Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Versatile PCR-mediated insertion or deletion mutagenesis.

based procedure that can be used to generate precisely located mutants with any length of insertion or deletion. The strategy for insertion mutagenesis employs an established overlap extension PCR protocol, but involves three templates including an insert fragment of any length. The protocol for insertion requires four chimeric primers that are derived partly from the sequence to be inserted and partly from the template, in addition to two outermost flanking primers. Three PCR products are first prepared separately, including one insert fragment and two adjacent fragments using appropriate primer pairs. The insert fragment thus generated contains terminal complementarities at both ends to two adjacent fragments. In the second step, an overlap extension PCR is carried out, using the outermost primer
Chronopharmacokinetics of Imipenem in the Rat

There are no studies indicating a possible modification of imipenem pharmacokinetics related to the hour (i.e., circadian time) of its administration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different times of intramuscular imipenem administration on its disposition in Wistar AF EOPS rats. Four groups of eight animals were given a single intramuscular injection of 140 mg/kg of imipenem either at 10∶00, 16∶00, 22∶00, or 04∶00 h. Blood samples were collected 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 h after drug injection, and the main pharmacokinetic parameters determined were Cmax, Tmax, elimination half‐life (t1/2), area under the concentration‐versus‐time curve (AUC), total serum clearance (CL/F), and volume of distribution (V/F). Circadian variation of Cmax (49%), Tmax (92%), and AUC (19%) was observed leading to variability of imipenem exposure. Clearance and volume of distribution were modified according to the circadian time of drug injection but did not reach statistical significance. The results suggest that varying the time of administration induces intra‐individual variability.
User behavior sequence modeling to optimize ranking mechanism for e-commerce search

E-commerce is now playing an increasingly important role in the daily life, and thus search engine is critical for optimizing user experience of online shopping, of which an abundant of researches have been released. The mainstream technology to optimize search engine usually focuses on two basic factors, relativity and personalization, which normally makes use of items' textual information and users' historical behaviors to mine the correlation between search results and users preferences, and to rank the item-list for different users. Specifically, click and non-click are regarded as labels to define whether the current user prefers the given item or not, and then machine learning is introduced to model click-through rate for ranking the item-list returned by search engine. One disadvantage of the above-mentioned approach, however, is that some temporal information and spatial information of user behavior sequence are ignored. Besides, model training using the search log directly leads to positional bias. This paper models the user behavior sequence to optimize ranking mechanism for E-commerce search. In detail, we first propose a sampling framework in accordance with Markov process to acquire training instances. Spatial sampling is implemented in every page view to avoid the positional bias, and temporal sampling is implemented to utilize behavior information of the sequence of page views for feature design. Then LR and DNN are applied for model training. Experimental results are presented at last. To be specific, the testing and training AUC of LR can be 0.614 and 0.784, respectively, and LR has better performance than that of DNN.
Risk-taking Incentives, Governance,and Losses in the Financial Crisis

This paper studies the extent to which risk-taking incentives of CEOs and other governance features in a range of years prior to the recent financial crisis were related to the write-downs of U.S. financial institutions during the crisis. We document that institutions whose CEOs had particularly strong risk-taking incentives, weak ownership incentives and independent boards had the highest write-downs, both in absolute terms and relative to total assets. Furthermore, financial institutions with lower Tier-1 ratios and those with CEOs who earned less than their colleagues at comparable firms had larger write-downs.
Australia and New Zealand CER Agreement and Breakpoints in Bilateral Trade: An Application of the Wald-Type Test

This paper investigates the impact of the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Agreement on bilateral trade of each member country by using historical time series data before and after the implementation of the CER. We determined the existence of endogenously determined structural breaks over the last 30 years. The Vogelsang (1997) Wald-type testing procedure is then used to test for the existence of a break at an unknown time in the trend function of the dynamic time series. The advantage of this model is that the procedure does not impose any restriction on the nature of the data since it allows for either trending or unit root series, or both, in the model. Using a Wald-type test for detecting breaks in the trend function of a univariate time series, we found that a significant trend break detected in New Zealand in 1988 coincided with the extensive review of the CER in 1988.
Market share reporter : an annual compilation of reported market share data on companies, products, and services

Presenting comparative business statistics in a clear, straightforward manner, Market Share Reporter affords an immediate overview of companies, products and services and cites original sources. A convenient arrangement by four-digit SIC code helps business decisionmakers and researchers easily access needed data for more than 2,000 entries. Each entry features a descriptive title; data and market description; a list of producers/ products along with their market share; and more.
Fixed Point Iterations and Global Stability in Economics

Stability is studied from the point of view of ordinary Picard iteration in a metric space. The Convergence Theorem proved here states that a sequence of Picard iterates converges if the mapping in question is a proper convex combination of a contraction (nonexpansive mapping) and the identity. It is shown by examples how this stability condition is related to other ones; in particular, the Convergence Theorem does not follow from any simple variant of the Shrinking Mapping Theorem.
Preparing nurse leaders for 2020.

AIM This article highlights eight leadership competencies likely to be an essential part of the nurse leader's repertoire in 2020. BACKGROUND Planning for the future is difficult, even when environments are relatively static. When environments are dynamic, the challenges multiply exponentially. Unfortunately, few environments have been more unpredictable in the 21st century than health care. The healthcare system is in chaos, as is much of the business world. It is critical then that contemporary nursing and healthcare leaders identify skill sets that will be needed by nurse leaders in 2020 and begin now to create the educational models and management development programs necessary to assure these skills are present. RESULTS Essential nurse leader competencies for 2020 include: (i) A global perspective or mindset regarding healthcare and professional nursing issues. (ii) Technology skills which facilitate mobility and portability of relationships, interactions, and operational processes. (iii) Expert decision-making skills rooted in empirical science. (iv) The ability to create organization cultures that permeate quality healthcare and patient/worker safety. (v) Understanding and appropriately intervening in political processes. (vi) Highly developed collaborative and team building skills. (vii) The ability to balance authenticity and performance expectations. (viii) Being able to envision and proactively adapt to a healthcare system characterized by rapid change and chaos. CONCLUSIONS Nursing education programmes and healthcare organizations must be begin now to prepare nurses to be effective leaders in 2020. This will require the formal education and training that are a part of most management development programmes as well as a development of appropriate attitudes through social learning. Proactive succession planning will also be key to having nurse leaders who can respond effectively to the new challenges and opportunities that will be presented to them in 2020.
Novel biomarkers with potential for cardiovascular risk reclassification

Abstract Precise estimation of the absolute risk for CVD events is necessary when making treatment recommendations for patients. A number of multivariate risk models have been developed for estimation of cardiovascular risk in asymptomatic individuals based upon assessment of multiple variables. Due to the inherent limitation of risk models, several novel risk markers including serum biomarkers have been studied in an attempt to improve the cardiovascular risk prediction above and beyond the established risk factors. In this review, we discuss the role of underappreciated biomarkers such as red cell distribution width (RDW), cystatin C (cysC), and homocysteine (Hcy) as well as imaging biomarkers in cardiovascular risk reclassification, and highlight their utility as additional source of information in patients with intermediate risk.
Reduced Sialylation Impacts Ventricular Repolarization by Modulating Specific K+ Channel Isoforms Distinctly*

Background: Glycosylation results from the coordinated activities of glycogene products that can modulate ion channel function. Results: Gene ablation of the sialyltransferase ST3Gal4 impacts sialylation and gating of specific cardiac voltage-gated K+ channel isoforms and thereby ventricular repolarization. Conclusion: Individual glycogene products serve unique roles in affecting cardiac voltage-gated K+ channel activity. Significance: Protein glycosylation significantly contributes to ventricular electrical signaling. Voltage-gated K+ channels (Kv) are responsible for repolarizing excitable cells and can be heavily glycosylated. Cardiac Kv activity is indispensable where even minimal reductions in function can extend action potential duration, prolong QT intervals, and ultimately contribute to life-threatening arrhythmias. Diseases such as congenital disorders of glycosylation often cause significant cardiac phenotypes that can include arrhythmias. Here we investigated the impact of reduced sialylation on ventricular repolarization through gene deletion of the sialyltransferase ST3Gal4. ST3Gal4-deficient mice (ST3Gal4−/−) had prolonged QT intervals with a concomitant increase in ventricular action potential duration. Ventricular apex myocytes isolated from ST3Gal4−/− mice demonstrated depolarizing shifts in activation gating of the transient outward (Ito) and delayed rectifier (IKslow) components of K+ current with no change in maximum current densities. Consistently, similar protein expression levels of the three Kv isoforms responsible for Ito and IKslow were measured for ST3Gal4−/− versus controls. However, novel non-enzymatic sialic acid labeling indicated a reduction in sialylation of ST3Gal4−/− ventricular Kv4.2 and Kv1.5, which contribute to Ito and IKslow, respectively. Thus, we describe here a novel form of regulating cardiac function through the activities of a specific glycogene product. Namely, reduced ST3Gal4 activity leads to a loss of isoform-specific Kv sialylation and function, thereby limiting Kv activity during the action potential and decreasing repolarization rate, which likely contributes to prolonged ventricular repolarization. These studies elucidate a novel role for individual glycogene products in contributing to a complex network of cardiac regulation under normal and pathologic conditions.
Detection of phylogenetically distinct Puumala‐like viruses from red‐grey vole Clethrionomys rufocanus in China

In order to investigate whether Puumala virus (PUUV) or PUUV‐like virus is present in China, Clethrionomys rufocanus and C. rutilus were captured in the Jilin province during the spring and autumn of 2002–2003 for detection of PUUV viral RNA by RT‐PCR and confirmation of PUUV‐positive antigens by an immunofluorescence assay. PUUV‐positive RNA was identified in six out of 121 C. rufocanus but not in any of the 41 C. rutilus. Complete S and partial M sequences (nt 1,316–1,598 and 2,687–3,089) were amplified by RT‐PCR directly from some of the antigen positive lung tissues and subjected to nucleic acid sequencing. It was found that the Chinese PUUV‐like viruses were related most closely with the PUUV strains with 77.7–81.7% identity at the nucleotide level and 91.7–97% identity at the amino acid level for S segment, and with 77–78.8% identity at the nucleotide level and 91.5–92.6% identity at the amino acid level for the partial M segment (nt 1,316–1,598). Genetic analysis indicated that the Chinese PUUV‐like viruses shared the highest level of identity with the viruses which circulate in C. rufocanus in the Far East region of Russia with 85.1–87.4% identity at the nucleotide level and 95.9% identity at the amino acid level for the partial M segment (nt 2,687–3,089), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Chinese PUUV‐like viruses are distinct from those identified from Japan, South Korea, Europe or Russia. These results indicate that PUUV‐like virus is present in China in addition to Hantaan, Seoul and Dabieshan viruses. J. Med. Virol. 79: 1082–1088, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
UK vineyards sector case study - analysis of retail activities using exemplar strategic marketing tools

There has been considerable research into wine marketing worldwide, but little has been published concerning the marketing of UK wines. This paper outlines the background to the retail marketing activities of UK vineyards. Strategies are analysed using three exemplar frameworks: the Ansoff matrix, generic strategies, and the marketing mix. The analysis also makes reference to marketing segmentation. The most active vineyards are pursuing strategies in all four of Ansoff’s growth vectors, with the largest players involved in diversification, for example into tourism. The marketing mixes for most UK wine producers are hybrids between the parameters expected for the “fine” and “beverage” wine segments. For the tiny UK wine industry to exist and prosper, we contend that it is necessary to target niche segments using Porter’s “focused differentiation” approach. Larger vineyards attempt a broader target with tourism activities. UK wines from vineyards of all sizes are differentiated primarily by prestige pricing and by what is effectively “place marketing”.
(E)-Methyl 3-(4-ethylphenyl)-2-{2-[(E)-(hydroxyimino)methyl]phenoxymethyl}acrylate

In the title compound, C20H21NO4, the two benzene rings are almost perpendicular to each other, making a dihedral angle of 86.1 (7)°. The hydroxyethanimine group is essentially coplanar with the benzene ring, the largest deviation from the mean plane of the hydroxyethanimine [C=N—OH] group being 0.011 (1) Å for the O atom. An intramolecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bond occurs. The molecules are linked into cyclic centrosymmetric R 2 2(6) dimers via O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds. Intermolecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the molecules, forming a C(8) chain along the a axis. The crystal packing is further stabilized by C—H⋯π interactions.
Relevance Metric Learning for Person Re-identification by Exploiting Global Similarities

Person re-identification aims to match people across non-overlapping camera views, which is an important and challenging task. In order to obtain a robust metric for measuring (dis)similarities of (un)matched image pairs, metric learning has been introduced recently. Most existing works focus on seeking a Mahalanobis distance by employing sparse pair wise (dis)similarity constraints. However, the pair wise constraints have ignored a large portion of useful similarity information, and could not provide global similarity information. This paper proposes a novel metric learning method that could effectively exploit the global similarities. Specifically, we predefine lists of similarity scores, and measure (dis)similarities by the relevance of feature vectors. Subsequently, we learn a relevance metric by using the predefined list wise constraints, where the learnt metric is enforced to conserve predefined list wise similarities. Our main contributions lie on three folds: (1) we propose a metric learning method, which could effectively encode the global similarity information by using list wise constraints, (2) we formulate the relevance metric learning into a convex optimization problem, which could be solved efficiently, (3) we further kernelize the proposed method to support nonlinear mappings. The proposed method is experimentally validated on benchmark datasets, and outperforms state-of-the-art metric learning methods.
Waveform reconstruction for recurrent non-uniform discrete-time sampling scheme: Discussion of its instability

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the instability in waveform reconstruction from non-uniformly sampled signals generated by recurrent non-uniform discrete-time sampling scheme. From the applied equation, the matrix of conversion, [A], associates the uniformly sampled signals to non-uniformly sampled ones, and plays a key role in the reconstruction. To recover the uniformly sampled signals, we need to compute the inversion of [A], [A]-1. Although [A]-1 is known to be numerically unstable in some occasions, the fundamental reason and premise for this instability have not been discussed. Thus, by obtaining the closed form of det[A], this paper shows that the root cause of the instability of [A]-1 is related to the singularity of [A], which has det[A] = 0 resulting from specific patterns of timing offsets in the recurrent nonuniform discrete-time sampling scheme. Numerical results confirm the analysis.
Electromagnetic compatibility analysis and design of ITER Poloidal Field converter unit

Due to the space limitation and safety concerns, the non-same-phase anti-parallel connection structure is applied in the ITER Poloidal Field (PF) converter unit. Consequently, the electromagnetic interference (EMI) has been one of the main concerns in its design. And this paper mainly presents the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) analysis and design for ITER PF converter unit. At first, an isolated phase bus is designed for the shielding of the alternating magnetic field generated by the a.c. busbars. Its shielding effectiveness has been verified by the analysis and experimental test. Then, the stray magnetic field, which is generated by the converter bridges and very hard to be shielded, is analyzed and measured. And the results will provide useful inputs for the EMC design and test of the instrument and control (I&C) system. At last, a large coil pair, able to generate a uniform static magnetic field with high strength, is designed to evaluate the effects on electronic devices and to demonstrate the reliable and safe operation of the converters under strong stray magnetic field.
HIV status, trust in health care providers, and distrust in the health care system among Bronx women

Abstract Trust in health care providers and the health care system are essential. This study examined factors associated with trust in providers and distrust in the health care system among minority HIV-positive and -negative women. Interviews were conducted and laboratory tests performed with 102 women from the Women's Interagency HIV Study Bronx site. Interviews collected information about trust in providers, distrust in the system, substance use, mental health symptoms and medications, and sociodemographic characteristics. Many reported distrust of the health care system related to HIV, and most reported trust in their providers. On linear regression analyses, characteristics associated with distrust in the health care system included depressive symptoms (β=0.48, p<0.05). Characteristics associated with trust in providers included HIV-positive status (β=0.35, p<0.05), taking mental health medications (β=0.39, p<0.05), and having a white provider (β=0.36, p<0.05). Despite distrust in the health care system related to HIV, most reported high trust in their providers, with HIV-positive women trusting their providers more than HIV-negative women. Studies are needed to understand how trust in providers and the health care system is achieved and maintained, and how trust is correlated with HIV-related health outcomes.
Advanced colorectal neoplasia risk stratification by penalized logistic regression

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States. To facilitate the efficiency of colorectal cancer screening, there is a need to stratify risk for colorectal cancer among the 90% of US residents who are considered “average risk. ” In this article, we investigate such risk stratification rules for advanced colorectal neoplasia (colorectal cancer and advanced, precancerous polyps). We use a recently completed large cohort study of subjects who underwent a first screening colonoscopy. Logistic regression models have been used in the literature to estimate the risk of advanced colorectal neoplasia based on quantifiable risk factors. However, logistic regression may be prone to overfitting and instability in variable selection. Since most of the risk factors in our study have several categories, it was tempting to collapse these categories into fewer risk groups. We propose a penalized logistic regression method that automatically and simultaneously selects variables, groups categories, and estimates their coefficients by penalizing the L 1 -norm of both the coefficients and their differences. Hence, it encourages sparsity in the categories, i.e. grouping of the categories, and sparsity in the variables, i.e. variable selection. We apply the penalized logistic regression method to our data. The important variables are selected, with close categories simultaneously grouped, by penalized regression models with and without the interactions terms. The models are validated with 10-fold cross-validation. The receiver operating characteristic curves of the penalized regression models dominate the receiver operating characteristic curve of naive logistic regressions, indicating a superior discriminative performance.
Economic development of rural areas in European Union Member States in 2000–2012

This paper focuses on the analysis of some certain aspects of economic development of rural areas in EU Member States during 2000–2012 and aims to de ﬁ ne its main tendencies. The synthetic indicator, constructed on the basis of the primary variables, such as GDP per capita, cereal yield, livestock production index and agriculture value added per worker, has been used to evaluate rural economic development. While creating a synthetic indicator, factor analysis has been employed. The research covered all the countries of the EU. The results indicated that among them the highest level of rural economic development in terms of applied indicators occurred in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovenia, France and Malta, and the lowest – by Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Boards' contribution to strategy and innovation

Among the most disputed issues within the business arena and among academic scholars are which role boards of directors are expected to fulfill, and how they contribute to a company’s success and survival (Monks & Minow, 2008). Recent failures of large corporations worldwide has led corporate governance and strategic management scholars to call for increased board involvement in decision-making (Tricker, 2009) that has paralleled regulators’ requests for higher monitoring and punishments in the case of frauds and misbehaviors (Coffee, 2005)