Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Dynamic Multi-Level Factor Model with Long-Range Dependence

A dynamic multi-level factor model with stationary or nonstationary global and regional factors is proposed. In the model, persistence in global and regional common factors as well as innovations allows for the study of fractional cointegrating relationships. Estimation of global and regional common factors is performed in two steps employing canonical correlation analysis and a sequential least-squares algorithm. Selection of the number of global and regional factors is discussed. The small sample properties of our methodology are investigated by some Monte Carlo simulations. The method is then applied to the Nord Pool power market for the analysis of price comovements among different regions within the power grid. We find that the global factor can be interpreted as the system price of the power grid as well as a fractional cointegration relationship between prices and the global factor.
Franchising -a study about the intention of the Iberian companies to internationalize

A study has been made for the internationalization of the franchising Iberian companies. Our aim was to analyze the most important variables for the internationalization. We studied it using several statistical methods applied to the answers given by companies to a questionnaire. We have concluded that are some relevant variables to be considered in the internationalization such as age, dimension, bond, dispersion, structure of the network and some variable connected with environment and motivational factors.
Behavioral and Brain Activity Indices of Cognitive Control Deficits in Binge Drinkers

Heavy episodic drinking is prevalent among young adults and is a public issue of increasing importance. Its initiation and maintenance are associated with deficits in the capacity to inhibit automatic processing in favor of non-habitual responses. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine behavioral and brain activity indices of cognitive control during the Stroop task as a function of binge drinking. Heavy episodic drinkers (HED) reported consuming 5+/6+ drinks in two hours at least five times in the past six months and were compared to light drinkers (LED) who reported two or fewer binge episodes but were matched on demographics, intelligence and family history of alcoholism. Greater conflict-induced activity in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and thalamus was observed in HED participants and it was positively correlated with alcohol intake and alcohol-related harmful consequences. HEDs maintained intact accuracy but at a cost of prolonged reaction times to high-conflict trials and increased ratings of task difficulty. Greater activation of the areas implicated in cognitive control is consistent with compensatory network expansion to meet higher cognitive demands. These results provide further insight into degradation of cognitive control in HEDs which may benefit development of detection and prevention strategies.
Fetal biometry between 20-42 weeks of gestation for Polish population.

OBJECTIVE Ultrasound estimating of fetal weight is one of the most frequent examinations during pregnancy. Hitherto, foreign fetometry curves have mostly been used in Poland as there are no national available reference charts that are based on ultrasound fetal biometry. The aim of the present study was to construct new charts based on ultrasound fetometry reference for Polish population. STUDY DESIGN A group of 959 healthy volunteers with uncomplicated singleton pregnancy joined in a cross-sectional study. The study was designed prospectively to evaluate normal reference charts for fetal ultrasound measurements and estimated fetal weight. Four biometric parameters were studied: biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL). Estimated fetal weight (EFW) was calculated using Hadlock et al. formula from 1985. RESULTS In the course of normal pregnancy an acceleration of growth rate was seen, but with a slight decline at the end of pregnancy. Reference curves for mean, 90th and 95th percentile were constructed for BPD, HC, AC and FL. Estimated fetal weight curves were outlined for both boys and girls. CONCLUSION Reference charts for Polish population are similar to foreign curves. Less variation was seen in comparison with national charts based on postnatal weight. Ultrasound method seems to be better than birthweight curves especially in preterm pregnancies. This will improve the diagnosis of a small for gestational age newborn.
Clustering of nucleobases with alkali metals studied by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: implications for mechanisms of multistrand DNA stabilization.

Self-clustering of the five common nucleobases was investigated by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and shown to provide insight into the non-covalent interactions between identical bases. Alkali and ammonium cations significantly increase self-aggregation of the nucleobases and lead to the formation of uniquely stable magic number clusters. Sodium adducts of guanine, thymine and uracil preferentially take the form of tetrameric (quartet) clusters. This gas-phase result correlates with previously reported solution-phase data on sodium cation stabilized guanosine, thymine and uracil quartet structures believed to be responsible for telomere stabilization. In the presence of potassium, cesium or ammonium cations, pentameric magic number clusters are formed from thymine and uracil, while in solution the nucleoside isoguanosine yields clusters of this favored size. The formation of magic number metaclusters occurs for thymine and uracil in the presence of ammonium cations. These doubly charged 10- and 15-mers are tentatively attributed to the formation of pentamer/ammonium cation/ pentamer sandwich structures.
Menadione-induced Reactive Oxygen Species Generation via Redox Cycling Promotes Apoptosis of Murine Pancreatic Acinar Cells*

Oxidative stress may be an important determinant of the severity of acute pancreatitis. One-electron reduction of oxidants generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) via redox cycling, whereas two-electron detoxification, e.g. by NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, does not. The actions of menadione on ROS production and cell fate were compared with those of a non-cycling analogue (2,4-dimethoxy-2-methylnaphthalene (DMN)) using real-time confocal microscopy of isolated perfused murine pancreatic acinar cells. Menadione generated ROS with a concomitant decrease of NAD(P)H, consistent with redox cycling. The elevation of ROS was prevented by the antioxidant N-acetyl-l-cysteine but not by the NADPH oxidase inhibitor diphenyliodonium. DMN produced no change in reactive oxygen species per se but significantly potentiated menadione-induced effects, probably via enhancement of one-electron reduction, since DMN was found to inhibit NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase detoxification. Menadione caused apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells that was significantly potentiated by DMN, whereas DMN alone had no effect. Furthermore, bile acid (taurolithocholic acid 3-sulfate)-induced caspase activation was also greatly increased by DMN, whereas DMN had no effect per se. These results suggest that acute generation of ROS by menadione occurs via redox cycling, the net effect of which is induction of apoptotic pancreatic acinar cell death. Two-electron detoxifying enzymes such as NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, which are elevated in pancreatitis, may provide protection against excessive ROS and exert an important role in determining acinar cell fate.
Does the European Union have a reverse gear? Environmental policy dismantling, 1992-2014

Abstract After decades of pushing for deregulation and regulatory reform in its Member States, has the European Union itself become a locus for policy dismantling – i.e. leading to a weakening of its policies? This thesis offers a first systematic study of policy dismantling at EU level. It focuses on environmental policies, an area in which EU action has repeatedly been criticised by politicians for harming competitiveness and not respecting national sovereignty. It combines for the first time insights from comparative politics studies of dismantling with EU governance literature, to offer a theoretical framework specially configured to explaining dismantling at EU level. It investigates which EU environmental policies have been targeted for policy dismantling, by whom, why and how, from the early 1990s to the end of the second Barroso Commission in 2014. It reveals how the EU has changed, from a driver of policy dismantling in its Member States to a locus of dismantling in its own right. Dismantling attempts (from the reduction of administrative burdens to the repatriation of competences) have been made by key EU actors – which for some, such as the European Commission, goes against the conventional wisdom in EU studies. These attempts have been justified in terms of criticisms of the EU’s legislative outputs – subsidiarity and proportionality – and of European integration itself. But they have not resulted in significant policy dismantling. Dismantling has been the least frequent outcome of legislative reform amongst the many pieces of legislation earmarked for dismantling. This pattern indicates the resilience – until now – of the EU’s “green state” (Klyza and Sousa, 2013), but dismantling attempts have markedly changed the way the EU legislates on environmental issues and further hindered policy expansion. This thesis contributes to the renaissance of dismantling studies in comparative politics by revealing how dismantling strategies and effects at EU level differ from the existing literature which focuses almost exclusively on nation states. Looking at the EU from a policy dismantling perspective, this thesis also questions foundational assumptions in EU studies – on what drives EU actors, on where the EU is headed. Finally it offers a different reading of the history of EU environmental policy, stressing the role that contestation in general, and dismantling in particular, have played in shaping the environmental acquis.
Anxiety and depression among medical students: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among medical students at Nishtar Medical College, Multan. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out at Nishtar Medical College, Multan in 2008. The questionnaire was administered to 815 medical students who had spent more than 6 months in college and had no self reported physical illness. They were present at the time of distribution of the questionnaires and consented. Prevalence of anxiety and depression was assessed using a structured validated questionnaire, the Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale with a cut-off score of 19. Data Analysis was done using SPSS v. 14. RESULTS Out of 815 students, 482 completed the questionnaire with a response rate of 59.14%. The mean age of students was 20.66 +/- 1.8 years. A high prevalence of anxiety and depression (43.89%) was found amongst medical students. Prevalence of anxiety and depression among students of first, second, third, fourth and final years was 45.86%, 52.58%, 47.14%, 28.75% and 45.10% respectively. Female students were found to be more depressed than male students (OR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.42-2.95, p = 0.0001). There was a significant association between the prevalence of anxiety and depression and the respective year of medical college (p = 0.0276). It was seen that age, marital status, locality and total family income did not significantly affect the prevalence of anxiety and depression. CONCLUSIONS The results showed that medical students constitute a vulnerable group that has a high prevalence of psychiatric morbidity comprising of anxiety and depression.
p16INK4a‐mediated suppression of telomerase in normal and malignant human breast cells

The cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitor p16INK4a (CDKN2A) is an important tumor suppressor gene frequently inactivated in human tumors. p16 suppresses the development of cancer by triggering an irreversible arrest of cell proliferation termed cellular senescence. Here, we describe another anti‐oncogenic function of p16 in addition to its ability to halt cell cycle progression. We show that transient expression of p16 stably represses the hTERT gene, encoding the catalytic subunit of telomerase, in both normal and malignant breast epithelial cells. Short‐term p16 expression increases the amount of histone H3 trimethylated on lysine 27 (H3K27) bound to the hTERT promoter, resulting in transcriptional silencing, likely mediated by polycomb complexes. Our results indicate that transient p16 exposure may prevent malignant progression in dividing cells by irreversible repression of genes, such as hTERT, whose activity is necessary for extensive self‐renewal.
Effects of visual feedback of center-of-pressure displacements on undisturbed upright postural control of hemiparetic stroke patients.

PURPOSE To assess whether insights from postural control without additional visual feedback (VFB) could be gained to explain the possible VFB effects (or non-effects) on upright stance performance. METHODS The center-of-pressure (CP) displacements of 39 patients with a recent hemispheric stroke (93 days ± 56; mean ± s.d.) were analyzed in two conditions (eyes open and VFB) through various classical parameters and fractional Brownian motion (fBm) modeling. Correlations between their ability to use the VFB technique appropriately and parameters assessing the eyes open condition were also computed. RESULTS The fBm modeling showed that the VFB technique improves the control of the CP trajectories over the longer time intervals. In both conditions, the patients with right hemiparesis, compared to those with left hemiparesis, demonstrated improved control of their CP displacement along the AP axis over the shortest time intervals. Overall, 28% of the patients did not use the VFB technique. The correlation analysis indicated that the larger the spontaneous CP movements in the eyes open condition, the greater the effect of the VFB technique. CONCLUSIONS By emphasizing its particular effects and the profile of the patients who used the technique, these data specify the conditions allowing hemiparetic patients to use the VFB technique appropriately and immediately.
Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Nef Protein Delays the Progression of CD4+ T Cells through G1/S Phase of the Cell Cycle

ABSTRACT Human and simian immunodeficiency virus (HIV and SIV, respectively) infections are characterized by gradual depletion of CD4+ T cells. The underlying mechanisms of CD4+ T-cell depletion and HIV and SIV persistence are not fully determined. The Nef protein is expressed early in infection and is necessary for pathogenesis. Nef can cause T-cell activation and downmodulates cell surface signaling molecules. However, the effect of Nef on the cell cycle has not been well characterized. To determine the role of Nef in the cell cycle, we investigated whether the SIV Nef protein can modulate cell proliferation and apoptosis in CD4+ Jurkat T cells. We developed a CD4+ Jurkat T-cell line that stably expresses SIV Nef under the control of an inducible promoter. Alterations in cell proliferation were determined by flow cytometry using stable intracytoplasmic fluorescent dye 5- and 6-carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester and bromodeoxyuridine incorporation. Apoptotic cell death was measured by annexin V and propidium iodide staining. Our results demonstrated that SIV Nef inhibited Fas-induced apoptosis in these cells and that the mechanism involved upregulation of the Bcl-2 protein. SIV Nef suppressed CD4+ T-cell proliferation by inhibiting the progression of cells into S phase of the cell cycle. Suppression involved an upregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27 and the downregulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin A. In summary, inhibition of apoptosis by Nef can lead to persistence of infected cells and can support viral replication. In addition, a Nef-mediated delay in cell cycle progression may contribute to CD4+ T-cell anergy/depletion seen in HIV and SIV disease.
Test‐Retest Reliability of 4 Single‐Leg Horizontal Hop Tests

The purpose of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of 4 single-leg horizontal hop tests (i.e., single hop for distance, triple hop for distance, crossover hop for distance, and 6-m hop for time), with a time interval of approximately 4 weeks separating the 2 testing sessions. Eighteen healthy, young, adult men, all cadets enrolled at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado, performed the single hop for distance, the triple hop for distance, the crossover hop for distance, and the 6-m hop for time during 2 testing sessions separated by 31.2 ± 0.4 days. Reliability data for each of the single-leg hop tests were studied through a repeated measures analysis of variance, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and standard errors of measurement (SEMs). The ICCs ranged from 0.92 to 0.97 for the 4 single-leg hop tests. The SEMs for the single-leg hop tests that assessed the distance hopped ranged from 4.61 to 17.74 cm. The SEM for the 6-m hop for time test was 0.06 seconds. No significant differences were noted when the mean scores of the 2 test trials were compared by a repeated measures analysis of variance for any of the single-leg hop tests. These results indicate that the single-leg hop tests examined in this study offer strength and conditioning professionals a reliable method to assess the single-leg horizontal hopping capabilities of healthy, young, adult men, with intervals of approximately 4 weeks between testing sessions.
Assembly of the α-Globin mRNA Stability Complex Reflects Binary Interaction between the Pyrimidine-Rich 3′ Untranslated Region Determinant and Poly(C) Binding Protein αCP

ABSTRACT Globin mRNAs accumulate to 95% of total cellular mRNA during terminal erythroid differentiation, reflecting their extraordinary stability. The stability of human α-globin mRNA is paralleled by formation of a sequence-specific RNA-protein (RNP) complex at a pyrimidine-rich site within its 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR), the α-complex. The proteins of the α-complex are widely expressed. The α-complex or a closely related complex also assembles at pyrimidine-rich 3′UTR segments of other stable mRNAs. These data suggest that the α-complex may constitute a general determinant of mRNA stability. One or more αCPs, members of a family of hnRNP K-homology domain poly(C) binding proteins, are essential constituents of the α-complex. The ability of αCPs to homodimerize and their reported association with additional RNA binding proteins such as AU-rich binding factor 1 (AUF1) and hnRNP K have suggested that the α-complex is a multisubunit structure. In the present study, we have addressed the composition of the α-complex. An RNA titration recruitment assay revealed that αCPs were quantitatively incorporated into the α-complex in the absence of associated AUF1 and hnRNP K. A high-affinity direct interaction between each of the three major αCP isoforms and the α-globin 3′UTR was detected, suggesting that each of these proteins might be sufficient for α-complex assembly. This sufficiency was further supported by the sequence-specific binding of recombinant αCPs to a spectrum of RNA targets. Finally, density sedimentation analysis demonstrated that the α-complex could accommodate only a single αCP. These data established that a single αCP molecule binds directly to the α-globin 3′UTR, resulting in a simple binary structure for the α-complex.
Low BMI and falling BMI predict HIV-associated tuberculosis: a prospective study in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND Low body mass index (BMI) is a known risk factor for tuberculosis (TB) in people without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but there are no prospective studies linking BMI to the risk of HIV-associated TB. DESIGN In HIV-infected adults with CD4 counts ≥ 200 cells/μl receiving placebo in a TB booster vaccine trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we measured BMI at baseline and Year 1, and related baseline BMI and change in BMI to the risk of developing TB. RESULTS We documented 92 cases of TB among 979 subjects followed for a mean of 3.2 years. Compared to subjects who did not develop TB, subjects who developed TB had a lower baseline BMI (23.2 vs. 24.6 kg/m(2), P = 0.006), and a greater BMI decline from baseline to Year 1 (-0.4 vs. 0.6 kg/m(2), P < 0.001). In multivariate analyses, baseline BMI was associated with the risk of developing TB (hazard ratio [HR] per kg/m(2) 0.94, 95%CI 0.90-0.99, P = 0.028), as was the change in BMI from baseline to Year 1 (HR per kg/m(2) 0.79, 95%CI 0.71-0.87, P < 0.001). Subjects with a baseline BMI < 17 kg/m(2) were more likely to develop TB (HR 3.72, 95%CI 1.16-12.0, P = 0.028). CONCLUSION Low and falling BMI predict HIV-associated TB.
An Investigation into the Implications of Islamic Work Ethic (IWE) in the Workplace

There has been an increasing interest on the work ethics and its various aspects among the academicians and practitioners. This is partly because of the ethical scandals that have occurred in the recent years and got attention from media and public and therefore raised the questions regarding ethical standards of companies and its practical use in the business life. This interest has prompted several research into the topic both theoretical and practical levels. Although the studies have accumulated in the Western World, the studies coming from the developing countries are limited and thus call for the studies to further investigate the dynamics and implications of the work ethics. This study particularly pays attention to Islamic work ethic and aims to identify whether Islamic work ethic values differ across various demographic variables and firm characteristics. The study also investigates the relationship between the Islamic work ethic and innovation capability and firm performance. The study is supported with a field study conducted on the firms operating in Kahramanmaras in Turkey. The obtained data was analyzed by using Correlation, ANOVA, T-test and Regression in SPSS. The results showed that IWE values differ across some characteristic of the respondents and firms. The results also indicate the positive influence of IWE values on innovation capability and firm performance.
Glucose-independent Acetate Metabolism Promotes Melanoma Cell Survival and Tumor Growth*

Tumors rely on multiple nutrients to meet cellular bioenergetics and macromolecular synthesis demands of rapidly dividing cells. Although the role of glucose and glutamine in cancer metabolism is well understood, the relative contribution of acetate metabolism remains to be clarified. We show that glutamine supplementation is not sufficient to prevent loss of cell viability in a subset of glucose-deprived melanoma cells, but synergizes with acetate to support cell survival. Glucose-deprived melanoma cells depend on both oxidative phosphorylation and acetate metabolism for cell survival. Acetate supplementation significantly contributed to maintenance of ATP levels in glucose-starved cells. Unlike acetate, short chain fatty acids such as butyrate and propionate failed to prevent loss of cell viability from glucose deprivation. In vivo studies revealed that in addition to nucleo-cytoplasmic acetate assimilating enzyme ACSS2, mitochondrial ACSS1 was critical for melanoma tumor growth in mice. Our data indicate that acetate metabolism may be a potential therapeutic target for BRAF mutant melanoma.