Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of intellectual capital on innovation generation and adoption

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the separate and interrelated effects of three aspects of intellectual capital (human, social and organizational capital) on innovation generation and adoption. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 318 respondents’ of chemical firms. This study used multiple regression analysis to analyze the influence of human, organizational and social capital on innovation generation and adoption. Findings Results suggest that organizational capital exerts significantly positive impact on innovation adoption. In the same vein, social capital exerts significantly positive impact on both innovation generation and adoption. Moreover, interaction of social capital further strengthens the influence of organizational capital on innovation adoption. Contrary to hypotheses, human capital does not exert significant influence on innovation generation. However, interaction of social capital further strengthens the impact of human capital on innovation generation. Practical implications Findings offer implications for modern managers to utilize the knowledge that resides in firm’s different locations. It also enhances managerial ability to identify and apply these knowledge resources to expedite innovation generation and adoption. Originality/value Innovation generation and adoption plays a critical role in firm’s acquiring success and competitive advantage, yet the influence of intellectual capital on innovation generation and adoption mostly remains as unexplained puzzle. This study contributes to knowledge-innovation literature by examining the missing link between different types of knowledge and innovation generation and adoption. It also helps to comprehend the enabling factors through which firms capitalize upon, and obtain, a sustainable competitive advantage.
Profitability of Momentum Strategies on the JSE

This study evaluates the profitability of practical momentum strategies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) over the period January 1998 to May 2013 and compares the risk-adjusted return that could be achieved with the ALSI40. The study finds that, even after adjusting for risk and including transaction costs, momentum strategies provide abnormal annualised returns of up to 8.7% in excess of the benchmark. The effect of the portfolio start date is also evaluated and although there is some evidence of a calendar year effect, the momentum strategies continue to provide robust returns. Next, the study attempts to improve the return of momentum strategies by implementing a fixed stop-loss arrangement, without a meaningful improvement in returns. Finally, the momentum strategy is combined with other financial ratios, resulting in an improvement in annualised risk-adjusted returns of up to 14.1% in excess of the benchmark.
Herpetic eye disease: immunopathogenesis and therapeutic measures

Infection of the cornea with herpes simplex virus (HSV) can result in a chronic disease called herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK). The disease represents one of the leading causes of infectious blindness in the Western world. Immune-mediated cellular damage is suspected in the pathogenesis of human HSK. The murine model has been pivotal in further establishing HSK as an immunopathological disease. This article reviews understanding of HSK, both in humans and in the mouse model, with an emphasis on possible future therapeutic strategies to counteract this blinding immunoinflammatory disease
Radiogenomic analysis of breast cancer: luminal B molecular subtype is associated with enhancement dynamics at MR imaging.

PURPOSE To investigate associations between breast cancer molecular subtype and semiautomatically extracted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging features. MATERIALS AND METHODS Imaging and genomic data from the Cancer Genome Atlas and the Cancer Imaging Archive for 48 patients with breast cancer from four institutions in the United States were used in this institutional review board approval-exempt study. Computer vision algorithms were applied to extract 23 imaging features from lesions indicated by a breast radiologist on MR images. Morphologic, textural, and dynamic features were extracted. Molecular subtype was determined on the basis of genomic analysis. Associations between the imaging features and molecular subtype were evaluated by using logistic regression and likelihood ratio tests. The analysis controlled for the age of the patients, their menopausal status, and the orientation of the MR images (sagittal vs axial). RESULTS There is an association (P = .0015) between the luminal B subtype and a dynamic contrast material-enhancement feature that quantifies the relationship between lesion enhancement and background parenchymal enhancement. Cancers with a higher ratio of lesion enhancement rate to background parenchymal enhancement rate are more likely to be luminal B subtype. CONCLUSION The luminal B subtype of breast cancer is associated with MR imaging features that relate the enhancement dynamics of the tumor and the background parenchyma.
Top Income Inequality in the 21st Century: Some Cautionary Notes

We revisit recent empirical evidence about the rise in top income inequality in the United States, drawing attention to key issues that we believe are critical for an informed discussion about changing inequality since 1980: the definition of income (labor versus total), the unit of analysis (individual versus tax unit), the importance of partnership and S-corporation income, income shifting between the corporate and personal sectors in response to tax incentives, the definition of the top of the distribution, and trends in the middle and bottom of the distribution. Our goal is to inform researchers, policymakers, and journalists who are interested in top income inequality.
A Single-Chain Tetradomain Glycoprotein Hormone Analog Elicits Multiple Hormone Activities In Vivo1

Abstract We previously demonstrated that genetically linking one or more of the glycoprotein hormone-specific β subunit genes to the common α subunit resulted in single-chain analogues that were bioactive in vitro. The ability of such large structures to bind their cognate receptors with high affinity supported the hypothesis that extensive flexibility exists between the ligand and receptor to establish a functional complex. To further characterize the extent of this conformational flexibility, we engineered a single-chain analogue that consists of sequentially linked thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) β, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) β, and chorionic gonadotropin (CG) β subunits to the α subunit and expressed this chimera in transfected CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cells. Because the four subunits are genetically linked and expressed as a single-chain, this analogue presumably lacks significant native structural features of the individual heterodimers. However, it exhibited FSH, CG, and TSH activities in vitro. Here, we test whether this nonnative structure would be stable in vivo and thus biologically active. Using a variety of bioassay protocols, we demonstrate that the analogue elicits multihormone activities when injected in vivo. First, treatment with the analogue caused increases in ovarian and uterine weights and resulted in elevated serum estradiol. Second, the analogue-stimulated ovarian follicle growth and pharmacologically rescued in vivo FSH deficiency similar to recombinant human FSH or equine CG (eCG) as confirmed by induction of aromatase in the ovaries of FSHβ knockout mice. Third, in a superovulation protocol, when primed with eCG, the analogue elicited a dose-dependent ovulatory response comparable with that by native heterodimeric human CG. Finally, the analogue-stimulated thyroxin production in hypothyroid mice similar to the pituitary-derived human TSH standard. Based on these data, we conclude that a single-chain tetradomain glycoprotein hormone analogue, despite its presumed altered conformation, is stable and biologically active in vivo. Our results establish the permissiveness and conformational plasticity with which the glycoprotein hormones are recognized in vivo by their target cell receptors.
Flow Cytometric Analysis of Calcium Mobilization in Whole‐Blood Platelets

Flow cytometry provides a convenient method to evaluate platelet activation by following the kinetics of intracellular free Ca2+, using sensitive fluorescent indicators that can be loaded into intact cells. Moreover, in the clinical setting, whole‐blood techniques have obvious advantages to avoid artifactual platelet activation and allow the maintenance of near‐physiological conditions. This unit describes a fast and sensitive flow cytometric procedure using the Ca2+‐sensitive dye fluo‐3 AM and the platelet‐specific antibody CD41‐PE to determine the kinetics of intracellular Ca2+ mobilization in whole‐blood platelets with minimal manipulation of the samples. The technique may be applied to reveal fast and transient increases in cytosolic calcium upon platelet stimulation with the agonists ADP and thrombin. This protocol provides a simple and sensitive tool to assess in vitro the time course and intensity of signal‐transduction responses to agonists under near‐physiological conditions, and should be broadly applicable to studies of platelet reactivity.
Policing economic crime in Russia

Gilles Favarel-Garrigues explores the management of economic crime in Russia, from the time of Leonid Brezhnev to Boris Yeltsin, recasting the history of the "criminal problem" that has tainted Russian politics since the late 1980s. In the closing decades of the Soviet regime, shortages of goods and services precipitated a rapid increase in black market and underground practices, visible to all yet wholly illegal. Favarel-Garrigues explains why certain cases were selected for prosecution and why particular funds and manpower were deployed to combat "economic crime. " Law enforcement agencies were also charged with stemming the fallout from Mikhail Gorbachev's liberal economic reforms. Russia's judicial framework proved too obsolete to deal with far-reaching economic change, tempting many in law enforcement to privatize their professional know-how. Drawing on firsthand research with both criminals and policemen, Favarel-Garrigues scrupulously investigates the changing face of criminal law and its practice before and after the fall of the Soviet state.
Parameter optimization for machine-learning of word sense disambiguation

Various Machine Learning (ML) approaches have been demonstrated to produce relatively successful Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD) systems. There are still unexplained differences among the performance measurements of different algorithms, hence it is warranted to deepen the investigation into which algorithm has the right ‘bias’ for this task. In this paper, we show that this is not easy to accomplish, due to intricate interactions between information sources, parameter settings, and properties of the training data. We investigate the impact of parameter optimization on generalization accuracy in a memory-based learning approach to English and Dutch WSD. A ‘word-expert’ architecture was adopted, yielding a set of classifiers, each specialized in one single wordform. The experts consist of multiple memory-based learning classifiers, each taking different information sources as input, combined in a voting scheme. We optimized the architectural and parametric settings for each individual word-expert by performing cross-validation experiments on the learning material. The results of these experiments show that the variation of both the algorithmic parameters and the information sources available to the classifiers leads to large fluctuations in accuracy. We demonstrate that optimization per word-expert leads to an overall significant improvement in the generalization accuracies of the produced WSD systems.
Genetics for Pseudoalteromonas Provides Tools To Manipulate Marine Bacterial Virus PM2

ABSTRACT The genetic manipulation of marine double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) bacteriophage PM2 (Corticoviridae) has been limited so far. The isolation of an autonomously replicating DNA element of Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 and construction of a shuttle vector replicating in both Escherichia coli and Pseudoalteromonas enabled us to design a set of conjugative shuttle plasmids encoding tRNA suppressors for amber mutations. Using a host strain carrying a suppressor plasmid allows the introduction and analysis of nonsense mutations in PM2. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of a suppressor-sensitive PM2 sus2 mutant deficient in the structural protein P10. To infect and replicate, PM2 delivers its 10-kbp genome across the cell envelopes of two gram-negative Pseudoalteromonas species. The events leading to the internalization of the circular supercoiled dsDNA are puzzling. In a poorly understood process that follows receptor recognition, the virion capsid disassembles and the internal membrane fuses with the host outer membrane. While beginning to unravel the mechanism of this process, we found that protein P10 plays an essential role in the host cell penetration.
Deep Brain Stimulation of Hemiparkinsonian Rats with Unipolar and Bipolar Electrodes for up to 6 Weeks: Behavioral Testing of Freely Moving Animals

Although the clinical use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) is increasing, its basic mechanisms of action are still poorly understood. Platinum/iridium electrodes were inserted into the subthalamic nucleus of rats with unilateral 6-OHDA-induced lesions of the medial forebrain bundle. Six behavioral parameters were compared with respect to their potential to detect DBS effects. Locomotor function was quantified by (i) apomorphine-induced rotation, (ii) initiation time, (iii) the number of adjusting steps in the stepping test, and (iv) the total migration distance in the open field test. Sensorimotor neglect and anxiety were quantified by (v) the retrieval bias in the corridor test and (vi) the ratio of migration distance in the center versus in the periphery in the open field test, respectively. In our setup, unipolar stimulation was found to be more efficient than bipolar stimulation for achieving beneficial long-term DBS effects. Performance in the apomorphine-induced rotation test showed no improvement after 6 weeks. DBS reduced the initiation time of the contralateral paw in the stepping test after 3 weeks of DBS followed by 3 weeks without DBS. Similarly, sensorimotor neglect was improved. The latter two parameters were found to be most appropriate for judging therapeutic DBS effects.
Effect of body size on breast‐cancer risk among Japanese women

With the use of data from the hospital‐based epidemiologic research program at Aichi Cancer Center (HERPACC), the effect of body size on the risk of breast cancer was evaluated among Japanese women, who are generally leaner than white women. In total, 1,359 breast‐cancer cases were included, and 24,207 women, confirmed as free of cancer, were recruited as a reference group. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were determined by multiple‐logistic regression analysis. Separate analyses were performed for pre‐ and post‐menopausal women. Furthermore, stratification by decade of age was done to evaluate the effect of body size on the development of breast cancer. The results obtained from the present study were as follows. (1) Current body‐mass index (BMI) was positively associated with post‐menopausal breast cancer (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.49–2.92 for highest quintile vs. lowest), although higher BMI did not affect the risk in pre‐menopausal women. (2) Estimates of risk were below unity for BMI at around age 20 in post‐menopausal women. (3) After stratifying BMI at around age 20, gaining BMI in later life was positively associated with increased risk, regardless of BMI in early life. These findings suggest that avoidance of marked weight gain during adult life, especially after natural menopause and/or after age 60, may reduce the risk of breast cancer. Int. J. Cancer 80:349–355, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Malt-yeast extract-sucrose agar, a suitable medium for enumeration and isolation of fungi from silage

A general medium named malt-yeast extract-sucrose agar (MYSA) containing oxgall was designed. The medium was intended for the enumeration and isolation of molds and yeasts in routine examinations of animal feed stuffs. In this study MYSA was tested as a general medium for mycological examination of silage. The medium was compared with dichloran-rose bengal medium (DRBC) in an examination of more than 500 specimens of big bale grass silage. Selected characteristics of known fungal species commonly isolated from feeds were examined after growth on MYSA and DRBC and on malt extract agar, used as a noninhibitory control medium. MYSA suppressed bacterial growth, without affecting the growth of fungi common in feeds. The fungi growing on MYSA were easily recognized, and the medium seemed to slow radial growth of fungal colonies, which permitted, easy counting. The number of species found was higher on MYSA than on DRBC. When we compared MYSA with DRBC for mycological examination of grass silage samples, MYSA was found to be the medium of choice.
The Human Concentrative Nucleoside Transporter-3 C602R Variant Shows Impaired Sorting to Lipid Rafts and Altered Specificity for Nucleoside-Derived Drugs

The human concentrative nucleoside transporter-3 C602R (hCNT3C602R), a recently identified human concentrative nucleoside transporter-3 (hCNT3) variant, has been shown to interact with natural nucleosides with apparent Km values similar to those of the wild-type transporter, although binding of one of the two sodium ions required for nucleoside translocation is impaired, resulting in decreased Vmax values (Mol Pharmacol 73:379–386, 2008). We have further analyzed the properties of this hCNT3 variant by determining its localization in plasma membrane lipid domains and its interaction with nucleoside-derived drugs used in anticancer and antiviral therapies. When expressed heterologously in HeLa cells, wild-type hCNT3 localized to both lipid raft and nonlipid raft domains. Treatment of cells with the cholesterol-depleting agent methyl-β-cyclodextrin resulted in a marked decrease in hCNT3-related transport activity that was associated with the loss of wild-type hCNT3 from lipid rafts. It is noteworthy that although exogenously expressed hCNT3C602R was present in nonlipid raft domains at a level similar to that of the wild-type transporter, the mutant transporter was present at much lower amounts in lipid rafts. A substrate profile analysis showed that interactions with a variety of nucleoside-derived drugs were altered in the hCNT3C602R variant and revealed that sugar hydroxyl residues are key structural determinants for substrate recognition by the hCNT3C602R variant.
Ontario Colleges in the Digital Age: Understanding the Student Experience, Perceptions and Attitudes of Online Learning at one Ontario College

The global economy is undergoing drastic upheavals as Canada enters the 21st century. The key driver of this transformation is the emergence of the digital age. The digital age is impacting all facets of Canadian society, including postsecondary education. The integration of educational technologies into curriculum is spawning a new form of learning commonly referred to as online learning. Online learning has the potential to radically alter the manner in which knowledge is taught and learned in Canadian higher education. This mixed-methods study utilized both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The qualitative phase (n = 16) was developed and built upon the development and analysis of the quantitative phase (n = 279), which is based on Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, permitting the researcher to probe more deeply into the college students’ attitudes and perceptions of their online learning experience. The participating students represented most of the programs offered by this
Robust Portfolio Optimisation with Specified Competitors

We extend Relative Robust Portfolio Optimisation models to allow portfolios to optimise their distance to a set of benchmarks. Portfolio managers are also given the option of computing regret in a way which is more in line with market practices than other approaches suggested in the literature. In addition, they are given the choice of simply adding an extra constraint to their optimisation problem instead of outright changing the objective function, as is commonly suggested in the literature. We illustrate the benefits of this approach by applying it to equity portfolios in a variety of regions.
Evidence of the Primary Afferent Tracts Undergoing Neurodegeneration in Horses With Equine Degenerative Myeloencephalopathy Based on Calretinin Immunohistochemical Localization

Equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (EDM) is characterized by a symmetric general proprioceptive ataxia in young horses, and is likely underdiagnosed for 2 reasons: first, clinical signs overlap those of cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy; second, histologic lesions—including axonal spheroids in specific tracts of the somatosensory and motor systems—may be subtle. The purpose of this study was (1) to utilize immunohistochemical (IHC) markers to trace axons in the spinocuneocerebellar, dorsal column–medial lemniscal, and dorsospinocerebellar tracts in healthy horses and (2) to determine the IHC staining characteristics of the neurons and degenerated axons along the somatosensory tracts in EDM-affected horses. Examination of brain, spinal cord, and nerves was performed on 2 age-matched control horses, 3 EDM-affected horses, and 2 age-matched disease-control horses via IHC for calbindin, vesicular glutamate transporter 2, parvalbumin, calretinin, glutamic acid decarboxylase, and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Primary afferent axons of the spinocuneocerebellar, dorsal column–medial lemniscal, and dorsospinocerebellar tracts were successfully traced with calretinin. Calretinin-positive cell bodies were identified in a subset of neurons in the dorsal root ganglia, suggesting that calretinin IHC could be used to trace axonal projections from these cell bodies. Calretinin-immunoreactive spheroids were present in EDM-affected horses within the nuclei cuneatus medialis, cuneatus lateralis, and thoracicus. Neurons within those nuclei were calretinin negative. Cell bodies of degenerated axons in EDM-affected horses are likely located in the dorsal root ganglia. These findings support the role of sensory axonal degeneration in the pathogenesis of EDM and provide a method to highlight tracts with axonal spheroids to aid in the diagnosis of this neurodegenerative disease.