Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
TRPP 2 and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Mutations in TRPP2 (polycystin-2) cause autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a common genetic disorder characterized by progressive development of fluid-filled cysts in the kidney and other organs. TRPP2 is a Ca-permeable nonselective cation channel that displays an amazing functional versatility at the cellular level. It has been implicated in the regulation of diverse physiological functions including mechanosensation, cell proliferation, polarity, and apoptosis. TRPP2 localizes to different subcellular compartments, such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the plasma membrane and the primary cilium. The channel appears to have distinct functions in different subcellular compartments. This functional compartmentalization is thought to contribute to the observed versatility and specificity of TRPP2-mediated Ca signaling. In the primary cilium, TRPP2 has been suggested to function as a mechanosensitive channel that detects fluid flow in the renal tubule lumen, supporting the proposed role of the primary cilium as the unifying pathogenic concept for cystic kidney disease. This review summarizes the known and emerging functions of TRPP2, focusing on the question of how channel function translates into complex morphogenetic programs regulating tubular structure. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Determinants of the quality of disclosed earnings and value relevance across transitional Europe

Purpose – Earlier studies have found that the country characteristics play important role in measuring the corporate transparency. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the firm-level determinants play an important role in corporate transparency measured as the quality of disclosed earnings across transitional Europe and what role an overall transparency measured by the Corruption Perception Index plays in it. This paper further tests if the market reacts similarly to discretionary and non-discretionary components of earnings across different groups of countries with respect to transparency. Design/methodology/approach – The financial and ownership data of listed companies in ten European countries is obtained from Amadeus. The transparency ratings are obtained from Transparency International. The sample consists of a panel of 2001 listed companies and modified Jones model of Dechow et al. (1995) is used to measure the quality of earnings. Findings – This paper shows that the firm-level determin.
The bone marrow examination in breast cancer. Diagnostic considerations and clinical usefulness

Bone marrow examinations were performed on 116 women with primary and metastatic breast cancer and were correlated with the clinical status of the patient and other specific diagnostic modalities. The relative diagnostic efficacy of the marrow biopsy, aspirate smear and clot section was examined, as was the value of serial marrow examinations. A marrow positive for tumor was found in 40% of those with metastatic disease, 55% with positive x‐rays, 56% with positive bone scans, but only 4% (1/24) with both scan and x‐ray normal. Routine hematologic parameters were of limited usefulness in predicting the finding of a positive marrow. The biopsy was superior to the smear and clot section but aspirated material also had to be analyzed to maximize diagnostic yield. When analyzed qualitatively, i.e., positive or negative for tumor, serial marrow examinations were not useful in assessing the efficacy of antitumor treatment. The potential usefulness of bone marrow examination in patients with breast cancer is discussed.
Strategy process in manufacturing SMEs

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Community Strain of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Involved in a Hospital Outbreak

ABSTRACT Western Australia (WA) has been able to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains from outside of the state from becoming established in its hospitals. Recently, a single-strain outbreak of MRSA occurred in a WA metropolitan teaching hospital following admission of an infected patient from a remote community. The strain responsible for the outbreak was unrelated to any imported strains and spread rapidly in the hospital. Screening of two remote communities in the region from which the index case came revealed that 42% of the people in one community and 24% in the other carried MRSA. Isolates were typed by resistance pattern, plasmid analysis, contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis, bacteriophage pattern, and coagulase gene restriction fragment length polymorphism. It was found that of the people carrying MRSA, 39% in the former community and 17% in the latter community were carrying an MRSA strain which was indistinguishable from the strain that caused the hospital outbreak.
Collaborative Innovation for Sustainable Fleet Operations: The Electric Vehicle Adoption Decision

The Paul Dubrule Chaired Professor of Sustainable Development, Distinguished ResearchProfessor at INSEAD Social Innovation Centre, Boulevard de Constance, 77305 Fontainebleau,France and Anheuser-Busch Professor Emeritus of Management Science and Public Policy,The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Ph: +33 (0) 1 60 72 91 28 Email: paul.kleindorfer@insead.edu
The interest rate and bank lending channels in a small, open and Euroised economy with fixed exchange rate : the case of Macedonia

ABSTRACT This thesis explores the possibility of conducting a more independent monetary policy through the adoption of an inflation targeting regime in a small, open and Euroised transition economy where banks are dependent on foreign financing. The major aim of this research programme is to investigate the effectiveness and determinants of the interest rate and bank lending channels in the case of Republic of Macedonia, since their effectiveness is seen as one of the preconditions for adoption of an inflation targeting regime. This thesis contributes to the existing literature for transition economies in two main ways. Firstly, it investigates the size and determinants of individual bank‟s lending rate adjustments to changes in the „cost of funds‟ rate. Secondly, it examines two loan functions according to the currency disaggregation of loans, and investigates what bank-specific characteristics are the major determinants. The findings with respect to the first research contribution indicate that the size of the short-run adjustment of lending rates to changes in the „cost of funds‟ rate is quite sluggish and heterogeneous among Macedonian banks. Moreover, bank-specific characteristics and macroeconomic variables play different roles in individual bank‟s lending rate setting decisions. These results are consistent with the presence of aggregation bias in previous research that uses sector-level data, due to the suppression of banks‟ heterogeneous behaviour. The results regarding the second research contribution imply that the bank lending channel in Macedonia works mainly through foreign currency loans and the foreign reference rate, whereas the responsiveness of domestic currency loans to the changes in the domestic reference rate is quite low. Moreover, different banks react differently to changes in the domestic and foreign reference rates due to their specific characteristics. These findings suggest that the impact of domestic monetary policy on the Macedonian economy through the interest rate and bank lending channels is quite limited. Therefore, the current monetary policy regime of a fixed exchange rate may be more effective in achieving the price stability aim than adoption of an inflation targeting regime in economies like Macedonia.
The Effect of Bid-Ask Prices on Brazilian Options Implied Volatility: A Case Study of Telemar Call Options

Although not explicitly reported, option traders on the Bovespa exchange pay an implicit bid-ask spread on each trade. Reported transaction prices that comprise the databases previously used to study the Brazilian options markets do not reflect actual option values at the time of the trades, but actual values plus (for purchases) or minus (for sales) the bid-ask spread. We use a chooser American option model to estimate Telemar call options bid-ask spreads, and to create a database of spread-adjusted trade prices. We find that the bid-ask spreads explain several previously reported puzzles regarding asset price volatility.
Profile of pembrolizumab in the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: design development and place in therapy

Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the sixth most common malignancy worldwide, and despite advances in cytotoxic, surgical and radiation techniques, outcomes are still poor in those with both locally advanced and metastatic diseases. The need for development of better therapeutics along with a greater understanding of the relationship between the immune system and malignancies has led to a new therapeutic modality, immune modulators, particularly checkpoint inhibitors in HNSCC. It is now well recognized that HNSCC circumvents crucial pathways utilized by the immune system to escape surveillance. These hijacked pathways include impairing tumor antigen presentation machinery and co-opting checkpoint receptors. This understanding has led to the development of monoclonal antibodies targeting checkpoint receptors and has resulted in promising outcomes in HNSCC. This article describes the mechanisms that HNSCC utilizes to escape immune surveillance, clinical impact of checkpoint inhibitors (with a focus on pembrolizumab), ongoing studies, and future directions.
The architecture of weighted mutualistic networks

Several ecosystem services directly depend on mutualistic interactions. In species rich communities, these interactions can be studied using network theory. Current knowledge of mutualistic networks is based mainly on binary links; however, little is known about the role played by the weights of the interactions between species. What new information can be extracted by analyzing weighted mutualistic networks? In performing an exhaustive analysis of the topological properties of 29 weighted mutualistic networks, our results show that the generalist species, defined as those with a larger number of interactions in a network, also have the strongest interactions. Though most interactions of generalists are with specialists, the strongest interactions occur between generalists. As a result and by defining binary and weighted clustering coefficients for bipartite networks, we demonstrate that generalists form strongly-interconnected groups of species. The existence of these strong clusters reinforces the idea that generalist species govern the coevolution of the whole community.
Deriving Hourly PM2.5 Concentrations from Himawari-8 AODs over Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei in China

Monitoring fine particulate matter with diameters of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is a critical endeavor in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region, which is one of the most polluted areas in China. Polar orbit satellites are limited by observation frequency, which is insufficient for understanding PM2.5 evolution. As a geostationary satellite, Himawari-8 can obtain hourly optical depths (AODs) and overcome the estimated PM2.5 concentrations with low time resolution. In this study, the evaluation of Himawari-8 AODs by comparing with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements showed Himawari-8 retrievals (Level 3) with a mild underestimate of about −0.06 and approximately 57% of AODs falling within the expected error established by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) (±(0.05 + 0.15AOD)). Furthermore, the improved linear mixed-effect model was proposed to derive the surface hourly PM2.5 from Himawari-8 AODs from July 2015 to March 2017. The estimated hourly PM2.5 concentrations agreed well with the surface PM2.5 measurements with high R2 (0.86) and low RMSE (24.5 μg/m3). The average estimated PM2.5 in the BTH region during the study time range was about 55 μg/m3. The estimated hourly PM2.5 concentrations ranged extensively from 35.2 ± 26.9 μg/m3 (1600 local time) to 65.5 ± 54.6 μg/m3 (1100 local time) at different hours.
Innovation and Small Firms

Utilizing a unique data set, Zoltan Acs and David Audretsch provide a rich empirical analysis of the increased importance of small firms in generating technological innovations and their growing contribution to the U.S. economy. They identify the contributions made by both small and large firms to the innovative process and the manner in which market structure, and the firm-size distribution in particular, responds to technological change. The authors' analysis relies on traditional theories of industrial organization and tests existing hypotheses, many of them previously untested due to data constraints. Innovation and Small Firms brings together two large data bases recently released by the U. S. Small Business Administration - one directly measuring innovative activity for large and small firms, the other providing a detailed census of economic activity for all manufacturing firms and plants across a broad spectrum of industries. Acs and Audretsch describe and evaluate the data bases in the context of the literature on innovation, market structure, and firm size. They present their findings on the presence of small firms, small-firm entry in manufacturing, small-firm growth and flexible technology, and mobility and firm size. They compare static and dynamic measures of small-firm viability and address the relationships between R&D, innovation, and productivity, and analyze the interaction between technological regimes and the role of government in innovation.
Capitalizing on mobile technology to support healthy eating in ethnic minority college students

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the capacity of a mobile technology–based intervention to support healthy eating among ethnic minority female students. Participants: Forty-three African American and Hispanic female students participated in a 3-week intervention between January and May 2013. Methods: Participants photographed their meals using their smart phone camera and received motivational text messages 3 times a day. At baseline, postintervention, and 10 weeks after the intervention, participants reported on fruit, vegetable, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Participants were also weighed at baseline. Results: Among participants with body mass index (BMI) ≥25, fruit and vegetable consumption increased with time (p < .01). Among participants with BMI <21, consumption of fruit decreased (p < .05), whereas the consumption of vegetables remained stable. No effects were found for sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Conclusion: Mobile technology–based interventions could facilitate healthy eating among female ethnic minority college students, particularly those with higher BMI.
The Limits to Voluntary Private Social Standards in Global Agri-food System Governance

Private agri-food standards, along with certification and labelling schemes, are rapidly becoming the predominant mechanism by which global agricultural production and trade are governed. This article examines voluntary private social standards (VPSS) and certification schemes in agri-food system governance and contends that, while such standards may secure important localized material gains, these are not altogether unproblematic. Furthermore, the potential for voluntary social standards to confront structural injustice in the agri-food system and to contribute to a transformation towards just and sustainable agriculture and food appear rather limited. It is argued that prominent multi-stakeholder standards are increasingly prone to capture by powerful private interests, and that a central role for decisive public regulation in agri-food system sustainability should therefore not be dismissed.
Limits on the variability of G using binary-pulsar data.

One of the few experimental handles on unified theories of gravity with other interactions comes from possible time variation of coupling constants over the Hubble time: $H_{0}^{}{}_{}{}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\ensuremath{\simeq}{(7.67\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}11} {\mathrm{yr}}^{\ensuremath{-}1})}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. We present a new theory-independent estimate (consistent with zero) of the time variation of Newton's gravitational constant derived from the timing of the binary pulsar PSR 1913+16: $\frac{{\stackrel{\ifmmode \dot{}\else \. {}\fi{}}{G}}_{0}}{{G}_{0}}=(1.0\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2.3)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}11}$ ${\mathrm{yr}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. We anticipate that this estimate will become sharper as more data are acquired.
Bank Reform and Bank Efficiency in Pakistan

Pakistan undertook major financial sector reforms starting in the late 1980s. The effects of these reforms on the profitability and cost and revenue efficiency of the banking sector are evaluated. The revenue performance of all banks, and especially the privatized banks, improved significantly, although costs also rose and relative performance across banks did not converge.
Studies on the biosynthesis of taxol: the taxane carbon skeleton is not of mevalonoid origin.

A cell culture of Taxus chinensis was established to produce the diterpene 2alpha,5alpha,10beta,14beta-tetra-acetoxy4 ++ +(20),11-taxadiene (taxuyunnanine C) in 2.6% (dry weight) yield. The incorporation of [U-13C6]glucose, [1-13C]glucose, and [1,2-13C2]acetate into this diterpene was analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. Label from [1,2-13C2]acetate was diverted to the four acetyl groups of taxuyunnanine C, but not to the taxane ring system. Label from [1-13C]glucose and [U-13C6]glucose was efficiently incorporated into both the taxane ring system and the acetyl groups. The four isoprenoid moieties of the diterpene showed identical labeling patterns. The analysis of long-range 13C13C couplings in taxuyunnanine C obtained from an experiment with [U-13C6]glucose documents the involvement of an intramolecular rearrangement in the biosynthesis of the isoprenoid precursor. The labeling patterns are inconsistent with the mevalonate pathway. The taxoid data share important features with the alternative pathway of isoprenoid biosynthesis operating in certain eubacteria Rohmer, M. , Knani, M. , Simonin, P., Sutter, B. & Sahm, H. (1993) Biochem. J. 295, 517-524].
Financial structure and economic growth : a cross-country comparison of banks, markets, and development

This is the first broad cross-country assessment of the ties between financial structure—the mix of financial instruments, institutions, and markets in a given economy—and economic growth since Raymond Goldsmith's 1969 landmark study. Most studies focus on developed countries and compare bank-based and market-based systems. Debates over the relative merits of the two systems have relied on case studies of Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, countries with similar long-run growth rates. The absence of data on developing countries limits the usefulness of such studies for policy makers.
Improvement in Running Economy After 8 Weeks of Whole-Body Vibration Training

Abstract Cheng, C-F, Cheng, K-H, Lee, Y-M, Huang, H-W, Kuo, Y-H, and Lee, H-J. Improvement in running economy after 8 weeks of whole-body vibration training. J Strength Cond Res 26(12): 3349–3357, 2012—The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8-week whole-body vibration (WBV) training on running economy (RE) and power performance. Twenty-four male collegiate athletes were recruited and randomly assigned to experimental (WBV) and placebo (PL) groups. The WBV subjects performed semisquat vibration training (30 Hz, ±1−2 mm, 3 times per week), whereas PL subjects performed identical training without vibration. The isometric maximum voluntary contraction tests were used to evaluate maximal isometric force (Fmax) and rate of force development (RFD) of lower extremities, before and after the intervention, and RE was measured on a level treadmill at 3 velocities (2.68, 3.13, and 3.58 m·s−1). The Fmax of the lower leg (plantar flexion, from 80.8 ± 24.5 to 99.0 ± 33.9 N·m, p < 0.05, &eegr;2 = 0.567; dorsiflexion, from 38.1 ± 6.5 to 43.0 ± 7.7 N·m, p < 0.05), and the RFD of 0–200 milliseconds during plantar flexion (from 186.0 ± 69.2 to 264.6 ± 87.2 N·m·s−1, p < 0.05, &eegr;2 = 0.184) were significantly increased in the WBV group after training. The averaged RE values for the 3 running velocities were significantly improved after WBV training (pretraining vs. posttraining, 4.31 ± 0.33 vs. 4.65 ± 0.34 m·ml−1·kg−1, p = 0.001, &eegr;2 = 0.654); however, no significant differences were found in the PL group (pretraining vs. posttraining, 4.18 ± 0.26 vs. 4.26 ± 0.44 m·ml−1·kg−1, p = 0.476). The WBV training significantly improved RE at selected speeds (∼5.0−8.5%, p < 0.05). These results indicated that short-term WBV training could be an effective stimulus to enhance RE and lower extremity power performance in competitive athletes.
Designing interventions that include delayed reinforcement: implications of recent laboratory research.

UNLABELLED The search for robust and durable interventions in everyday situations typically involves the use of delayed reinforcers, sometimes delivered well after a target behavior occurs. Integrating the findings from laboratory research on delayed reinforcement can contribute to the design and analysis of those applied interventions. As illustrations, we examine articles from the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior that analyzed delayed reinforcement with respect to response allocation (A. M. Williams & Lattal, 1999), stimulus chaining (B. A. Williams, 1999), and self-control (Jackson & Hackenberg, 1996). These studies help to clarify the conditions under which delayed reinforcement (a) exercises control of behavior, (b) entails conditioned reinforcement, and (c) displaces the effects of immediate reinforcement. The research has applied implications, including the development of positive social behavior and teaching people to make adaptive choices. DESCRIPTORS delayed reinforcement, response allocation, stimulus chains, self-control, integration of basic and applied research
Skin elastic fibers in Williams syndrome.

The elastin gene is consistently deleted in Williams syndrome and as this protein represents the major component of the elastic fibers of the dermis, we sought to investigate skin elastic fibers in Williams syndrome as a key to unraveling extracellular matrix disorganization in this condition. Both morphometric parameters analyzed by using automated image analysis and immunofluorescence labeling with monoclonal antibodies against elastin and fibrillin 1 showed a disorganized pre-elastic (oxytalan and elaunin) and mature elastic fibers in the dermis of 10 Williams syndrome patients compared with five healthy children and one patient with isolated supravalvular aortic stenosis. Skin biopsies in Williams syndrome patients provide a simple mean to elucidate extracellular matrix anomalies. Hopefully, this method could give clues to the understanding of the elastic network anomalies in this condition and even to the consequences of these latter on elasticity and resilience of other tissues such as the arterial tree.