Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Spatial characteristics of human hand impedance in multi-joint arm movements

The present paper examines spatial characteristics of human hand impedance in multi-joint arm movements. While a subject maintains a hand location, small external disturbance to his hand is applied by a manipulandum. Time changes of the hand displacements and forces caused by the disturbance are measured and the hand impedance is estimated using a second-order linear model. The estimated hand impedance in different subjects and hand locations are summarized as follows: (1) spatial variations of the estimated hand impedance ellipses approximately agree with the experimental results of other researchers (Mussa-Ivaldi et at, 1985: Dolan et al., 1993), (2) the human hand inertia characteristics can be explained from basic biomechanics of the passive inertial effects (3) the grip force of the subject increases the size of the stiffness and viscosity ellipses, and (4) spatial features of the orientation. And the shape characteristics of the stiffness and viscosity ellipses are mostly explained from the kinematics point of view of the human arm. <<ETX>>
A framework for understanding the roles of miRNAs in animal development

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to the progressive changes in gene expression that occur during development. The combined loss of all miRNAs results in embryonic lethality in all animals analyzed, illustrating the crucial role that miRNAs play collectively. However, although the loss of some individual miRNAs also results in severe developmental defects, the roles of many other miRNAs have been challenging to uncover. This has been mostly attributed to their proposed function as tuners of gene expression or providers of robustness. Here, we present a view of miRNAs in the context of development as a hierarchical and canalized series of gene regulatory networks. In this scheme, only a fraction of embryonic miRNAs act at the top of this hierarchy, with their loss resulting in broad developmental defects, whereas most other miRNAs are expressed with high cellular specificity and play roles at the periphery of development, affecting the terminal features of specialized cells. This view could help to shed new light on our understanding of miRNA function in development, disease and evolution. Summary: This Review discusses how different classes of miRNAs fit into the hierarchy of gene regulatory networks that control development, from early embryogenesis to cell differentiation.
Genesis of remote conditioning: action at a distance – ‘hypotheses non fingo’?

Remote ischemic preconditioning is the phenomenon whereby brief episodes of ischemia–reperfusion applied in a distant organ or tissue render the myocardium resistant to infarction. The discovery of remote conditioning was not a serendipitous finding, but, rather, was predicted by mathematical modeling. In the current review, we describe how the hypothesis for remote conditioning was formulated and tested, how the paradigm has expanded to encompass a spectrum of remote triggers, and summarize the progress that has been made in elucidating the mechanisms responsible for this intriguing form of cardioprotection.
Advancing entrepreneurial marketing: Evidence from born global firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the domain of entrepreneurial marketing (EM) responding to the challenge to EM scholars to more fully develop EM as a school of marketing thought. The paper seeks to argue that the context of the born global firm is an appropriate and novel context in which to undertake this research.Design/methodology/approach – The need to examine the processes of EM justifies the use of case study method. In total, nine born global firms, located in the three most populous states in Australia: Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, were selected for study. The firms were drawn from hi‐tech and low‐tech industry sectors, and included online businesses, in an attempt to capture maximum theoretical variation.Findings – The analysis identifies the four key strategies of entrepreneurial marketing as comprising opportunity creation, customer intimacy‐based innovative products, resource enhancement and importantly, legitimacy. These core strategies of EM are identified by m.
Htd2p/Yhr067p is a yeast 3‐hydroxyacyl‐ACP dehydratase essential for mitochondrial function and morphology

Among the recently recognized aspects of mitochondrial functions, in yeast as well as humans, is their ability to synthesize fatty acids in a malonyl‐CoA dependent manner. We describe here the identification of the 3‐hydroxyacyl‐ACP dehydratase involved in mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis. A colony‐colour‐sectoring screen was applied in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a search for mutants that, when grown on a non‐fermentable carbon source, were unable to lose a plasmid that carried a chimeric construct coding for mitochondrially localized bacterial analogue. Our mutants, which are respiratory deficient, lack cytochromes and display abnormal mitochondrial morphology, were found to have a lesion in the yeast YHR067w/RMD12 gene. The Yhr067p is predicted to be a member of the thioesterase/thioester dehydratase‐isomerase superfamily enzymes. Hydratase 2 activity in mitochondrial extracts from cells overexpressing YHR067w was increased. These overexpressing cells also display a striking mitochondrial enlargement phenotype. We conclude that YHR067w encodes a novel mitochondrial 3‐hydroxyacyl‐thioester dehydratase 2 and suggest renaming it HTD2. The mitochondrial phenotypes of the null and overexpression mutants suggest a crucial role of YHR067w in maintenance of mitochondrial respiratory competence and morphology in yeast.
Biological and genetic factors associated with ABCB1 and pregnane-X-receptor expressions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in the STANISLAS cohort

Abstract Background: ABCB1 is a membrane transporter ubiquitously expressed particularly in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Resistance to drugs is associated with genetic variations of its gene and with modulation of its expression through the pregnane-X-receptor (PXR) transcription factor. We have previously shown that ABCB1polymorphisms were associated with blood lipid concentrations. Methods: We wanted to investigate the variation factors and the genetic determinants of ABCB1 and PXR expressions in PBMCs, and their interrelationships with plasma lipid levels. ABCB1 and PXR mRNA were quantified by real-time quantitative RT-PCR in PBMCs of 42 men and 39 women. Results: ABCB1 and PXR were both expressed in PBMCs of all individuals, but their expressions were not significantly correlated. ABCB1 mRNA was correlated with body mass index (BMI; p=0.01) and age (p=0.03). In women, lymphocyte count also correlated with ABCB1 transcripts (p<0.01). After adjustment for BMI, correlation with age disappears. PXR mRNA expression depends on gender with men expressing higher PXR levels (p=0.01). PXR expression also correlates with γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT; p=0.02), but this disappeared after adjustment. Conclusions: Neither ABCB1 nor PXR expressions correlate with ABCB1gene variants. Finally, association between ABCB1 or PXR expression in PBMCs and lipid or apolipoprotein plasma concentrations were not significant in this subset of healthy subjects. These results should be confirmed in a larger population sample and extended to patients with various cardiovascular risk profiles.
IPO Stock Performance and the Financial Crisis

This paper takes the first opportunity to study the impact of the recent financial crisis on the stock price performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the short and long run. We conduct an analysis of 588 firms newly listed on the U.S. stock markets over the period 2003- 2010. We find little evidence of the crisis having affected the average level of underpricing. Measuring 3-year buy-and-hold abnormal returns by benchmarking IPOs against portfolios of matched control firms, our results show the crisis to have had a strong positive impact on long-term performance. While firms that go public during non-crisis years are shown on average to underperform by 22%, crisis IPOs significantly outperform the benchmark by 26%. This effectively results in an average difference of 48% in abnormal returns between the two periods after 3 years. We conclude from our analysis that the market is prone to severe overreactions, caused by investor optimism/pessimism and herding behaviour. Our findings thus provide evidence against the Efficient Market Hypothesis in its semi-strong form.
Clinico-Pathological Profile and Haematological Abnormalities Associated with Lung Cancer in Bangalore, India.

BACKGROUND Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer causing high morbidity and mortality worldwide. An increasing incidence of lung cancer has been observed in India. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the clinic- pathological profile and haematological abnormalities associated with lung cancer in Bangalore, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS This prospective study was carried out over a period of 2 years. A total of 96 newly diagnosed and histopathologically confirmed cases of lung cancer were included in the study. RESULTS Our lung cancer cases had a male to female ratio of 3:1. Distribution of age varied from 40 to 90 years, with a major contribution in the age group between 61 and 80 years (55.2%). Smoking was the commonest risk factor found in 69.7% of patients. The most frequent symptom was cough (86.4%) followed by loss of weight and appetite (65.6%) and dyspnea (64.5%). The most common radiological presentation was a mass lesion (55%). The most common histopathological type was squamous cell carcinoma (47.9%), followed by adenocarcinoma (28.1%) and small cell carcinoma (12.5%). Distant metastasis at presentation was seen in 53.1% patients. Among the haematological abnormalities, anaemia was seen in 61.4% of patients, leucocytosis in 36.4%, thrombocytosis in 14.5% and eosinophilia in 19.7% of patients. Haematological abnormalities were more commonly seen in non small cell lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS Squamous cell carcinoma was found to be the most common histopathological type and smoking still remains the major risk factor for lung cancer. Haematological abnormalities are frequently observed in lung cancer patients, anaemia being the commonest of all.
The expanding realm of heterologous immunity: friend or foe?

Antecedent or current infections can alter the immunopathologic outcome of a subsequent unrelated infection. Immunomodulation by co‐infecting pathogens has been referred to as ‘heterologous immunity’ and has been postulated to play a role in host susceptibility to disease, tolerance to organ transplant, and autoimmune disease. The effect of various infections on heterologous immune responses has been well studied in the context of shared epitopes and cross‐reactive T cells. It has been shown that prior infections can modulate protective immunity and immunopathology by forming a pool of memory T cells that can cross‐react with antigens from heterologous organisms or through the generation of a network of regulatory cells and cytokines. While it is not feasible to alter a host's history of prior infection, understanding heterologous immune responses in the context of simultaneous unrelated infections could have important therapeutic implications. Here, we outline key evidence from animal and human studies demonstrating the effect of heterologous immunity on the outcome of disease. We briefly review the role of T cells, but expand our discussion to explore other immune mechanisms that may modulate the response to concurrent active infections. In particular, we underscore the role of the innate immune system, polarized responses and regulatory mechanisms on heterologous immune responses.
Organic meat marketing

This chapter discusses the marketing aspect of organic meat. Many factors influence the organic food purchase behavior and these factors are described. With organic meat being sold for high premium prices, the consumers' willingness to pay for these products is an important attribute to determine the potential of these products. Sociodemographic variables of the organic food consumers are described to get an overview of the organic consumer profile.
Smoking attenuates wound inflammation and proliferation while smoking cessation restores inflammation but not proliferation

Full‐thickness 5 mm punch biopsy wounds were made lateral to the sacrum in 48 smokers and 30 never smokers. After 1 week, the wounds were excised and fixed. The smokers were then randomized to continuous smoking or abstinence with a transdermal nicotine patch or a placebo patch. The sequence of wounding and excision was repeated after 4, 8, and 12 weeks. All excised tissue was stained with hematoxylin–eosin and immunohistochemically for macrophages (CD68), procollagen 1 N‐terminal propeptide (PINP) in fibroblasts, and endothelial cells (CD31). The cellularity was assessed and scored by two independent histopathologists, and for the analysis, proportional odds models and random effect models for repeated measurements were applied. Macrophages and PINP‐stained fibroblasts were reduced in the smokers' wounds (0.28 [0.14–0.58] [OR, 95%CI]; p=0.01 and 0.37[0.19–0.70]; p<0.01, respectively, when compared with never smokers' wounds). Inflammation scores were marginally affected. Following smoking cessation, inflammatory cell infiltration and macrophages in the wounds increased. PINP‐stained fibroblasts were unaffected. Neovascularization was not affected by smoking or abstinence. Wound inflammation and fibroblast proliferation were attenuated in smokers, suggesting delayed healing. Abstinence from smoking restores inflammation, but does not affect proliferation. These findings suggest a pathophysiologic mechanism for postoperative wound infection and dehiscence in smokers and why smoking cessation appears to reduce wound infection but not dehiscence.
Effect of Seed Weight and Salinity on the Germination of Garden Orache ( Atriplex hortensis

Garden orache (Atriplex hortensis L.), a halophytic forb in the family Chenopodiaceae, is well adapted to dry saline habitats. Here, we presented the results of the effect of salinity and seed weight on seed germination and radicle emergence of A. hortensis. Highest germination percentages were obtained under non-saline conditions and increases in salinity inhibited seed germination with less than 50% of the seeds germinating at 260 mM NaCl. Seeds of A. hortensis exhibited a very pronounced morphological and physiological seed polymorphism. Seed weight varied from 0.11 to 0.19 g. Large seeds had a mean dry weight of 0.19 mg and a mean length of 2.6 mm; medium seeds and mean dry weight of 0.15 mg and mean length of 1.9 mm; small seeds and mean dry weight of 0.11 mg and mean length of 1.1 mm. Seedling dry weight was related to initial seed size. The degree of salt tolerance increased progressively with increasing seed dry weight. Radicle elongation was increased by low salinity and it decreased with an increase in salinity. Based on the observations, it is inferred that the germination percentage of large seed size class of A. hortensis was highest as compared to small seed size class. The seed size is an important factor that influences the germination under normal as well as, salinity stress conditions.
Empirical Evaluation of the Impact of Object-Oriented Code Refactoring on Quality Attributes: A Systematic Literature Review

Software refactoring is a maintenance task that addresses code restructuring to improve its quality. Many studies have addressed the impact of different refactoring scenarios on software quality. This study presents a systematic literature review that aggregates, summarizes, and discusses the results of 76 relevant primary studies (PSs) concerning the impact of refactoring on several internal and external quality attributes. The included PSs were selected using inclusion and exclusion criteria applied to relevant articles published before the end of 2015. We analyzed the PSs based on a set of classification criteria, including software quality attributes and measures, refactoring scenarios, evaluation approaches, datasets, and impact results. We followed the vote-counting approach to determine the level of consistency among the PS reported results concerning the relationship between refactoring and software quality. The results indicated that different refactoring scenarios sometimes have opposite impacts on different quality attributes. Therefore, it is false that refactoring always improves all software quality aspects. The vote-counting study provided a clear view of the impacts of some individual refactoring scenarios on some internal quality attributes such as cohesion, coupling, complexity, inheritance, and size, but failed to identify their impacts on external and other internal quality attributes due to insufficient findings.
Regional and Firm Level Determinants of International Competitiveness: An Examination of SME’s Role, Capability and Competencies

In our increasingly globalised world, supranational regions, nation states and individual country regions are progressively more in competition with one another. How the nation state and region can become more competitive and how this competitiveness can be measured is open to debate. This thesis presents work based upon two aspects that have been proffered as to how competitiveness at the country and region level can be explained, that is through investment (via Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)) inflows and through the development of enterprise and in particular the enhancement of the small firm in international markets. The theme that runs through the thesis is one of competitiveness and competence. The competence of the region to attract FDI and the competence of the entrepreneur and the SME to undertake internationalisation. The thesis begins by examining the concepts of national and regional competitiveness. Two of the determinants of national and regional competitiveness are then considered FDI and the level of small firm activity/entrepreneurship. The paper analyses the empirical and theoretical work on FDI and considers how regional competencies/factors can be used to attract FDI. SME internationalisation and its impact on regional competitiveness are then examined, focussing on the resources and competences, at the level of the entrepreneur and the firm, which influence SME internationalisation. The thesis contributes to the richness of understanding of the complex relationship between the range of explanatory factors at a regional, national and supra-national level that influence inbound FDI. In particular providing a much better understanding of UK regional FDI inflows. The section on internationalisation of SMEs contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurial and firm competences through the study of small firms at the county level of Northamptonshire. This county is a relatively under-researched area in the study of SMEs and in the study of the county's SME activity in international markets it has been even more sparsely investigated.
Use of a Child Behavior Checklist in the Psychosocial Assessment of Children with Epilepsy

Children with epilepsy are faced with many of the same psychosocial stressors as other chronically ill children, and a proper assessment is vital. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Child Behavior Checklist of Achenbach and Edelbrock could be used as a practical and objective tool for evaluating the psychosocial needs of children with epilepsy. Thirty-eight children were randomly selected from the Neurology outpatient clinic at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Questionnaires were completed by the mothers during their waiting period. Results dem onstrated the highest risk of maladjustment was within social functioning. As children reach ad olescence, adjustment problems are mostly related to school. Although as a group, our sample did not differ from norms for behavior problems, there was evidence to suggest behavioral malad justment for individual children. The checklist appears to be a good screening tool for maladjustment that could be included as part of the pediatrician's comprehensive assessment of children with epilepsy.
Time-Domain Envelope Modulating the Noise Component of Excitation in a Continuous Residual-Based Vocoder for Statistical Parametric Speech Synthesis

In this paper, we present an extension of a novel continuous residual-based vocoder for statistical parametric speech synthesis. Previous work has shown the advantages of adding envelope modulated noise to the voiced excitation, but this has not been investigated yet in the context of continuous vocoders, i.e. of which all parameters are continuous. The noise component is often not accurately modeled in modern vocoders (e.g. STRAIGHT). For more natural sounding speech synthesis, four time-domain envelopes (Amplitude, Hilbert, Triangular and True) are investigated and enhanced, and then applied to the noise component of the excitation in our continuous vocoder. The performance evaluation is based on the study of time envelopes. In an objective experiment, we investigated the Phase Distortion Deviation of vocoded samples. A MUSHRA type subjective listening test was also conducted comparing natural and vocoded speech samples. Both experiments have shown that the proposed framework using Hilbert and True envelopes provides high-quality vocoding while outperforming the two other envelopes.
Means of Eliminating Electrolytic Capacitor in AC/DC Power Supplies for LED Lightings

This paper proposes two methods of reducing the storage capacitance in the ac/dc power supplies for light emitting diode (LED) lighting. In doing so, film capacitors can be adopted instead of electrolytic capacitors to achieve a long power suppliespsila lifetime. The voltage ripple of the storage capacitor is intentionally increased to reduce the storage capacitance. The method of determining the storage capacitance for ensuring that the boost power factor correction converter operates normally in the whole input voltage range is also discussed. For the purpose of further reducing the storage capacitance, a method of injecting the third harmonic current into the input current flow is proposed. While ensuring that the input power factor is always higher than 0.9 to comply with regulation standards such as ENERGY STAR, the storage capacitance can be reduced to 65.6% of that with an input power factor of 1. A 60-W experimental prototype is built to verify the proposed methods.
Organisational adaptation in an integrating Europe : the case of French asset management industry, 1984-1999

This thesis contributes to institutional theories about European business systems through the analysis of one case study: the French asset management industry in the period 1984-1999. It asks how firms in a given business system adapt to changes in their economic and societal environment. The thesis declines the usual focus on issues of convergence and divergence, and suggests investigating organisational adaptation as a key dynamic process within business systems, and it develops a theoretical framework for this purpose. It presents the French model of asset management in the mid-1980s and contrasts it with the Anglo-Saxon model. It then shows that by 1999 French firms had for the most part adopted the dominant patterns of the Anglo-Saxon model. It then explains that if companies can stimulate the constitution of a new organisational field operating with different rules and institutional arrangements, they can depart from the dominant patterns and behaviours of their national environment. In this process, such institutional agents as regulators, professionals, market leaders and consultants, and such calculation tools as performance measurement, benchmark, rating and invitations to tender play a key part in establishing the new rules. Instead of focusing on convergence or on persisting diversities among national business systems, the thesis suggests further investigating the constitution of trans-national entities.