Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Political Economy of Migration Processes: An Agenda for Migration Research and Analysis

This Working Paper proposes the development of an approach to researching and analysing migration processes that combines a livelihoods approach to exploring local-level migration dynamics with a relational political economy perspective that deepens understanding of the broader social, economic and political processes and interests interacting with migration at different levels (e.g. causing patterns of vulnerability or creating opportunities that encourage migration). This approach aims to address a number of important weaknesses in contemporary migration research, including a failure to analyse migration as an integral part of social and economic transformation processes (such as development and globalisation), inadequate attention to the precise causes, circumstances and consequences of people’s movement, continuing reliance on overly-simplistic migration categories and dichotomies, and poor appreciation or understanding of the changing dynamics of migration processes over time (IMI, 2006). Patterns and dynamics of migration are highly varied, complex and context-specific. Understanding these dynamics in specific contexts might be improved by exploring the interaction of local-level factors immediately influencing people’s migration decisions and strategies (linked to livelihoods) with interacting political, economic and social factors and processes at different levels which affect the agency, vulnerability and/or opportunities of migrants (and associated non-migrants) during the migration process, and that shape migration outcomes. Differential and shifting power relations are crucial to understanding the interaction of migration strategies at the local level with political and economic processes and relationships affecting these strategies, since these are fundamental to understanding the interests and relative agency of individuals, households and other actors involved. The concept of process is also critical to the analysis, since the factors that affect people’s migration options, strategies and outcomes are played out over time and can only be properly examined within a historical perspective.
Opposing dependence of the electron and hole gate currents in SOI MOSFETs under uniaxial strain

The influence of tensile mechanical stress on ultrathin oxide gate currents in advanced partially depleted silicon-on-insulator MOSFETs is reported. Strain is applied uniaxially, perpendicular to the direction of current flow by bending of thinned, fully processed wafers with a gate oxide thickness of less than 1.5 nm. The gate currents of the n-channel and p-channel MOSFETS are found to change linearly and in opposite (opposing) directions as a function of uniaxial strain. The nMOS transistors generally exhibit a decrease with applied tensile strain, while the nMOS transistors show increasing gate current with strain. The observed dependences are consistent with a gate current controlled by direct tunneling and perturbed by stress-induced changes in the energy band structure.
Factors Associated With Well-being and Confidence in Providing Compassionate Care

We explored the relationships between potentially modifiable factors (mindfulness and self-compassion), intermediate factors (resilience and stress), and outcomes of interest in a cross-sectional study of medical trainees (compassionate care and clinician well-being). Among the 12 participants, the average age was 27.6 years. Mindfulness and self-compassion were positively associated with confidence in providing calm, compassionate care (r = 0.91 and 0.81, respectively; P < .01); they were also positively correlated with clinician resilience (P < .01), which was correlated with clinician mental health (r = 0.83; P < .01). Perceived stress was strongly and significantly negatively correlated with all measures (rs ranging from –0.62 for flourishing to –0.92 for confidence in delivering calm, compassionate care; P < .05 for all correlations). Given the positive correlations between mindfulness and self-compassion with both clinician well-being and confidence in providing calm, compassionate care, interventional studies are warranted to determine what kind of training most efficiently and effectively improves trainee mindfulness and self-compassion.
Human resource management: the promise, the performance, the consequences

Purpose – The dominant focus of HRM research has been that of “strategic HRM”, that is a focus on the impact of HRM on firm performance. The authors argue that not only are the cumulative results of this “dominant research orthodoxy” disappointing in terms of their external validity, but also they are of limited practical value. Further, it has failed not only in terms of its narrow firm performance-oriented agenda, but also the tenets of its agenda have contributed to serious levels of employee dissatisfaction and to the failure to deal with pressing global issues. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – In order to assess the contribution of the dominant research orthodoxy the authors analyse the 16 most cited journal articles in the field of HRM. Findings – The authors find a predominance of US-centric studies and therefore a questionable cross-national generalizability of the dominant research orthodoxy. The use of cross-sectional data means that long-term effects cannot .
The Bayesian search criterion — An adaptation to EEG artefact search and selection for robotic control

Bayesian theories and inference play important role in developing efficient data search and selection models. Searching and selecting electroencephalographic (EEG) artefacts play critical role in the development of robotic control signals. The adaption of search theory in EEG artefact selection increases the efficiency and accuracy of robotic control signals. Random EEG artefact matching to usable control signals allows for robustness in selecting desired EEG artefact. A Bayesian EEG Artefact search model was developed using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and Bayesian Information criterion (BIC). The maximum likelihood of EEG influenced the performance of the AIC data within estimable EEG frequencies. Analogous information contained in the EEG data were accounted for using Deviation Information Criterion (DIC). The aim of the EEG search criterion was to utilize information contained in EEG data samples to generates good robotic control signal estimates.
X-linked nephrogenic diabetes insipidus: from the ship Hopewell to RFLP studies.

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI; designated 304800 in Mendelian Inheritance in Man) is an X-linked disorder with abnormal renal and extrarenal V2 vasopressin receptor responses. The mutant gene has been mapped to Xq28 by analysis of RFLPs, and tight linkage between DXS52 and NDI has been reported. In 1969, Bode and Crawford proposed, under the term "the Hopewell hypothesis," that most cases in North America could be traced to descendants of Ulster Scots who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1761 on the ship Hopewell. They also suggested a link between this family and a large Mormon pedigree. DNA samples obtained from 13 independent affected families, including 42 members of the Hopewell and Mormon pedigrees, were analyzed with probes in the Xq28 region. Genealogical reconstructions were performed. Linkage between NDI and DXS304 (probe U6:2.spl), DXS305 (St35-691), DXS52 (St14-1), DXS15 (DX13), and F8C (F814) showed no recombination in 12 families, with a maximum lod score of 13.5 for DXS52. A recombinant between NDI and DXS304, DXS305, was identified in one family. The haplotype segregating with the disease in the Hopewell pedigree was not shared by other North American families. PCR analysis of the St14 VNTR allowed the distinction of two alleles that were not distinguishable by Southern analysis. Carrier status was predicted in 24 of 26 at-risk females. The Hopewell hypothesis cannot explain the origin of NDI in many of the North American families, since they have no apparent relationship with the Hopewell early settlers, either by haplotype or by genealogical analysis. We confirm the locus homogeneity of the disease by linkage analysis in ethnically diverse families. PCR analysis of the DXS52 VNTR in NDI families is very useful for carrier testing and presymptomatic diagnosis, which can prevent the first manifestations of dehydration.
Intracellular superoxide level controlled by manganese superoxide dismutases affects trichothecene production in Fusarium graminearum

Abstract The intracellular superoxide level is a clue to clarification of the regulatory mechanism for mycotoxin production in Fusarium graminearum. In this study, we focused on two manganese superoxide dismutases (SODs) of the fungus, FgSOD2 and FgSOD3, to investigate the relationship of the superoxide level to trichothecene production. Recombinant FgSOD2 and FgSOD3 showed SOD activity, and they were localized mainly in the mitochondria and cytoplasm, respectively. Trichothecene production and mRNA levels of Tri5 and Tri6, which encode a trichothecene biosynthetic enzyme and a key regulator of trichothecene production, respectively, were greatly reduced in gene‐deletion mutants of FgSod2 and FgSod3 (&Dgr;FgSod2 and &Dgr;FgSod3). Significant increases in the cytosolic and mitochondrial superoxide levels were observed in &Dgr;FgSod2 and &Dgr;FgSod3, respectively. These results suggested that the cellular superoxide level affects trichothecene production in F. graminearum.
Tissue factor expression provokes escape from tumor dormancy and leads to genomic alterations

Significance Our study shows that the clotting protein tissue factor (TF) controls the state of tumor dormancy and does so in conjunction with recruitment of inflammatory cells and blood vessels. We show that indolent glioma cells remain harmless in mice unless rendered TF positive. Our work also demonstrates the ability of TF to indirectly influence the DNA of cancer cells by facilitating gene mutations and silencing. This ability is important because injury, cardiovascular disease, or other conditions may activate the clotting system and contribute to the awakening of occult cancer cells. This understanding also may suggest a prophylactic use of blood thinners in cases where dormant cancer cells and clotting are suspected to coexist (e.g., after surgery). The coagulation system links immediate (hemostatic) and late (inflammatory, angiogenic) tissue responses to injury, a continuum that often is subverted in cancer. Here we provide evidence that tumor dormancy is influenced by tissue factor (TF), the cancer cell-associated initiator of the coagulation system and a signaling receptor. Thus, indolent human glioma cells deficient for TF remain viable but permanently dormant at the injection site for nearly a year, whereas the expression of TF leads to a step-wise transition to latent and overt tumor growth phases, a process that is preceded by recruitment of vascular (CD105+) and myeloid (CD11b+ and F4/80+) cells. Importantly, the microenvironment orchestrated by TF expression drives permanent changes in the phenotype, gene-expression profile, DNA copy number, and DNA methylation state of the tumor cells that escape from dormancy. We postulate that procoagulant events in the tissue microenvironment (niche) may affect the fate of occult tumor cells, including their biological and genetic progression to initiate a full-blown malignancy.
Exploring the effect of diversification strategy on R&D intensity using quantile regression: evidence from France

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between firm diversification strategy and R&D intensity for a sample of large French companies between 2008 and 2012. Applying quantile regression, we provide evidence that the choice of diversification affects R&D intensity in a differentiated way. The results indicate that a low level of diversification (below the twentieth quantile) has no significant impact on R&D intensity. Conversely, a moderate or high level of diversification has a negative and significant impact on R&D intensity. These findings suggest that R&D intensity seems to be significantly higher in related-business firms than in unrelated-business firms.
Proposal for standardized definitions for efficacy end points in adjuvant breast cancer trials: the STEEP system.

PURPOSE Standardized definitions of breast cancer clinical trial end points must be adopted to permit the consistent interpretation and analysis of breast cancer clinical trials and to facilitate cross-trial comparisons and meta-analyses. Standardizing terms will allow for uniformity in data collection across studies, which will optimize clinical trial utility and efficiency. A given end point term (eg, overall survival) used in a breast cancer trial should always encompass the same set of events (eg, death attributable to breast cancer, death attributable to cause other than breast cancer, death from unknown cause), and, in turn, each event within that end point should be commonly defined across end points and studies. METHODS A panel of experts in breast cancer clinical trials representing medical oncology, biostatistics, and correlative science convened to formulate standard definitions and address the confusion that nonstandard definitions of widely used end point terms for a breast cancer clinical trial can generate. We propose standard definitions for efficacy end points and events in early-stage adjuvant breast cancer clinical trials. In some cases, it is expected that the standard end points may not address a specific trial question, so that modified or customized end points would need to be prospectively defined and consistently used. CONCLUSION The use of the proposed common end point definitions will facilitate interpretation of trial outcomes. This approach may be adopted to develop standard outcome definitions for use in trials involving other cancer sites.
Non-targeted metabolomic profile of Fagus sylvatica L. leaves using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry and gas chromatography with mass spectrometry.

INTRODUCTION Fagus sylvatica L. is one of the most widely distributed broad-leaved tree species in central and western Europe, important to the forest sector and an accurate biomarker of climate change. OBJECTIVE To profile the beech leaf metabolome for future studies in order to investigate deeper into the characterisation of its metabolic response. METHODS Leaf extracts were analysed using LC-MS by electrospray ionisation in negative mode from m/z 100-1700 and GC-MS by electron ionisation in scan mode from m/z 35-800. RESULTS The LC-MS profile resulted in 56 compounds, of which 43 were identified and/or structurally characterised, including hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavan-3-ols and proanthocyanidins, and flavonols. From a second analysis based on GC-MS, a total of 111 compounds were identified, including carbohydrates, polyalcohols, amino acids, organic acids, fatty acids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, sterols and other related compounds. Many of the compounds identified were primary metabolites involved in major plant metabolic pathways, however, some secondary metabolites were also detected. Some of them play roles as tolerance-response osmoregulators and osmoprotectors in abiotic stress, or as anti-oxidants that reduce the effect of reactive oxygen species and promote many protective functions in plants. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a broad and relevant insight into the metabolic status of F. sylvatica leaves, and serves as a base for future studies on physiological and molecular mechanisms involved in biotic or abiotic stress.
Enabling an Agile Information Supply Chain in Service Oriented Architectures with Web Services

The Information Systems (IS) leadership in enterprises share common pervasive agility issues associated with corporate data management, such as providing access when and where needed, data validation and integrity issues, analyzing data housed in disparate systems, and reporting consolidated data to applicable parties. To address these problems some organizations are employing Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) as a paradigm, which is enhanced by the use of web services, to provide a lightweight means of leveraging resources. The Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (FFIEC) is one such organization and we use the traditional systems analysis and design (SAD) approach to frame how the FFIEC employed SOA as a new paradigm of conducting business with web services. We provide lessons learned that are concerned with initiating SOA with web services in order to achieve an agile information supply chain.
Identification of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in patients with diarrhea in Asia with three enterotoxin gene probes

A total of 984 enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and 733 non-ETEC isolated from patients with diarrhea in Asia (one isolate per patient) were examined for homology with radiolabeled fragments of DNA encoding heat-labile toxin (LT) or heat-stable toxin of porcine (ST-P) or human (ST-H) origin. A total of 246 ETEC that produced LT and ST as determined by the Y-1 adrenal and suckling mouse assays were homologous with the LT probe. Of these 246 LTST ETEC, 156 (63%) were homologous with the ST-H, 46 (19%) were homologous with the ST-P, and 44 (18%) were homologous with both probes. A total of 401 LT ETEC were homologous with the LT probe. Of 337 ST ETEC identified by the suckling mouse assay, 244 (72%) were homologous with the ST-H, 84 (25%) were homologous with the ST-P, and 9 (3%) were homologous with both probes. None of the 733 isolates that were non-enterotoxigenic as determined by the Y-1 adrenal and suckling mouse assays was homologous with genes coding for enterotoxin. Four isolates (not included among the 984 ETEC examined) that were initially considered to produce LT because sterile culture supernatants produced rounding of Y-1 adrenal cells were not homologous with the LT probe. The sterile culture supernatants of these four isolates caused rounding after 8 h and subsequent destruction after 24 h of Y-1 adrenal tissue cultures. This effect was not inhibited by convalescent human cholera antiserum, Swiss Serum Institute cholera antitoxin, or antiserum to purified LT. These isolates were also negative in the Biken test previously used to identify LT-producing E. coli. The DNA hybridization technique with three enterotoxin gene probes was developed as a specific technique to identify ETEC in large numbers of specimens in Asia.
Regulation of delayed-type hypersensitivity-like responses in the mouse lung, determined with histological procedures: serotonin, T-cell suppressor-inducer factor and high antigen dose tolerance regulate the magnitude of T-cell dependent inflammatory reactions.

We have studied delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses to picryl chloride (PCl) in the lungs of mice. Intranasal challenge with 0.6% picryl sulphonic acid (PSA), a water soluble form of PCl, of BALB/c mice, sensitized with PCl epicutaneously 1 week earlier, induced an accumulation of mononuclear inflammatory cells around bronchioli and blood vessels. Maximal inflammatory responses were seen 48 hr after challenge. These responses were antigen-specific, and also T-cell dependent, since athymic nude mice failed to show this reaction. A role for mast cells in the responses was studied using two strains of mast cell-deficient mice. In one of these (W/Wv) lung DTH responses to PCl were reduced severely. In the other strain (S1/S1d) the responses around vessels were decreased slightly, whereas the responses in the interstitial tissue and around bronchioli were similar to those in +/+ littermate controls. Involvement of serotonin was investigated using two serotonin receptor antagonists, i.e. methysergide and ketanserin. Treatment of mice with either of the antagonists prevented occurrence of the DTH-like reaction in the lung after intranasal antigen challenge. In the lungs of sensitized mice, significantly increased permeability was established 2 hr after antigen challenge. It was concluded that release of serotonin in the lung may provide an environment that comprises local vascular permeability and that facilitates the local recruitment and possibly the activation of DTH effector T cells, leading to subsequent attraction of mononuclear leucocytes into the lung. Immunological regulation of the DTH-like reactions in the lung was similar to that of contact sensitivity in the skin, since intravenous injection of an antigen-specific T-cell suppressor inducer factor prior to sensitization or pretreatment with a high dose of picryl sulphonic acid intravenously both resulted in reduction of the DTH-like lung histological response to picryl sulphonic acid. From these findings it was concluded that DTH-like lung responses are similar to DTH responses in the skin.
Multifunctionality of the LEC1 transcription factor during plant development

LEC1 acts as a key regulator of embryogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana, but is involved in a wide range of functions, all the way from embryo morphogenesis to seed maturation. New data show that LEC1, partially in conjunction with abscisic acid, affects auxin synthesis, and both brassinosteroid and light signaling. The phenotype of LEC1 overexpressors confirms LEC1's known participation in the regulation of somatic embryogenesis, but also indicates additional roles in embryonic and extra-embryonic cell elongation. Here we present an integrated model of LEC1 function and suggest potential directions to be taken in future research in this important area of plant science.
Influence of Allergy on Immunoglobulins and Amyloid-β in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease.

BACKGROUND Peripheral inflammation has been suggested to influence the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Elevated levels of pro-inflammatory markers in the plasma of patients with AD indicate that a systemic pro-inflammatory status occurs concomitantly with inflammatory changes in the brain. OBJECTIVE To investigate whether allergy influences the levels of immunoglobulins (Ig) and of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and subjective cognitive impairment (SCI). METHODS IgA, IgG, and its subclasses, IgM, and cytokines were analyzed in CSF and serum from patients with SCI, MCI, and AD, with or without allergy. The relation between allergy and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, and between allergy and CSF biomarkers for AD (phosphorylated (p)-tau, total (t)-tau, amyloid-β 42 (Aβ₄₂), were analyzed. RESULTS In MCI, the CSF levels of IgG2 were lower in allergic patients, and in AD, the levels of IgA and the IgG1/total IgG ratio were lower in allergic patients, compared to patients without allergy. MCI subjects with allergy had higher serum IgM levels compared to those without allergy. CSF levels of Aβ₄₂ were lower and MMSE scores were higher in AD patients with allergy than in those without allergy. CONCLUSIONS The presence of allergy was associated with seemingly beneficial effects on AD as suggested by higher Aβ₄₂ levels in CSF, and higher MMSE scores. Higher IgM levels and lower other Ig classes suggest that allergy may influence senescence of the immune response.
A Stochastic Programming Model of Commercial Bank Asset and Liability Management

This paper presents a multiperiod stochastic programming model with simple linear recourse for asset and liability management in banking. The model determines the portfolio of assets and liabilities over the planning horizon given a set of deterministic rates of returns of investments and costs of borrows, and a set of random outstanding deposit levels, and liquidity. The aim is to develop an optimization tool to assure sustained profitability and good management of risks.