Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterization and applications of serum‐free induced adhesion in jurkat suspension cells

In this study, we demonstrate that the presence of serum in different media plays an important role in inducing transient and reversible adhesion in Jurkat suspension cells. Attachment of Jurkat cells in two distinct media formulations (serum‐fortified and serum‐free) to untreated polystyrene (PS), plasma‐treated PS, and fibronectin‐coated PS was compared. Additional analysis characterized the occurrence of this transient cell adhesion, including attachment rate, reversibility of attachment, and viability and preservation of phenotype in cells during and after attachment. As a demonstration of the utility of this technique, a few applications of transiently adhering Jurkat cells are shown which would be otherwise difficult with freely suspended cells, such as increased gene delivery, confocal‐based apoptosis detection, and real‐time electric‐field effect monitoring in Jurkat cells. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;106: 784–793. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The synergic relationship between TQM and marketing in creating customer value

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationships between marketing and quality in the value‐creation process.Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines the findings from a literary review and multiple case studies to develop a conceptual framework of the synergistic relationship between total quality management (TQM) and marketing in creating customer value.Findings – Two main conclusions arise from the study: TQM is a platform for the full realisation of marketing potentialities by revitalising the marketing concept and fostering its implementation; and TQM and marketing are complementary and synergistic in facilitating efficient management of the process of value creation and delivery.Research limitations/implications – The developed framework is only part of the complex relationship between marketing and quality. Nevertheless, it provides a solid basis from which to integrate the knowledge, tools, and methodologies of marketing and quality.Practical implications – The study pro.
Beating the Target: A Closer Look at Annual Incentive Plans 1

This paper documents the newly disclosed performance measures and performance targets used in the annual incentive (bonus) plans for firm CEOs. Our sample includes the SP and EPS growth targets are significantly lower than the previous year’s EPS growth and analyst consensus on the EPS growth for the firm as well as that for the firm’s industry. Comparing EPS targets with ex-post performance, we find that 70% of firms exceed their performance targets. As a result, the ex-post annual incentive payouts (bonuses) are on average 127% of the target payouts in our sample. Furthermore, after controlling for firm and CEO characteristics, we find that EPS targets are less challenging in firms with busier boards and lower institutional ownership.
Differential Integrin Expression Facilitates Isolation of Human Fetal Pancreatic Epithelial Cells

We have studied the expression of the β1 family of integrins in fetal and adult human pancreas. Immunohistochemical staining with a monoclonal anti-β1 antibody revealed that the epithelial cells of the human fetal pancreas express high amounts of β1 integrin, while the pancreatic stromal cells express substantially lower amounts. Islets of Langerhans from human adult pancreas also expressed high amounts of β1 integrin. Taking advantage of the extremely high affinity binding between the invasin protein of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and many β1 integrins, we have been able to isolate highly enriched populations of fetal pancreatic epithelial cells. Epithelial-enriched cell populations retain the ability to differentiate into mature endocrine cells following transplantation into nude mice.
Visualization of EEG activity for stimulating sleep research

A data visualization tool, the PhenoFinder, is developed to help researchers find clinically meaningful or heritable patterns in brainwave activity during sleep in a cohort of 1836 nocturnal polysomnography studies. The interactive software lets researchers quickly view and explore various electroencephalography power spectral density patient profiles and select desired phenotypes for genome-wide association or sequencing. The design study addressed here evolved over an iterative process of informal studies conducted with end-users from Stanford's Center for Sleep Sciences and Behavioral Medicine and focused on highlighting the similarities and differences in patient data. Several new hypotheses were formed and new phenotypes considered during the design process. The software is primarily for domain experts; however, a lay user may find exploration of demographic changes in sleep insightful. It is available online with a small companion data-set at http://www.github. com/informaton/phenofinder.
Diving into service quality – the dive tour operator perspective

Seeks to investigate the conceptualization and measurement of service quality and its importance to the dive tourism industry. It reports the findings from a recently conducted study of dive tourist perceptions of service quality as they relate to a tour operator running tours on an artificial reef dive experience in Western Australia. The study also assesses the importance assigned by consumers to the various service quality attributes relative to those perceptions. The results are of significance to operators in that they identify clearly the managerial implications of providing a quality service during the dive tourism experience.
Testing a social ecological model of alcohol use: the California 50-city study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Social ecological theories suggest that greater community alcohol availability and individual drinker characteristics should jointly affect drinking patterns and the use of drinking contexts. We assessed relationships of demographic and personality characteristics of individual drinkers and environmental characteristics at the city-level to measures of drinking patterns and use of drinking contexts. DESIGN Multi-level statistical analyses of archival and survey data from 50 cities in California, USA. SETTINGS An ecological sample of 50 geographically distinct cities with populations from 50 000 to 500 000 people. PARTICIPANTS General population telephone survey of 8553 adults 18 years of age and older stratified by cities. MEASUREMENTS Archival data on city-level alcohol outlet densities were combined with individual survey data identifying community conditions, individual demographic and psychosocial characteristics, frequencies of use of drinking contexts and drinking patterns. FINDINGS Greater on-premise outlet densities were related to greater drinking frequencies (b = 2.9671, z = 4.688, P < 0.001) and volumes (b = 0.6274, z = 3.394, P < 0.001) and use of on-premises drinking places (bars, b = 0.3340, z = 2.645, P < 0.006 and restaurants, b = 0.1712, z = 2.770, P = 0.005). Individual demographic and personality characteristics were related to drinking and use of drinking contexts. For example, greater impulsivity was related to greater drinking frequencies (b = 0.2001, z = 2.088, P = 0.023) and logged quantities (b = 0.0151, z = 2.009, P = 0.026) and proportionately more drinking at bars (b = 0.0332, z = 2.016, P = 0.026) and parties (b = 0.1712, z = 2.770, P = 0.004). CONCLUSION Community availability of alcohol and individual drinker characteristics appear to act jointly to affect drinking levels and use of drinking contexts. These effects may increase risks related to drinking in some contexts (e.g. bars) much more than others (e.g. at friends' or relatives' homes).
Reaction of singlet dioxygen with phosphine-borane derivatives: from transient phosphine peroxides to crystalline peroxoboronates.

The last two decades has witnessed a spectacular renaissance in main group chemistry. Of particular interest are ambiphilic compounds that result from the combination of donor and acceptor moieties, typically involving Group 13 and 15 elements. Most strikingly, the groups of D. W. Stephan and G. Erker have shown that phosphine–boranes R2P-spacerB(C6F5)2 (R = tBu or Mes (2,4,6-Me3C6H2); spacer = p-C6H4 or CH2CH2) reversibly activate dihydrogen under mild conditions, opening new avenues in metal-free catalytic hydrogenation. Recently, reversible binding of carbon dioxide has also been reported. Moreover, our group has evidenced versatile coordination properties for monoand polyphosphine–boranes featuring o-C6H4 linkers, which provide a better understanding of unusual interactions between transition metals and Lewis acids. The borane moiety ortho to phosphorus was also exploited to stabilize highly reactive adducts of phosphines. Accordingly, the reaction of R2P(o-C6H4)BMes2 with phenyl azide was shown to give a phosphazide that is dramatically stabilized by intramolecular a N! B interaction that undergoes an unusual photoisomerization process. Furthermore, treatment of the o-phenylene phosphine–borane system with diethyl azodicarboxylate and phenyl isocyanate afforded stable versions of the zwitterionic intermediates involved in the Mitsunobu reaction and cyclooligomerization of isocyanates, respectively. Our continued interest in phosphine–borane compounds prompted us to investigate their behavior toward singlet dioxygen. 9] Very little is known about peroxidic adducts between phosphines and O2. Indeed, the phosphadioxirane deriving from the tris(o-methoxyphenyl)phosphine is the only such adduct that has been characterized to date, thanks to low-temperature NMR techniques. Herein we report that the presence of a Lewis acid in close proximity to the phosphorus center dramatically influences the fate of the reaction. In particular, phosphine–boronates are shown to readily split O2. The initially formed phosphine peroxides are stabilized by intramolecular O! B interactions, but spontaneously rearrange by B! O migration to give stable peroxoboronates. We began to investigate the behavior of phosphine– borane compounds towards dioxygen with the previously described phosphine–borane 1. No sign of oxidation was observed after several hours when a toluene solution of 1 was subjected to air bubbling at room temperature. In marked contrast, compound 1 rapidly reacted with O2 (generated by irradiation of O2 in the presence of tetraphenylporphyrin as photosensitizer) to afford a new compound 2 (Scheme 1). The
Uncoupling Basal and Summit Metabolic Rates in White-Throated Sparrows: Digestive Demand Drives Maintenance Costs, but Changes in Muscle Mass Are Not Needed to Improve Thermogenic Capacity

Avian basal metabolic rate (BMR) and summit metabolic rate (Msum) vary in parallel during cold acclimation and acclimatization, which implies a functional link between these variables. However, evidence suggests that these parameters may reflect different physiological systems acting independently. We tested this hypothesis in white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) acclimated to two temperatures (−8° and 28°C) and two diets (0% and 30% cellulose). We expected to find an uncoupling of Msum and BMR where Msum, a measure of maximal shivering heat production, would reflect muscle and heart mass variation and would respond only to temperature, while BMR would reflect changes in digestive and excretory organs in response to daily food intake, responding to both temperature and diet. We found that the gizzard, liver, kidneys, and intestines responded to treatments through a positive relationship with food intake. BMR was 15% higher in cold-acclimated birds and, as expected, varied with food intake and the mass of digestive and excretory organs. In contrast, although Msum was 19% higher in cold-acclimated birds, only heart mass responded to temperature (+18% in the cold). Pectoral muscles did not change in mass with temperature but were 8.2% lighter on the cellulose diet. Nevertheless, Msum varied positively with the mass of heart and skeletal muscles but only in cold-acclimated birds. Our results therefore suggest that an upregulation of muscle metabolic intensity is required for cold acclimation. This study increases support for the hypothesis that BMR and Msum reflect different physiological systems responding in parallel to constraints associated with cold environments.
Comparison of the nuclear proteomes of mammary epithelial cells at different stages of functional differentiation

The progression of stem cells to proliferating progenitor cells and finally to a quiescent differentiated state is a hallmark of organ development. This process proceeds through distinct steps and is regulated through cell–cell interactions and by systemically and locally acting factors. We have established a cell culture system which recapitulates features of mammary gland development in vitro and allows the comparison of three characteristic differentiation stages. Cell fate decisions relating to proliferation and differentiation are dependent on the function of proteins in the nucleus. Therefore, we have applied proteomic approaches, including 1‐ and 2‐DE coupled with MS and a gel‐free system, called protein sequence tag technology (PST), to assess the changes in the nuclear protein composition during differentiation of mammary epithelial cells. We identified about 250 individual proteins which are present in the nucleus of proliferating and functionally differentiated mammary epithelial cells. We functionally categorised the differentially expressed proteins and identified a multitude of proteins that regulate gene expression at the transcriptional or post‐transcriptional level. This analysis greatly enriches our global view of the dynamic changes of nuclear proteins during the development of mammary epithelial cells and suggests models for the control of differentiation‐specific protein expression.
Community Perception of Mobile Payment in e-Government Services

Mobile payment and e-Government are emerging topics in the research area of Information Systems. This research addresses the preferred e-Government services for mobile payment, the suitable payment methods of mobile payment, and adoption factors of e-Government services. The research derives the notion of technology adoption and related constructs, however, as no particular Information Systems adoption theory was adequate to study emerging systems of electronic payment, the research did not utilise any specific theory. Rather, the research uses the characteristics of mobile payment as revealed in the contemporary research to develop an adoption model based on user perceptions regarding mobile payments in the context of e-Government services. A survey study on the use of mobile devices to pay for e-Government services was conducted in Western Australia. The findings of this research contribute conceptually and practically by recommending suitable services and mobile payment methods. This paper also addresses the positive and negative factors impacting the adoption of mobile payment for e-Government services.
Returns of R&D Investment and Continuity: An Econometric Analysis for Spanish Manufacturing

This paper analyses the relationship between labour productivity growth and R&D investments of Spanish manufacturing firms during the 1990s. The purpose is to estimate the rate of return to R&D expenditures. The sample is composed by microdata from an unbalanced data panel of firms. Within the full sample, we differentiate a sub-sample where only firms with bigger continuity in technological investment are considered (most-innovative firms). In the full sample and in the sub-sample, the rate of return to R&D is estimated. We verify whether the firms that carry out R&D expenses with continuity generate growing positive effects upon the productivity. The econometric estimation applies the GMM method. According to the empirical results, it is confirmed that the rate of return to R&D is higher in firms that invest in R&D in a continuous way.
Performance comparison of multichannel energy detector output processing methods

In this paper we propose that Nuttall's power-law statistic is used to combine channelized radiometer outputs. A simple way to determine the intercept receiver's threshold is presented. It is based on approximating the decision statistic distribution in noise only case with a shifted log-normal distribution. This appears to be more precise than Gaussian approximation especially in the tails. Numerical results show that when time-frequency product of radiometer cells is small, the power-law based intercept receiver has good performance. When the time-frequency product is large, the sum-based receiver (sums thresholded radiometer outputs) has superior performance.
Privacy Protecting in E-business Using Reasoning

Nowadays, the E-Commerce plays a very important role in peoples’ life; many people like to shop on internet. At the same time, people left so much information in internet, which include the privacy information. Malicious users in internet can get users’ privacy information with directly or indirectly way. Traditional way is to protect the directly privacy. In this paper, we proposed a schema to prevent malicious users reasoning privacy information with the information which considered as security information on internet. In this schema, the single information set and multiple information sets are taken into count, based on the relations of the information, some information will be hidden, which can protect the privacy information. This schema will loss some information, but the privacy will protected.
Implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards by listed companies in Nigeria

Implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards by Listed Companies in Nigeria by Emmanuel Inalegwu Ogbenjuwa MBA, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma-Nigeria, 2000 PGDM, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi-Nigeria, 1998 HND, Plateau School of Accountancy and Management Studies, Jos-Nigeria, 1993 BSC, Huodegbe North American University, Cotonou, 2007 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management Walden University April2016
The influence of consumer concern about global climate change on framing effects for environmental sustainability messages

It is becoming increasingly evident that current patterns of consumption are not sustainable in the long term. Clearly, the need to persuade consumers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles has never been more urgent. The present research contributes to our understanding of the effects of message framing by considering the potential moderating influence of consumer concern about global climate change within the context of sustainable consumption. The results of two experiments demonstrate that the US consumer’s level of concern for the message-specific issues moderates the strength of the framing effect; effects are larger when concern about climate change is low. In addition, when concern is low, more negative framing and a prevention focus have more favourable persuasive effects. The implications of these findings for consumer welfare and public policy are discussed. Sustainability is achieved when all people on Earth can live well without compromising the quality of life for future generations. (Jucker 2003)
The Trace Amine 1 receptor knockout mouse: an animal model with relevance to schizophrenia

Trace amines have been implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including depression and schizophrenia. Although long known to modulate neurotransmission indirectly through the release of catecholamines, the identification of the Trace Amine 1 receptor (TA1) offers a mechanism by which trace amines can influence synaptic activity directly. TA1 binds and is activated by trace amines such as β‐phenylethylamine and tyramine. Our pharmacological characterization of mouse TA1 showed that, as in rat and primate, amphetamine is an agonist at this receptor but with surprisingly high potency. Without selective ligands for TA1 that do not also possess catecholamine‐releasing properties, however, it has not been possible to study its physiological role in the central nervous system. To that end, a line of mice lacking the TA1 receptor was generated to characterize its contribution to the regulation of behavior. Compared with wild‐type littermates, TA1 knockout (KO) mice displayed a deficit in prepulse inhibition. Knockout animals, in which the TA1‐agonist influence of amphetamine was absent, showed enhanced sensitivity to the psychomotor‐stimulating effect of this drug, which was temporally correlated with significantly larger increases in the release of both dopamine and norepinephrine in the dorsal striatum and associated with a 262% increase in the proportion of striatal high‐affinity D2 receptors. TA1 therefore appears to play a modulatory role in catecholaminergic function and represents a potentially novel mechanism for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders. Furthermore, the TA1 KO mouse may provide a useful model for the development of treatments for some positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
Effect of eplerenone on parathyroid hormone levels in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism: results from the EPATH randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Accumulating evidence points toward mutual interaction between parathyroid hormone (PTH) and aldosterone as potential mechanism for increasing cardiovascular risk in primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Methods: The Eplerenone on parathyroid hormone levels in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (EPATH) trial is a single-center, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial. The primary aim is to evaluate the effects of the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist eplerenone on plasma intact PTH (iPTH) concentration in patients with pHPT. Secondary end points comprised surrogate parameters of cardiovascular health [24-h ambulatory SBP and DBP and echocardiographic parameters related to systolic/diastolic function as well as to cardiac dimensions]. Results: We enrolled 110 study participants with pHPT, 25-hydroxyvitamin D at least 20 ng/ml and estimated glomerular filtration rate more than 50 ml/min per 1.73 m2. Patients were 1 : 1 randomly assigned to receive either 25 mg eplerenone once daily (up-titration after 4 weeks to 50 mg/day) or matching placebo for a treatment period of 8 weeks. The study was completed by 97 participants [mean (SD) age: 67.5 ± 9.5 years; 78.4% women). The mean treatment effect (95% confidence interval) for iPTH was 1.0 (0.9–1.1; P = 0.777) pg/ml. Mean 24-h ambulatory SBP and DBP decreased significantly [mean change (95% confidence interval) −6.3 (−9.4 to −3.3) and −3.7 (−5.7 to −1.7) mmHg, respectively; P < 0.001]. No differences were seen in any further secondary outcomes or frequency of adverse events. Conclusion: In pHPT, treatment with eplerenone compared with placebo had no effect on circulating iPTH levels. Eplerenone treatment was well tolerated and safe and followed by significant decrease of ambulatory blood pressure.
Value and store brand identification in food products

Purpose – Store brands have become consolidated in the food market and are currently considered real brands. The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that contribute to consumers’ identification with store brands, as well as the possible effect of consumers’ identification with store brands on their loyalty to the retail establishment. Design/methodology/approach – The paper achieves its goal by reviewing the academic literature on the topic and proposing and validating a theoretical model for consumer-store brand identification. The theoretical model is validated through an empirical study of the Spanish market for food products using data gathered from individuals responsible for shopping for their homes who claim to have purchased store brand food products at least once. Structural equations modeling is then used to estimate and perform a multigroup analysis for heavy and light buyers of store brands. Findings – The results obtained reveal, first, that consumers’ store brand identification.