Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor β/δ Cross Talks with E2F and Attenuates Mitosis in HRAS-Expressing Cells

ABSTRACT The role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ (PPARβ/δ) in Harvey sarcoma ras (Hras)-expressing cells was examined. Ligand activation of PPARβ/δ caused a negative selection with respect to cells expressing higher levels of the Hras oncogene by inducing a mitotic block. Mitosis-related genes that are predominantly regulated by E2F were induced to a higher level in HRAS-expressing Pparβ/δ-null keratinocytes compared to HRAS-expressing wild-type keratinocytes. Ligand-activated PPARβ/δ repressed expression of these genes by direct binding with p130/p107, facilitating nuclear translocation and increasing promoter recruitment of p130/p107. These results demonstrate a novel mechanism of PPARβ/δ cross talk with E2F signaling. Since cotreatment with a PPARβ/δ ligand and various mitosis inhibitors increases the efficacy of increasing G2/M arrest, targeting PPARβ/δ in conjunction with mitosis inhibitors could become a suitable option for development of new multitarget strategies for inhibiting RAS-dependent tumorigenesis.
Individual voluntary participation in the United Kingdom: an overview of survey information

The measurement of voluntary activity is not straightforward; definitional and methodological questions affect the responses. This is true within the context of the UK but also in other countries of the developed world (Archambault 1993, Kendall and Knapp 1993, Gidron and Katz 1998, Salamon and Sokolowski 2001). The existence of definitional difficulties and ambiguities has a detrimental impact on the quality of academic research and policy-making in this sphere. Firstly, it impedes orderly collection of statistical information on volunteering in administrative sources. Also, it complicates the collection of survey information: the absence of well-understood and widely-agreed concepts of voluntarism in the public mind introduces uncertainty in people’s responses. To date, however, there has not been an attempt to compare findings of different surveys systematically. This paper aims to fill the gap in research by reviewing the available surveys for the UK. It focuses specifically on the methods used to obtain information on volunteering and the comparability of the results generated by different surveys.
Partial state robust output maneuvering controller applied to a quadcopter vehicle

This article addresses the problem of quadrotors following a path geometry under the action of a constant external disturbance and with partial state measurement. To solve these issues, under the assumption of time scale separation between the translational dynamics and the closed-loop rotational dynamics, we propose an integral output robust maneuvering controller in combination with a translational velocity observer and an external disturbance estimator. Experimental results demonstrate the performance of the proposed control algorithm.
Surface-Potential-Based Compact Modeling of Gate Current in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

In this paper, the gate current in AlGaN/GaN high-electron mobility transistors is modeled analytically in a surface potential-based compact model. Thermionic emission and Poole-Frenkel emission are two dominant mechanisms for the gate current in the forward and reverse-bias regions, respectively. In addition, a trap-assisted tunneling component, which is important at low reverse bias, is also added. The developed gate current model, implemented in Verilog-A is in excellent agreement with experimental data and passes the important Gummel symmetry test.
Mutants of phospholipase A (pPLA-I) have a red light and auxin phenotype.

pPLA-I is the evolutionarily oldest patatin-related phospholipase A (pPLA) in plants, which have previously been implicated to function in auxin and defence signalling. Molecular and physiological analysis of two allelic null mutants for pPLA-I [ppla-I-1 in Wassilewskija (Ws) and ppla-I-3 in Columbia (Col) ] revealed pPLA-I functions in auxin and light signalling. The enzyme is localized in the cytosol and to membranes. After auxin application expression of early auxin-induced genes is significantly slower compared with wild type and both alleles show a slower gravitropic response of hypocotyls, indicating compromised auxin signalling. Additionally, phytochrome-modulated responses like abrogation of gravitropism, enhancement of phototropism and growth in far red-enriched light are decreased in both alleles. While early flowering, root coils and delayed phototropism are only observed in the Ws mutant devoid of phyD, the light-related phenotypes observed in both alleles point to an involvement of pPLA-I in phytochrome signalling.
Trade Liberalization and Informality: New Stylized Facts

The relationship between trade liberalization and informal activity has not received the attention, whether theoretical or empirical, that it may deserve. The conventional view posits that trade liberalization would cause a rise in informality. This paper uses three different data sets to assess the sign of the relationship. Empirical results provide a mixed picture. Macro-founded data tend to produce results supporting the conventional view; micro-founded data do not. Empirical results also suggest that while informal output increases with deeper trade liberalization, informal employment falls.
Segmentation of small animal PET/CT mouse brain scans using an MRI-based 3D digital atlas

The work reported in this paper aimed at developing and testing an automated method to calculate the biodistribution of a specific PET tracer in mouse brain PET/CT images using an MRI-based 3D digital atlas. Surface-based registration strategy and affine transformation estimation were considered. Such an approach allowed overcoming the lack of anatomical information in the inner regions of PET/CT brain scans. Promising results were obtained in one mouse (on two scans) and will be extended to a neuroinflammation mouse model to characterize the pathology and its evolution. Major improvements are expected regarding automation, time computation, robustness and reproducibility of mouse brain segmentation. Due to its generic implementation, this method could be successfully applied to PET/CT brain scans of other species (rat, primate) for which 3D digital atlases are available.
An Intervention Fidelity Framework for Technology-Based Behavioral Interventions

Background:Despite the proliferation of health technologies, descriptions of the unique considerations and practical guidance for evaluating the intervention fidelity of technology-based behavioral interventions are lacking. Objectives:The aims of this study were to (a) discuss how technology-based behavioral interventions challenge conventions about how intervention fidelity is conceptualized and evaluated, (b) propose an intervention fidelity framework that may be more appropriate for technology-based behavioral interventions, and (c) present a plan for operationalizing each concept in the framework using the intervention fidelity monitoring plan for Pocket PATH (Personal Assistant for Tracking Health), a mobile health technology designed to promote self-care behaviors after lung transplantation, as an exemplar. Method:The literature related to intervention fidelity and technology acceptance was used to identify the issues that are unique to the fidelity of technology-based behavioral interventions and thus important to include in a proposed intervention fidelity framework. An intervention fidelity monitoring plan for technology-based behavioral interventions was developed as an example. Results:The intervention fidelity monitoring plan was deemed feasible and practical to implement and showed utility in operationalizing the concepts such as assessing interventionists' delivery and participants' acceptance of the technology-based behavioral intervention. Discussion:The framework has the potential to guide the development of implementation fidelity monitoring tools for other technology-based behavioral interventions. Further application and testing of this framework will allow for a better understanding of the role that technology acceptance plays in the adoption and enactment of the behaviors that technology-based behavioral interventions are intended to promote.
Research Associations as Network Facilitators: A Snapshot of the Travel and Tourism Research Association

ABSTRACT This article presents a discussion on research associations as facilitators of knowledge networks in a community of tourism research and marketing professionals. The Travel and Tourism Research Association was selected for a case study to examine factors, attitudes, and behaviors in relation to professional networking of its members. Perceptions of knowledge networks, and of the association as a network facilitator, are discussed in the contexts of social networks and capacity-building of a scientific community. While the observations are made of a small sample from a single association, results of the study have potential implications for understanding and nurturing professional networks in an applied research community.
Isolation of Free Living Amoebas as a Highly Sensitive Index of Water Contamination

Abstract Safe drinking water is a rare commodity in India. Several water borne diseases are commonly reported from metropolitan cities of India, most likely due to unsatisfactory disinfection of municipal water. The analysis of the microbiological flora of the water supplied for drinking purposes shows that New Delhi water is biologically contaminated. Six hundred water samples obtained from New Delhi residential complexes included 96 from direct taps, 310 from overhead tanks used for storing the same water for urgent needs, and 194 were from water filter residues. The samples were repeatedly collected in every season for two consecutive years. Ninety percent of the water samples were found to be biologically contaminated. Most contaminated samples were from overhead water tanks (97.4 percent) and from filter residues (94.5 percent). Even direct tap water was found to be contaminated in more than 50 percent of the samples. The most common isolates were from the protozoan category, the free living amoeba (90.1 percent) and by aerobic bacteria (73.0 percent). Overhead tank water samples were co-contaminated with as many as 15 microorganisms. Isolation of free living amoebae was found to be the most sensitive tool of analyzing the water safety. It is proposed that after determining the microbiological contamination, the public health laboratories should modify the existing technique and must perform the cultures for free living amoebae on non-nutrient agar in addition to the standard coliform test.
Learning Petri network and its application to nonlinear system control

According to recent knowledge of brain science it is suggested that there exists functions distribution, which means that specific parts exist in the brain for realizing specific functions. This paper introduces a new brain-like model called Learning Petri Network (LPN) that has the capability of functions distribution and learning. The idea is to use Petri net to realize the functions distribution and to incorporate the learning and representing ability of neural network into the Petri net. The obtained LPN can be used in the same way as a neural network to model and control dynamic systems, while it is distinctive to a neural network in that it has the capability of functions distribution. An application of the LPN to nonlinear crane control systems is discussed. It is shown via numerical simulations that the proposed LPN controller has superior performance to the commonly-used neural network one.
Differences in service quality perceptions of stakeholders in the hotel industry

Purpose – Studies in the service quality evaluation literature have generally attempted to determine the service quality perception level of customers by mainly focusing on customers’ quality evaluations. However, the nature and characteristics of differences in service quality perceptions among customers, managers and employees are not sufficiently researched. In this study, the differences in service quality perceptions among the aforementioned stakeholders are examined. Design/methodology/approach – Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the significant differences between stakeholder’s perceptions of service quality, using a sample of 845 hotel stakeholders (customers, employees and managers). Findings – The findings showed that employees perceived service performance to be at a high level, while customers perceived it to be at a low level. According to the post-hoc test, even though managers’ perception of service quality performance was lower than that of employees, no significant differ.
JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS June 1978 THE UNIQUE, REAL INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN: CAVEAT EMPTORl

The purpose of this paper is to show that the internal rate of return (IRR) even when unique and real may nevertheless be an incorrect measure of the return on investment, and to prove that all projects characterized by negative flows occurring only at the beginning and end will be mixed investments for which the IRR, whether unique and real or not, is not a correct measure of investment return. Several years ago, W. H. Jean [3] proved that for capital budgeting projects in which only the first and last cash flows were negative there would be a unique, real, positive internal rate of return. J. Hirshleifer [2] subsequently showed that, if the sum of cash flows beyond the first was less than or equal to the first cash flow, multiple IRR's can exist for the: project. This prompted Professor Jean [4] to extend his treatment and further specify the conditions for unique IRR for such cases as Hirshleifer cited. While Jean's results are mathematically interesting, they do not take into account the way in which such projects violate the assumption of independence between the IRR and the firm's cost of capital, which destroys the economic meaningfulness of the resulting IRR. The conditions under which the IRR of a project may not be independent of the firm's cost of capital have been widely ignored as the reader can easily verify by referring to recent editions of textbooks in finance and capital budgeting, one noteworthy exception being Mao's text [5]. Jean's article and examples are cited in this paper for purposes of illustration, since his article is rigorous and mathematically correct (as modified subsequent to Hirshleifer's comment). In this paper, we shall prove that mathematical uniqueness of a real root to the traditional IRR equation is, while a necessary condition, nevertheless not a sufficient condition to ensure that one has obtained a rate independent of the firm's cost of capital and thus a measure of investment return "internal" to the cash flow of the project. In fact, it is proved in this paper that in
Social Capital and Knowledge Relatedness as Promoters of Organizational Performance

In this article, we extend social capital theory by explicating two aspects of social capital neglected so far, cognitive fit and affective fit, and we combine social capital theory with the knowledge-based view of the firm and thereby demonstrate the interrelatedness and combined importance of the two concepts. Our proposed model show that social capital and knowledge relatedness, together referred to as "relational fit," facilitate knowledge transfer and creation, which in turn positively influence organizational performance. We empirically tested our model by analyzing the influence of relational fit on German corporate venture capital units (CVCs) and their portfolio companies. Our results show that relational fit facilitates knowledge transfer and creation, which in turn positively influences organizational performance (but CVC/corporate performance only to a limited extent). We suggest that a good relational fit has a positive impact on sustainability in and of organizations.
Photodynamic Therapy Induced Enhancement of Tumor Vasculature Permeability Using an Upconversion Nanoconstruct for Improved Intratumoral Nanoparticle Delivery in Deep Tissues

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has recently emerged as an approach to enhance intratumoral accumulation of nanoparticles. However, conventional PDT is greatly limited by the inability of the excitation light to sufficiently penetrate tissue, rendering PDT ineffective in the relatively deep tumors. To address this limitation, we developed a novel PDT platform and reported for the first time the effect of deep-tissue PDT on nanoparticle uptake in tumors. This platform employed c(RGDyK)-conjugated upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), which facilitate active targeting of the nanoconstruct to tumor vasculature and achieve the deep-tissue photosensitizer activation by NIR light irradiation. Results indicated that our PDT system efficiently enhanced intratumoral uptake of different nanoparticles in a deep-seated tumor model. The optimal light dose for deep-tissue PDT (34 mW/cm2) was determined and the most robust permeability enhancement was achieved by administering the nanoparticles within 15 minutes following PDT treatment. Further, a two-step treatment strategy was developed and validated featuring the capability of improving the therapeutic efficacy of Doxil while simultaneously reducing its cardiotoxicity. This two-step treatment resulted in a tumor inhibition rate of 79% compared with 56% after Doxil treatment alone. These findings provide evidence in support of the clinical application of deep-tissue PDT for enhanced nano-drug delivery.
Improvement of conception rate in crossbred cattle by using GnRH analogue therapy.

The study was carried out to evaluate the effect of Dalmarelin (Lecirelin acetate, GnRH analogue) administration at the time of AI on conception rate in repeat breeding crossbred cattle. A total of 64 cows maintained at the Government Farm Okara were included in the study. Age of these cows ranged from 44 to 232 months and their lactation number varied from 1–13. The experimental cows were divided into control and treatment groups. The average age and lactation number of cows of the control and treatment groups did not differ. In this experiment 32 cows received no treatment at the time of AI while in other group 32 cows received Dalmarelin (GnRH analogue) therapy at the time of AI. The cows were examined after 60 days post insemination per rectum. A total 12 animals out of 32 confi rmed pregnant after rectal examination having conception rate 37.5% in control group and in treatment group 22 animals out of 32 confi rmed pregnant after rectal examination having conception rate 68.75% (P < 0.0242/x2: 5.082). The data regarding postpartum interval, estrus duration and estrus behaviour was collected and analyzed, which was non-signifi cant. The study revealed that use of GnRH analogue therapy improved the conception rate in repeat breeding crossbred cows when it was administered at the time of AI.
INCOME INEQUALITY, RECIPROCITY AND PUBLIC GOOD PROVISION: AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS

This paper analyses the impact of income inequality on public good provision in an experimental setting. A sample of secondary school students were recruited to participate in a simple linear public goods game where income heterogeneity was introduced by providing participants with unequal token endowments. The results show that endowment heterogeneity does not have any significant impact on contributions to the public good, and that consistent with models of reciprocity, low and high endowment players contribute the same fraction of their endowment to the public pool. Moreover, individuals appear to adjust their contributions in order to maintain a fair share rule.
Progress In Interoperability: Measuring US Hospitals' Engagement In Sharing Patient Data.

Achieving an interoperable health care system remains a top US policy priority. Despite substantial efforts to encourage interoperability, the first set of national data in 2014 suggested that hospitals' engagement levels were low. With 2015 data now available, we examined the first national trends in engagement in four domains of interoperability: finding, sending, receiving, and integrating electronic patient information from outside providers. We found small gains, with 29.7 percent of hospitals engaging in all four domains in 2015 compared to 24.5 percent in 2014. The two domains with the most progress were sending (with an increase of 8.1 percentage points) and receiving (an increase of 8.4 percentage points) information, while there was no change in integrating systems. Hospitals' use for patient care of data from outside providers was low, with only 18.7 percent of hospitals reporting that they "often" used these data. Our results reveal that hospitals' progress toward interoperability is slow and that progress is focused on moving information between hospitals, not on ensuring usability of information in clinical decisions.
Identifying Opportunity Spaces for Design Research in South America: Working with Grassroots and Community Groups

As design research continues to gain momentum in South America, design researchers and practitioners in the region have begun to consider how to the field may address regionally-specific issues, including on-going political struggles. By bringing approaches such as Participatory Design and Adversarial Design that consider political aspects of design, local researchers have explored various forms that these two approaches could take that are tailored to the needs and values of different communities across the region. This paper focuses on identifying opportunities for developing design research projects in community-based and grassroots-oriented contexts. The paper presents the findings of our study about the understanding and experience of design researchers and experts who have been working closely with community groups and grassroots organisations in South America. Five themes emerged, highlighting opportunities and challenges related to positioning contemporary design research in the region, integration of adversarial perspectives into design processes, leveraging local obstacles through creativity, and the potential of building capacity within community groups and grassroots organisations for sustainability and autonomy.
Do Leverage, Dividend Payout, and Ownership Concentration Influence Firms' Value Creation? An Analysis of Brazilian Firms

This study uses a sample of 213 Brazilian firms listed between 1995 and 2004 to examine the effect of the presence or absence of growth opportunities on the subsequent effect of leverage, dividend payout, and ownership concentration on firm value. First, we find that leverage plays a dual role: whereas it negatively affects the value of firms with growth opportunities (i.e., underinvestment theory), it positively affects the value of firms without growth opportunities (i.e., overinvestment theory). Second, we find that dividends play a disciplinary role in firms with fewer growth opportunities by reducing free cash flow under managerial control. Finally, the results show that ownership structure has a nonlinear effect—that is, ownership concentration initially improves the value of most firms. However, after a certain threshold, in firms with growth opportunities, the risk increases that large shareholders expropriate wealth at the expense of minority shareholders.