TRPV4 expression in sensory neurons. TRPV4 appears as a common mechanism to several known mediators of visceral hypersensitivity.
Unleashing the Power of Word of Mouth: Creating Brand Advocacy to Drive Growth

ABSTRACT The evidence is abundantly clear: word of mouth (WOM) is the most important and effective communications channel. Now, the search is on for strong, quantifiable research to help marketers navigate this new terrain, where control rests with the consumer and not the marketer. This article lays out important insights drawn from Keller Fay's continuous monitoring of America's offline and online WOM conversations.
The neuroanatomy of prematurity: Normal brain development and the impact of preterm birth

Brain development is a complex process of micro‐ and macrostructural events that include neuronal and glial proliferation and migration, myelination, and organizational development of cortical layers and circuitry. Recent progress in understanding these processes has provided insight into the pathophysiology of brain injury and alterations of cerebral development in preterm infants. A key factor of abnormalities in the preterm infant is the maturational stage of the brain at the time of birth. This review summarizes current data on normal brain development, patterns of brain injury in the preterm infant, and the associated axonal/neuronal disturbances that occur in the setting of this injury, often termed encephalopathy of prematurity. Clin. Anat. 28:168–183, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cognitive Skills and Intra-Household Allocation of Schooling

Using household data from two districts in northern Ghana, this study examines how cognitive skills affect the allocation of schooling across the children of a household. The analysis reveals that relative to the rest of the siblings in the household, an increase of one standard deviation in the score of cognitive tests increases by 0.128-0.178 the number of years of schooling attended in the following three years, depending on the cognitive test used. These results are interpreted as empirical evidence for the main prediction of the theoretical model for intra-household allocation of resources developed in the seminal paper A Treatise on the Family (Becker, 1981): parents reinforce cognitive differences between siblings through allocating more human capital resources to the more able siblings. The study also explores whether the effect of cognitive skills on the allocation of schooling across siblings depends on the gender of the child or on household level characteristics. On the one hand, I find weak evidence suggesting that the effect of cognitive skills on schooling investments seems larger for boys than for girls although the results are not conclusive. On the other hand, the analysis suggests that polygyny, household size and household wealth do not affect relevantly the magnitude of this effect.
Changes in rCBF during grasping in humans examined by PET

To identify the functional fields involved in grasping for objects, we measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) by positron emission tomography (PET) in eight normal volunteers. In the reaching and grasping tasks, the subjects were asked to touch or grasp one of five cylinders with their right finger(s). Compared with reaching, grasping specifically increased the rCBF in the fields located in the bilateral premotor area (PMA), the posterior parietal area (PPA) and the prefrontal area (PFA). These results indicate that PMA, PPA and PFA might be key structures for the performance of grasping movements.
The Personal Selling Ethics Scale: Revisions and Expansions for Teaching Sales Ethics

The field of sales draws a large number of marketing graduates. Sales curricula used within today’s marketing programs should include rigorous discussions of sales ethics. The Personal Selling Ethics Scale (PSE) provides an analytical tool for assessing and discussing students’ ethical sales sensitivities. However, since the scale fails to address many ethical issues within the personal selling process, it should be revised. The current research assessed the PSE’s content validity via a content analysis of today’s university sales texts, popular press sales books, and codes of ethics. Results of the content analysis were used to develop a revised scale (PSE-2) that includes new scenarios suggested by the literature search. A sample of 669 students was used to replicate the original study and test the revised PSE-2 and its new ethical scenarios. The updated scale offers marketing educators an effective tool by which to enhance sales ethics discussions.
Retaining customers through relationship quality: a services business marketing case

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore customer‐perceived relationship quality in a B2B setting, and to propose a conceptual model for this construct.Design/methodology/approach – An instrumental single case study design is adopted, and Eisenhardt's case study method for theory development is used to collect and analyse data from 55 different customer companies.Findings – The research identifies a list of 208 components that are important to customers' relationship quality perceptions. These are grouped into seven parsimonious dimensions, which are assembled into a conceptual model. The IMP Group's relationship substance framework, composed of actor bonds, resource ties and activity links is built upon and expanded by adding four new dimensions: competitive position, external association, relationship impact, and situational factors. Together, these dimensions successfully encapsulate the items that customers within this study identify as important when evaluating the quality of their relationships with th.
Is There a Role for Islamic Bonds in Global Diversification Strategies? An Empirical Analysis of Risk Transmissions and Dynamic Correlations

This paper explores international diversification benefits of Islamic bonds (sukuk) by examining dynamic spillovers and correlations between sukuk and conventional bond and stock markets. Asymmetric volatility spillover effects are observed from global debt and equity markets to Islamic bonds, suggesting that volatility on conventional markets has opposite spillover effects on Islamic bonds. The analysis of dynamic correlations suggests a low degree of association between these securities and global stock markets with episodes of negative correlations observed, particularly during market crisis periods. The low degree of correlation plays a significant role in the performance of these securities as diversifiers for global stock portfolios. We observe that Islamic bonds can provide valuable diversification benefits for conventional stock portfolios that are not possible to obtain from conventional bonds, underscoring the significance of Islamic bonds as a viable alternative to its conventional counterparts.
Psychosocial predictors of cigarette smoking among adolescents living in public housing developments

BACKGROUND Adolescents residing in low-income public housing developments in inner-city regions may be particularly vulnerable to a variety of risk factors associated with cigarette smoking. OBJECTIVE To elucidate the aetiology of cigarette smoking among adolescents living in public housing developments. DESIGN, SETTING, AND SUBJECTS We examined predictors of smoking from four domains: background characteristics, social influences, behavioural control, and psychosocial characteristics using a sample of seventh graders (mean age 12.9 years) who reside in public housing developments in New York City (n = 624). The addresses of participants in a larger investigation of the aetiology and prevention of smoking were checked to determine if they lived in one of 335 public housing developments in New York City. All participants living in public housing developments were included in the current study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES African-American and Hispanic students completed questionnaires about their cigarette use, social pressures to smoke, smoking attitudes, smoking knowledge, and smoking resistance skills. Students also provided information on demographic and behavioural control (such as church and school attendance). RESULTS Logistic regression analyses indicated that social influences from friends and family members predicted smoking. Psychosocial characteristics such as advertising resistance skills, anti-smoking attitudes, and refusal skills lowered the odds of smoking. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that smoking prevention approaches targeted at these young people should increase their awareness of social pressures to smoke, correct misperceptions about the prevalence of smoking among friends, and teach relevant psychosocial skills.
Methylthioadenosine (MTA) Regulates Liver Cells Proteome and Methylproteome: Implications in Liver Biology and Disease*

Methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP), a key enzyme in the adenine and methionine salvage pathways, catalyzes the hydrolysis of methylthioadenosine (MTA), a compound suggested to affect pivotal cellular processes in part through the regulation of protein methylation. MTAP is expressed in a wide range of cell types and tissues, and its deletion is common to cancer cells and in liver injury. The aim of this study was to investigate the proteome and methyl proteome alterations triggered by MTAP deficiency in liver cells to define novel regulatory mechanisms that may explain the pathogenic processes of liver diseases. iTRAQ analysis resulted in the identification of 216 differential proteins (p < 0.05) that suggest deregulation of cellular pathways as those mediated by ERK or NFκB. R-methyl proteome analysis led to the identification of 74 differentially methylated proteins between SK-Hep1 and SK-Hep1+ cells, including 116 new methylation sites. Restoring normal MTA levels in SK-Hep1+ cells parallels the specific methylation of 56 proteins, including KRT8, TGF, and CTF8A, which provides a novel regulatory mechanism of their activity with potential implications in carcinogenesis. Inhibition of RNA-binding proteins methylation is especially relevant upon accumulation of MTA. As an example, methylation of quaking protein in Arg242 and Arg256 in SK-Hep1+ cells may play a pivotal role in the regulation of its activity as indicated by the up-regulation of its target protein p27kip1. The phenotype associated with a MTAP deficiency was further verified in the liver of MTAP± mice. Our data support that MTAP deficiency leads to MTA accumulation and deregulation of central cellular pathways, increasing proliferation and decreasing the susceptibility to chemotherapeutic drugs, which involves differential protein methylation. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD002957 (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/pride/archive/projects/PXD002957).
Factors influencing export potential of a developing country SMEs: a study of colombian firms

The scarce participation of SMEs in exports pro- duces interest in developing and promoting them. SMEs exports promotion is of special need and interest in developing countries where SMEs knowledge is low and where their development rebounds in many social and economic positive consequences. Within this context, this study constructs a model that identifies potential exporters among Colombian manufacturer SMEs. A comparison between the exporting companies (in their years prior to export) and non-exporting companies (that had no plans to export for the next three years) forms the basis of this study. Empirical representative evidence was obtained through 151 companies of the Colombian small manufacturing population. The results suggest that the participation in training and export support programs has a strong positive relation to the firm's export potential. The increase in sales by a company outside its local area and the increase in its assets before exporting demonstrate a greater capacity for international expansion. Colombian SMEs showed that their knowledge increases as a result of experience in the markets, export intention and commitment with the international operation. According to these results, managerial and policy maker implications are explored.
Somatostatin receptor scintigraphy in medullary thyroid carcinoma

Background 111In‐radiolabelled (DTPA‐D‐Phe1)‐octreotide scintigraphy can be used to localize neuroendocrine tumours expressing somatostatin receptors (SSTRs). The aim of this paper was to analyse the importance of tumour volume and growth for the visualization by SSTR scintigraphy of metastases from medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC).
Supply chain collaboration performance metrics: a conceptual framework

Purpose – Successful implementation of supply chain collaboration (SCC) by Wal‐Mart has encouraged many manufacturing companies, such as Procter & Gamble, Hewlett‐Packard Co, and West Marine Products Inc., to initiate collaboration. Subsequently, collaboration between suppliers and retailers has become a common practice in many recent supply chains. However, measuring the benefits of collaboration is still a big challenge. Based on supply chain literature and practice, this paper aims to propose a conceptual framework and a standard set of metrics to evaluate the performance of SCC.Design/methodology/approach – The authors discuss two case studies to validate the proposed model. The case study discussions are appropriate to understand the usage of different performance metrics in initial and advanced stages of collaboration.Findings – From the case study it is recognized that the collaborating members in the supply chain are not able to visualise all possible benefits of collaboration. To surmount this is.
Renal Biopsy in Very Elderly Patients: Data from the Spanish Registry of Glomerulonephritis

Background: Studies on renal histology results in very elderly patients are extremely rare. Methods: We analyzed histology and clinical findings in patients aged over 85 years undergoing renal biopsy and whose data were included in the Spanish Registry of Glomerulonephritis between 1994 and 2009. Results: A total of 17,680 native kidney biopsies were taken: 71 (0.4%) were from patients aged over 85 years. Acute kidney injury (AKI) was the main indication for biopsy (47%), followed by nephrotic syndrome (32%). Amyloidosis was the most common histological diagnosis (16.9%), followed by crescentic glomerulonephritis type 3 associated with systemic vasculitis (14.1%). When histological findings were correlated with clinical syndromes, we found that amyloidosis was the leading cause of AKI (18.8%), and also the main determinant of nephrotic syndrome, with the same frequency as membranous nephropathy (22%). Crescentic glomerulonephritis type 3 associated with vasculitis was related to a greater diversity of clinical syndromes, especially chronic kidney disease (40%) and AKI (40%). Conclusions: Renal biopsy in the very elderly provides us with useful information, despite the advanced age of the patients. AKI and nephrotic syndrome are the main indication for renal biopsy in this subgroup of patients, and amyloidosis is the most frequent histological pattern associated with both syndromes.
Building scenarios of digital television adoption: a pilot study

This study applies a multidisciplinary approach to build scenarios on both digital television (DTV) adoption and use of T-government services by citizens. Usability and socio-economic aspects were investigated earlier by an Italian pilot study. Dataset derived from this study was later analysed using the UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) model in order to identify those factors affecting the usage as statistically reliable variables for the next step. In fact, a micro-simulation model on the diffusion of DTV and T-government services was built in order to better understand the user behaviour at various stages in the adoption course of this new digital technology. Microsimulation is also capable of predicting the consequences of certain policies at different levels (i.e. business and governmental). The model shows how some DTV and T-government scenarios on the adoption by the citizens can be influenced by different policy strategies: switch-off date, public communication campaigns, taxes reduction.
Proteomic Analysis for Finding Serum Pathogenic Factors and Potential Biomarkers in Multiple Myeloma

Background:Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant tumor, which takes the second place in malignant blood disease. The clinical symptoms are complicated that make more difficult to diagnose and therapy. Lots of researches focus on the proteins about MM in order to solve those problems. We used proteomic methods to find potential biomarkers in MM patients. Methods:We applied the peptide ligand library beads (PLLBs) to deplete high abundance proteins in serum for finding potential pathogenic factors and biomarkers of MM. Using 1D-Gel-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we identified 789 and 849 unique serum proteins in MM patients and in healthy controls, respectively. Results:Twenty-two proteins were found differentially expressed between the two groups including serum amyloid A protein, vitamin D-binding protein isoform-1 precursor, plasma kallikrein, and apolipoprotein A-I. Changes of integrin alpha-11 and isoform-1 of multimerin-1 were validated with Western blotting. The linkage of the differentially expressed proteins and the pathogenesis pathways of MM were discussed. Conclusions:PLLB combined with 1D-gel-LC-MS/MS analysis is an efficient method to identify differentially expressed proteins in serum from patients with MM.
EFFECTS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF BANKS

Human Resource Management (HRM) practices are being increasingly considered as major contributory factors in financial performance of organizations. This research study highlights the importance of HRM practices with impact on financial performance of banks (FPB) operating in Nigeria. The major objective of the study is to find out the relationship between 'HRM Practices' and the 'Financial Performance of Banks'. As a sample, 24 scheduled banks were contacted, of which 38 responded. The HRM practices selected for the research study were selection, training, performance appraisal system, compensation system and employee participation. Empirical evidence was calculated through stepwise regression analysis, Pearson correlation and descriptive statistics to support theoretical models that link HRM practices with financial performance of banks. The study concluded that all tested variables have a positive relation and impact on financial performance of banks but the major contributory practices are selection, training, compensation and employee participation.
Varactor-Tunable Second-Order Bandpass Frequency-Selective Surface With Embedded Bias Network

A varactor-tunable second-order bandpass frequency-selective surface (FSS) for microwave frequencies is presented in this article. The FSS is composed of three stacked metallic layers. The wire grid in each layer in combination with metallic vias provides the bias for the varactors. This configuration eliminates the need for a dedicated bias network for the varactors, and thus avoids undesirable responses associated with the added bias grid. An equivalent circuit model together with an analytical design method is provided to simplify the design procedure of the FSS. The performance of the proposed structure is experimentally validated in a parallel-plate waveguide setup. Measurements show that by changing the varactor capacitance from 0.12 to 0.38 pF, the center frequency of the filter is tuned from 5.2 to 3.7 GHz with a consistent fractional bandwidth of 9% and with an insertion loss between 3 and 6 dB.
Learning Problems, Anger, Perceived Control, and Misbehavior

Fifty-four students diagnosed as having learning disabilities (LD) and 73 students in regular education were administered the School Anger Inventory and the Perceived Control at School Scale. Teachers and parents rated student deportment and motivation. Predictably, those in the LD sample indicated higher school anger levels and were rated as exhibiting more negative behavior, less positive behavior, and lower motivation for on-task performance. The samples did not differ in their ratings of perceived control, which was moderate, and were given comparable positive teacher ratings for recall of relevant and interesting material. Significant correlations between school anger and behavior were found only in the LD sample, and there was no significant overall relationship between school anger, behavior, and perceived control within either sample. Overall, however, students who reported both a high level of anger and high perceived control were found to exhibit more negative behavior than those with high anger and low perceived control.