Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prediction Modeling of Resource Sharing between Secondary School Agriculture Teachers and Science Departments.

Wirt (1991) noted the 1990 Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act called for integration of academic and vocational education to link “thought with action” (p. 426). In agricultural education, The National Research Council (1988) has promoted a recent focus on agricultural science or agriscience education, recommending “Ongoing efforts should be expanded to upgrade the scientific and technical content of vocational agriculture courses” (p. 35). Sharing resources between secondary school science departments and agriculture teachers is one way to upgrade science content in agricultural education.
Postinjury Changes in Platelet‐Derived Growth Factor‐Like Activity in Fish and Rat Optic Nerves

Abstract: The poor regenerative ability of the CNS of mammals has been attributed, at least in part, to the presence of mature oligodendrocytes, which have been shown to inhibit axonal growth. Proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in the rat optic nerve during development, and thereby the timing of oligodendrocyte differentiation, has been shown to depend on a factor derived from type 1 astrocytes, later characterized as platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF). In the present study we examine whether injury to the optic nerve induces changes in the levels of PDGF in spontaneously regenerating systems, compared with nonregenerating systems. Soluble substances, derived from nonneuronal cells surrounding injured fish and rat optic nerves, were prepared and examined for the presence of PDGF immunoreactivity and biological mitogenic activity on PDGF‐responsive cells. The results suggest that PDGF‐like mitogenic activity and immunoreactivity are present in both fish and rat optic nerves. However, in the rat optic nerve PDGF levels increased after axonal injury, whereas in the fish optic nerve injury was accompanied by an apparent decrease in PDGF‐like levels. The results are discussed with respect to the possible role of PDGF in regeneration.
Local Application of Steroids Following Lumbar Discectomy

In this prospective randomized clinical study, the effectiveness of epidural steroids to reduce pain following lumbar disc surgery was assessed. Sixty-one patients undergoing lumbar discectomy were included. They were assigned randomly to receive, immediately after removal of the disc, either 80 mg methylprednisolone acetate (Depomedrol) or the same amount (2 mL) of saline. Both were soaked in 2.5 × 2.5 cm of collagen absorbable hemostat (Instat) that was left on the decompressed nerve root. All discs were removed in the same way via unilateral flavectomy. The patients were asked to grade the pain intensity daily in the first 2 weeks and 1 year after surgery. Pain intensity was evaluated by the visual analog scale from 0 to 10, zero being no pain and 10 being the most severe pain. Statistically significant back pain relief was observed on postoperative days 1, 2, 6, and 14 in the study group (the group that received steroids). No difference between the two groups was found 1 year after surgery or when leg pain was compared. No side effects that could be related to the steroids were observed.
Human TRAF 3 adaptor molecule deficiency leads to impaired Toll-like receptor 3 response and susceptibility to herpes simplex encephalitis

Rebeca Pérez de Diego , Vanessa Sancho-Shimizu, Lazaro Lorenzo , Anne Puel, Sabine Plancoulaine, Capucine Picard, Melina Herman, Annabelle Cardon, Anne Durandy, Jacinta Bustamante, Sivakumar Vallabhapurapu, Jerónimo Bravo, Klaus Warnatz, Yves Chaix, Françoise Cascarrigny, Pierre Lebon, Flore Rozenberg, Michael Karin, Marc Tardieu, Saleh Al-Muhsen, Emmanuelle Jouanguy, Shen-Ying Zhang, Laurent Abel and Jean-Laurent Casanova* Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Necker Branch, INSERM U550, Necker Medical School, Paris 75015, France, EU. University Paris Descartes, Paris 75015, France, EU. 3 St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller Branch, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA. Study Center of Primary Immunodeficiencies, Necker Hospital, AP-HP, Paris 75015, France, EU. Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Departments of Pharmacology and Pathology, Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, California 93093, USA. Signal Transduction Unit. Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (IBV-CSIC), Valencia 46010, Spain, EU. Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Clinic Freiburg, Freiburg 79106, Germany, EU. Pediatric Neurology, Toulouse Hospital, Toulouse 31059, France, EU. Pediatric service, Montauban Hospital, Montauban 82013, France, EU. Virology, Cochin-Saint-Vincent de Paul Hospital, University Paris René Descartes, Paris 75014, France, EU. Pediatric Neurology, Bicêtre Hospital, University Paris Sud, Kremlin-Bicêtre 94270, France, EU. Novel primary immunodeficency and infectious diseases program, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia. Pediatric Hematology-Immunology Unit, Necker Hospital, Paris 75015, France, EU.
Improvement of Dead Reckoning in Urban Areas Through Integration of Low-Cost Multisensors

This paper presents a method of accurate dead reckoning in urban areas using low-cost sensors. In the evolution of advanced driver assistance systems, the seamless and accurate positioning of the vehicle has become one of the most important tasks, and dead reckoning plays an important role. Visual odometry is one of the most attractive approaches for this dead reckoning, but in urban areas, the accuracy of visual odometry is degraded due to the surrounding moving objects. Moreover, the error of heading estimation used with the visual odometry cannot be corrected with satellite information, due to poor satellite signal reception. In this study, solutions of these problems are presented to improve the accuracy of the visual odometry in urban environments. The first key technique is moving object detection using inertial measurement unite (IMU) and pattern recognition, which improves the robustness of visual odometry in the dynamic environments. The second key technique is heading estimation using time-series tightly coupled integration of satellite Doppler shift and IMU, which makes heading correction possible where there is poor satellite reception. In evaluation experiments in urban areas, the error of dead reckoning using this proposed method is reduced to about one-fourth compared to the conventional approach.
Análise e Avaliação do Equity Premium Puzzle no Mercado Acionário Brasileiro sob Diferentes Contextos Econômicos

Este artigo avalia o Equity Premium Puzzle (EPP) em diferentes contextos vividos pela economia brasileira no periodo de 1990 ate 2005. As series temporais foram divididas em duas partes, tendo como divisor o Plano Real. O modelo utilizado e o do agente representativo com utilidade separavel no tempo desenvolvido por Mehra e Prescott (1985). O EPP nao foi verificado quando a serie completa foi utilizada, contudo, no primeiro sub-periodo, foi verificado um tipo de puzzle ainda nao visto na literatura, e oposto ao verificado no mercado norte-americano estudado por Weil (1989), que mostrou a existencia do Risk Free Puzzle (RFP).
A Shortened Version of the Suicide Cognitions Scale for Identifying Chronic Pain Patients at Risk for Suicide

Research in psychiatric outpatient and inpatient populations supports the utility of the Suicide Cognitions Scale (SCS) as an indicator of current and future risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Designed to assess suicide‐specific thoughts and beliefs, the SCS has yet to be evaluated among chronic pain patients, a group with elevated risk for suicide. The purpose of the present study was to develop and test a shortened version of the SCS (the SCS‐S).
Regulation of Endothelial-Dependent Relaxation in Human Systemic Arteries by SKCa and IKCa Channels

Blockade of small-conductance Ca 2 + -activated K + channels (SK Ca ) and intermediate conductance Ca 2 + -activated K + channels (IK Ca ) can cause inhibition of endothelium-dependent hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) in many vascular beds from animals, but there is a relative paucity of data in human vessels. Systemic arteries, isolated from women with healthy pregnancies, relax to the endothelial-dependent agonist bradykinin via a nonprostacyclin and non–nitric oxide pathway attributable to EDHF. Therefore, in this study, the authors investigated the effect of pharmacological blockade of SK Ca and IK Ca on EDHF-mediated relaxation of human omental and myometrial arteries preconstricted with either arginine vasopressin or U46619. Human arteries were isolated from omental and myometrial biopsies taken from healthy women undergoing planned cesarean section at term. Endothelial function was assessed using wire myography. In all vessels examined, nonspecific blockade of IK Ca with charybdotoxin attenuated EDHF-attributed relaxation. However, when Tram 34 was used to block IK Ca , the attenuation of relaxation was evident only with U46619 preconstriction. In arteries from both vascular beds, and with either preconstrictor, a combination of either apamin and charybdotoxin or apamin plus Tram 34 almost ablated EDHF-attributable relaxation. These data support the notion that in human systemic arteries, activation of, primarily, SK Ca and IK Ca K + channel subtypes underlies EDHF-mediated relaxation. These results have important implications for future studies ascertaining the molecular mechanisms of hypertensive disorders (eg, preeclampsia, in which EDHF is thought to be aberrant).
The Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought Toward an Integrated Global Assessment

Land degradation has not been comprehensively addressed at the global level or in developing countries. A suitable economic framework that could guide investments and institutional action is lacking. This study aims to overcome this deficiency and to provide a framework for a global assessment based on a consideration of the costs of action versus inaction regarding desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD). Most of the studies on the costs of land degradation (mainly limited to soil erosion) give cost estimates of less than 1 percent up to about 10 percent of the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) for various countries worldwide. But the indirect costs of DLDD on the economy (national income), as well as their socioeconomic consequences (particularly poverty impacts), must be accounted for, too. Despite the numerous challenges, a global assessment of the costs of action and inaction against DLDD is possible, urgent, and necessary. This study provides a framework for such a global assessment and provides insights from some related country studies.
Analysis of cache-related preemption delay in fixed-priority preemptive scheduling

We propose a technique for analyzing cache-related preemption delays of tasks that cause unpredictable variation in task execution time in the context of fixed-priority preemptive scheduling. The proposed technique consists of two steps. The first step performs a per-task analysis to estimate cache-related preemption cost for each execution point in a given task from the number of useful cache blocks at the execution point. The second step computes the worst case response time of each task using a response time equation and a linear programming technique which takes as its input the preemption cost information of tasks obtained in the first step. Our experimental results show that the proposed technique gives a prediction of the worst case cache-related preemption delay that is up to 60% tighter than that obtained from previous approaches.
Evaluation of nuclear maturity in human spermatozoa obtained by sperm‐preparation methods

Summary. Change in the nuclear maturity has been considered as an index of sperm quality. This is done by using aniline blue staining that stains spermatozoa with disturbances in the chromatin condensation. Therefore, this technique was used to evaluate the quality of sperm obtained by sperm preparation methods. In 14 semen samples from healthy donors with normal semen analysis and normal forms, the swim‐up (SU), Percoll gradient centrifugation (PG), glass wool column filtration (GW) and sedimentationmigration (SM) were performed. GW and SM methods presented the lowest number of spermatozoa with alteration in the nuclear maturity (ANM), 11, 14% and 12, 42% compared to native semen (19%) (P < 0.005 and P < 0.05 respectively). SU and PG did presented no significant difference compared to native semen. In tests using the four methods, approximately 60% of the ANM occurred in normal spermatozoa. In the cells with pathologic abnormalities and ANM, 74.5% corresponded to macrocephalic forms, as this abnormality correlated mainly with ANM. It is concluded that in a semen sample with a higher percentage of normal forms, approximately 19% will have an ANM. GW and SM methods obtain the lowest percentage of ANM. ANM presents itself in 98% of the macrocephalic forms and they are effectively isolated with the PG method. The practice of this simple technique may orientate towards the sperm preparation methods to be used in assisted reproduction.
Transmission-disequilibrium tests for quantitative traits.

The transmission-disequilibrium test (TDT) of Spielman et al. is a family-based linkage-disequilibrium test that offers a powerful way to test for linkage between alleles and phenotypes that is either causal (i.e., the marker locus is the disease/trait allele) or due to linkage disequilibrium. The TDT is equivalent to a randomized experiment and, therefore, is resistant to confounding. When the marker is extremely close to the disease locus or is the disease locus itself, tests such as the TDT can be far more powerful than conventional linkage tests. To date, the TDT and most other family-based association tests have been applied only to dichotomous traits. This paper develops five TDT-type tests for use with quantitative traits. These tests accommodate either unselected sampling or sampling based on selection of phenotypically extreme offspring. Power calculations are provided and show that, when a candidate gene is available (1) these TDT-type tests are at least an order of magnitude more efficient than two common sib-pair tests of linkage; (2) extreme sampling results in substantial increases in power; and (3) if the most extreme 20% of the phenotypic distribution is selectively sampled, across a wide variety of plausible genetic models, quantitative-trait loci explaining as little as 5% of the phenotypic variation can be detected at the . 0001 alpha level with <300 observations.
Engineered nanostructural materials for application in cancer biology and medicine

Nanotechnology covers a wide variety of fields of research, including chemistry, physics, biology and medicine, with extensive applications in cancer, ranging from accurate, early detection of malignant lesions to minimizing metastasis. Continued development of cancer‐targeted therapy has promising advantages: maximizing the effectiveness of anticancer drugs while decreasing the harmful systemic effects; tumor destruction via heating that takes advantage of magnetic nanoparticles' size, magnetization and biocompatibility; novel drug‐delivery systems; and gene therapy functions to facilitate controlled drug loading and release inside the cytoplasm. These and other nanotechnology applications can contribute essential new knowledge in the fight against cancer. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Intellectual capital disclosure and market capitalization

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a descriptive framework of the components of intellectual capital in annual reports. The paper also aims to investigate the effects of disclosure of intellectual capital on market capitalization.Design/methodology/approach – The components of intellectual capital are used as units of analysis to content analyze the annual reports of a sample of 58 Fortune 500 companies over the five‐year period of 1993‐1997.Findings – The frequency of disclosure of information about brand and proprietary processes has increased over the study period. The results also point to significant differences between the “new” and “old” economy sectors with respect to intellectual capital categories of brand and partnerships where there is more disclosure by “old” economy sector and information technology and intellectual property where there is more disclosure by the “new” economy sector. Finally, the results show a highly significant effect for the intellectual capital disclosure on market cap.
A NEW FINDING FOR CORPORATE BOARD SIZE EFFECTS: EVIDENCE FROM JAPAN

This paper reexamines the relation between firm performance and board size using the data of Japanese companies. We find a significantly positive relation between firm performance and board size when the board size is small, but a significantly negative relation when the board size is large. Our finding is different from major empirical research such as the work by Yermack, Eisenberg et al. and Coles et al. [Yermack, D (1996). Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors. Journal of Financial Economics, 40, 185–211; Eisenberg, T, S Sundgren and MT Wells (1998). Larger board size and decreasing firm value in small firms. Journal of Financial Economics, 48, 35–54; Coles, JL, ND Daniel and L Naveen (2008). Boards: Does one size fit all? Journal of Financial Economics, 87, 329–356]. The empirical results regarding the relation between firm performance and board size might depend strongly on the characteristics of firms used in a given analysis.
Mathematical modeling and analysis of options with jump-diffusion volatility

Several existing pricing models of financial derivatives as well as the effects of volatility risk are analyzed. A new option pricing model is proposed which assumes that stock price follows a diffusion process with square-root stochastic volatility. The volatility itself is mean-reverting and driven by both diffusion and compound Poisson process. These assumptions better reflect the randomness and the jumps that are readily apparent when the historical volatility data of any risky asset is graphed. The European option price is modeled by a homogeneous linear second-order partial differential equation with variable coefficients. The case of underlying assets that pay continuous dividends is considered and implemented in the model, which gives the capability of extending the results to American options. An American option price model is derived and given by a non-homogeneous linear second order partial integro-differential equation. Using Fourier and Laplace transforms an exact closed-form solution for the price formula for European call/put options is obtained.
A New Era of World Economic Growth

This paper argues that the rate of growth of the world economy is likely to accelerate over the coming decade as a result of the impact of the new information technologies on productivity, improvements in the capacity of businesses to manage accelerating technological change, and a continuing increase in the contribution of the Asian economies to world growth. The analysis employed in the paper is to focus on four major influences on the medium term growth of industrialised economies: the macroeconomic framework, microeconomic influences, technological change, and the role of management. These influences are analysed in terms of their contribution over the past few decades, and their likely future impact. The development path of the rapidly growing Asian economies, and the role played by the diffusion of advanced technology, is explored. Finally, some long term constraints on growth associated with environmental factors and ageing populations are identified.
Tournament Incentives for Teachers: Evidence from a Scaled-Up Intervention in Chile

In this article we evaluate the effects of the introduction of group monetary incentives for teachers, based on a school performance tournament in Chile. This is particularly relevant to analyze since it is the only scaled-up incentive program for teachers in the world. We evaluate the tournament effect, that is, the effect of introducing the incentive scheme on all participant schools, both winning and losing. We compare public and private subsidized schools to private fee-paying schools following a matched difference in difference and using three different empirical approaches. We explore the heterogeneous impact of the treatment through the distribution of the probability of winning. The results indicate a positive and significant tournament effect especially for schools that are very likely to win, which we call “on the money. ”
Transcription activation at the Escherichia coli uhpT promoter by the catabolite gene activator protein

Transport and utilization of sugar phosphates in Escherichia coli depend on the transport protein encoded by the uhpT gene. Transmembrane induction of uhpT expression by external glucose 6-phosphate is positively regulated by the promoter-specific activator protein UhpA and the global regulator catabolite gene activator protein (CAP). Activation by UhpA requires a promoter element centered at -64 bp, relative to the start of transcription, and activation by CAP requires a DNA site centered at position -103.5. This DNA site binds the cyclic AMP-CAP complex in vitro, and its deletion from the promoter reduces transcription activity to 7 to 9% of the wild-type level. Ten uhpT promoter derivatives with altered spacing between the DNA site for CAP and the remainder of the promoter were constructed. Their transcription activities indicated that the action of CAP at this promoter is dependent on proper helical phasing of promoter elements, with CAP binding on the same face of the helix as RNA polymerase does. Five CAP mutants defective in transcription activation at class I and class II CAP-dependent promoters but not defective in DNA binding or DNA bending (positive control mutants) were tested for the ability to activate transcription. These CAPpc mutants exhibited little or no defect in transcription activation at uhpT, indicating that CAP action at uhpTp involves a different mechanism than that which is used for its action at other classes of CAP-dependent promoters.
Athapascan-1 : interface générique pour l'ordonnancement dans un environnement d'exécution parallèle. (Athapascan-1 : generic scheduling interface in a parallel execution environment)

Dans les environnements d'execution parallele, la regulation de charge (ou l'ordonnancement applicatif) est le module responsable du controle de l'execution d'un programme sur les ressources de l'architecture distribuee (processeurs et modules memoire). En pratique, le choix de la strategie de regulation la plus performante depend non seulement de l'application mais doit aussi etre adapte en fonction de l'architecture cible. Des lors, la portabilite d'un code ne peut etre assuree que si l'on peut modifier cette strategie. Dans cette these, nous proposons l'utilisation de la description dynamique du flot de donnees comme l'element central permettant de separer le code applicatif de la regulation de charge. Sur cette proposition est basee la construction d'un environnement logiciel, modulaire et generique, qui rend possible la modification ou l'ajustement de la strategie de regulation de charge. La specification de cet environnement repose sur l'identification des interfaces de la regulation avec d'une part l'application et d'autre part l'architecture. Cette identification, centree sur l'exploration macroscopique du flot de donnees, est originale: nous montrons qu'elle etend d'autres systemes classiques de regulation de charge. Enfin, la validation experimentale de cet environnement est realisee grâce a son integration dans l'interface de programmation Athapascan-1 de l'environnement Athapascan, du projet APACHE. Differentes strategies d'ordonnancement, statiques, dynamiques et hybrides, ont ainsi ete implantes. Nous presentons les performances de quelques unes de ces strategies appliquees a des programmes Athapascan-1 sur differentes architectures.