Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental evidence on trading behavior, market efficiency and price formation in double auctions with unknown trading duration

The reasons for the highly efficient market outcomes observed under the double auction remain unclear. This paper presents a series of experimental financial markets designed to investigate the importance of unknown trading period duration on trading behavior and the convergence tendencies of such markets. Using panel data techniques the results support the conclusions that individuals generally display more aggressive trading strategies, trading earlier in a period, and that markets exhibit reduced levels of informational efficiency when unknown duration is present. Markets with imperfect information structures are also studied and, in a unique result, are associated with significantly slower rates of trade, as traders become more cautious over their trading strategies. Investigation of the price formation process provides evidence that the pricing error varies over time and the estimation of a fixed effects model provides unique support that learning effects and unknown trading period duration influence the price formation process. Future refinement of theoretical models of the price formation process or institutions of exchange should recognize the effect of unknown trading period duration on market behavior, along with potential learning effects. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Identification and Bioactivities of IFN-γ in Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss: The First Th1-Type Cytokine Characterized Functionally in Fish1

IFN-γ is one of the key cytokines in defining Th1 immune responses. In this study, an IFN-γ homologue has been identified in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, and its biological activities have been characterized. The trout IFN-γ cDNA is 1034 bp in length and translates into a 180-aa protein. The first intron of the trout IFN-γ gene contains highly polymorphic GACA minisatellites and 44-bp DNA repeats, giving rise to at least six alleles. IFN-γ is structurally conserved among vertebrates, and a signature motif has been identified. A nuclear localization sequence known to be crucial for IFN-γ biological activities is also present in the C-terminal region of the trout IFN-γ. The IFN-γ expression was induced in head kidney leukocytes by stimulation with PHA or poly(I:C) and in kidney and spleen of fish injected with poly(I:C). rIFN-γ produced in Escherichia coli significantly stimulated gene expression of IFN-γ-inducible protein 10 (γIP-10), MHC class II β-chain, and STAT1, and enhanced respiratory burst activity in macrophages. Deletion of 29-aa residues from the C terminus containing the nuclear localization sequence motif resulted in loss of activity with respect to induction of γIP-10 in RTS-11 cells. Moreover, IFN-γ-induced γIP-10 expression was completely abolished by the protein kinase C inhibitor staurosporine, and partially reduced by U0126, a specific inhibitor for ERKs. Taken together, the present study has demonstrated for the first time a functional IFN-γ homologue in a fish species, strongly suggesting a conserved Th1 immune response is most likely present in lower vertebrates.
Dynamic expression patterns of G protein‐regulated inducer of neurite outgrowth 1 (GRIN1) and its colocalization with Gαo implicate significant roles of Gαo‐GRIN1 signaling in nervous system

GRIN1 (Gprin 1) is a signaling molecule coexpression of which with constitutively active form of Gαo can stimulate neurite extensions in Neuro2a cells, yet its in vivo roles remain elusive. Here, we examine expression profiles of GRIN1 during mouse development by in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry. ISH analysis revealed that GRIN1 expression was limited to the nervous system at all developmental stages tested: in the central nervous system, GRIN1 expression occurred within the entire embryonic mantle zones, while it became restricted to sets of nuclei at postnatal to adult stages. Immunohistochemistry using a GRIN1‐specific antibody demonstrated that GRIN1 colocalized with Gαo at neuronal dendrites and axons, but it was not detected in glial cells. These results suggest that Gαo‐GRIN1 pathway could mediate significant roles in neuronal migration and differentiation at embryonic stages and exert functions in wiring and/or maintenance of specific neural circuitries at postnatal to adult stages. Developmental Dynamics 237:2415–2429, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Trust dynamics in acquisitions: A case survey

Drawing on the organizational trust literature and research on postmerger integration, the authors develop a model that conceptually synthesizes the antecedents and consequences of trust in acquired organizations. The model proposes that the acquiring and target firms' relationship history, the interfirm distance, and the acquirer's integration approach will affect target firm member trust in the acquiring firm's management. Target firm member trust, in turn, may influence several sociocultural integration outcomes as well as postacquisition performance. The results of a case survey suggest that certain aspects of the relationship history and interfirm distance, such as the firms' collaboration history and preacquisition performance differences, are poor predictors of trust, whereas integration process variables, such as speed of integration, communication quality, and acquirer multiculturalism are major factors infl uencing trust. The implications for postmerger integration research and practice are discussed.
The "micromorph" solar cell: extending a-Si:H technology towards thin film crystalline silicon

Progress of solar cells based on plasma deposited hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (/spl mu/c-Si:H), as well as on combined a-Si:H//spl mu/c-Si:H stacked "micromorph" solar cells is reported. /spl mu/c-Si:H p-i-n cells with a thickness of 3.6 /spl mu/m, deposited with the use of a gas-purifier, are shown to have a short-circuit current of over 25 mA/cm/sup 2/, and a stable efficiency of 7.7%. a-Si:H//spl mu/c-Si:H tandem cells with 13% initial, and with 10% degraded state efficiency are also demonstrated. In addition, methods to further increase the efficiency of combined a-Si:H//spl mu/c-Si:H solar cells are discussed. This includes the introduction of a ZnO reflector layer between a-Si:H and /spl mu/c-Si:H component cells, a new concept of which first experimental results are given.
Is There a Global Market for Tuna? Policy Implications for Tropical Tuna Fisheries

Regional ex-vessel markets for cannery-grade skipjack tuna throughout the globe are spatially integrated by price, but such markets for yellowfin tuna are spatially independent. The Americas exert primary price leadership in ex-vessel skipjack markets, but Bangkok and American Samoa also exert price leadership, and Ivory Coast, Japan, and Spain are largely price followers. Regional ex-vessel markets for skipjack and yellowfin are not integrated by prices. While price effects of this nature are simply evidence of a pecuniary externality, and thereby do not necessarily affect the overall size of global net benefits, in practice such price effects affect distribution among players—who wins and who loses—and in this manner, the eventual formation of, and compliance with, different management policies.
Unemployment Experiences of Young Men: On the Road to Stable Employment?

This study examines the unemployment experiences of young men in the United Kingdom over the period 1982.IV-1998.I. The empirical results show that repeated unemployment is a dominant feature of the UK labour market and that individual heterogeneity affects mainly the incidence of unemployment and only to a much lesser extent the duration of unemployment. We estimate that about 73% of the young unemployed find stable employment before the age of 35. The remaining 27%, concentrated among the lower-skilled, keep returning into unemployment, suggesting structural employment instability. These findings imply that a labour market programme targeted at increasing the employability of the young unemployed would yield long-term benefits by not only getting them out of unemployment but also keeping them out of unemployment. Copyright 2004 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Developing Public Health Indicators in Complex Emergency Response

Abstract During the past decade, indicators for the assessment, monitoring, and evaluation of services provided by humanitarian organizations to populations affected by complex emergencies (CEs) were developed to improve the effectiveness and accountability of humanitarian response. The quality of data used to develop individual indicators and their relationship to positive health outcomes varies greatly. This article states the essential characteristics necessary for the development and implementation of effective indicators in CE response and proposes the establishment of an evidence-based grading system. The importance of trend analysis and the modification or addition of various indicators and their thresholds, according to phase and location of CEs, are stressed. Limitations in the development, implementation, and interpretation of these indicators, including those outside of the organizations' control are discussed. More evidence-based research is needed as to the type and thresholds of indicators that lead to improved health outcomes in populations affected by CEs. The use of indicators by non-governmental organizations, and how they affect their program's decision-making in different phases and settings within CEs need further study. Finally, the establishment of a regulating body with the authority to enforce the attainment of standards by use of these indicators is necessary to avoid inappropriate humanitarian assistance causing loss of life in the future.
Direct Binding of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Nef to the Major Histocompatibility Complex Class I (MHC-I) Cytoplasmic Tail Disrupts MHC-I Trafficking

ABSTRACT Nef, an essential pathogenic determinant for human immunodeficiency virus type 1, has multiple functions that include disruption of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules (MHC-I) and CD4 and CD28 cell surface expression. The effects of Nef on MHC-I have been shown to protect infected cells from cytotoxic T-lymphocyte recognition by downmodulation of a subset of MHC-I (HLA-A and -B). The remaining HLA-C and -E molecules prevent recognition by natural killer (NK) cells, which would otherwise lyse cells expressing small amounts of MHC-I. Specific amino acid residues in the MHC-I cytoplasmic tail confer sensitivity to Nef, but their function is unknown. Here we show that purified Nef binds directly to the HLA-A2 cytoplasmic tail in vitro and that Nef forms complexes with MHC-I that can be isolated from human cells. The interaction between Nef and MHC-I appears to be weak, indicating that it may be transient or stabilized by other factors. Supporting the fact that these molecules interact in vivo, we found that Nef colocalizes with HLA-A2 molecules in a perinuclear distribution inside cells. In addition, we demonstrated that Nef fails to bind the HLA-E tail and also fails to bind HLA-A2 tails with deletions of amino acids necessary for MHC-I downmodulation. These data provide an explanation for differential downmodulation of MHC-I allotypes by Nef. In addition, they provide the first direct evidence indicating that Nef functions as an adaptor molecule able to link MHC-I to cellular trafficking proteins.
Saturated Electricity Power Analysis Based on Logistic Curve Model

Power load forecasting is the foundation of urban power grid planning, and saturated electricity power is a key indicator for determining the ultimate power grid scale when performing the urban power grid planning. Taken Hubei province as the empirical example, the saturated electricity power is studied by employing Logistic curve model in this paper. Firstly, the electricity power consumption and annual maximum power load of Hubei province are forecasted; then, the saturated time and scale are determined according to the judgment criteria of electricity power saturation. The calculation result shows the electricity power of Hubei province will reach saturation at 2042-2043, and the electricity power consumption and annual maximum power load will reach to 377.89 billion kWh and 66.2499 million kW, respectively.
An empirical study on firm R&D team's creativity: implications from China's hi‐tech industries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the influence approach between team leadership and research and develop (R&D) team creativity in one joint‐venture firm of Chinese hi‐tech industries.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 14 R&D teams in one leading electronic joint‐venture firm in China based on questionnaires. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis to test the mediate effect of knowledge sharing on the relationship between leader's empowerment behavior and team creativity.Findings – The results reveal that, after the effects of leader's empowerment behavior had been controlled, tacit knowledge sharing contributed significantly to the explained variance of team creativity, while the explicate knowledge sharing was not significantly affect the creativity. Thus, tacit knowledge sharing partially mediated the relationship between leader's empowerment behavior and team creativity. The limitations of this study include it just selects the self‐report questio.
Industry associations as facilitators of social capital: The establishment and early operations of the Melbourne Woolbrokers Association

Relocation of the selling of Australia's wool clip from London to cities in Australia in the late nineteenth century led to the creation of wool selling industry associations, such as the Melbourne Woolbrokers Association (MWA). Highly successful in fostering competitive collaboration that improved market efficiency, the Association rested on the social capital brought to it and further developed by the participants, individuals with extensive connections in the pastoral, banking and transport industries. The collective social capital vested in the Association enabled the earning of economic rents, firstly from the high trust created through internal cohesion reinforced by formalised sanctions, and secondly from a capacity to span ‘structural holes’ between networks outside of the Association.
Asymmetry and Duration Dependence in Australian GDP and Unemployment

The periodic structure of business cycles suggests that significant asymmetries are present over different phases of the cycle. This paper uses Markov regime-switching models with fixed and duration dependent transition probabilities to directly model expansions, contractions and durations in Australian GDP growth and unemployment growth. Evidence is found of significant asymmetry in growth rates across expansions and contractions for both series. GDP contractions exhibit duration dependence implying that as output recessions age the likelihood of switching into an expansion phase increases. Unemployment growth does not exhibit duration dependence in either phase. Evidence is also presented that nonlinearities in unemployment growth are well explained by the asymmetries in the GDP growth cycle. The analysis suggests that recessions are periods of rapid and intense job destruction, that Australian unemployment tends to ratchet up in recessionary periods and, in contrast to U.S. and U.K. studies, that shocks to Australian unemployment growth are more persistent in recessions than expansions. Copyright 1998 by The Economic Society of Australia.
Kupffer cell-mediated lymphocyte apoptosis: a PGE2-dependent mechanism of portal venous transfusion-induced immunosuppression?

BACKGROUND Kupffer cells, after exposure to alloantigen via the portal vein, mediate an immunosuppressive effect involving enhanced production of PGE2. We hypothesize that up-regulation of Kupffer cell CoA-independent transacylase (CoA-IT) by portal venous transfusion (PVT) is a possible mechanism of increased PGE2 production. Additionally, enhanced lymphocyte apoptosis, a process known to be macrophage dependent and facilitated by PGE2, is postulated as a possible mechanism of PVT-induced, Kupffer cell-mediated immunosuppression. METHODS Lewis rat Kupffer cells were isolated after portal venous infusion with 1 ml of Wistar-Firth blood (PVT) or saline (PV sal). Kupffer cell PGE2 production and CoA-IT activity was assessed. Lymphocyte apoptosis after exposure to PVT or PV sal-treated Kupffer cells was also assessed by flow cytometry. RESULTS PVT-treated Kupffer cells produced significantly more PGE2 and had increased CoA-IT activity when compared to PV sal-treated Kupffer cells. Treatment of Kupffer cells with a selective inhibitor of CoA-IT significantly decreased PVT-induced Kupffer cell PGE2 production. Increased lymphocyte apoptosis was observed after coculture with PVT-treated Kupffer cells compared to PV sal-treated cells. CONCLUSIONS PVT increases Kupffer cell PGE2 production via increased CoA-IT activity and induces Kupffer cell-mediated lymphocyte apoptosis. Lymphocyte apoptosis facilitated by Kupffer cells within the hepatic sinusoid may be an important mechanism of PVT-induced immunosuppression in organ transplantation.
Interactions on boards and board capability: two empirical studies of the performance effects of boards

Existing research on the effects of boards of directors on firm performance has failed to produce consistent empirical results. In the research presented, I argue that this may be due to the fact that such research has largely ignored the interactions that take place on a board and that serve as an enabling mechanism for the board to be able to contribute to firm performance. I introduce the concept of 'board capability', which allows scholars to consider a board's composition, structure and interactions simultaneously. Also, the results of two empirical studies of boards in adolescent companies are presented. Taken together, these studies support the theoretical argument for the importance of board interactions and shed light on the performance effects of boards in adolescent companies.
Preempting the next disaster: Catastrophe insurance and the financialization of disaster management

The 2007 launch of the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) introduced a new mechanism of state security against the uncertainties of climate change. Proponents argue that increasing the ability of member-states to finance disaster recovery through catastrophe insurance mitigates the effects of increasingly frequent and intense hurricanes and thus contributes to climate change adaptation. In contrast, I offer a critical analysis of the CCRIF that draws out how it facilitates what I call the ‘financialization of disaster management’. The introduction of financial logics and techniques enables the state and capital to visualize a population’s self-organizing adaptive capacity as both a threat to state-based forms of order and a value that can be leveraged on capital markets as catastrophe risk. Leveraging enhances a state’s ability to repair its critical infrastructure and preemptively negate undesirable adaptations. The CCRIF blends risk pooling with parametric insurance techniques to turn the uncertainty surrounding a population’s immanent adaptability into catastrophe risks that can be leveraged to enhance state security and capital accumulation in an emergent environment.
Suppression of ColE1 high-copy-number mutants by mutations in the polA gene of Escherichia coli

We isolated three Escherichia coli suppressor strains that reduce the copy number of a mutant ColE1 high-copy-number plasmid. These mutations lower the copy number of the mutant plasmid in vivo up to 15-fold; the wild-type plasmid copy number is reduced by two- to threefold. The suppressor strains do not affect the copy numbers of non-ColE1-type plasmids tested, suggesting that their effects are specific for ColE1-type plasmids. Two of the suppressor strains show ColE1 allele-specific suppression; i.e., certain plasmid copy number mutations are suppressed more efficiently than others, suggesting specificity in the interaction between the suppressor gene product and plasmid replication component(s). All of the mutations were genetically mapped to the chromosomal polA gene, which encodes DNA polymerase I. The suppressor mutational changes were identified by DNA sequencing and found to alter single nucleotides in the region encoding the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase I. Two mutations map in the DNA-binding cleft of the polymerase region and are suggested to affect specific interactions of the enzyme with the replication primer RNA encoded by the plasmid. The third suppressor alters a residue in the 3'-5' exonuclease domain of the enzyme. Implications for the interaction of DNA polymerase I with the ColE1 primer RNA are discussed.
The beneficial effects of pumpkin extract on atherogenic lipid, insulin resistance and oxidative stress status in high-fat diet-induced obese rats

Abstract Background Prevention and treatment of obesity is a way to reduce cardiovascular disease, diabetes and depression. Pumpkin as a favorable plant has different properties notably antioxidant, lipid-lowering and anti-diabetic potential. The aim of this study was to assess the anti-obesity effects of pumpkin in diet-induced obese rats. Methods Thirty adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=6) of healthy control, dietary fatty control rats, and three experimental dietary fatty rats that received hydro-alcoholic extract of pumpkin once daily at doses 100 and 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively. At the end of 6 weeks, lipid profile, atherogenicity, liver enzymes, and oxidative stress status were measured. Results Pumpkin in a dose-dependent manner dramatically decreased triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein, and liver enzymes while high-density lipoprotein was markedly increased in treated groups. Pumpkin also increased glutathione level in comparison with obese control group. Conclusions Pumpkin ameliorated oxidative stress and dyslipidemia in obese rats, leading to decrease cardiovascular disease risk in obesity.
The Arabidopsis Transcription Factor MYB12 Is a Flavonol-Specific Regulator of Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis1

Comprehensive functional data on plant R2R3-MYB transcription factors is still scarce compared to the manifold of their occurrence. Here, we identified the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) R2R3-MYB transcription factor MYB12 as a flavonol-specific activator of flavonoid biosynthesis. Transient expression in Arabidopsis protoplasts revealed a high degree of functional similarity between MYB12 and the structurally closely related factor P from maize (Zea mays). Both displayed similar target gene specificity, and both activated target gene promoters only in the presence of a functional MYB recognition element. The genes encoding the flavonoid biosynthesis enzymes chalcone synthase, chalcone flavanone isomerase, flavanone 3-hydroxylase, and flavonol synthase were identified as target genes. Hence, our observations further add to the general notion of a close relationship between structure and function of R2R3-MYB factors. High-performance liquid chromatography analyses of myb12 mutant plants and MYB12 overexpression plants demonstrate a tight linkage between the expression level of functional MYB12 and the flavonol content of young seedlings. Quantitative real time reverse transcription-PCR using these mutant plants showed MYB12 to be a transcriptional regulator of CHALCONE SYNTHASE and FLAVONOL SYNTHASE in planta, the gene products of which are indispensable for the biosynthesis of flavonols.