Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Photosynthesis and Growth of Tobacco with a Substituted Bacterial Rubisco Mirror the Properties of the Introduced Enzyme

Complete replacement, by biolistic plastid transformation, of the hexadecameric ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) with the dimeric version from the bacterium, Rhodospirillum rubrum, resulted in fully autotrophic and reproductive tobacco plants that required high CO2 concentrations to grow (Whitney SM, Andrews TJ [2001] Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98: 14738-14743). Growth and photosynthesis of these plants was compared with that of nontransformed tobacco and other controls where the rbcL gene for the large subunit of tobacco Rubisco was linked to the aadA selectable-marker gene, simulating the gene arrangement of the transformants with R. rubrum Rubisco. An arrangement of the rbcL and aadA genes that gave rise to an abundant monocistronic rbcL transcript and a one-fifth as abundant bicistronic rbcL-aadA transcript had Rubisco levels and photosynthetic properties similar to those of nontransformed tobacco. Direct linkage of the rbcL and aadA genes, resulting in exclusive production of a bicistronic mRNA transcript analogous to that of the transformants with R. rubrum Rubisco, reduced transcript abundance and tobacco Rubisco content. The analogous transcript with the R. rubrum rbcM gene substituted for rbcL was not only reduced in abundance, but was also translated less efficiently. The photosynthetic rates of the transformants and controls were measured at high CO2 concentrations, using a mass spectrometric method. The rates and their responses to atmospheric CO2 concentration mirrored the amounts and the kinetic properties of the Rubiscos present. The contents of total nitrogen, carbohydrates, and photosynthetic metabolites of the leaves were also consistent with the content and type of Rubisco.
How to Negotiate with the Japanese

This article examines and identifies the mechanics of U.S.-Japan business negotiations; how a company prepares for such negotiations; the factors that contribute to the success or failure of such negotiations; and what can be done to improve future negotiations. Data was collected from 114 U.S. firms that had affiliate or subsidiary operations in Japan.
Performance Degradation Prediction and Cell Balance Control Algorithm Construction of Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

Various studies were conducted from the aspects of both the battery cells and the module with the aim of making more effective use of the battery capacity. As a result, after 77 cycles of driving and rapid charging, the capacity degradation of the battery module as a whole was 7.7 % and it was determined that the cause of this additional 0.7 % degradation of the capacity was the loss of cell balance. In addition, by adopting module balance coefficient (945;) that was proposed as an indicator to show the available percentage of the lowest capacity cell in the module, new cell balancing rules were created that do not significantly affect the convenience of vehicle operation.
First-Line Paclitaxel and Carboplatin in Persistent/Recurrent or Advanced Cervical Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis of Patients Treated at Brazilian National Cancer Institute

Objective Cervical cancer represents the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth cause of cancer death in women worldwide. In the palliative scenario, the combination of paclitaxel and cisplatin is widely used. Carboplatin is also an active agent in cervical cancer, and its association with paclitaxel could represent a well-tolerated, less toxic, and effective therapeutic option. The objective of this study was to evaluate response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, and toxicity of carboplatin and paclitaxel in first palliative line for cervical cancer. Methods A retrospective search of database at Brazilian National Cancer Institute was performed, and all patients with persistent/recurrent and advanced cervical cancer treated with paclitaxel and carboplatin in first palliative line, between August 2008 and January 2010, were included. Results A total of 153 women were enrolled. Objective responses were documented in 34.6% (5.2% of complete responses and 29.4% of partial responses). With a median follow-up of 27.8 months, the median progression-free survival was 5.2 months, and the median overall survival was 10.63 months. The most common toxicity was myelosuppression: grades 3 and 4 anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia observed in 43.0%, 17.8%, and 9.2% of the cases, respectively. Neurotoxicity was presented by 30.7% of the patients. Renal toxicity was detected in 21.9% of the patients, but only 4.0% were grade 3, and none were grade 4. Conclusions This retrospective study has demonstrated that paclitaxel-carboplatin is an active and well-tolerated regimen for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer.
Reliable extraction of cycling induced interface states implementing realistic P/E stresses in reference cell: comparison with flash memory cell

The cycling induced interface states in floating-gate EEPROM cells are reliably extracted by implementing accurate program/erase stresses in the reference cell. The interface states measured directly from the memory cell via charge pumping are shown different from those obtained conventionally from the reference cell. The reasons for these different levels of extraction are elucidated and a new method is presented for accurate determination of interface trap density. The technique is based on introducing the equivalent gate voltage with offset voltage at the reference cell by which to simulate realistically the cycling stresses as occur in the flash memory cell itself.
Selection of rational dispute resolution method by applying new step‐wise weight assessment ratio analysis (Swara)

Abstract The paper considers major principles of application of the multi‐attribute systems to solve legislative tasks. In order to assess dispute resolution methods from economic, social and other points of view, it is necessary to apply methods for assessing solutions according to multiple attributes. All known multi‐attribute methods cannot value the atribute weights as one weight of attribute is higher or lower significant than the other attribute. The new step‐wise weight assessment ratio analysis method (SWARA) allows including experts, lawyers or dispute parties opinion about significance ratio of the attributes in the process of rational decision determination. SWARA method could be applied in practical implementation of specialised decision support systems and alternative dispute resolution in virtual environment. Starting with principles and established approaches, a problem‐structuring methodology was developed which would condition the problem to allow a more thoughtful application of existing.
Protein metabolism in acromegaly: differential effects of short- and long-term treatment.

CONTEXT GH acutely increases body protein by stimulating protein synthesis and reducing protein oxidation. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to determine whether these changes in protein metabolism are sustained in long-term GH excess and reversed by correction. DESIGN We conducted a cross-sectional study in 16 acromegalic and 18 normal subjects and a longitudinal study in which acromegalic subjects were studied before and after short-term (n=8) or long-term (n=10) treatment. SETTING The study was conducted at a clinical research center. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Whole-body rates of leucine appearance (leucine Ra; an index of protein breakdown), leucine oxidation, and nonoxidative leucine disposal (NOLD; an index of protein synthesis) estimated using infusion of 1-[13C] leucine were measured. RESULTS Leucine Ra and NOLD were greater (P<0.01) in acromegalic compared with normal subjects, whereas leucine oxidation did not differ. Leucine oxidation increased significantly (P<0.05) after short-term treatment but returned to baseline after long-term treatment. Both leucine Ra and NOLD decreased significantly (P<0.05) after short- and long-term treatment. Adjustment for body composition did not affect results. CONCLUSIONS In acromegalic subjects, protein breakdown and synthesis are increased, whereas protein oxidation does not differ from normal subjects. Protein oxidation increases transiently, whereas protein breakdown and synthesis are stably reduced after treatment. Because protein oxidation represents irreversible loss, we conclude that the normal state of protein oxidation found in acromegaly and after long-term treatment represents metabolic adaptation, which maintains protein mass at a steady state after stable changes in GH status.
Developing an approach for tourism climate change assessment: evidence from four contrasting Australian case studies

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified Australia as among the developed nations most at risk from climate change effects. Key tourism icon destinations and the tourism sector generally have been identified as being particularly at risk. This paper reports on an interdisciplinary, multi-case study approach to assess tourism stakeholders' knowledge of, and approaches to, climate change adaptation and to explore the potential for building a self-assessment toolkit that can be exported to other tourism destinations. This study examined existing knowledge on anticipated biophysical changes and, through primary research (stakeholder interviews and social learning workshops), gauged the expected adaptive approaches of destination communities and the tourism sector to these changes for 2020, 2050 and 2070. The facilitated workshops generated a common set of adaptation strategies across a diverse set of tourist destinations. A key finding from the workshops is that the tourism sector is not yet ready to invest in climate change adaptation because of the perceived uncertainties. Ongoing leadership for such measures were seen to rest with the public sector, especially local authorities. Whether such assessments can be self-generated or require specialist facilitation remains open to debate.
Mayors and Local Governing Coalitions in Democratic Countries: A Cross-National Comparison

Abstract This paper focuses on the form or ‘morphology’ of mayor governing coalitions in municipalities of 11 democratic countries. If there exists an ‘analytical consensus’ regarding the form that these coalitions can adopt, the ‘empirical consensus’ seems to lean toward a modal form: the ‘pro-growth coalition’. Nevertheless, our results show the existence of two other forms of mayor governing coalitions which are as numerous as the pro-growth: ‘progressive coalitions’ and ‘integrative coalitions’. Therefore, these progressive and integrative coalitions, usually tested as case studies, have been shown here as empirical generalisations through a cross-national analysis that included 1700 cases. The aim of this paper is therefore to transcend ‘empirical parochialism’ in urban governance where the mayor is interested above all in urban growth and cooperation with business, and to give empirical generalisation to other local governance definitions, where local government leaders might be interested in implementing welfare policies with the cooperation of other political actors, be they parties, associations or upper levels of government.
Bias‐Corrected Diagonal Discriminant Rules for High‐Dimensional Classification

Summary Diagonal discriminant rules have been successfully used for high‐dimensional classification problems, but suffer from the serious drawback of biased discriminant scores. In this article, we propose improved diagonal discriminant rules with bias‐corrected discriminant scores for high‐dimensional classification. We show that the proposed discriminant scores dominate the standard ones under the quadratic loss function. Analytical results on why the bias‐corrected rules can potentially improve the predication accuracy are also provided. Finally, we demonstrate the improvement of the proposed rules over the original ones through extensive simulation studies and real case studies.
The Cyprus Debt: Perfect Crisis and a Way Forward

The Cyprus crisis is one of the most complex in the Eurozone -although in absolute terms it is a minor crisis. An analysis of the ongoing developments from different perspectives leads to the conclusion that we are witnessing a perfect storm of a financial crisis at the confluence of sovereign debt and banking crisis together with debt overhang of business and households and a severe decline of competitiveness. As a result Cyprus has amassed a large external debt that cannot be repaid, no matter what fraction of the country’s real domestic economic output is appropriated through austerity measures. Hence, fiscal austerity leads to deflationary stagnation and alone does not work. We advocate a policy response that addresses multiple dimensions of the problem with policy options of (1) austerity deleveraging, (2) structural reforms, (3) financial innovations, (4) selective privatizations and (5) debt restructuring. These options are drawn from lessons of what worked well, and what not, in crises of other countries and these lessons are summarized in lieu of conclusions. A postscript discusses the potential impact of the Eurogroup decision of March 2013 on the Cyprus crisis.
Stock Exchange Listings, Firm Value, and Security Market Efficiency: The Impact of NASDAQ

Abstract This paper is an event-time study of OTC stocks that listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) over the period 1966–1977. This period was chosen because it spans the introduction of the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation (NASDAQ) communications system in the OTC market. In the pre-NASDAQ period, stocks, on average, earn significant positive abnormal returns in response to listing announcements. In the post-NASDAQ period, abnormal returns in response to listing announcements are statistically significantly lower than those for the pre-NASDAQ period. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that NASDAQ has reduced the benefits associated with listing on a major stock exchange. Additionally, in both the pre- and post- NASDAQ periods, stocks, on average, earn significant positive abnormal returns following the initial announcement of listing before listing actually occurs, and they earn significant negative returns immediately after listing. These anomalies are explored and the results are shown to be insensitive to variations in empirical methodology.
The German Business Cycle in the 1920's: A Comment

Both Prof. Temin and Dr Falkus differ from the traditional historiography in that they regard the behaviour of inventory investment as a major component in the explanation of this recession. Temin, however, rules out monetary determinants of the rate of inventory investment, while Falkus rehabilitates them. I believe that in this period, inventory investment is something of a red herring, introduced by defects in the statistical series used. Temin relies on Hoffmann's estimates of the annual rate of inventory investment in mining, manufacturing, trade, and the artisan sector, deflated to constant (I 9 I 3) prices.3 Hoffmann deflates by applying the annual average of the official wholesale price index to cumulating estimates of inventories at the year-end. I think his deflator is faulty for two main reasons. Firstly, the construction of the underlying current value data4 (based chiefly on balance-sheet analysis) provides little justification for the use of annual average prices. In somewhat analogous cases, Abramovitz and Feinstein use only the spread of prices during the last four to five months of the year.5 Secondly, since in this discussion the concern is expressly with inventory investment outside agriculture, the commodity weighting of the official wholesale price index is inappropriate. It gives unduly heavy weighting to agricultural prices, since it is designed "to measure the purchasing power of the circulating capital of the entire economy". 6 I have prepared alternative estimates of non-agricultural inventory investment at constant prices. I used the same sources as Hoffmann but proceeded by deflating separately the current value estimates of inventories in each branch of trade, industry, etc. by an
Finance, Investment and Investment Performance: Evidence from the REIT Sector

We examine financing, investment and investment performance in the equity REIT sector over the 1981-1999 time period. Analysis reveals significant differences between the old-REIT (1981-1992) and new-REIT (1993-1999) eras. The sector experienced rapid growth in the new-REIT era, primarily from firm-level investment as opposed to new entry. Firm-level investment was largely financed by equity and long-term debt, with little reliance on retained earnings. Financing policy stabilized in the new-REIT era, and capital structures became more complex. We find that REITs provided returns over and above their cost of capital, where most of the value-added investment occurred in the new-REIT era by newer firms. Finally, we present novel evidence on IPO activity and new firm investment-investment performance relations that is consistent with Tobin's q theory of investment. Copyright 2005 by the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association
Plasma 5-hydroxytryptamine concentration and its correlation with psychopathology in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a biopsychosocial disorder. 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) plays a crucial role in the control of gastrointestinal motility, sensation, and secretion. This study investigated changes in platelet-depleted plasma 5-HT and their correlation with psychopathology in IBS patients and healthy subjects. METHODS This study involved 21 subjects with IBS and 13 healthy subjects. Fasting and 1-hr postprandial plasma 5-HT concentrations were measured. The SCL-90R symptom checklist was used for the assessment of current psychological symptoms. RESULTS Fasting and postprandial plasma 5-HT concentrations were significantly higher in IBS patients (15.11+/-13.51 ng/mL and 16.31+/-14.21 ng/mL, respectively) than in healthy subjects (5.55+/-4.14 ng/mL and 6.25+/-4.82 ng/mL, respectively; p<0.05). There were no significant changes between fasting and 1-hr postprandial 5-HT concentration in IBS subtypes and healthy subjects. Scores on all SCL-90R subscales except for the interpersonal-sensitivity subscale were significantly higher in IBS patients than in healthy subjects. No correlation was found between SCL-90R items and platelet-depleted plasma 5-HT concentration. CONCLUSIONS 5-HT might play a critical role in IBS, and psychopathological factors are correlated with IBS.
Presurgical Presentation of Columellar Features, Nostril Anatomy, and Alveolar Alignment in Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate after Infant Orthopedics with and without Nasoalveolar Molding

Objectives (1) To evaluate quantitative differences in presurgical presentations of alveolar alignment and nostril anatomy of infants with BCLP treated with nasoalveolar molding (NAM) from those treated with maxillary infant orthopedics only (I0) and (2) to detect interrelationships between presurgical nasoalveolar anatomy, age at lip surgery, age of commencing, and durations of alveolar and nasal molding. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on nasal-alveolar measurements and presurgical treatment records of infants with BCLP who received lip repair by a single surgeon in a tertiary-care, referral teaching hospital consecutively from 2000 to 2009 after undergoing NAM (n = 29; 51 nostrils) or IO (n = 17; 32 nostrils). Paired t tests analyzed nostril and alveolar symmetry in each group. Intergroup comparisons were made by linear mixed-model regression analyses. Pearson's correlation tests were conducted to detect significant interrelationships within groups. Results Significant between-group differences were noted in alveolar irregularity (NAM: 3.58 ± 1.02 mm; I0: 7.31 ± 1.28 mm; p < .01), columellar length (NAM: 2.88 ± 0.27 mm; I0: 1.48 ± 0.34 mm; p < .001), columellar width (NAM: 6.10 ± 0.21 mm; I0: 6.88 ± 0.26 mm; p < .01), columellar length/width ratio (NAM: 0.48 ± 0.05; I0: 0.20 ± 0.07; p < .05), and columellar angle (NAM: 0.98 ± 1.1°; IO: 3.69 ± 1.37°; p < .05). Differences in age of commencing presurgical orthopedics, lip surgery, and treatment durations were not significant. Better-aligned alveolar segments in the NAM group did not statistically correlate with nostril dimensions. Alveolar irregularity and nostril height in the IO group strongly correlated. Conclusions Infants who received NAM had longer columellae and better-aligned alveolar segments than those who received only IO. Other nostril dimensions were not significantly different.
International Migration, the Brain Drain and Poverty: A Cross-Country Analysis

The aim of the paper is threefold. First, it empirically investigates the effect of international migration on poverty in origin countries, using data from a cross-country analysis. Second, it explores the specific part of the income distribution from which migrants are drawn, by comparing the effect of international migration on different income quintiles of the population. Finally, given that the selection of migrants depends not only on the income level of their households, but also on the skill levels of movers, the paper casts some light on the implications of the emigration of skilled workers on poverty. This article shows that the stock of international migrants have a positive effect on the income of the poor while it does not have a significant impact on the income of the middle and top quintiles of the population. In particular, a 10 per cent increase in the per capita stock of migrants resident in OECD nations augments the income of the poor by 1 per cent, on average and ceteris paribus. Finally, the poverty-reducing effect of migration holds even when the emigration process selects the best and the brightest.
Strategic versus Tactical Asset Allocation

The author divides the asset allocation decision into two asset classes: beta drivers and alpha drivers. Beta drivers, which provide broad economic exposure to the financial markets, are established by the strategic asset allocation decision. Alpha drivers are designed to provide added return beyond the return offered through passive exposure to the financial markets. Alpha drivers, chosen as part of the tactical asset allocation decision, are designed to facilitate the long-term funding goals of an organization by seeking added value. Examples of how beta and alpha drivers may be used in strategic versus tactical asset allocation are provided.
Accumulation of Chromium and Nickel Metals in Lung Tumors from Lung Cancer Patients in Taiwan

Metallic carcinogenicity is generally thought to generate of free radicals, and thus some metals were reported to play a role in lung tumorigenesis. In order to verify the role of heavy metals in the development of Taiwanese lung cancer, a case-control study was conducted to compare heavy metal contents between 60 tumor and 42 normal lung tissues surgically resected from lung cancer and noncancer patients. The tissue concentration of heavy metals, including cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni), was measured using by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Our results indicated that Cr and Ni contents in lung tumors of lung cancer patients were significantly higher than those in normal lung tissue of noncancer controls, but Co content was markedly lower in lung tumors. Additionally, Pb content in lung tumors was associated with nodal involvement, and Co amounts in squamous-cell carcinomas were relatively higher than those in adenocarcinomas. Data suggest that accumulation of Cr and Ni in lung tumors may play a role, at least in part, in the development of lung cancer in Taiwan.