Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Export Composition and Long-run Economic Growth Impact: A Cointegration Analysis for ASEAN ‘Latecomer’ Economies

Export expansion can be a significant engine of economic growth for developing economies. The size of the growth effect of exports depends not only on volume but also on the sectoral composition of exports. By explicitly considering the sectoral export composition, this article examines over a 31-year period the long-run growth impact of exports in four transition and emerging economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. More specifically, for each country, a long-run equilibrium analysis within a cointegration framework is conducted for three broad sectors (agriculture, mining/natural resources and manufacturing) as well as for 22 manufacturing industries during 1987–2017. The results indicate that there has been sizeable export expansion (especially in Vietnam), but export composition differs substantially across economies, which has an effect on the overall growth impact of the country’s exports. Clear evidence of export-led growth is found only for some sectors. Countries that rely heavily on primary goods have experienced relatively lower export-led growth. Export restructuring in manufacturing industries is associated with a larger long-run growth effect for a country’s exports. Our findings suggest that policies encouraging diversification away from traditional export sectors would be expected to lead to higher long-run growth effects of exports. Furthermore, our analysis implies a steady strengthening of export dynamism in ASEAN ‘latecomer’ economies and their rising significance in the global trade system. JEL Classification: F14, F43, F63, O11, O47
The state of the Italian Republic

ABSTRACT There have traditionally been several obstacles in the way of the smooth functioning of the Italian political system. This article explores recent changes in the government, Parliament, the political parties, the party system and the Presidency in order to evaluate the state of the Republic. The undermining of the role of Parliament and the assertion of presidential powers are the two most significant new phenomena. The weakest link is found in the decline and the degeneration of the parties and the deconstruction of the party system. Poorly organised, personal, parties lacking any political culture are negatively affecting the quality of Italian democracy.
Uptake of Dietary Sodium Restriction by Overweight and Obese Patients After Cardiac Revascularization

Purpose: High sodium intake increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Cardiac patients are recommended a daily sodium restriction of ≤1,500 mg. The purpose of this article is to describe daily sodium intake and sodium restriction adherence and its correlates in cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program participants following cardiac revascularizations. Design: This is a descriptive correlational study. Methods: A subanalysis was performed using the data collected from a randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of a 12‐week weight management intervention. Findings: The average daily sodium intake was 3,020 mg ± 1,134 at baseline, 4,047 mg ±1,517 at 4 months, and 4,399 mg ± 1,722 at 6 months. The adherence rates were 4.8% at baseline and zero at 4 and 6 months. The factors influencing daily sodium intake were identified. Conclusion: The CR program participants failed to adhere to the sodium restriction guidelines. Clinical relevance: Rehabilitation nurses need to identify effective strategies to educate CR participants and their family members regarding dietary sodium adherence in CR participants.
Phosphatidylinositol-4,5-Bisphosphate and Phospholipase D-Generated Phosphatidic Acid Specify SNARE-Mediated Vesicle Fusion for Prospore Membrane Formation

ABSTRACT The soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) family of proteins is required for eukaryotic intracellular membrane fusions. Vesicle fusion for formation of the prospore membrane (PSM), a membrane compartment that forms de novo during yeast sporulation, requires SNARE function, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2], and the activity of the phospholipase D (PLD) Spo14p, which generates phosphatidic acid (PA). The SNARE syntaxin Sso1p is essential for PSM production while the functionally redundant homolog in vegetative growth, Sso2p, is not. We demonstrate that Sso1p and Sso2p bind similarly in vitro to PA or phosphoinositide-containing liposomes and that the conserved SNARE (H3) domain largely mediates PA-binding. Both green fluorescent protein-Sso fusion proteins localize to the developing PSM in wild-type cells and to the spindle pole body in spo14Δ cells induced to sporulate. However, the autoregulatory region of Sso1p binds PI(4,5)P2-containing liposomes in vitro with a greater ability than the equivalent region of Sso2p. Overexpression of the phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinase MSS4 in sso1Δ cells induced to sporulate stimulates PSM production; PLD activity is not increased under these conditions, indicating that PI(4,5)P2 has roles in addition to stimulating PLD in PSM formation. These data suggest that PLD-generated PA and PI(4,5)P2 collaborate at multiple levels to promote SNARE-mediated fusion for PSM formation.
To what extent does living in a group mean living with kin?

Chimpanzees live in large groups featuring remarkable levels of gregariousness and cooperation among the males. Because males stay in their natal communities their entire lives and are hence expected to be living with male relatives, cooperation is therefore assumed to occur within one large ‘family’ group. However, we found that the average relatedness among males within several chimpanzee groups as determined by microsatellite analysis is in fact rather low, and only rarely significantly higher than average relatedness of females in the groups or of males compared across groups. To explain these findings, mathematical predictions for average relatedness according to group size, reproductive skew and sex bias in dispersal were derived. The results show that high average relatedness among the philopatric sex is only expected in very small groups, which is confirmed by a comparison with published data. Our study therefore suggests that interactions among larger number of individuals may not be primarily driven by kin relationships.
Involvement of Integrins and Src in Insulin Signaling toward Autophagic Proteolysis in Rat Liver*

Cell volume changes critically determine hepatic signal transduction and metabolism. Hepatocyte swelling by insulin contributes to p38MAPK activation leading to inhibition of autophagic proteolysis. Recently integrins were shown to sense hypoosmotic hepatocyte swelling. Here the role of integrins, Src, and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in insulin signaling was investigated using the intact organ model of perfused rat liver. Insulin increases [Tyr(P)418]Src, [Tyr(P)397]FAK, and dual p38MAPK phosphorylation by about 2-fold. Infusion of the integrin-antagonizing hexapeptide GRGDSP or the Src inhibitor PP-2 prevented activation of Src and p38MAPK and, consequently, proteolysis inhibition by insulin. However, insulin-induced phosphorylation of IRβ (Tyr1158) and protein kinase B (PKB, Ser473), as well as K+-uptake and cell swelling, was not reduced by the inhibitors. Both hypoosmotic swelling and insulin increase the plasma membrane levels of activated β1 integrin. Inhibition of insulin-induced swelling by furosemide largely abolished activation of β1 integrin and phosphorylation of Src, but not of PKB. Rapamycin does not affect either insulin-induced K+-retention and cell swelling or proteolysis inhibition, indicating that swelling-dependent proteolysis inhibition occurs independently from the mammalian target of rapamycin. The data suggest that sensing of cell swelling by integrins essentially contributes to insulin signaling, thereby defining a novel way of integrin involvement in growth factor signaling.
Pancreaticoduodenectomy is curative in the majority of patients with node-negative ampullary cancer.

HYPOTHESIS Survival following resection for ampullary carcinoma may be influenced by 1 or more clinical or pathologic variables. DESIGN Retrospective medical records review. SETTING Academic tertiary care center. PATIENTS From July 1, 1991, through April 30, 2004, 72 patients (31 males and 41 females) were treated for ampullary carcinoma at Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill. Of these, 51 patients who underwent potentially curative pancreaticoduodenectomy were studied. INTERVENTIONS Whipple procedure for attempted cure in 51 patients with ampullary adenocarcinoma. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The effects of clinical and pathologic factors on disease-specific survival were analyzed using log-rank and a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS The median age of the 51 patients (25 males and 26 females) was 69 years (age range, 38-90 years). Median operative time was 6 hours (range, 4-12 hours), and median estimated blood loss was 800 mL (range, 350-7500 mL). Thirty-day mortality was 2% (1 of 51 patients). Twenty-seven had node-negative disease, 34 cases were T1/T2, and 23 were well differentiated. Median follow-up for patients still alive was 42 months (range, 2-147 months); overall 5-year disease-specific survival was 58%. Five-year survival was 78% (21/27) in node-negative patients, 73% (25/34) for T1/T2 patients, and 76% (17/23) for well-differentiated tumors compared with 25% for node-positive, 8% for T3/T4, and 36% for poorly or moderately differentiated tumors (P<.01). On multivariate analysis, only node-negative disease maintained significance (hazard ratio, 5.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-21.9). In all groups, there were no deaths due to disease after 3 years of survival was reached. CONCLUSION Pancreaticoduodenectomy is curative in 80% of patients with node-negative ampullary carcinomas. Once 3-year survival is reached, long-term survival can be expected.
COMT and ALDH2 polymorphisms moderate associations of implicit drinking motives with alcohol use

Dual process models of addiction emphasize the importance of implicit (automatic) cognitive processes in the development and maintenance of substance use behavior. Although genetic influences are presumed to be relevant for dual process models, few studies have evaluated this possibility. The current study examined two polymorphisms with functional significance for alcohol use behavior (COMT Val158Met and ALDH2*2) in relation to automatic alcohol cognitions and tested additive and interactive effects of genotype and implicit cognitions on drinking behavior. Participants were college students (n = 69) who completed Implicit Association Tasks (IATs) designed to assess two classes of automatic drinking motives (enhancement motives and coping motives). Genetic factors did not show direct associations with IAT measures; however, COMT and ALDH2 moderated associations of implicit coping motives with drinking outcomes. Interaction effects indicated that associations of implicit motives with drinking outcomes were strongest in the context of genetic variants associated with relatively higher risk for alcohol use (COMT Met and ALDH2*1). Associations of genotype with drinking behavior were observed for ALDH2 but not COMT. These findings are consistent with the possibility that genetic risk or protective factors could potentiate or mitigate the influence of reflexive cognitive processes on drinking behavior, providing support for the evaluation of genetic influences in the context of dual process models of addiction.
Indonesian 2019 General Election: Who Will Be The Future Leader?

This paper aims to listen and understand the Indonesian people’s voice about who is the President that they need for the period 2019-2024. For this purpose, an opinion survey method called People NEWS is used. This is a very democratic survey method where respondents have 100% freedom to express what they want to say. Important results including the criteria of the next President they need, and national development issues that the next President must face, will be reported. In this research, respondents are limited into two groups of people; Indonesian elites and Indonesian scholars. This is an unprecedented research where people formulate the criteria of their national leader.
Satellite-Derived NDVI, LST, and Climatic Factors Driving the Distribution and Abundance of Anopheles Mosquitoes in a Former Malarious Area in Northwest Argentina

ABSTRACT: Distribution and abundance of disease vectors are directly related to climatic conditions and environmental changes. Remote sensing data have been used for monitoring environmental conditions influencing spatial patterns of vector-borne diseases. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and climatic factors (temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and accumulated rainfall) on the distribution and abundance of Anopheles species in northwestern Argentina using Poisson regression analyses. Samples were collected from December, 2001 to December, 2005 at three localities, Aguas Blancas, El Oculto and San Ramón de la Nueva Orán. We collected 11,206 adult Anopheles species, with the major abundance observed at El Oculto (59.11%), followed by Aguas Blancas (22.10%) and San Ramón de la Nueva Orán (18.79%). Anopheles pseudopunctipennis was the most abundant species at El Oculto, Anopheles argyritarsis predominated in Aguas Blancas, and Anopheles strodei in San Ramón de la Nueva Orán. Samples were collected throughout the sampling period, with the highest peaks during the spring seasons. LST and mean temperature appear to be the most important variables determining the distribution patterns and major abundance of An. pseudopunctipennis and An. argyritarsis within malarious areas.
Translational Regulation of mRNAs with Distinct IRE Sequences by Iron Regulatory Proteins 1 and 2*

Iron regulatory proteins 1 and 2 (IRP-1, IRP-2) interact with iron-responsive elements (IREs) present in the 5′- or 3′-untranslated regions (UTR) of several mRNAs coding for proteins in iron metabolism. Whereas binding of IRP-1 and -2 to an IRE in the 5′-UTR inhibits mRNA translation in vitro, it has remained unknown whether either endogenous protein is sufficient to control translation in mammalian cells. We analyzed this question by taking advantage of published mutant IREs that are exclusively recognized by either IRP-1 or IRP-2 in vitro. These IREs were inserted into the 5′-UTR of a human growth hormone reporter mRNA, and translational regulation was measured in stably transfected mouse L cells. Cells cultured in iron-rich or -depleted medium were labeled with [35S]methionine, and secreted growth hormone was immunoprecipitated. IREs with loop sequences specific for IRP-1 (UAGUAC), IRP-2 (CCGAGC), or both proteins (GAGUCG and the wild-type CAGUGC sequence) all mediated translational regulation, in contrast to a control sequence (GCUCCG) that binds neither IRP-1 nor IRP-2. Control experiments excluded IRP-1 binding to the IRP-2-specific sequence in vivo. The present data demonstrate that IRP-1 and IRP-2 can independently function as translational repressors in living cells.
Improving relational aggregated search from big data sources using deep learning

Relational aggregated search (RAS) is defined as a complementary set of approaches where relations between information nuggets are taken into account. From this viewpoint, the relational aggregated search should retrieve information nuggets and their relations, which are to be used to coherently assemble the final search result. Traditional approaches used for RAS are based on Information Extraction (IE) techniques and knowledge bases (ontologies, linked data) as the major sources for identifying and extracting useful relations between different results. However, with the large data collections stored in the web, the different results obtained from the different verticals in response to a given query are not homogeneous, so the challenge is to extract the different features related to each vertical result, as well as the recognition of the various relationships between these results. In this paper, we propose another solution based on Deep Learning architecture, and especially stacked autoencoders. This approach allows us to benefit from the advantages of deep neural networks, which will improve considerably aggregated search result. This work represents a detailed theoretical study of this approach in addition to the description and the role of each of its components.
Polymorphism in the Collagen-Like Region of the Bacillus anthracis BclA Protein Leads to Variation in Exosporium Filament Length

ABSTRACT We recently identified a Bacillus anthracis glycoprotein which is a structural constituent of the exosporium filaments (P. Sylvestre, E. Couture-Tosi, and M. Mock, Mol. Microbiol. 45:169-178, 2002). This Bacillus collagen-like protein (BclA) contains an internal collagen-like region (CLR) of GXX repeats which includes a large proportion of GPT triplets. Here, we report that the polymorphic marker Ceb-Bams13, for which there are nine alleles (P. Le Flèche et al., BMC Microbiol. 1:2, 2001), maps within the open reading frame encoding BclA. The bclA gene in 11 B. anthracis strains representative of seven Ceb-Bams13 alleles was sequenced and compared to the Ames bclA gene sequence. The amino- and carboxy-terminal sequences surrounding the CLR are conserved. The CLR itself is highly polymorphic: it contains between 17 and 91 GXX repeats and one to eight copies of the 21-amino-acid sequence (GPT)5GDTGTT, named the BclA repeat. The length of the filament on the spore surface differed between the strains. We exchanged the bclA gene between strains with different CLRs and examined the spore surfaces by electron microscopy analysis. The length of the BclA CLR is responsible for the variation in filament length.
Bargaining for an efficient and fair allocation of emission permits to developing countries

The paper focusses on the negotiations between the developed countries currently implementing emission permit markets versus the developing countries who want to join this market. We model the negotiations according to the ’Alternating Offers Bargaining’ model. The ob jective is to obtain an efficient and fair allocation of tradeable emission permits between these two players. At each period, one player proposes a feasible allocation of the goods for both players. Then the other player either ends the negotiations by accepting the proposal, or prolongs them by rejecting it. The proposal is accepted if this player considers it fair. If rejected, there is a certain probability that the next round is played and the other player making a proposal. The equilibrium concept in this model is that of a subgame perfect equilibrium. The paper is concluded with a comparison of the bargaining solution with several proposals, using the GTAP-E model as the reference model for the economy.
The 24-hour pulse wave velocity, aortic augmentation index, and central blood pressure in normotensive volunteers

The purpose of this study was to examine the pulse wave velocity, aortic augmentation index corrected for heart rate 75 (AIx@75), and central systolic and diastolic blood pressure during 24-hour monitoring in normotensive volunteers. Overall, 467 subjects (206 men and 261 women) were recruited in this study. Participants were excluded from the study if they were less than 19 years of age, had blood test abnormalities, had a body mass index greater than 2 7.5 kg/m2, had impaired glucose tolerance, or had hypotension or hypertension. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) with the BPLab® device was performed in each subject. ABPM waveforms were analyzed using the special automatic Vasotens® algorithm, which allows the calculation of pulse wave velocity, AIx@75, central systolic and diastolic blood pressure for “24-hour”, “awake”, and “asleep” periods. Circadian rhythms and sex differences in these indexes were identified. Pending further validation in prospective outcome-based studies, our data may be used as preliminary diagnostic values for the BPLab ABPM additional index in adult subjects.
Corticospinal facilitation of hand muscles during voluntary movement in the conscious monkey.

1. The method of spike‐triggered averaging has been used to detect a direct influence of pyramidal tract neurones on the activity of hand and forearm muscles in conscious monkeys trained to perform repetitive movements of the hand and fingers. Gross electromyograms (e.m.g.s) from individual muscles were rectified and synchronously averaged with respect to the discharge of single, antidromically identified pyramidal tract cells in the 'hand' area of the pre‐central gyrus. 2. The presence in an average of a post‐spike facilitation which could be revealed reproducibly from successive epochs of recording and was clearly larger than the biggest fluctuations seen in pseudo‐randomly triggered averages of the same e.m. g. data, was taken to indicate a direct cortico‐motoneuronal excitatory influence. 3. 55% of cortical neurones analysed showed post‐spike facilitation in one or more recorded muscle and 7% showed post‐spike suppression. In terms of the total number of muscle‐neurone combinations analysed, the proportions showing post‐spike effects were 18 and 1% respectively. These figures have been influenced by the pre‐selection of neurones for analysis according to restrictive criteria. The neurones selected (a) were recorded at cortical loci where weak intracortical microstimulation could evoke finger movements, (b) could be activated antidromically at short latency by medullary pyramidal tract stimulation, (c) showed natural discharge activity which was clearly modulated in relation to voluntary finger movements, and (d) were located in the anterior bank of the central sulcus. The results provide some evidence to vindicate these criteria. 4. The strongest post‐spike facilitation observed had a peak which was 42% higher than the average pre‐spike level of e.m. g. activity, but most were within the range 5‐20%. Facilitation peaks below about 3% could not have been resolved from the 'noise' in the averages. The mean latency from cell discharge in the cortex to the start of the post‐spike facilitation was 11.2 ms (range 7.4‐17.2) for intrinsic hand muscles and 9.8 ms (range 4.1‐15.0) for forearm muscles. These latencies were compared with the latencies of responses to intracortical microstimulation and to stimulation of the medullary pyramidal tract. 5. Evidence was obtained suggesting that the latency for cortico‐motoneuronal activation of an individual motor unit was commonly subject to considerable variability and that different motor units of a muscle could be facilitated by the one cortical neurone at different latencies. These factors are thought to contribute to an elongation of the time course of post‐spike facilitation. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Choosing between Multiple Regional Trade Agreements: Evidence from Japan's Imports

Mega‐regional trade agreements (RTAs) are likely to overlap with other RTAs. When such overlaps occur, firms must choose the tariff rates from multiple RTAs. By employing data on Japan’s imports by tariff schemes, we investigate how RTA tariff rates affect firms’ decisions on tariff schemes when multiple RTAs exist. Our finding is that RTA utilization rates are higher when tariff rates for that RTA are lower (own effect) and tariff rates for alternative RTAs are higher (cross effect). We also found that the absolute magnitudes of own and cross effects are larger in bilateral and multilateral RTAs, respectively.