Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sperm Sex Ratio (X: Y Ratio) and its Variations

Sex ratio can be studied at various levels viz., at the time of spermatogenesis i.e. ratio of X and Y bearing sperm (pre-zygotic sex ratio) or at the time of fertilization/early preimplantation embryo (close to primary sex ratio or postzygotic sex ratio) or at the time of birth (secondary sex ratio). The natural sex ratio at the time of spermatogenesis is expected to be 1:1. In this study we have examined sex ratio in ejaculated spermatozoa (human) as well as epididymal sperm (mouse) to determine proportion of X and Y bearing sperm i.e., prezygotic sex ratio. We also examined effects of seasons (temperature; summer vs. winter), diet (vegetarian vs. non vegetarian), profession (professionals vs. laborer) on sperm (pre-zygotic) sex (X: Y) ratio of ejaculated sperm. The sperm sex ratio was carried out on 813066 human spermatozoa and 10390 mouse spermatozoa. In human, we have found more (52%) X than Y (48%) bearing sperms (421531X: 391535Y or 1.07X: 1Y). In mouse also we observed preponderance of X (55.5%) as compared to Y (44.5%) bearing sperms (1.24X: 1Y). In all sub-groups (season, diet, profession) we have observed more X bearing sperm. Our observations at pre-zygotic sex ratio have shown skewed sex ratio towards female. A probable reason for this could be preferential elimination of Y bearing sperm. This is also supported by the evidence of more aneuploidy with Y-bearing spermatozoa (~1.5 times more with Y bearing sperms).
Characterization of the 5-HT7(a) receptor: Specific receptor - G- protein interactions

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) is very important neurotransmitter which regulates a variety of different physiological processes within the central Nervous System and at the periphery. Such effects are mediated through the large family of the specific 5-HT receptors. With the exception of the 5-HT3 receptor, all other 5-HT receptors belong to the family of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Functionally, GPCRs act as biological switcher of branched network of signalling pathways by their interactions with heterotrimeric G-proteins. GPCRs are often subjected to the different post-translational modifications, which can modulate their activity and functions. One of such modifications is an attachment of 16-carbon fatty acid palmitate. Palmitoylation is unique between the post-translational modifications, because it is reversible and can be regulated. Functionally, palmitoylation of GPCRs can be involved in regulation of different processes including membrane targeting, interaction with G-proteins, basal and agonist-dependent activity as well as phosphorylation and desensitisation.In the present study we demonstrated that the 5-HT7(a) receptor undergoes post-translational palmitoylation. By combining both palmitate incorporation and pulse-chase techniques we found that [3H]-palmitate incorporation into the 5-HT7(a) receptor is dynamically changed after stimulation with agonist in dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. These effects were receptor-specific and did not represent metabolic effects.We also determined cysteine residues Cys404, Cys438 and Cys441 located in the carboxyl terminus of the receptor as potential palmitoylation sites. Surprisingly, by analysis of cysteine-deficient mutants we found that substitution of all three C-terminal cysteine residues did not completely abolish [3H]-palmitate incorporation, suggesting that the 5-HT7(a) receptor palmitoylation is not restricted to the carboxyl-terminal domain.Functional analysis revealed the critical role of the C-terminal palmitoylation for the modulation of receptor s constitutive activity. We also proposed a novel mechanism by which dynamic palmitoylation of proximal cysteine residue Cys404 may regulate both agonist-promoted and constitutive activity of the 5-HT7(a) receptor.In addition, we demonstrated for the first time that the serotonin 5-HT7(a) receptor is coupled both biochemically and functionally with Ga12 subunit of heterotrimeric G- protein. We further determined that the 5-HT7(a) receptor-mediated stimulation of Ga12 protein resulted both in RhoA-dependent neurite retraction and cell rounding as well as in Cdc42-mediated filopodia formation. These findings suggest the important role of serotonin in regulation of neuronal development in addition to its well-accepted function as neuromodulator.
Identifying autumn migration routes for the globally threatened Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola

The migration strategy of the globally threatened Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola needs to be known to ensure that effective action is taken to conserve its principal stopover sites. Using data from ringing stations during the autumn migration of reedbed warblers, we developed an index that allowed countries and sites to be compared in terms of their numerical importance to migrating Aquatic Warblers. According to this index, there was no significant decline in the number of Aquatic Warblers migrating through Europe during the 1990s. France appears to receive the largest numbers of this species in autumn compared with other European countries. Within France, only coastal regions are visited by the species (but not in the Mediterranean), with the largest numbers occurring in Normandy and Loire, while Brittany receives large numbers in some years but not in others. We also identified some French sites that are of major importance to migrating Aquatic Warblers depositing reserves on migration. France therefore plays a very important part in providing stopover sites for Aquatic Warblers, which means that France should play a major role in undertaking conservation measures for this threatened species.
Production and Characterization of Antimicrobial agents by Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Fermented Foods

Twenty-six lactic acid bacteria isolated from fermented foods and beverages consumed in Southwestern Nigeria were screened for antimicrobial agents production. Twenty-one isolates produced bacteriocin while 5 did not; hence the non-bacteriocin producing strains were used for antimicrobial assay. Hydrogen peroxide produced by Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ly had the highest inhibitory activities and a broad spectrum of inhibition, followed by lactic acid produced by Lactobacillus plantarum Ws, the least inhibition was observed in diacetyl produced by Lactococcus lactis Wa. The cultural conditions' alteration showed that larger amounts of antimicrobial agents were synthesized only when the medium was supplemented with glucose (1.0%), Tween 80 (0.5%), yeast extract (2-3.0%) and NaCl (1-2.0%), alteration of other components had no effect. The use of constituted medium at 300C incubation temperature, initial pH 5.5 and for 48 to 60 hours fostered the best production of antimicrobials by the test isolates.
Molecular Detection of Human Cytomegalovirus genes in infertile and breast cancer women in Baghdad province

Human cytomegalovirus (from the Greek cyto "cell", and megalo,"large") is a member of the Betaherpesvirinae Subfamily, which belongs to the family Herpesviridae (Mocarski and Courcelle, 2001; Ryan and Ray, 2004; Staras et al., 2006). The vast majority of people infected with HCMV do not exhibit any symptoms. Primary HCMV infections in immunocompetent individuals were mild or asymptomatic, or produce fever-like and mononucleosis-like symptoms (Cannon et al., 2010). Like the other herpesviruses, after an initial primary infection HCMV establishes latency for the life of the host with periodic and spontaneous reactivation.
FUTILE ATTEMPTS AT SELF-CONTROL

We investigate costly yet futile attempts at self-control when consumption of a harmful product has a binary breakdown/no-breakdown nature and individuals tend to underestimate their need for self-control. Considering time-inconsistent preferences as well as temptation disutility, we show that becoming more sophisticated can decrease welfare and investigate what kind of mistaken beliefs lead to low welfare. With time-inconsistent preferences, being close to perfectly understanding one’s preferences but assigning zero probability to true preferences induces the worst outcome. (JEL: D03, D11, D91)
Macroeconomic Policies and Agent Heterogeneity

This thesis contributes to the understanding of macroeconomic policies’ impact on the distribution of wealth. It belongs to the strand of literature that departs from the representative agent assumption and perceives agent heterogeneity and the induced disparities in wealth accumulation, as an important dimension of economic policy-making. Within such economic environment, this thesis analyses the impact of three macroeconomic policies, namely monetary policy under the form of inflation targeting, fiscal policy under the form of asymmetric transfers, and finally retirement policies by shedding light on how household allocate their financial wealth over the life cycle. The first chapter of this thesis explores whether a higher inflation target induces more households to hold real assets rather than money holdings, thereby leading to a higher aggregate capital stock. It shows that a higher inflation target can lead to welfare improvements, when the economy is parametrized to US data. Such policy shows to be welfare improving, as the higher stock of aggregate capital reduces the real interest rate, which improves the welfare of indebted households. The second chapter of this thesis is joint work with A. Fagereng and L. Guiso. It provides novel empirical evidence on the life cycle patterns of the extensive and the intensive margin of stock market participation over the life-cycle. Also we provide a model that replicates the life cycle patterns of the conditional risky share and the participation rate, by introducing a fixed per period cost friction and a limited trust friction. In the third chapter, co-authored with M. Froemel, we analyse whether asymmetric transfer policies can be a pertinent short run policy instrument to overcome distortions arising from the lack of insurance opportunities for households due to financial market incompleteness. We show that asymmetric transfers can improve welfare, when transfer programs are pro-borrowers rather than lump-sum or pro-lenders.
Measuring the intellectual capital of Italian listed companies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between intellectual capital (IC), measured in terms of the market to book (MTB) ratio, and potential key determinants of IC value such as intangible assets (IA) and a range of other factors. Design/methodology/approach The study is conducted for a sample of 140 Italian corporations over the period 2009-2013. Applying a holistic market-based approach, the relationship between IC value and selected determinants from the extant literature is tested. Five hypotheses are tested using a pooled OLS regression model, while controlling for time. ROE is employed as a useful firm profitability indicator from the perspective of an equity investor. Moreover, four robustness tests are undertaken. Findings The results show that IA, profitability, leverage, industry type, auditor type, and family ownership positively affect IC value, whereas SIZE and AGE negatively affect IC value. Moreover, the findings of the robustness tests suggest that all firms, and not just knowledge-intensive business service industry firms, manage knowledge. Research limitations/implications The validity of the findings is limited to the Italian context, as the study focuses on a sample of companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, all of which prepare their individual financial statements according to IFRS. Further limitations are related to the use of market value in the short term, as it is influenced by market volatility. The study may allow academic researchers to investigate the impact of other non-accounting sources of information on market value within a multidisciplinary perspective. Practical implications This paper also has implications for managers and practitioners. The findings suggest that managers should not take for granted that firm growth (an increase in SIZE) alone will lead to an increase in IC value, in the absence of a consistent IC-oriented investment strategy. Managers should also avoid smoothing their IC investment as the company grows, in order to maintain a stable MTB ratio. Further, standard setters should seek to explore better means of disclosing non-accounting information relating to IC value. Originality/value This paper contributes to the IC literature as it is the first study which applies the market capitalization approach to analyze IC value determinants in the Italian context, within the framework of IFRS. The findings reveal some interesting relationships between the MTB ratio and recognized intangible investments, which are found to be insignificant in previous studies, confirming that, through the holistic effect, the MTB ratio may be a good proxy for IC.
Impact of Federal Government Budget Deficits on the Longer Term Real Interest Rate in the U.S.: Evidence Using Annual and Quarterly Data, 1960–2013

Using over a half century of data, this empirical study adopts a simple loanable funds to investigate the impact of the federal budget deficits in the U.S. on the ex post real interest rate yield on ten year U.S. Treasury notes. Three estimates using annual data for three different time periods (1960–2013, 1971–2013, 1980–2013) are provided; in addition, as a de facto modest test of robustness, one additional estimate using quarterly data for the period 1960.1 through 2013.4 is also provided. In each of the four empirical analyses, an autoregressive 2SLS estimate finds that the ex post real interest rate yield on ten year U.S. Treasury notes is an increasing function of the ex post real interest rate yield on Moody’s Baa-rated corporate bonds, the ex post real interest rate yield on three year Treasury notes, and the ex post real interest rate yield on high grade municipal bonds. This exploratory analysis also finds consistent evidence that federal budget deficit (relative to the GDP level) exercised a positive and statistically significant impact on the ex post real interest rate yield on ten year Treasury notes, a finding compatible in principle with a number of earlier studies of shorter time periods.
Loss of Goosecoid-like and Dgcr 14 in interpeduncular nucleus results in altered regulation of REM sleep

Department of Molecular Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas 75390; Center for Behavioral Molecular Genetics, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8575, Japan; Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 H.F. and M.S. contributed equally to this work. To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Size and Cell Type Dependent Uptake of Silica Nanoparticles

As silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NP) gain increasing interest for medical applications it is important to understand their potential adverse effects for humans. Here we prepared well-defined core-shell fluorescently labelled SiO2 NP of 15, 60 and 200 nm diameter and analyzed their cytotoxicity in THP-1 derived macrophages, A549 epithelial cells, HaCaT keratinocytes and NRK-52E kidney cells. We observed a size-dependent cytotoxicity in all cell types in serumfree conditions. HaCaT cells were least and macrophages or lung derived A549 cells were highly sensitive towards SiO2 NP treatment. Differences in cytotoxicity could be correlated with different uptake rates. By using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy we quantified the uptake. Furthermore we used specific inhibitors for clathrin- and caveolinmediated endocytosis to elucidate the uptake mechanisms, which were found to be dependent on the NP size and the cell type. Clathrin-mediated endocytosis was involved in the uptake of SiO2 NP of all sizes and was the major pathway for 60 nm or 200 nm SiO2 NP. Caveolin-mediated endocytosis contributed to the uptake of 60 and 200 nm SiO2 NP in THP-1 macrophages but only to uptake of 200 nm SiO2 NP in A549. However, in the presence of serum all SiO2 NP were non-toxic. The presence of serum furthermore could alter the uptake mechanism. In summary, this study demonstrates size- and cell type dependent differences in SiO2 NP uptake and toxicity.
The determinents of accruals based earnings management :case of listed Moroccan companies

This article aims to identify the determinants of accruals based earning's management in Moroccan listed companies. On one hand, it examines the relation between discretionary accruals as the measure of earning's management and what literature documents as incentives to this practice, in particular, politico-contractual motivations, the avoidance of losses and earnings decreases and growth opportunities. On the other hand, it investigates whether corporate governance mechanisms may constrain management's opportunistic behaviors. The empirical results provide evidence that managers manipulate earnings in the presence of losses and, that growing firms is more likely to engage in earning's management. In terms of constraining factors, our findings indicate a negative relation between discretionary accruals and both institutional and concentrated ownership. Thus, we suggest that these shareholders play an effective role on monitoring managers.
Research on Relationships between Network Structure and Cluster Innovation Performance Based on SEM Simulation

Network organizational structure lays a solid organizational innovation platform and provides a high-speed network channel for flow and diffusion of innovation cluster resources. First, the article discusses the mechanism of network organization structure characteristics and industrial cluster innovation performance through three dimensions of network node attributes. Second, the article builds a theoretical model taking network organization structure characteristics and cluster innovation performance as variables. Finally, the paper carries on the path fitting simulation and calculates the degree of fitting, and verifies the reasonable degree of theoretical model. The article further more explains the possible causes of path which is not pass the practice test.
Shift work, emotional labour and psychological well-being of nursing staff

CITATION: Vermaak, C. , Gorgens-Ekermans, G. & Nieuwenhuize, C. 2017. Shift work, emotional labour and psychological well-being of nursing staff. Management : Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 22(2):35-48.
Precipitation changes on the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea (1954–2003) due to changes in intensity of westerlies over Europe

The present study investigated changes in precipitation totals, frequency of days with precipitation, and relationships between precipitation totals in individual seasons at several weather stations on the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea. From 1954 to 2003, precipitation totals were almost invariant, except for a significant positive trend in March precipitation totals in Szczecin, Koszalin, 1eba, and Elbląg. Much more extensive were the changes in the frequency of wet days. Time-series analysis of the precipitation frequency demonstrated an increasing annual wet-day total on the eastern part of the coast (Hel, Gdynia, and Elbląg). The increase occurred at the highest rate in Elbląg. A significant upward trend was observed at almost all weather stations in June, and also in Elbląg in January, March, and October, and in Koszalin in February. Atmospheric circulation is a major factor influencing both shortand long-term fluctuations in precipitation. Therefore, we also analysed the links between changes in the frequency of wet days and changes in large-scale atmospheric circulation (the intensity of westerlies in particular). These relationships were explored by comparing the frequency of precipitation events in periods with differing intensity of westerlies. The present study demonstrated that the direction of air-mass advections have a stronger effect on the number of days with precipitation than on precipitations totals. More intense western advection causes more frequent precipitation, especially in the eastern part of the study area.
Rational Groupthink

We study how long-lived rational agents learn from repeatedly observing a private signal and each others’ actions. With normal signals, a group of any size learns more slowly than just four agents who directly observe each others’ private signals in each period. Similar results apply to general signal structures. We identify rational groupthink—in which agents ignore their private signals and choose the same action for long periods of time—as the cause of this failure of information aggregation.
EXISTENCE AND MEASURABILITY OF THE SOLUTION OF THE STOCHASTIC DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS DRIVEN BY FRACTIONAL BROWNIAN MOTION

Here, the existence and measurability of solutions for stochastic differential equations driven by fractional Brownian noise with Hurst parameter greater than 1 2 is proved. Our method is based on approximating the main equation by delayed equations as in Peano’s method in ODEs. This method makes the proofs easier and needs weaker assumptions for the existence part, compared with the previous works as in [25]. In addition the constructive nature of the proofs helps to develop some numerical methods for solving such SDEs.
Buckling, Post-Buckling, Collapse and Design of Thin-Walled Steel Continuous Beams and Frames

This paper reports the available results of an ongoing numerical investigation on the buckling, post-buckling, collapse and design of thin-walled steel continuous beams and simple frames. The results presented and discussed are obtained through analyses based on generalised beam theory (elastic buckling analyses) and shell finite element models (elastic and elastic-plastic post-buckling analyses). Moreover, the ultimate loads obtained are used to establish preliminary guidelines concerning the design of these thin-walled steel structural systems failing in modes that combine local, distortional and global features. An approach based on the existing direct strength method (DSM) strength equations is followed and the comparison between the numerical and predicted ultimate loads makes it possible to draw some interesting conclusions concerning the issues that must be addressed by a DSM design procedure that can be successfully applied to thin-walled steel continuous beams and frames.