Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Integrative View on Absorptive Capacity and National Culture

Absorptive capacity and national culture have been two major constructs in management and organisation research during the past two decades. However, there have been no endeavours to develop an integrative perspective. By means of a literature analysis, the present research develops an integrative model, building upon dynamic capabilities view and institutional theory. Propositions suggest that the adoption and the implementation of absorptive capacity are subject to national culture.
Fertility Can Have Different Effects on Single and Nonsingle Women

Recently, we presented two studies showing that the ovulatory (or high-fertility) phase of the menstrual cycle can have different effects for women who are single than for women who are in committed relationships (Durante, Rae, & Griskevicius, 2013). We found that single women in the high-fertility phase were less religious, more liberal, and more supportive of Obama than single women in the low-fertility phase. By contrast, women in committed relationships showed the opposite pattern, becoming more religious, more conservative, and more supportive of Romney. Harris and Mickes (2014) report a direct replication of our study, for which they found mixed support. They found no evidence for the interaction of fertility and relationship status on religious and political attitudes. However, they did find support for the interaction with respect to voting preferences.
Characterization of calcium- and integrin-binding protein 1 (CIB1) knockout platelets: Potential compensation by CIB family members

Summary Platelet aggregation requires activation of the αIIbβ3 integrin,an event regulated by the integrin cytoplasmic tails. CIB1 binds to the cytoplasmic tail of the integrin αIIb subunit. Previous overexpression and knockdown studies in murine megakaryocytes demonstrated that CIB1 inhibits integrin αIIbβ3 activation.Here we analyzed Cib1-/- mice to determine the function of CIB1 in platelets in vitro and in vivo. We found that although these mice had no overt platelet phenotype, mRNA level of CIB1 homolog CIB3 was increased in Cib1-/- megakaryocytes. In vitro binding experiments showed that recombinant CIB1, -2 and -3 bound specifically to an αIIb cytoplasmic tail peptide. Subsequent protein modeling experiments indicated that CIBs 1–3 each have a highly conserved hydrophobic binding pocket. Therefore, the potential exists for compensation for the loss of CIB1 by these CIB family members, thereby preventing pathologic thrombus formation in Cib1-/- mice.
Differential Effects of Control and Antigen-Specific T Cells on Intracellular Mycobacterial Growth

ABSTRACT We investigated the effects of peripheral blood mononuclear cells expanded with irrelevant control and mycobacterial antigens on the intracellular growth of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in human macrophages. More than 90% of the cells present after 1 week of in vitro expansion were CD3+. T cells were expanded from purified protein derivative-negative controls, persons with latent tuberculosis, and BCG-vaccinated individuals. T cells expanded with nonmycobacterial antigens enhanced the intracellular growth of BCG in suboptimal cultures of macrophages. T cells expanded with live BCG or lysates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis directly inhibited intracellular BCG. Recent intradermal BCG vaccination significantly enhanced the inhibitory activity of T cells expanded with mycobacterial antigens (P < 0.02), consistent with the induction of memory-immune inhibitory T-cell responses. Selected mycobacterial antigens (Mtb41 > lipoarabinomannan > 38kd > Ag85B > Mtb39) expanded inhibitory T cells, demonstrating the involvement of antigen-specific T cells in intracellular BCG inhibition. We studied the T-cell subsets and molecular mechanisms involved in the memory-immune inhibition of intracellular BCG. Mycobacteria-specific γδ T cells were the most potent inhibitors of intracellular BCG growth. Direct contact between T cells and macrophages was necessary for the BCG growth-enhancing and inhibitory activities mediated by control and mycobacteria-specific T cells, respectively. Increases in tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, transforming growth factor β, and vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA expression were associated with the enhancement of intracellular BCG growth. Increases in gamma interferon, FAS, FAS ligand, perforin, granzyme, and granulysin mRNA expression were associated with intracellular BCG inhibition. These culture systems provide in vitro models for studying the opposing T-cell mechanisms involved in mycobacterial survival and protective host immunity.
Correcting the inherent distortion in luminescence images of silicon solar cells

Luminescence imaging of Silicon solar cells is typically performed with a silicon CCD, which is a poor absorber of silicon luminescence (900-1300 nm). This leads to a phenomenon referred to as photon smearing in the CCD, where a photon incident on one pixel may be absorbed in another. This makes the image blurry and quantitative analysis of this data inaccurate. Also resolution, contrast, and sharpness of the image are reduced at features such as grain boundaries, and sample edges. An already established method of recovering the original luminescence signal incident on the CCD is to deconvolve a Point Spread Function (PSF) with the resultant image. This paper focuses on a novel method for determining the PSF from a measurement of the Edge Spread Function, which greatly increases the Signal to Noise ratio over methods where the PSF is measured directly. The determined PSF and its application to luminescence images, is compared and contrasted with previously published PSF determination methods.
Interhemispheric climate variability in a pre-industrial control simulation of CCSM 4

Climate reconstructions from ice core records in Greenland and Antarctica have revealed a series of abrupt climate transitions, showing a distinct relationship between northern and southern hemisphere climate during the last glacial period. It is generally believed that changes in the AMOC are responsible for this interhemispheric connection. This so-called bipolar seesaw mechanism, links the two hemispheres on centennial timescales and provides a framework for understanding the timing of the abrupt climate transitions during glacial times. The recent ice core records from West Antarctica (WAIS) points towards an atmospheric teleconnection as a possible trigger for the interhemispheric climate variability. This recent progress in paleoclimate observations, together with recent modelling efforts, calls for the classic bipolar seesaw theory to be revised. In this modelling study, dynamics of abrupt climate transitions in an unforced control simulation of CCSM4 are explored. The model exhibits a series of abrupt changes in Greenland surface temperature triggered by internal climate variability, which closely resemble a Dansgaard-Oeschger event. Similar, but weaker changes are observed in the Southern Hemisphere synchronous with the abrupt changes in the Northern Hemisphere. We argue that both north and south high latitude climate variability is triggered by stochastic precipitation anomalies in the western tropical Pacific. The atmospheric wave guide then provides a fast communication pathway connecting the deep tropics and the polar regions. In the Southern Hemisphere this is manifested as a distinct pressure pattern over West Antarctica that strongly influences deep ocean convection in the Weddell Sea. The ocean circulation response to the abrupt climate transitions show a characteristic asymmetric pattern in the subsurface temperature of the Atlantic, resembling a bipolar see-saw response. After an initial surface cooling in the subpolar gyre, the subsequent ocean adjustment is dominated by heat convergence at the subpolar-subtropical gyre boundary. This warming anomaly, located at mid-depth, spreads into the South Atlantic along the deep western boundary current, on time scales associated with slow advective processes. The anomaly is significantly reduced, as the signal reaches the South Atlantic midlatitudes, where further southward propagation is inhibited by the presence of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This suggest an essential role of the ACC in the setting the magnitude and time scale of the hemispheric response. In line with a number of recent studies, the modelling evidence presented here shows that internal climate variability is a potential trigger for the abrupt climate transitions observed during the last glacial through the existence of a fast atmospheric teleconnection mechanism. Furthermore, our results show that propagation of an ocean temperature signal from the North Atlantic to Antarctica is hindered by the ACC, which presents an essential issue in the traditional bipolar see-saw mechanism.
Throughput-efficient Online Relay Selection for Dual-hop Cooperative Networks

This paper presents a design for a throughput-efficient online relay selection scheme for dual-hop multi-relay cooperative networks. Problems arise with these networks due to unpredictability of the relaying link quality and high time-consumption to probe the dual-hop link. In this paper, we firstly propose a novel probing and relaying protocol, which greatly reduces the overhead of the dual-hop link estimation by leveraging the wireless broadcasting nature of the network. We then formulate an opportunistic relay selection process for the online decision-making, which uses a tradeoff between obtaining more link information to establish better cooperative relaying and minimizing the time cost for dual-hop link estimation to achieve higher throughput. Dynamic programming is used to construct the throughput-optimal control policy for a typically heterogeneous Rayleigh fading environment, and determines which relay to probe and when to transmit the data. Additionally, we extend the main results to mixed Rayleigh/Rician link scenarios, i.e., where one side of the relaying link experiences Rayleigh fading while the other has Rician distribution. Numerical results validate the effectiveness and superiority of our proposed relaying scheme, e.g., it achieves at least 107% throughput gain compared with the state of the art solution.
Constructing an Autocorrelation System to Identify Single Nitrogen Vacancy Centers in Diamond

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center is a defect in the structure of diamond, roughly the size of a single atom, that possesses properties that make it applicable to quantum information processing, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, and probing biological systems. When an NV center is excited by green light of wavelength 523 nm, it emits red light of in the range from 600-800 nm tens of nanoseconds later. A confocal microscope can be used to excite and collect emitted photons from NV centers. By detecting the intensity of the emitted red photons, we can determine the quantum state of a single NV center, which is needed to build various quantum computing, sensing and imaging devices. The autocorrelation method is used to detect antibunching in the emission of red photons and ascertain that the observed photons are being emitted from a single NV center. We have built an autocorrelation device that measures, with sub-nanosecond accuracy, the statistical distribution of the arrival times of the red photons emitted from a diamond sample at a photon counter. The device can measure fixed time values with a time resolution of 120 ps FWHM. For uncorrelated sources measured for 120 seconds at the TAC full range of 100 ns, the average counts in each histogram bin were about 0.01% of the predicted value. The autocorrelation device that we have built costs about 10 times less than commercial units used by other NV researchers. Thesis Supervisor: Robbie Berg Title: Professor of Physics
Start-up Funding via Equity Crowdfunding in Germany – A Qualitative Analysis of Success Factors

Entrepreneurs often struggle to find sufficient funding for their start-ups. A relatively new way for companies to attract capital is via an internet platform, locating investors who in return receive something in return for their ventures. Equity crowdfunding is one of several types of crowdfunding, and is also known as crowdinvesting in the German-speaking realm. This article predominantly advances the scientific knowledge regarding the success factors of equity crowdfunding for German start-ups. The study conducted nine qualitative interviews with start-ups and crowdinvesting platforms. Its first result is that German start-ups select crowdinvesting because (1) it is a funding opportunity and (2) it has an expected marketing effect. To organize the results of relevant success factors, the Crowdinvesting Success Model was designed by the researchers. This supports German entrepreneurs by presenting 20 important success elements that help to increase the capital collected during a campaign. The key finding is that an attractive business model, an appropriate preparation in the pre-campaign period, ongoing activities during the campaign, and corresponding advertising activities have a positive impact on a German start-up’s crowdinvesting campaign’s chances of success. The article closes with implications for theory and practice, as well as further research suggestions. JEL Codes: G21, G24, L26, M13
Identification of astrovirus serotypes from children treated at the Hospitals for Sick Children, London 1981–93

SUMMARY An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for astrovirus type 1 together with immune electronmicroscopy (IBM) was used to type a collection of 162 astroviruses obtained from 1981–93 from children with diarrhoea. The EIA was found to be specific for astrovirus type 1. Astrovirus types 2–4 were typed by IEM. Astrovirus type 1 was the prevalent serotype 107/125 (86%), followed by type 3 (8%), type 4 (6%) and type 2 (1 %). Six samples containing astrovirus could not be typed or detected by EIA because they were coated with coproantibodies; 11 others were not identified. Virus particles could no longer be detected in 15/162 (9%) samples following storage for ≥ 2 years. Selected samples containing astrovirus types 1–4 were passaged in CaCO2 cells and their identity confirmed by one or both assays. One sample was shown to have remained viable for 10 years when stored as an aqueous suspension at −20 °C. Two patients with severe combined immune deficiency disease (SCID) were shown to be excreting astrovirus type 1 for 32 and 102 days respectively. One child was simultaneously shedding rotavirus and the other child was excreting adenovirus.
Human α1β3γ2L gamma‐aminobutyric acid type A receptors: High‐level production and purification in a functional state

Gamma‐aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABAARs) are the most important inhibitory chloride ion channels in the central nervous system and are major targets for a wide variety of drugs. The subunit compositions of GABAARs determine their function and pharmacological profile. GABAARs are heteropentamers of subunits, and (α1)2(β3)2(γ2L)1 is a common subtype. Biochemical and biophysical studies of GABAARs require larger quantities of receptors of defined subunit composition than are currently available. We previously reported high‐level production of active human α1β3 GABAAR using tetracycline‐inducible stable HEK293 cells. Here we extend the strategy to receptors containing three different subunits. We constructed a stable tetracycline‐inducible HEK293‐TetR cell line expressing human (N)–FLAG–α1β3γ2L–(C)–(GGS)3GK–1D4 GABAAR. These cells achieved expression levels of 70–90 pmol [3H]muscimol binding sites/15‐cm plate at a specific activity of 15–30 pmol/mg of membrane protein. Incorporation of the γ2 subunit was confirmed by the ratio of [3H]flunitrazepam to [3H]muscimol binding sites and sensitivity of GABA‐induced currents to benzodiazepines and zinc. The α1β3γ2L GABAARs were solubilized in dodecyl‐d‐maltoside, purified by anti‐FLAG affinity chromatography and reconstituted in CHAPS/asolectin at an overall yield of ∼30%. Typical purifications yielded 1.0–1.5 nmoles of [3H]muscimol binding sites/60 plates. Receptors with similar properties could be purified by 1D4 affinity chromatography with lower overall yield. The composition of the purified, reconstituted receptors was confirmed by ligand binding, Western blot, and proteomics. Allosteric interactions between etomidate and [3H]muscimol binding were maintained in the purified state.
Identification of MSX1 and DCLK1 as mRNA Biomarkers for Colorectal Cancer Detection Through DNA Methylation Information

Colorectal cancer is the second most deadly malignancy in the United States. However, the currently screening options had their limitation. Novel biomarkers for colorectal cancer detections are necessary to reduce the mortality. The clinical information, mRNA expression levels and DNA methylation information of colorectal cancer were downloaded from TCGA. The patients were separated into training group and testing group based on their platforms for DNA methylation. Beta values of DNA methylation from tumor tissues and normal tissues were utilized to figure out the position that were differentially methylated. The expression levels of mRNA of thirteen genes, whose CpG islands were differentially methylated, were extracted from the RNA‐Seq results from TCGA. The probabilities whether the mRNA was differentially expressed between tumor and normal samples were calculated using Student's t‐test. Logistic regression and decision tree were built for cancer detection and their performances were evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC). Twenty‐four genomic locations were differentially methylated, which could be mapped to eleven genes. Nine out of eleven genes had differentially expressed mRNA levels, which were used to build the model for cancer detection. The final detection models consisting of mRNA expression levels of these nine genes had great performances on both training group and testing group. The model that constructed in this study suggested MSX1 and DCLK1 might be used in colorectal cancer detection or as target of cancer therapies. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 1879–1884, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Variation in lipid mediator and cytokine levels during mouse femur fracture healing

Fracture healing is regulated by a variety of inflammatory mediators and growth factors which act over time to regenerate the injured tissue. This study used a mouse femur fracture model to quantify the temporal expression pattern of lipid mediators, cytokines, and related mRNAs during healing. Cyclooxygenase (COX‐1 and COX‐2) and 5‐lipoxygenase (5‐LO) derived lipid mediators, cytokines, and mRNA levels were quantified using mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS), bead‐based multiplex assays (xMAP), and quantitative PCR of cDNA (RTqPCR), respectively. Our analysis found that, the early inflammatory response (between 0 and 4 days after fracture) in the mouse femur fracture model coincided with elevated levels of COX‐derived lipid mediators and inflammatory cytokines but with decreased levels of 5‐LO‐derived lipid mediators. Further, the COX‐derived lipid mediators remained elevated for at least 7 days after fracture, suggesting that the COX‐derived lipid mediators have additional functions during later phases of the fracture healing response. Differences were also found between mRNA levels and corresponding cytokines and lipid mediator levels, supporting a role for post‐transcriptional regulation of gene expression. The temporal changes in fracture callus lipid mediator levels and inflammatory cytokines support a general positive role for inflammatory cytokines and COX‐derived lipid mediators on fracture healing and a general negative role for 5‐lipoxygenase derived lipid mediators during the initial stages of repair. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 34:1883–1893, 2016.
Does CEO Duality is Really Matter? Evidence from an Emerging Market

The relationship between board leadership, firm financial performance and agency costs is examined on behalf of a sample of multinational company subsidiaries (MNCs) and local public companies (LPCs) in Sri Lanka. Five years of data for 86 MNC subsidiaries and 113 LPCs, are collected and observations are analyzed using a dynamic panel GMM estimation. This study provides empirical support for stewardship theory and contingency theory when firms are multinational subsidiaries. Moreover, findings support agency theory when firms are local public companies. Finally, this study indicates that there is no optimal board leadership structure. Hence, when companies commence their exploration of corporate governance practices, firms need to recognized that firm characteristics and contingency perspective boost the impact of board leadership structure on corporate financial performance.
Optimized three scores combination for image quality assessment

Digital images are distorted by a variety of processes. Thus we need objective image quality assessment (IQA) equivalent to subjective assessment. Several objective IQA methods have been proposed, and recently a combination method has been derived successfully. The combination technique is able to assess distorted images correctly. However, it is weak against Meanshift images. In this paper, we propose a new objective IQA method adding another IQA score to the original combination technique. Adjustable parameters included in the new IQA measure are optimized with the genetic algorithm. By experiments, it is validated that the proposed method provides a superior performance on various images including Meanshift.
Multi Scale Temperature Measurement on Microfluidic chip

In this paper, we proposed biochip with world-to-chip interface for multi-scale environmental measurement in biochip. There are several techniques for on-chip environmental measurement such as microprocessed probe method, integrated microsensor, and fluorescence method. Each technique has useful advantages against other method. To employ these methods in microchannel simultaneously, biochip is required both insert of probe and use of microchannel. We fabricated biochip, which is made of polydimethylsiloxiane (PDMS), with world-to-chip interface by photolithography with two step exposure using gray-scale mask to make taper for probe insert. The opened area is sealed by hydrogel. By using this biochip, we demonstrated insert of the micropipette into the microchannel and confirmed the flow control of two-layer laminar flow in the microchannel with micropipette.