Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Zebrafish Cre/lox regulated UFlip alleles generated by CRISPR/Cas targeted integration provide cell-type specific conditional gene inactivation

The ability to regulate gene activity spatially and temporally is essential to investigate cell type specific gene function during development and in postembryonic processes and disease models. The Cre/lox system has been widely used for performing cell and tissue-specific conditional analysis of gene function in zebrafish, but simple and efficient methods for isolation of stable, Cre/lox regulated alleles are lacking. Here we applied our GeneWeld CRISPR/Cas9 short homology-directed targeted integration strategy to generate floxed conditional alleles that provide robust gene knockdown and strong loss of function phenotypes. A universal targeting vector, UFlip, with sites for cloning short 24-48 bp homology arms flanking a floxed mRFP gene trap plus secondary reporter cassette, was integrated into an intron in hdac1, rbbp4, and rb1. Active, gene off orientation hdac1-UFlip-Off and rb1-UFlip-Off integration alleles result in >99% reduction of gene expression in homozygotes and recapitulate known indel loss of function phenotypes. Passive, gene on orientation rbbp4-UFlip-On and rb1-UFlip-On integration alleles do not cause phenotypes in trans-heterozygous combination with an indel mutation. Cre recombinase injection leads to recombination at alternating pairs of loxP and lox2272 sites, inverting and locking the cassette into the active, gene off orientation, and the expected mutant phenotypes. In combination with our endogenous neural progenitor Cre drivers we demonstrate rbbp4-UFlip-On and rb1-UFlip-On gene inactivation phenotypes can be restricted to specific neural cell populations. Replacement of the UFlip mRFP primary reporter gene trap with a 2A-RFP in rbbp4-UFlip-Off, or 2A-KalTA4 in rb1-UFlip-Off, shows strong RFP expression in wild type or UAS:RFP injected embryos, respectively. Together these results validate a simplified approach for efficient isolation of highly mutagenic Cre/lox responsive conditional gene alleles to advance zebrafish Cre recombinase genetics.
Comparison of the Clinical Efficacy of Three Different Eye Drops for the Treatment of Dry Eye

Purpose: To compare the safety and efficacy of perfluorohexyloctane and water-based lipid-containing eyedrops. Methods: Prospective, randomized, comparative, open label clinical trial in patients with evaporative dry eye due to Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Group 1 was treated with EvoTears® (URSAPHARM), group 2 with Cationorm®MD sine (Santen), and group 3 with Systane® Balance (Alcon). Changes in terms of non-invasive break-up time (NIBUT), tear film lipid layer thickness (LLT), slit lamp examination and subjective symptoms were evaluated during a 28-day follow-up. Results: Each group comprised 10 patients. Statistically significant improvements in NIBUT were found in all groups (p < 0.001), with a larger percentual increase with EvoTears® at day 28 vs baseline (+121.3%). Patients treated with EvoTears® had less corneal staining than patients with Systane® Balance treatment (p = 0.007) at day 28. In all groups, significant changes in the expression of Meibomian glands, quality score of Meibomian secretion, level of conjunctival hyperemia and corneal staining were found (p < 0.001). In all groups, a significant improvement of symptoms evaluated by the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) was also observed (p = 0.008). The patients and the investigator scored efficacy and tolerability as acceptable or very good in all groups. Conclusion: EvoTears® showed a tendency for better outcomes in nearly all test parameters: improved tear film (NIBUT), ocular surface (staining), and most of all subjective impressions of MGD patients (OSDI) and is a suitable option to treat evaporative dry eyes. The results allow to start a discussion about a stable lipid layer is more important than a thick lipid layer.
Elementary School Teachers’ and Parents’ Perspectives of Home–School Engagement and Children’s Literacy Learning in a Low-Income Area

It is well-established that home–school engagement can contribute to children’s literacy learning. This research examined language arts teachers’ and parents’ perspectives of home–school engagement and literacy learning in a school located in a low-income area. The school was focusing on ways to improve students’ literacy learning providing the impetus for this research. Ten language arts teachers were interviewed, and two focus groups were held with 26 parents or caregivers at the K–Grade 5 school. The following themes were found: contrasting perspectives on home–school engagement, differing perspectives on homework completion, and similar views on what motivates students in literacy. This article discusses implications for practice and proposes recommendations, such as the need for teacher agency and the increased engagement of school administration.
Integrated Reporting quality and negative media coverage: empirical evidence

This study investigates the influence of negative media coverage around environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues on the quality of Integrated Reporting (IR) drawing upon legitimacy and media agenda setting theories. We specifically examine the top 100 South African companies listed on JSE in the 2013-2018 timeframe (342 firm-year observations). Our results reveal that IR quality is positively related both to peaks in ESG negative media coverage and to cumulative ESG negative media coverage, suggesting that companies adapt IR disclosure to respond to pressures – in terms of increased scrutiny and potential reputational damages – deriving from negative media coverage. Our findings extend previous knowledge on the determinants of IR quality in a context where integrated reporting is mandatory, and on the effects of ESG media coverage on reporting. Moreover, we add new evidence to the continuing debate on the role of media coverage in capital markets.
The Salience of ESG Ratings for Stock Pricing: Evidence From (Potentially) Confused Investors

We exploit a modification to Sustainalytics’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating methodology, which is subsequently adopted by Morningstar, to study whether ESG ratings are salient for stock pricing. We show that the inversion of the rating scale but not new information leads some investors to make incorrect assessments about the meaning of the change in ESG ratings. They buy (sell) stocks they misconceive as ESG upgraded (downgraded) even when the opposite is true. This trading behavior exerts transitory price pressure on affected stocks. Our paper highlights the importance of ESG ratings for investors and consequently for asset prices.
What Skewness Do Stock Markets Care About?

While recent theoretical and empirical work suggests that the skewness of a stock’s future<br>return distribution prices stocks, it does not clearly indicate over which return horizon(s) real<br>investors care most about skewness. Developing a new block bootstrap estimator allowing us to<br>calculate the realized skewness of discrete returns over different horizons, our aim is to answer<br>that question. We first establish that our block bootstrap estimator produces more accurate<br>realized skewness estimates than those produced by other recent estimators. We next show that<br>the existing skewness proxies used in the empirical asset pricing literature often differ in how<br>well they predict skewness over short or long return horizons. We finally document that the<br>skewness pricing evidence obtained in that literature is often more driven by investors caring<br>about the skewness of returns over short rather than over long horizons.
An Experimental Investigation of Resilience Decision-Making in Repeated Disasters

Given the growing prevalence of catastrophic events and health epidemics, policymakers are increasingly searching for effective strategies to encourage firms to invest in resilience rather than relying on insurance or government assistance. Too often, however, resilience research focuses on decisions made by firms and emergency planners in the context of “one-off” events. We extend this research by examining resilience decision making in the more realistic context of repeated catastrophic events. Using a population of professional managers of middle market firms and a university experimental economics subject pool, we conduct a series of controlled experiments on the decision to invest in inventories to improve firm resilience to repeated catastrophic events. While existing economic and supply chain resilience research has focused on resilience in terms of avoiding some magnitude of economic losses, existing research omits a focus on the probability of those losses. Controlled experiments can evaluate the influence of probability more effectively than observational data by better controlling for magnitude and more easily accounting for repeated events. We find that decision makers are less likely to make resilience investments when a disaster has recently occurred. We further find that advisory information alone is insufficient to motivate resilience investments by firms. It must be substantiated by a history of advisory accuracy. However, we find that this effect is heavily moderated by the type of advisory information provided; we find that firms are much more likely to trust precautionary advice.
Expl(Ai)Ned: The Impact of Explainable Artificial Intelligence on Cognitive Processes

This paper explores the interplay of feature-based explainable AI (XAI) tech- niques, information processing, and human beliefs. Using a novel experimental protocol, we study the impact of providing users with explanations about how an AI system weighs inputted information to produce individual predictions (LIME) on users’ weighting of information and beliefs about the task-relevance of information. On the one hand, we find that feature-based explanations cause users to alter their mental weighting of available information according to observed explanations. On the other hand, explanations lead to asymmetric belief adjustments that we inter- pret as a manifestation of the confirmation bias. Trust in the prediction accuracy plays an important moderating role for XAI-enabled belief adjustments. Our results show that feature-based XAI does not only superficially influence decisions but re- ally change internal cognitive processes, bearing the potential to manipulate human beliefs and reinforce stereotypes. Hence, the current regulatory efforts that aim at enhancing algorithmic transparency may benefit from going hand in hand with measures ensuring the exclusion of sensitive personal information in XAI systems. Overall, our findings put assertions that XAI is the silver bullet solving all of AI systems’ (black box) problems into perspective.
Electrocatalytic Activity of Schiff Base Containing Copper Phthalocyanines Towards the Detection of Catechol: Effect of Heteroatoms and Asymmetry

In this study, four new copper phthalocyanine complexes were synthesised and studied as electrocatalysts for the detection of catechol. Two of these complexes were derived from a symmetrical benzaldehyde phthalocyanine complex via the condensation of the benzaldehyde substituents with amine reagents. The electrocatalyst proved to be highly stable towards the detection of catechol. The oxidation peaks obtained using cyclic voltammetry range from 0.20 to 0.38 V. Detection limits were obtained via chronoamperometry and are as low as 0.16 µM and fairly high sensitives being obtained. Overall all four copper complexes exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the electrooxidation of catechol.
Hybrid Platform Model

We provide a canonical and tractable model of a trade platform enabling buyers and sellers to transact. The platform charges a percentage fee on third-party product sales and decides whether to be "hybrid", like Amazon, by selling its own product. It thereby controls the number of differentiated products (variety) it hosts and their prices. Using the mixed market demand system, we capture interactions between monopolistically competitive sellers and a sizeable platform product. Using long-run aggregative games with free entry, we endogenize seller participation through an aggregate variable manipulated by the platform's fee. We show that a higher quality (or lower cost) of the platform's product increases its market share and the seller fee, and lowers consumer surplus. Banning hybrid mode benefits consumers. The hybrid platform might favor its product and debase third-party products if the own product advantage is sufficiently high. We also provide some tax policy implications.
Crystal structure determination of K2Zn(PO3)4

The crystal structure of K2Zn(PO3)4 was determined and refined using the Rietveld method based on the isostructure model of K2Cu(PO3)4. This compound belongs to the monoclinic system with space group Cc and lattice parameters of a=11.0941(2) Å, b=12.5215(3) Å, c=7.6597(2) Å, and β=102.47(2)°. The chemical formula unit per unit cell is Z=4 and the calculated density is 2.938(3) g∕cm3. Zigzag [PO3]∞ chains formed along the a axis, and their period contains eight PO4 tetrahedrons.
Sectoral Real Exchange Rates and Manufacturing Exports: A Case Study of Latin America

Standard theory considers the real exchange rate (RER) as export determinant. A common limitation of cross-country evidence is the use of effective (REER) or bilateral (BRER) RER indices, both of which have the same values across sectors. The novel contributions of this paper are a variety of goods trade model, to exploit cross-sector variations by constructing a unique sectoral bilateral RER index (SBRER) for 12 Latin American countries, 21 sectors and 38 trade partners, and to estimate the effect of RER movements on manufacturing exports during 2001-2018. The results show that the SBRER is a significant determinant of aggregate manufacturing exports, whereas the REER and BRER appear not to be significant. Sectoral export elasticities moreover indicate that in Latin America mainly low-technology sectors are affected by RER movements. Overall these findings indicate that sectoral differences matter and provide new evidence on the effect of RER movements on Latin American exports.
No. 037/2020/MKT Early Prediction of Peak Sales Time in New Product Sales: Your Prediction May be Statistically Significant, But Is It Accurate?

Managers dealing with new products need to forecast sales growth, especially at the time when sales reach their peak, known as the peak sales time. They use a few initial years’ data to develop a forecast of the peak sales time and test for its statistical significance using traditional measures such as the t-statistic. Unfortunately, these traditional measures only indicate whether the forecast is significantly different from zero or not, not whether the forecast is accurate, that is, closer to the actual value. To determine the accuracy of the forecast, we develop a new metric called voice over noise (VON) that is derived from a diffusion model framework. VON is built on the premise that both the consumer voice (i.e., word-of-mouth that drives sales growth) and the market noise (i.e., distortions of the sales numbers) are important to consider in assessing the accuracy of the forecast; neither alone is sufficient. We empirically prove that a stronger VON indicates a more accurate forecast of peak sales time, which the traditional statistical measures cannot do. For our empirical test, we use 15 new products from the past 3 decades.
Effect of Cd(II) on the Ripening of Ferrihydrite in Alkaline Media

To acquire a better understanding of the influence exerted by the presence of Cd2+ during the process of transforming ferrihydrite to goethite, the morphological and structural changes of several samples obtained by the addition of Cd2+ to a suspension of nascent goethite were explored, and their chemical reactivity in acid media assessed. The samples (series Gi) were obtained by adding, at different times during the synthesis process, Cd2+ ions to ferrihydrite (Fe5HO8.4H2O) formed in alkaline media. The suspensions were aged for 5 days at 70°C, and the amorphous materials were extracted using a HCl solution (series GHCl-i). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed that a goethite-like phase was formed, and chemical analyses indicated that the Cd content, xCd, increased with the earlier addition of the Cd2+ ions to the Fe oxyhydroxide suspension. Lattice parameters and cell volume, obtained by the Rietveld simulation of XRD data, indicated an enlargement of the cell parameters of goethite in line with the Cd-for-Fe substitution. In order to determine the influence of oxalate ions on the non-extracted solids, a second set of samples was also prepared that was kept in contact with an ammonium oxalate solution for 4 h (series Gox-i). The dissolution behavior of two series of Cd goethites and of a third series, obtained from coprecipitation of Fe3+ and Cd2+ ions in alkaline media, was observed. Kinetics measurements in 4 M HCl showed that the initial dissolution rate of samples Gox-i decreased with aging time, while the opposite effect was observed for series GHCl-i. Dissolution–time curves were well described by the Kabai equation, and activation energies were calculated using the Arrhenius equation. The results indicate that the presence of Cd during the crystallization process of goethite leads to the formation of a Cd goethite with modified morphology, structural parameters, and chemical reactivity.
No. 043/2020/MKT Predicting Time to Upgrade for Successive Product Generations: An Exponential-Decay Proportional Hazard Model

In the presence of successive product generations, most consumers are repeat buyers, who may decide to purchase a future product generation before its release. As a result, after the new product generation enters the market, its sales often exhibit a declining pattern, thus rendering traditional bell-shaped product life-cycle models unsuitable for characterizing consumers’ time to product upgrades. In this study, we propose an Exponential-Decay Proportional Hazard Model (Expo-Decay model) to predict consumers’ time to product upgrade. The Expo-Decay model is parsimonious and easy to interpret and performs better than or as well as existing models in prediction accuracy. We apply the Expo-Decay model as well as three extensions to study consumers’ upgrade behaviors for a sports video game series. Empirical results reveal that consumers’ previous adoption and usage patterns can help predict their timing to product upgrades. In particular, we find that (i) consumers who have adopted the immediate past product generation are more likely to upgrade; (ii) players who play previous generations more often tend to upgrade earlier; (iii) consumers who specialize in a small subset of game modes demonstrate a lower probability to upgrade. When comparing the Expo-Decay model and its extensions, we find that more complex model extensions do not lead to better prediction performance than the baseline Expo-Decay model, while a time-variant extension that updates the values of covariates over time outperforms the baseline Expo-Decay model with static data.
Neuroprotective Effect of siRNA Entrapped in Hyaluronic Acid-Coated Lipoplexes by Intravitreal Administration

Since the possibility of silencing specific genes linked to retinal degeneration has become a reality with the use of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), this technology has been widely studied to promote the treatment of several ocular diseases. Despite recent advances, the clinical success of gene silencing in the retina is significantly reduced by inherent anatomical and physiological ocular barriers, and new strategies are required to achieve intraocular therapeutic effectiveness. In this study, we developed lipoplexes, prepared with sodium alginate as an adjuvant and strategically coated with hyaluronic acid (HA-LIP), and investigated the potential neuroprotective effect of these systems in a retinal light damage model. Successful functionalization of the lipoplexes with hyaluronic acid was indicated in the dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy results. Moreover, these HA-LIP nanoparticles were able to protect and deliver siRNA molecules targeting caspase-3 into the retina. After retinal degeneration induced by high light exposure, in vitro and in vivo quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-qPCR) assays demonstrated significant inhibition of caspase-3 expression by HA-LIP. Furthermore, these systems were shown to be safe, as no evidence of retinal toxicity was observed by electroretinography, clinical evaluation or histology.
Transcription Factor HSF1 Suppresses the Expression of Surfactant Protein D in Cells Infected with Aspergillus fumigatus

Aspergillosis is a life-threatening disease in patients with compromised immune systems. The process of fungal invasion is an important step during host cell infection. We investigated the transcription factor and promoter region of SFTPD, which is activated during the infection process in conidia-treated cells. To investigate the promoter activity of SFTPD in fungal-infected cells, we cloned various lengths of the promoter region (−1000 to +1) of SFTPD and examined its activity in A549 cells treated with Aspergillus fumigatus conidia. We determined the location within the promoter region of SFTPD that exhibits a response to conidia infection. AliBaba 2.1 software was used to predict the transcription factor involved as well as the binding sites in the SFTPD promoter region. The results of a decoy assay show that the HSF1 transcription factor is sufficient to decrease the SFTPD expression. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we confirmed that HSF1 directly binds to the selected sequence, which is located in the response region (−142 to −134 bp). These findings suggest that inhibiting the binding of HSF1 to the promoter region of SFTPD is an important step to prevent conidia infection.
Ultrasound-Verified Peripheral Arthritis in Patients with HLA-B*35 Positive Spondyloarthritis

Background: We aimed to investigate possible association between the HLA-B*35 allele and peripheral arthritis, tenosynovitis and enthesitis. Methods: Ultrasound of peripheral joints and tendons was performed in 72 HLA-B*35 positive patients with preliminary diagnosis of undifferentiated axial form of spondyloarthitis and joint and tendon pain. Patients with other known types of axial and peripheral spondyloarthritis were excluded as well as patients with other known types of arthritis. Results: Pathological changes were found in the joints of 33 (46%) patients and on the tendons in 13 (18%) patients. The most common ultrasound findings were joint effusion and synovial proliferation with positive power Doppler signal grade 1. The most common ultrasound finding in patients with painful tendons was tenosynovitis. A higher disease activity and an increased incidence of elevated CRP (≥5 mg/L) were more often observed in the group with positive ultrasound findings. Conclusion: In this study, we showed that the HLA-B*35 allele could be a potential risk factor for developing peripheral arthritis, but not for tenosynovits and enthesitis in patients with the undifferentiated axial form of spondyloarthritis. This result may influence the follow up of these patients, especially since it gives us an opportunity to consider the use of different types of DMARDs in the treatment of these patients.