Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Targeting of Neisserial PorB to the mitochondrial outer membrane: an insight on the evolution of β‐barrel protein assembly machines

Mitochondria originated from Gram‐negative bacteria through endosymbiosis. In modern day mitochondria, the Sorting and Assembly Machinery (SAM) is responsible for eukaryotic β‐barrel protein assembly in the mitochondrial outer membrane. The SAM is the functional equivalent of the β‐barrel assembly machinery found in the outer membrane of Gram‐negative bacteria. In this study we examined the import pathway of a pathogenic bacterial protein, PorB, which is targeted from pathogenic Neisseria to the host mitochondria. We have developed a new method for measurement of PorB assembly into mitochondria that relies on the mobility shift exhibited by bacterial β‐barrel proteins once folded and separated under semi‐native electrophoretic conditions. We show that PorB is targeted to the outer mitochondrial membrane with a dependence on the intermembrane space shuttling chaperones and the core component of the SAM, Sam50, which is a functional homologue of BamA that is required for PorB assembly in bacteria. The peripheral subunits of the SAM, Sam35 and Sam37, which are essential for eukaryotic β‐barrel protein assembly but do not have distinguishable functional homologues in bacteria, are not required for PorB assembly in eukaryotes. This shows that PorB uses an evolutionary conserved ‘bacterial like’ mechanism to infiltrate the host mitochondrial outer membrane.
Aerospace Clusters: Local or Global Knowledge Spillovers?

The literature about regional innovation systems, clusters and industrial districts insists on the importance of local knowledge spillovers. Nevertheless, more recently a few authors have put in question the importance of local knowledge spillovers. This paper provides an analysis of some of the most dynamic aerospace clusters in the world, located in Montreal, Seattle, Toulouse and Toronto. We start by discussing theories of clustering, then provide research questions as well as empirical evidence on the international nature of knowledge spillovers. Local knowledge spillovers are less significant, of a different nature, and they may make a scanty contribution to explain the geographical agglomeration of firms. Conversely, international spillovers help to explain the relative dispersion of industry across nations. Resilient geographical clustering is related to the anchor tenant effects as creators of labour pools and owners of very large manufacturing plants creating regional inertia. We thus reject the local knowledge spillover explanation of aerospace clusters in favour of another one based on anchor firms and their effects on the local labour pool.
CEO Overconfidence and Stock Price Crash Risk

This study examines the association between chief executive officer (CEO) overconfidence and future stock price crash risk. Overconfident managers overestimate the returns to their investment projects and misperceive negative net present value (NPV) projects as value creating. They also tend to ignore or explain away privately observed negative feedback. As a result, negative NPV projects are kept for too long and their bad performance accumulates, which can lead to stock price crashes. Using a large sample of firms for the period 1993–2010, we find that firms with overconfident CEOs have higher stock price crash risk than firms with nonoverconfident CEOs. The impact of managerial overconfidence on crash risk is more pronounced when the CEO is more dominant in the top management team and when there are greater differences of opinion among investors. Finally, it appears that the effect of CEO overconfidence on crash risk is less pronounced for firms with more conservative accounting policies.
Boundaries and Organizations in Asia: An Introduction

In Paulsen and Hernes’seminal work titled ‘Managing Boundaries in Organizations’ – an edited volume published in 2003 – the concept of organizational boundaries is comprehensively and critically assessed for the first time in organization literature. Triggered by the paradox that organizational boundaries are conceptualized in mainstream organizational theory as given, fixed and unambiguous while, at the same time, these boundaries are claimed to diminish and dissolve as a consequence of processes of globalization, Paulsen and Hernes conclude that:
Exercise training and cytokines in breast cancer survivors.

The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to determine the effects of an 8-week (aerobic+strength) exercise training program (3 sessions/week) on the circulating cytokine levels of breast cancer survivors. We randomly allocated 16 female survivors of breast cancer (mean±SD age: 50±5 years) to an intervention or usual care (control) group (N=8 in each group). The intervention group followed an 8-week exercise program consisting of 3 sessions/week (session duration: 90 min). We measured the levels of the following cytokines before and after the intervention: beta-NGF, CTACK, eotaxin, FGF basic, G-CSF, gmCSFα, HGF, ICAM1, IFNα2, IFNγ, IL1α, IL1ß, IL1ra, IL2, IL2ra, IL3, IL4, IL6, IL7, IL8, IL9, IL10, IL12, IL13, IL15, IL16, IL17, IL18, IP10, LIF, MCS-F, MIP1α, MIP1β, MIF, MCP1, MCP3, MIG, PDGF bb, SCF, SCGFβ, SDF1α, TRAIL, TNFα, TNFβ, VCAM1, and VEGF. We only observed a significant interaction (group*time) effect for CTACK ( P=0.016), with mean values remaining stable in the intervention group but increasing over time in controls. The intervention program did not induce a significant decrease in the main breast cancer-related cytokines such as IL6 and IL8. A combined (aerobic+strength) 8-week exercise training intervention did not induce major changes in the basal cytokine levels of breast cancer survivors.
Intelligent Multiagent Coordination Based on Reinforcement Hierarchical Neuro-fuzzy Models

This paper presents the research and development of two hybrid neuro-fuzzy models for the hierarchical coordination of multiple intelligent agents. The main objective of the models is to have multiple agents interact intelligently with each other in complex systems. We developed two new models of coordination for intelligent multiagent systems, which integrates the Reinforcement Learning Hierarchical Neuro-Fuzzy model with two proposed coordination mechanisms: the MultiAgent Reinforcement Learning Hierarchical Neuro-Fuzzy with a market-driven coordination mechanism (MA-RL-HNFP-MD) and the MultiAgent Reinforcement Learning Hierarchical Neuro-Fuzzy with graph coordination (MA-RL-HNFP-CG). In order to evaluate the proposed models and verify the contribution of the proposed coordination mechanisms, two multiagent benchmark applications were developed: the pursuit game and the robot soccer simulation. The results obtained demonstrated that the proposed coordination mechanisms greatly improve the performance of the multiagent system when compared with other strategies.
An Empirical Analysis of the Balance of Payments as a Monetary Phenomenon: Nigeria's Experience

This study offers another perspective to using the econometric study to analyze the Nigeria’s experience of balance of payments as a monetary phenomenon. The argument was to determine whether excess money supply has played a significant role in the disequilibrium of balance of payment during the period 1986-2010. Johansen Cointergration, Vector Error Correction Mechanism and the Impulse Response Function and Variance Decomposition were the method used in analyzing the annual data. The results of VECM and impulse responses confirm that balance of payment in Nigeria is not a purely monetary phenomenon in line with similar studies in other countries. The monetary authority in the country should seriously monitor budget deficit because this also cause domestic credit increase.
An analytical model for combined SDN Forwarding Element

Recent studies have shown that the flow table size of hardware SDN switch cannot match the number of concurrent flows. Combined SDN Forwarding Element (CFE), which comprises software switch and hardware switch, becomes an alternative approach for tackling this problem. Because software switch has lower lookup speed than hardware switch, different proportions of traffic allocated to software switches in CFE have different effects on the delay bounds of all flows entering CFE. As delay-guarantee is a nontrivial task for network providers, especially with the increasing number of delay-sensitive applications, a model to analyze the delay bound given a flow allocation in CFE is important. With the one-to-one correspondence between flow allocation and rules placement solution, the analytical model can be used to evaluate and compare rules placement solutions and provide a basis for designing better rules placement solution in CFE. In this paper, we propose an analytical model for CFE based on network calculus, and then validate this model through simulations in NS-3.
Intellectual capital and technological advances in knowledge society: How are these concepts related?

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between technological advances and intellectual capital improvement. Researches show that technological advances and intellectual capital have a strong relationship but this relationship has not been examined systematically. This paper reviews the important theoretical work in both streams of research, highlighting the fundamental similarities and differences. Models of intellectual capital are compared, and the distinction between social human and structural capital and customer capital is examined. The results support the view that technological advances have a positive impact on intellectual capital. Therefore, technological advances can improve intellectual capital in organizations. Key words: Human capital, intellectual capital, technological advances.
The evolution of shape in the wing dimorphic cricket, Allonemobius socius

Many traits which show only two phenotypic morphs are polygenically determined. For such traits the threshold model of quantitative genetics provides a suitable theoretical basis for the estimation of genetic parameters and response to selection. A consequence of this model is that traits correlated to the threshold trait are predicted to change, both in terms of their overall mean value and their morph-specific values. The cricket Allonemobius socius is wing dimorphic with the morphs also showing differences in the shape of the thorax. In this paper we present a quantitative genetic analysis of shape variation in relation to wing morph in A. socius. Overall size, as measured by the first principal component, has a high heritability (0.64 and 0.63 for females and males, respectively), as also does shape, as measured by the first principal component of a size-adjusted principal component analysis (PCA), (0.40, 0.25). However, size is neither phenotypically nor genetically correlated with wing morph, whereas shape is highly correlated, both phenotypically (0.64, 0.49) and genetically (0.80, 0.46), with wing morph. An analysis of the correlated response of shape to selection on the incidence of macroptery predicts that within populations the two morphs will remain different in shape, but different morphs from separate populations may be very similar in shape.
Estimating the Probability of Informed Trading

Using a new empirical model, I estimate the probability of trades being generated by privately informed traders. Inference is drawn on a trade-by-trade basis using data samples from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The modeling setup facilitates in-depth analysis of the estimated probability of informed trading at the intraday level and for stocks with different levels of trading activity. The most important empirical results are: (a) the intradaily pattern of the inferred probability of informed trading is highly correlated with the intradaily pattern of observed quoted spreads, (b) differences in the magnitude of quoted spreads across volume categories are not exclusively related to differences in the level of informed trading, and (c) private information is incorporated faster in the quotes for high-volume stocks than in the quotes for low-volume stocks.
Intelligent Monitoring for Adaptation in Grid Applications

Grid applications access distributed, and often shared, resources. One consequence of this resource sharing is that measured application performance can vary widely and in unexpected ways. Determining the causes of poor performance, due to either anomalous application behavior or contention for shared resource use, and adapting to changing circumstances are critical to creation of robust Grid applications. Performance contracts and real-time adaptive control are two mechanisms to realize soft performance guarantees in Grid environments. Performance contracts formalize the relationship between application performance needs and resource capabilities. During execution, contract monitors use performance data to verify that expectations are met. When the contracted specifications are not satisfied, the system can choose to either adapt the application to available resources or reschedule the application on a new set of resources that can satisfy the original contract specifications. We describe an infrastructure for Grid application contract development and monitoring. This infrastructure, based on the Autopilot toolkit, provides flexible and scalable tools to assess both application and system behavior.
Rule Enforcement among Peers: A Lateral Control Regime

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of control among peers. Drawing on a network study of a medium-sized Northeastern U.S. corporate law firm, this work shows that partners — all formally equal and locked in a cooperative situation — have developed an informal `lateral control regime' to help protect their common interests against free loading due to individual expressive problems. This regime helps peers exercise early monitoring and sanctioning by reducing costs of control. It maintains low costs through appropriate use of social resources or `relationships' between members. Sanctioners are chosen because they are structurally close to the infractors, but often also because they are relatively more powerful. Some of the costs of control are shown to be shifted to partners with a specific form of status within the firm, that of uncontroversial `protectors of the common good'. These main sanctioners help prevent situations in which infractors would be reserved preferential treatment because they control resources too important to their close partners.
L‐arginine inhibits apoptosis via a NO‐dependent mechanism in Nb2 lymphoma cells

Prolactin (PRL) inhibits apoptosis and stimulates proliferation of the PRL‐dependent rat Nb2 lymphoma cell line by divergent signaling pathways. Nitric oxide (NO) was recently identified as a downstream regulator of PRL action, and as an inhibitor of apoptosis in immune cells. In the present study, the role of NO in PRL‐regulated Nb2 cell function was investigated. Nb2 cells expressed the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) isoform, whereas neuronal NOS (nNOS) and inducible NOS (iNOS) mRNAs were undetectable. The eNOS mRNA was abundantly expressed in PRL‐deprived, growth‐arrested cells but decreased by at least 3‐fold at 3–24 h following PRL treatment. Downregulation of eNOS was not accompanied by a corresponding decrease in the eNOS protein, the level of which remained constant for at least 24 h after PRL treatment. PRL had no effect on the phosphorylation state or subcellular redistribution of the eNOS enzyme, or on production of NO by Nb2 cells. However, increasing concentrations of L‐arginine (NOS substrate) alone increased NO production in these cells and significantly enhanced PRL‐stimulated cell proliferation. NO releasers (SNAP, DEA/NO, SIN‐1) also significantly enhanced Nb2 cell proliferation in the presence of a submaximal dose of PRL (0.125 ng/ml). In the absence of PRL, the NO releasers alone promoted cell survival and maintained a viable cell density significantly higher than that of untreated PRL‐deprived cells. L‐arginine or the NO releaser DEA/NO alone significantly inhibited apoptosis in Nb2 cells deprived of PRL for 5 days. Expression of the anti‐apoptotic gene bcl‐2, which was stimulated within 1 h by PRL, was upregulated by L‐arginine or DEA/NO alone at 2 h and 8 h, respectively. These findings suggest that NO produced by eNOS inhibits apoptosis and promotes the survival of growth‐arrested Nb2 lymphoma cells via a prolactin‐independent, Bcl‐2‐mediated pathway. J. Cell. Biochem. 77:624–634, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Surfactant protein-B polymorphisms and mortality in the acute respiratory distress syndrome*

Objective:To determine whether polymorphisms of the surfactant protein B gene may be associated with increased mortality in patients with the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Design:A prospective cohort study. Setting:Four adult intensive care units at a tertiary academic medical center. Patients:Two hundred fourteen white patients who had met criteria for acute respiratory distress syndrome. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:Patients were genotyped for a variable nuclear tandem repeat polymorphism in intron 4 of the surfactant protein B gene and the surfactant protein B gene +1580 polymorphism. For the variable nuclear tandem repeat surfactant protein B gene polymorphism, patients were found to have either a homozygous wild-type genotype or a variant genotype consisting of either a heterozygous insertion or deletion polymorphism. Logistic regression was performed to analyze the relationship of the polymorphisms to mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. In multivariate analysis, the presence of variable nuclear tandem repeat surfactant protein B gene polymorphism was associated with a 3.51 greater odds of death at 60 days in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome as compared to those patients with the wild-type genotype (95% confidence interval 1.39–8.88, p = 0.008). There was no association found between the +1580 variant and outcome (p = 0.15). Conclusions:In this study, the variable nuclear tandem repeat surfactant protein B gene polymorphism in intron 4 is associated with an increased 60 day mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome after adjusting for age, severity of illness, and other potential confounders. Additional studies in other populations are needed to confirm this finding.
Stock price discreteness and clustering: decimals and ordered probit model

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to revisit the ordered probit model of Hausman Design/methodology/approach - – The changed ordered probit model. Findings - – The model can somewhat capture the different impact of trading-related “explanatory” variables on price changes among three different decimals but does not explain much about price discreteness and irregular transaction intervals among the existing models of stock price discreteness. Overall 1/16th and 1/24th range of the dependent variable is better explained by trading-related explanatory variables than 1/8th range of the dependent variable for small firms and there is not much difference in large firms among three decimals. The results imply that finer specification in decimalization and smaller firm size matters in trading after the decimalization project. Originality/value - – First paper to revisit the ordered probit model of Hausman
Urban School Segregation

THIS article is an attempt to use comparative analysis in the -L systematic explanation of public school segregation in large cities. This entails the comparison of school segregation patterns in a number of cities for the purpose of discovering the social, economic, and political conditions associated with variations in the extent of segregation. While racial segregation of public school pupils is widespread throughout the nation, there are marked differences among states and cities in the degree of school segregation. The U. S. Civil Rights Commission reports that 75% of the Negro elementary pupils in 75 large cities attended nearly all-Negro schools ( 90%
Differentially expressed transcripts from phenotypically identified olfactory sensory neurons

In comparing purified mouse olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) with neighboring cells, we identified 54 differentially expressed transcripts. One‐third of the transcripts encode proteins with no known function, but the others have functions that correlate with challenges faced by OSNs. The OSNs expressed a diversity of signaling protein genes, including stomatin (Epb7.2), S100A5, Ddit3, Sirt2, CD81, Sdc2, Omp, and Ptpla. The elaboration of dendrites, cilia, and axons that places OSNs in contact with diverse cell types and signals presumably also requires large investments in cytoskeletal‐associated proteins, lipid biosynthesis, and energy production. Several of the genes encode proteins that participate in these biological processes, including ATP5g3, Ndufa9, Sqrdl, Mdh1, Got1, β‐2 tubulin, Capza1, Bin3, Tom1, Acl6, and similar to O‐MACS. Three transcripts had restricted expression patterns. Similar to O‐MACS and Gstm2 had zonally restricted expression patterns in OSNs and sustentacular cells but not in Bowman's glands, suggesting that zonality can be differentially regulated by cell type. The mosaic expression pattern of S100A5 in approximately 70% of OSNs predicts that it is coexpressed with a subset of odorant receptors. We captured four abundant transcripts, Cyp2a4, similar to Cyp2g1, Gstm2, and Cbr2, that encode xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes expressed by sustentacular cells or Bowman's glands, reinforcing the interpretation that clearance of xenobiotic compounds is a major function of these cells. Within the olfactory epithelium, Cbr2 is a new anatomical marker for sustentacular cells. We also discovered that Reg3g is a marker for respiratory epithelium. J. Comp. Neurol. 483:251–262, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.