Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new measure of alcohol affordability for the UK.

AIMS To present revisions to the official UK measure of alcohol affordability published by the National Health Service (NHS) Information Centre. The revisions address the following problems in the official measure:(a) The income measure used in the calculation is a measure of the income for the whole population of the UK, not income per capita. (b) The income measure includes 'imaginary' items, namely imputed rentals and attributed income from insurance policies. (c) The income measure is inconsistent in its treatment of housing costs. (d) The adjustment for inflation makes the measure unnecessarily complex and can have counter-intuitive effects. METHODS The revised measure has the same essential structure as the NHS measure, being the ratio of income to price of alcohol. Adjustments were applied to official income figures, and adjustments for inflation were removed. RESULTS The revised measure shows that affordability has levelled off since 2003, in contrast to the NHS measure, which shows it continuing to rise until 2008. CONCLUSION The revised measure corrects a basic error of failing to divide total income for the UK by number of people in the population. This alters the measure but is more correct. Further improvements result in a measure that correlates more closely with UK alcohol consumption over the last decade.
The role of phosphorylation on the structure and dynamics of phospholamban: A model from molecular simulations

Phospholamban (PLB) is a small membrane protein that regulates the activity of the calcium ATP‐ase in the cardiac, slow‐twitch, and smooth muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum through the reversible phosphorylation of Ser16. We present here a comparative molecular dynamics study of unmodified and phosphorylated PLB immersed in a phospholipid membrane. The study has been performed under different ionic strength conditions, using the NMR structures of two PLB variants determined in mixed organic solvent and dodecylphosphocholine micelles. The simulations indicate that all PLB forms studied display a highly dynamic behavior of the N‐terminal cytoplasmic moiety, with a decrease of its helical content in the phosphorylated forms. The cytoplasmic domain undergoes large collective motions sampling conformations parallel as well as perpendicular to the membrane surface in all the simulations. The transmembrane domain retains a tightly folded helical conformation with a small tilt with respect to the membrane plane probably induced by the presence of Asn30 and Asn34 within the hydrophobic environment. Furthermore, the phosphoric group on Ser16 establishes transient electrostatic interactions with the phospholipid heads. We propose a model in which phosphorylation diminishes the probability of interactions of PLB with residues near Lys400 in the SERCA pump, thus relieving itsinhibition. Proteins 2007 © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A germline FANCA alteration that is associated with increased sensitivity to DNA damaging agents

Defects in genes involved in DNA damage repair (DDR) pathway are emerging as novel biomarkers and targets for new prostate cancer drug therapies. A previous report revealed an association between an exceptional response to cisplatin treatment and a somatic loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of FANCA in a patient with metastatic prostate cancer who also harbored a germline FANCA variant (S1088F). Although germline FANCA mutations are the most frequent alterations in patients with Fanconi anemia, germline alterations are less common in prostate cancer. We hypothesized that the germline S1088F FANCA variant in combination with FANCA LOH was deleterious for FANCA function and contributed to the patient's exceptional response to cisplatin. We show that although it properly localizes to the nucleus, the S1088F FANCA mutant protein disrupts the FANC protein complex resulting in increased sensitivity to DNA damaging agents. Because molecular stratification is emerging as a strategy for treating men with metastatic, castrate-resistant prostate cancer harboring specific DDR gene defects, our findings suggest that more biomarker studies are needed to better define clinically relevant germline and somatic alterations.
Virtual network embedding with pre‐transformation and incentive convergence mechanism

Efficient and fair resource allocation for multitudinous virtual networks running cloud‐based applications is crucial to archive dynamic resources multi‐tenancy in cloud computing. In order to solve the problem, we propose a novel virtual network embedding (VNE) algorithm to increase revenue and utilization of substrate network as well as to improve acceptance fairness of virtual networks. First, we present a virtual topology pre‐transformation mechanism leveraging reusable technology to reduce topology difference and achieve acceptance fairness. Then, because of the Non‐deterministic polynomial‐time (NP)‐hard characteristics of VNE, we model the problem as an integer linear programming problem and solve the VNE problem with a discrete particle swarm optimization‐based algorithm. The operations and parameters of particles are well redefined according to the VNE context. Finally, an incentive convergence mechanism is proposed to reduce mapping complexity, which can be used to accelerate convergence and to save more bandwidth by exploiting individual candidate nodes' lists. Simulation results prove that our proposed method is superior to the existing similar algorithms in terms of physical resource utilization, acceptance fairness, revenue/cost ratio, and searching efficiency. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Lamin A-Dependent Nuclear Defects in Human Aging

Mutations in the nuclear structural protein lamin A cause the premature aging syndrome Hutchinson-Gilford progeria (HGPS). Whether lamin A plays any role in normal aging is unknown. We show that the same molecular mechanism responsible for HGPS is active in healthy cells. Cell nuclei from old individuals acquire defects similar to those of HGPS patient cells, including changes in histone modifications and increased DNA damage. Age-related nuclear defects are caused by sporadic use, in healthy individuals, of the same cryptic splice site in lamin A whose constitutive activation causes HGPS. Inhibition of this splice site reverses the nuclear defects associated with aging. These observations implicate lamin A in physiological aging.
Impact of Road Rehabilitation on Property Value: A Case of Lasu-Isheri Road, Igando, Lagos State

The importance of transportation cannot be de-emphasized either in a city, town or neighbourhood. The necessity that every area should possess quality transportation systems as well as good road networks that can serve the present population and ease movement cannot be ignored. The research therefore aims at assessing the impact of road rehabilitation on property values using Lasu-Isheri road Lagos as a case study. To achieve this, the residents and Estate Surveyors and Valuers in the study area and Ikeja respectively were consulted to get information to aid in arriving at a reasonable conclusion. Questionnaires were administered to 84 residents in the study area while 73 (87%) was retrieved and 52 to the Estate Surveyors and Valuers who have management properties in the study area, 44 (85%) was retrieved. Analysis and Presentation of data were done using frequency tables and percentages, mean. The study revealed that road rehabilitation majorly has a positive effect on areas where it was carried out; hence it is recommended that government should keep rehabilitating roads both to their benefit and that of the residents in the area. This will help enhance the economic development of the area, increasing land and rental values and also encourage developers to invest.
Managing ambidexterity in fast growing small and medium sized tech enterprises

determines the feasibility of the new product development. The tool is used to guide the main empirical research, carried out by means of a case study within an organization in the food industry. The tools’ applicability and practical use is tested at Bühler AG, market-leader in food-processing equipment. Local partnerships, transportation distances and production volumes are found to be important. Besides ﬁnancial viability, other incentives for target organizations are marketing strategies, creating consumer goodwill and reduction of the CO 2 footprint. Further research is recommended to develop a systematic approach for innovation of side-streams utilisations and investigate roles of all stakeholders involved. The tool should stimulate actors active in the food industry to invest in new side-stream valorisation strategies. parallel interactions. Examples are the network model and open innovation. Advantages are the increase in ideas and knowledge, and the sharing of risks. A disadvantage of non-linear innovation
Kinematic comparison of baseball batting off of a tee among various competition levels

Abstract Determining and understanding baseball batting mechanics at various competition levels may help players and coaches identify key kinematics crucial to being a successful hitter. The purpose of this study was to compare batting kinematics across competition levels. Kinematic and temporal data were analysed for 170 male batters (youth n = 33; high school n = 69; college n = 22; professional n = 46) using 3D motion capture (480 Hz). The results showed differences in angular positions between competition levels during the five phases of the swing, with the greatest differences seen between the youth and professional batters. At the instant of ball contact, professional batters held the bat farther away from their body, with greater back shoulder abduction (35°) and less back elbow flexion (78°) compared to youth (27° and 89°, respectively). These differences were associated with greater back elbow extension velocity for professionals (1539°/s) compared to youth (1174°/s). Additionally, higher level batters had higher bat angular and linear velocities compared to the youth batters. As batters progress through their career, they should focus on their back arm by keeping their elbow up and their arm extended in front of them.
Anti-cancer Activity of Novel TM4SF5-Targeting Antibodies through TM4SF5 Neutralization and Immune Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity

The transmembrane four L6 family member 5 (TM4SF5) protein is a novel molecular target for the prevention and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. TM4SF5 is highly expressed in liver, colon, esophageal, and pancreatic cancers and is implicated in tumor progression. Here, we screened monoclonal antibodies that specifically bound to the extracellular loop 2 (EC2) of TM4SF5 from a phage-displayed murine antibody (single-chain variable fragment; scFv) library. We constructed and characterized chimeric antibodies, Ab27 and Ab79, of scFv fused with Fc domain of human IgG1. The affinity (KD) of Ab27 and Ab79 for soluble EC2 was approximately 9.2 nM and 16.9 nM, respectively, as determined by surface plasmon resonance analysis. Ab27 and Ab79 efficiently bound to native TM4SF5 on the cell surface were internalized into the cancer cells, leading to a decrease in cell surface TM4SF5. Ab27 and Ab79 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of TM4SF5-positive liver and colon cancer cells and reduced FAK and c-Src phosphorylation. Ab27 and Ab79 also enhanced anoikis sensitivity and reduced survivin. Ab27 mediated antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro. Ab27 and Ab79 efficiently inhibited tumor growth in a liver cancer xenograft model. These results strongly support the further development of Ab27 as a novel anti-cancer agent in the clinic.
Development and Validation of the Shy Bladder Scale

Paruresis, characterized by the difficulty or inability to urinate in a variety of social contexts, is a scientifically under-studied phenomenon. One reason for this state of affairs is the paucity of reliable and valid measures for assessing this problem. The present article attempted to address this limitation by investigating the psychometric properties and validity of a new measure of paruresis: the Shy Bladder Scale (SBS). In two undergraduate samples, the SBS demonstrated excellent internal consistency and a stable factor structure assessing difficulty urinating in public, impairment and distress, and paruresis-related fear of negative evaluation. Undergraduate students evidenced very low levels of paruresis-related concerns. In contrast, SBS scores were markedly elevated among individuals recruited from an online support network who appeared to meet diagnostic criteria for paruresis-specific social phobia. Our findings highlight the SBS's potential utility as a measure of paruresis in clinical and research contexts.
Lidar signal denoising based on wavelet domain spatial filtering

Lidar is an effective tool for remotely monitoring target or objects, but the lidar signal is often affected by various noises or interferences. Therefore, detecting the weak signals buried in noises is a fundamental and important problem in the lidar systems. In this paper, an effective noise reduction method based on the wavelet domain spatial filtration is presented to denoise lidar signal. This method can effectively detect the edge of lidar signal and reduce noise. The performance of our method is investigated by detecting the simulating lidar signals in noise. The simulation results show that our approach performs well in identifying the edge of signal and detecting weak lidar signal buried in noises
Icelandic Companies Doing Business in China; Cultural Differences and Intercultural Communication

It has been recognized that doing business is China is particularly difficult. Business practices can be problematic because of cultural differences and communication barriers. Over the years, the relationship between Iceland and China has been on good terms and recently, in 2013, these two countries signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). It is expected that business between Iceland and China is going to increase because more companies are searching for various opportunities and looking towards China to tap into various benefits of the FTA. In this research cultural differences and intercultural communication are analyzed though previous research, survey questionnaire, and interviews to find out how they are affecting Icelandic businesses doing business in China. This research reveals that cultural and communication barriers are always present and need to be constantly managed. One of the key findings is that Icelandic companies seems to recognize the advantage from overcoming cultural differences and communication barriers, but are however not doing enough to address the challenge, resulting in financial loss.
Chemical complementation: A reaction-independent genetic assay for enzyme catalysis

A high-throughput assay for enzyme activity has been developed that is reaction independent. In this assay, a small-molecule yeast three-hybrid system is used to link enzyme catalysis to transcription of a reporter gene in vivo. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of this approach by using a well-studied enzyme-catalyzed reaction, cephalosporin hydrolysis by the Enterobacter cloacae P99 cephalosporinase (β-lactam hydrolase, EC ). We show that the three-hybrid system can be used to read out cephalosporinase activity in vivo as a change in the level of transcription of a lacZ reporter gene and that the wild-type cephalosporinase can be isolated from a pool of inactive mutants by using a lacZ screen. The assay has been designed so that it can be applied to different chemical reactions without changing the components of the three-hybrid system. A reaction-independent high-throughput assay for protein function should be a powerful tool for protein engineering and enzymology, drug discovery, and proteomics.
Adoption and acceptance of mobile commerce in Saudi Arabia : the case of e-ticketing in the airline industry

Mobile technology has influenced business strategies over recent years and the increasing penetration of mobile devices and related solutions such as mobile commerce has revolutionised consumer organisations. Saudi Arabia with its high mobile penetration has the potential for higher usage of mobile services in the near future. This research aimed at understanding and evaluating the acceptance and adoption of mobile commerce in Saudi Arabia with specific focus on the airline ticketing services through evaluation of the attitude and behaviour of the airline consumers towards mobile commerce in airline ticketing services. The research was designed as a mixed and explanatory research and used both deductive and inductive approaches to understanding mobile commerce acceptance in airline ticketing services. The research also involved extensive review of technology adoption models such as Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), based on which a research framework was developed and hypotheses specified. Quantitative study involved online questionnaire based survey with 207 travellers who were connected at the King Abdul-Aziz airport in Saudi Arabia, while qualitative study involved interviews with eight employees of Saudi Airlines. The collected data was analysed using MS Excel and SPSS and subjected to descriptive, regression and content analysis. The research findings indicate positive perceptions of airline travellers towards the usefulness, ease of use and other related benefits of using mobile commerce for air ticketing services. The key factors influencing the attitude were identified to be the ease of use, usefulness and social influence, while key determinants of behavioural intention were identified to be mobility, compatibility and usefulness. The other factors such as cost, trust, perceived risk and usecontext were not found to be the key influencers of the behavioural intention of Saudi Arabian travelers towards use of mobile commerce for airline ticketing services. Another key finding was the lack of any significant differences, perhaps surprising, in the behavioural intention to use mobile commerce across various demographic groups based on age, gender and education. The research findings will be useful for both practitioners of mobile commerce as well as academicians involved in research on acceptance and adoption of mobile commerce. Moreover, the research findings are not just useful for the airline industry in Saudi Arabia, but can also be consulted by those interested in understanding mobile-commerce acceptance in airline industry anywhere else across the globe or any other industry in Saudi Arabia.
Factors Affecting the Financial Performance of Investment Funds a Comparative Study: Islamic versus Conventional Funds

The Growth rate of investment in mutual funds has exceptionally increased over the last decade. Many studies have compared between the performances of conventional and Islamic mutual funds in the developed markets and only a few have studied emerging markets. The aim of this study is to focus on the investigation of the factors affecting and the performance of Islamic mutual funds in comparison with their conventional counterparts in Egypt as an emerging market in mutual funds generally and Islamic mutual funds specially. The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the financial performance of Islamic mutual funds (IMFs) in comparison with the conventional mutual funds (CMFs). Risk and return relationship is evaluated relative to market benchmark over an 8-year period from January 2006 to December 2013 divided into pre-financial crisis phase (27 months), during financial crisis phase (45 months) and post-financial crisis phase (24 months). The data covers 34 mutual funds from Egypt, consisting of 9 Islamic mutual funds (IMFs) and 25 Conventional mutual funds (CMFs) covering only open-end equity funds for the purpose of standardization and relativity of the comparison. The analysis focuses on risk and return performance, and the impact of funds attributes including age, size, objective, systematic risk and total risk. The study employs Sharpe, Treynor and Jensen models as risk-adjusted performance measures. The study concludes that the performance of IMFs is not significantly different from the CMFs counterparts in the pre-financial crisis phase, during the financial crisis phase, or the post-financial crisis phase. Both IMFs and CMFs outperformed the market index (EGX30) in the pre-Financial Crisis phase and the post-Financial Crisis phase but underperformed the market index during the Financial Crisis phase. Moreover, both IMFs and CMFs outperformed the T-bill rate in the pre-Financial Crisis phase but underperformed the T-bill rate during the Financial Crisis phase and the postFinancial Crisis phase. Total risk and systematic risk significantly affect the performance of mutual funds. Income & Growth objective is an important variable that is accompanied by an increase in the performance of the fund. Growth objective and Age also play significant roles in interpreting the performance of mutual funds.
Modeling and Inner–Outer Decoupling of Dual-Rotor Machines for Continuous Variable Transmission Systems

This paper develops a hybrid d–q model of a double salient dual-rotor machine (DSDR) based on the three-phase dynamic model for continuous variable transmission systems in the applications of hybrid electrical vehicles. The developed model considers the different operation characteristics of DSDRs and helps in understanding the interactions between the inner and outer machines. In this model, the inductances of the proposed DSDRs are all transformed into constants approximately and are independent of the inner and outer rotor speeds. Moreover, combining the traditions of d–q decoupling controllers with the innovations of dual-rotor machine couplings, an inner–outer decoupling control strategy with high performances is achieved. This inner–outer decoupling control strategy is capable of controlling the inner and outer machine quantities corresponding to the requirements of the engine and vehicle drivetrain. Finally, simulations and experiments are used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed modeling method and decoupling control algorithm.
Dermoscopy: A rapid bedside tool to assess monilethrix

Sir, Monilethrix is a rare genetic disorder characterized by fragility of hair shafts resulting in alopecia. It is of autosomal dominant inheritance and the genes most commonly implicated are hHB1 and hHB6 genes on chromosome 12. The hair is normal at birth; however, in a few months the patient develops keratotic papules, alopecia and brittle hair. We report a case of monilethrix where dermoscopy helped in the bedside diagnosis and helped in estimating the extent of involvement.
Cryptocurrency and Capital Controls

The development of cryptocurrency technology has made it possible to transfer value securely and instantaneously without a third party intermediary such as a bank or financial institution. This is an exploratory analysis of where and why this technology has gained traction. In particular, I focus on the hypothesis that the relative popularity of cryptocurrency in Argentina can be explained by the presence of long-term capital controls. To test this hypothesis, I conducted expert interviews with market players. The main conclusion is that cryptocurrency can and has been used to evade capital controls. However, it is unlikely that substantial volumes have been moved via this mechanism. Cryptocurrency’s popularity in Argentina is attributable to more than the country’s history of capital controls or high rates of inflation. Other factors, including tax rate, levels of corruption, and history of multiple exchange rates have also contributed to adoption of this technology in Argentina. I propose further case study research on cryptocurrency in additional countries in order to develop these theories.