Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Neotribal entrepreneurialism and the commodification of biodiversity: WIPO's displacement of development for private property rights

ABSTRACT It is becoming difficult to justify fears around biopiracy due to contemporary developments, which would see the inclusion of those previously marginalized by modernization. The World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) role in this is central. WIPO seeks to bypass the state by negotiating the developmental aspirations of local communities via the alienation of Traditional Knowledge (TK). The new developmental strategy diverges from strategies of redistribution by privatizing returns from bioprospecting to select contractual partners. The WIPO TK Report facilitates this by reconstructing TK holders as owners of alienable assets. However, what underlies this incorporation of reconstructed ‘premoderns’ is the unspoken belief around modernization that poverty is the inevitable lot of premoderns who are yet to be incorporated into global capitalism. However, WIPO's discursive construction of the ‘premodern’ development aspirant is achieved by excluding displaced identities. WIPO's bioprospecting agreements demand that signatories have delimited identities. Hence exclusivity ensures that revenues are not dissipated amongst an unknown number of people who could claim entitlements to commercial returns. The workability of a contract is achieved by the exclusion of creolized identities inscribed by modernization's displacement. This has dire implication for biodiversity-dependent poor communities whose livelihood strategies are shaped in response to displacement.
Crack, sex work, and HIV.

South Africa's long isolation, and perhaps deliberate efforts by the apartheid government, have led to an unusual pattern of drug abuse in the country. Drugs not commonly used in other countries, such as Mandrax and Welconol, are widespread in South Africa, while the street drugs commonly found in other countries, such as cocaine and heroin, have been relatively rare. However, this is changing, as international drug traffickers now import a broad range of drugs, including heroin and cocaine. Demand for these drugs has been established in South Africa, including among the urban lower classes. Immigration, especially of other Africans and particularly Nigerians, has accelerated the trend. While both mandrax and crack cocaine are smoked, the former is a sedative and the latter is a stimulant with pro-sexual effects. These sexual effects, together with very strong addictive potential, have led to very high HIV seroprevalence in user populations. Addiction often leads female users into prostitution, with prostitutes being a prime conduit for the spread of both the drug and HIV infection. Desperate to earn funds to meet their crack consumption needs, drug-addicted female prostitutes in South Africa service many clients and engage in practices shunned by their nonaddicted peers, such as unprotected and anal sex. There will be serious long-term effects of crack cocaine consumption, together with prostitution, upon all of South African society.
The Design of Stable International Environmental Agreements: Economic Theory and Political Economy

International environmental agreements typically strive for the solution of a common property resource dilemma. Since the sovereignty of states precludes external enforcement, international environmental agreements must be self-enforcing. Game theoretical models explain why rewards and punishments imposed through the environmental externality generally fail to enforce full cooperation. Therefore, environmental treaties incorporate provisions that enhance the incentives for participation such as transfers, sanctions and linkage to other negotiation topics in international politics. Moreover, interaction with markets and governments as well as the rules and procedures adopted in the negotiation process influence the design and the effectiveness of an international environmental agreement.
Hepatic stellate cell progenitor cells

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are recognized as a major player in liver fibrogenesis. Upon liver injury, HSCs differentiate into myofibroblasts and participate in progression of fibrosis and cirrhosis. Additional cell types such as resident liver fibroblasts/myofibroblasts or bone marrow cells are also known to generate myofibroblasts. One of the major obstacles to understanding the mechanism of liver fibrogenesis is the lack of knowledge regarding the developmental origin of HSCs and other liver mesenchymal cells. Recent cell lineage analyses demonstrate that HSCs are derived from mesoderm during liver development. MesP1‐expressing mesoderm gives rise to the septum transversum mesenchyme before liver formation and then to the liver mesothelium and mesenchymal cells, including HSCs and perivascular mesenchymal cells around the veins during liver development. During the growth of embryonic liver, the mesothelium, consisting of mesothelial cells and submesothelial cells, migrates inward from the liver surface and gives rise to HSCs and perivascular mesenchymal cells, including portal fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells around the portal vein, and fibroblasts around the central vein. Cell lineage analyses indicate that mesothelial cells are HSC progenitor cells capable of differentiating into HSCs and other liver mesenchymal cells during liver development.
Exclusive value and the pricing of services

The exclusive value principle is one important factor determining the value of the service to the customer. High margins often result from the customer′s perceptions of “exclusive value”. Success depends on understanding and making decisions within the context of the customer′s psychic domain. Provides a brief review of background information and the concept of exclusive value as well as “critical factors” in psychic space. Summarizes sample psychic factors of import in marketing. Relates and illustrates exclusive value to costs, margins and risks. Provides sample scenarios to illustrate the important points.
Variable Disposition of Ciprofloxacin in Critically Ill Patients Undergoing Continuous Arteriovenous Hemodiafiltration

Continuous arteriovenous hemodiafiltration (CAVHD) is being used increasingly in critically ill patients with acute renal failure (ARF). We prospectively evaluated extracorporeal and total systemic clearances (ClCAVHD and Cls) of ciprofloxacin during CAVHD in four patients with severe ARF to assess the adequacy of drug dosing. Ciprofloxacin serum and ultrafiltrate concentrations were measured by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The ClCAVHD accounted for approximately 5.9% (range 2.8–11.6%) of Cls of ciprofloxacin. However, large variability in serum concentrations was observed with the normally recommended dose of 400 mg/day, and doses of up to 800 mg/day were required to maintain concentrations suitable for treatment of serious infections. High daily doses of ciprofloxacin required in these patients are likely related to altered pharmacokinetics in serious illness as well as to the increased extracorporeal clearance during CAVHD. Clinical studies to define appropriate dosing recommendations for ciprofloxacin during CAVHD are necessary to guide clinicians in optimum drug use.
Explorations in specifying construction price forecast loss functions

Typical measures of goodness of construction price forecasts are the mean and standard deviation, coefficient of variation and root mean square of the deviations between forecasted and actual values. This can only be valid, however, if the pain, or loss, incurred as a result of such deviations is directly proportional to the square of their value. Two approaches are used to test this. The first of these analyses 10 sets of data collected from around the world, while the second explores the use of a postal questionnaire survey to elicit construction industry client disutilities. The results of the first analysis mitigate against any general view that projects tend to be overestimated but do clearly suggest asymmetric under/overestimates for the measures used. The second analysis results in an approximated loss function although in ordinal terms only. This also suggests that the functional form varies between building types, with Commercial and Residential being the most asymmetric and Schools and Industrial being less asymmetric. The work to date indicates that, for construction price forecasting, the loss functions involved are asymmetric, with the degree of asymmetry increasing according to the level of commercial financial viability at stake.
In Vitro and in Vivo Antitumor Effect of the Anti-CD 26 Monoclonal Antibody 1 F 7 on Human CD 30 1 Anaplastic Large Cell T-Cell Lymphoma Karpas 2991

CD26 is aMr 110,000 surface glycoprotein with diverse functional properties, including having a potentially significant role in tumor development, and antibodies to CD26 mediate pleomorphic cellular functions. In this report, we show that binding of soluble anti-CD26 monoclonal Ab 1F7 inhibits the growth of the human CD301 anaplastic large cell T-cell lymphoma cell line Karpas 299 in bothin vitro and in vivo experiments. In vitro experiments show that 1F7 induces cell cycle arrest at the G1-S checkpoint, associated with enhanced p21 expression that is dependent on de novo protein synthesis. Furthermore, experiments with a severe combined immunodeficient mouse tumor model demonstrate that 1F7 treatment significantly enhances survival of tumor-bearing mice by inhibiting tumor formation. Our data therefore suggest that anti-CD26 treatment may have potential clinical use for CD261hematological malignancies.
Susceptibility of adult and senescent Brown Norway rats to repeated ozone exposure: an assessment of behavior, serum biochemistry and cardiopulmonary function

Abstract Ozone (O3) is a pervasive air pollutant that produces pulmonary and cardiovascular dysfunction and possible neurological dysfunction. Young and old individuals are recognized as being susceptible to O3; however, remarkably little is known about susceptibility with senescence. This study explored the pulmonary, cardiovascular and neurological effects of O3 exposure in adult (4 m) and senescent (20 m) Brown Norway rats exposed to 0 or 0.8 ppm O3 for 6 h, 1 d/week, for 17 weeks. Ventilatory function was assessed 1 and 7 d after each exposure (Buxco). Heart rate, blood pressure (tail cuff) and motor activity were measured biweekly. Blood, aorta and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were analyzed 24 h after the last exposure for pulmonary inflammation, serum biomarkers and aorta mRNA markers of vascular disease. Measures of normal ventilatory function declined following each O3 exposure in both adult and senescent rats, however, senescent rats took weeks to exhibit a decline. Evidence for residual respiratory effects of O3 7 d after exposure in both age groups was observed. O3 had no effect on either heart rate or blood pressure, but decreased motor activity in both age groups. BALF indicated mild neutrophilic inflammation and protein leakage in adults. Age affected 17/58 serum analytes, O3 affected 6/58; 2/58 showed an age–O3 interaction. Leptin, adiponectin, lipocalin and insulin were increased in senescent rats. Overall, adult rats exhibited more immediate effects of episodic O3 than senescent rats. Residual effects were, however, obtained in both ages of rat, especially for ventilatory endpoints.
Optimal Impairment Rules

We study the optimal accounting policy of a financially constrained firm that pledges assets to raise debt capital for financing a risky project. The accounting system provides information about the value of the collateral. Absent accounting regulation, the optimal accounting system is conditionally conservative: it recognizes an impairment loss if the asset value is below a certain threshold, but never reports unrealized gains. We describe the optimal impairment rule and the optimal precision of the accounting information, and we provide comparative static results that lead to testable predictions on the determinants of impairment rules.
An examination of factors associated with the integration of human resource management and strategic decision making

Conceptually, a central aspect of "strategic HRM" is the integration of the HR function with strategic decision making. Little is known, however, about the factors that influence integration or its subsequent effects. Using data from 148 diverse organizations, it was found that strategic type and whether or not top management views employees as strategic resources were associated with integration, but that labor market munificence and organizational growth were not. The results concerning the relationship between integration and performance were surprising; integration was associated with a lower evaluation of the HRM function by top management.
Efficacy and safety of linezolid in liver transplant patients

S. Radunz, B. Juntermanns, G.M. Kaiser, J. Treckmann, Z. Mathe, A. Paul, F.H. Saner. Efficacy and safety of linezolid in liver transplant patients Transpl Infect Dis 2011: 13: 353–358. All rights reserved
Frequency analysis of autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxias in Taiwanese patients and clinical and molecular characterization of spinocerebellar ataxia type 6.

BACKGROUND Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders. The mutational basis for most of these disorders is an expanded CAG repeat sequence within the coding regions of the genes involved. The prevalence of SCA in the ethnic Chinese on Taiwan remains unclear. Moreover, there has been no report of SCA type 6 (SCA6) among Chinese people. OBJECTIVES To characterize the prevalence of SCA in the ethnic Chinese on Taiwan, and to specifically characterize Chinese patients with SCA6 in terms of clinical and molecular features. PATIENTS AND METHODS Using a molecular approach, we investigated SCA in 74 Taiwanese families with dominantly inherited ataxias and in 49 Taiwanese patients with sporadic ataxias. Clinical and molecular features of SCA6 were further characterized in 12 patients from 8 families and in 2 sporadic cases. Furthermore, the intragenic polymorphic marker D19S1150 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction to analyze for linkage disequilibrium. RESULTS Machado-Joseph disease-SCA3 was the most common type of autosomal dominant SCA in the Taiwanese cohort, accounting for 35 cases (47.3%), followed by SCA6 (8 [10.8%]), SCA2 (8 [10.8%]), SCA1 (4 [5.4%]), SCA7 (2 [2.7%]), dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy (1 [1.4%]), and SCA8 (0%). The genes responsible for 16 (21.6%) of Taiwanese dominantly inherited SCA cases remain to be determined. Among the 49 patients with sporadic ataxias in the present series, 2 (4.1%) were found to harbor SCA6 mutations. In the families with SCA6, we found significant anticipation in the absence of genetic instability on transmission, indicating that some other mechanism might account for the anticipation. The same frequent allele of the intragenic DNA marker (D19S1150) was shared by 7 of 10 Taiwanese families with SCA6. CONCLUSIONS Although SCA6 has, so far, not been reported in mainland Chinese, we found a geographic cluster of families with SCA6 on Taiwan. Genotyping studies suggest a founder effect in the Taiwanese patients with SCA6.
PaletteNet: Image Recolorization with Given Color Palette

Image recolorization enhances the visual perception of an image for design and artistic purposes. In this work, we present a deep neural network, referred to as PaletteNet, which recolors an image according to a given target color palette that is useful to express the color concept of an image. PaletteNet takes two inputs: a source image to be recolored and a target palette. PaletteNet is then designed to change the color concept of a source image so that the palette of the output image is close to the target palette. To train PaletteNet, the proposed multi-task loss is composed of Euclidean loss and adversarial loss. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the existing recolorization methods. Human experts with a commercial software take on average 18 minutes to recolor an image, while PaletteNet automatically recolors plausible results in less than a second.
On the New Economic Policies Promoted by the 17th CCP Congress in China

Abstract The 17th Chinese Communist Party Congress in October 2007 attracted attention within and outside China for the bold development agenda that was placed before delegates. After 30 years of economic reform that has produced a remarkable improvement in living standards and China's reintegration into the world economy, the Party unveiled a programme that would push China to become a world superpower over the next 30 years. China's ambition is to become a technologically innovative state, to make China a 'moderately prosperous' and 'harmonious society' with a 'scientific outlook on development', and to achieve full industrialisation and sustainable prosperity. Whether China is able to attain its objectives will critically depend on the Party's ability to implement the new economic policies and address the social and political challenges that economic growth has created. The aim of the paper is to examine the policies, motivations and constraints that China faces in achieving the objectives laid out at the Party Congress. Copyright 2008 United Nations University. Journal compilation 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Identification, purification and properties of clone-specific glycoprotein antigens constituting the surface coat of Trypanosoma brucei

Soluble glycoproteins have been purified from a series of clones of Trypanosoma brucei 427. Each clone yielded a characteristic predominant glycoprotein which induced clone-specific immunity to trypanosome infection in mice. These glycoproteins were shown by specific labelling and enzyme digestion of cells to be the major components of the trypanosome surface coat. Each glycoprotein consisted of a single polypeptide chain having an apparent molecular weight of 65000 (as measured by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) and containing around 600 amino acid and 20 monosaccharide residues. Preliminary structural studies indicated large changes in amino acid sequence dispersed over a considerable length of the polypeptide chain. Proteolytic activity was demonstrated in semi-purified trypanosome extracts, providing one reason for the heterogeneity sometimes observed in surface glycoprotein antigen preparations.
Outcomes of Sinonasal Squamous Cell Carcinoma with and without Association of Inverted Papilloma: A Multi-Institutional Analysis

Introduction Sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounts for <1% of all malignancies but represents 70% of sinonasal cancer. Up to 10% of SCCs are associated with inverted papilloma (IPSCC). Studies that compare patients, treatment, and outcomes of SCC and IPSCC are absent in the literature. Methods A retrospective review of patients with SCC and those with IPSCC at Cleveland Clinic and Indiana University from 1995 to 2015. The records were analyzed for demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment, and outcomes. Results The study comprised 117 patients with SCC, of whom, 29 had IPSCC. The mean age at diagnosis was similar: 63 and 64 years for patients with SCC and patients with IPSCC, respectively; with female patients representing 36% and 34%, respectively (p > 0.99). Smokers represented 64% of the patients with SCC and 55% of patients with IPSCC (p = 0.3); excessive alcohol intake was noted in 16% of the patients with SCC and 21% of the patients with IPSCC (p = 0.56). The maxillary sinus was most commonly involved, followed by the nasal cavity (51% versus 35% SCC, 45% versus 38% IPSCC). Frontal ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses contained primary tumors only in patients with SCC. Upfront treatment was surgery in 84% of patients with SCC and 97% of patients with IPSCC (p = 0.18); 68 and 55% received radiation, respectively, and 25 and 21% received chemotherapy, respectively. Overall survival averaged 5.5 and 3.4 years for patients with SCC and patients with IPSCC, respectively (p = 0.12); disease-free survival was 4.8 and 2.9 years, respectively (p = 0.18). Nodal metastasis was more likely in patients with SCC (18 versus 0%; p = 0.02). When divided into high- and low-stage disease: more common nodal metastases were demonstrated in high-stage SCC than in low-stage disease (p = 0.03). Overall survival was decreased between high- and low-grade disease but not when subdivided between SCC and IPSCC. Conclusion Although SCC with and without IP association are considered different diseases, their demographics and outcomes seem similar. Nodal metastasis was noted to be higher in the SCC cohort, which may indicate different tumor biology. Further study is warranted.
Innovation networks and capability building in the Australian high‐technology SMEs

Purpose – Studies of capability building and organisational learning through networked arrangements have been growing in recent years. In high‐technology industries, in particular, small and medium‐sized enterprises overcome problems of resource and information limitations by becoming a part of a knowledge network. This paper seeks to examine innovation networks of the Australian high‐technology small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by focusing on the linkages employed by small businesses to learn, adapt to technological change, and innovate.Design/methodology/approach – To study the innovation networks of high‐technology firms, research was conducted on biotechnology firms within the Sydney region and information and communication technology (ICT) firms within the metropolitan area of Melbourne. A mixed methodology approach for this research was adopted and a combination of quantitative and qualitative data was collected, via the means of a questionnaire and face‐to‐face interviews.Findings – The paper rep.
Inter-linkages : The Kyoto Protocol and the international trade and investment regimes

In 1997 delegates to the third session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), agreed by consensus to adopt the Kyoto Protocol under which industrialized countries would reduce their combined greenhouse gas emissions by an average 5.2% from their 1992 levels. To have any hope of achieving these emission reductions and averting global climate catastrophe will require a fundamental shift in the way in which energy is produced and the way it is used. Inter-linkages examines the Climate Change Convention in the context of potential synergies and conflicts that could arise between it and the World Trade Organization, international investment agreements and private and contractual trade law.
The effect of the auditor behaviour on the earnings management: evidence from Tunisia

The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of auditor behaviour the year (t - 1) on earnings management the year t measured by discretionary accruals in the emerging Tunisian market. As proxies for auditor behaviour, we use the type of audit firm (Big/No-Big) and the type of audit opinion (unqualified, qualified, adverse or disclaimed). Using the Kothari et al. (2005) model to calculate discretionary accruals for 53 no-financial firms during the period 2002-2007, we found that a positive but no significant relationship between the qualified audit opinions and discretionary accruals, and a negative and significant relationship between the auditors Big Four and discretionary accruals. Overall, we found no evidence to support inferences in previous research that the firms receiving modified audit opinions are more likely to have manipulated reported earnings. On the other hand, the Big Four auditors show a significantly lower level of discretionary accruals and a greater propensity to issue modified audit reports.