Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tempo-phosphate as an ESR tool to study phosphate transport

Abstract TEMPO-phosphate has been introduced as a phosphate analogue to study phosphate transport in erythrocytes. The nitroxide is reduced intracellularly upon entering the cells, the membrane transport being the rate-limiting step of the loss of ESR signal. The use of TEMPO-phosphate is convenient and avoids the hazard of radioactivity. We studied the inhibition of TEMPO-phosphate transport to human erythrocytes by various compounds. DIDS and SITS, inhibitors of Band 3, inhibited the TEMPO-phosphate transport. 1-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, inhibitor of monocarboxylate transporters, did not affect the permeation of TEMPO-phosphate. The transport of TEMPO-phosphate was inhibited by various polyphenols, especially curcumin, naringin, quercetin, luteolin and kaempferol. Interestingly, 3-bromopyruvic acid, an alkylating agent and potential anticancer agent, induced an apparent enhancement of TEMPO-phosphate transport into erythrocytes.
Innovation and employment: Some evidence from European sectors

In this study we use a unique database covering 25 manufacturing and service sectors for 16 European countries over the period 1996-2005, for a total of 2,295 observations, and apply GMM-SYS panel estimations of a demand-for-labour equation augmented with technology. We find that R&D expenditures have a job-creating effect, in accordance with the previoustheoretical and empirical literature discussed in the paper. Interestingly enough, the labourfriendly nature of R&D emerges in both the flow and the stock specifications. These findings provide further justification for the European Lisbon-Barcelona targets.
Different criteria of sleep latency and the effect of melatonin on sleep consolidation.

OBJECTIVES Since there is no consensus definition of sleep onset, we studied different aspects of initial sleep periods in healthy volunteers taking melatonin. Two criteria for sleep latency were used: 10 minutes of uninterrupted sleep and 1.5 minutes of stage 1 sleep. PARTICIPANTS Forty healthy male volunteers (mean age 28 +/- 5 years) were assigned to 2 groups: 30 ingested melatonin and 10 placebo. DESIGN All volunteers underwent an initial polysomnogram (baseline) after a 1-night adaptation period. The next day, the placebo or a 10-mg dose of melatonin was administered for 28 days, 1 hour before sleep time, in double-blind fashion. The second polysomnogram was recorded on day 14. SETTING Sleep laboratory RESULTS Chronic melatonin administration led to a significant reduction in sleep latency, using only the criterion 10 minutes of uninterrupted sleep. This effect suggests that melatonin may have a hypnotic effect, and the use of melatonin may lead to better sleep consolidation. CONCLUSIONS These results show differences that have clinical implications, since the criteria used to diagnose initial insomnia were based on sleep onset.
RIX-MAC: An Energy-Efficient Receiver-Initiated Wakeup MAC Protocol for WSNs

This paper proposes RIX-MAC (Receiver-Initiated X-MAC), a new energy-efficient MAC protocol based on an asynchronous duty cycling. RIX-MAC improves energy efficiency through utilizing short preambles and adopting the receiver-initiated approach, where RIX-MAC minimizes sender nodes’ energy consumption by enabling transmitters to predict receiver nodes’ wake-up times. It also reduces receiver nodes’ energy consumption by decreasing the number of control frames. We use the network simulator to evaluate RIX-MAC’s performance. Compared to the prior asynchronous duty cycling approaches of X-MAC and PW-MAC, the proposed protocol shows a remarkable improvement in energy-efficiency and end-to-end delay.
Loss balancing for Active-NPC and Active-Stacked-NPC multilevel converters

The paper is focused on the numerical calculation of total losses in each power device of 3L-ANPC (Active-NPC) and 3L-ASNPC (Active-Stacked-NPC) multilevel converters in a STATCOM application. Due to the symmetry of the structures the conduction and switching losses are calculated only for half of power devices. The modulation functions and the conduction/switching intervals are elaborated in order to calculate the total losses. These are specific for each power device depending on the structure's type and on the PWM strategy. The obtained results for conduction currents (average and RMS values) are validated using PSIM simulations.
Does firm performance affect board independence

This paper seeks to shed some light on the antecedents of board independence. Specifically, it attempts to test the conceptual frameworks which make different predictions about the effect of firm performance on the level of board independence. The results provide support for the perspective that appointing more independent members to the boards may merely represent firms’ attempts to comply with institutional pressures. It is found that higher blockholder shareholdings lead to lower independence on the board, and audit and remuneration committees. Moreover, larger firms have relatively more independent directors sitting on nomination and remuneration committees.
Customer Management Practices: Multiple Case Studies in Stock Broking Services

The paper explores the interrelationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, customer retention, and customer loyalty through multiple (three) case studies in stock broking settings. A semistructured, face-to-face interview was conducted of staff members. The findings from the study show that service quality as an overall and each of them are positively associated with customer satisfaction. The findings also suggested that customer retention is the predictor for customer loyalty in stock broking services. The proposed theory model may provide adoption guidance and a practical foundation for customer management to managers.
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis as a Tool To Determine Batch Similarity of Probiotic Cultures of Porcine Cecal Bacteria

ABSTRACT A continuous-flow porcine cecal bacterial culture has been used experimentally as treatment against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in weanling pigs. Periodically, the cultures must be started from frozen stock. Our results indicate that denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis can be applied as an indirect indication of culture similarity for each new batch generated from frozen stock.
The Real Reason Why Businesses Make Bad Decisions

Rapoport is the Gordon Silver Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where her specialties are bankruptcy eth ics, ethics in governance, and the depiction of lawyers in popular culture. Her e-mail is nancy.rapoport@unlv.edu. Professor Rapoport has just published, with co-edi tors Jeffrey D. Van Niel and Bala G. Dha ran, Enron and Other Corporate Fias cos: The Corporate Scandal Reader, 2d edition (Foundation Press 2009). I started paying attention to corpo rate governance issues when we began to study the failures of Enron, World Com, and the other fiascos of the early 2000s. As I read about the mistakes that the Enron board made, I won dered why so many very smart people could make so many really dumb deci sions. How difficult is it to say "no" to a chief financial officer who wants
WiFi centric power modeling of smartphones

Previous work of WiFi power modeling proposes the powerthroughput curve [2], the power-transmission/reception airtime curve [1], or the state transition between high power level and low power level according to the packet rate [3]. These models cannot accurately estimate the energy consumption of the smartphone because they either do not take into account the power reduction from the power saving operation of the components in the smartphone or model the active power level too simplistically, thus resulting in larger estimation error. The smartphone, which is one of the battery sensitive devices, essentially has power saving algorithms in its components to reduce energy consumption by turning off the components when they are not in use. In this sense, two types of traffic, which turn out to be the same average throughput, airtime, or packet rate, may result in different total energy consumption if one does not allow the smartphone to turn off its components but the other allows it. We propose a packet interval based power model which takes into account the power saving operations of the WiFi module so that it accurately estimates power level of the smartphone when the smartphone transmits/receives packets using its WiFi interface. Furthermore, we manage the power state of the smartphone with the Finite State Machine (FSM) to accurately estimate the power level of the smartphone considering other components in the smartphone, e.g., CPU and display.
Gene Network and Proteomic Analyses of Cardiac Responses to Pathological and Physiological Stress

Background—The molecular mechanisms underlying similarities and differences between physiological and pathological left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) are of intense interest. Most previous work involved targeted analysis of individual signaling pathways or screening of transcriptomic profiles. We developed a network biology approach using genomic and proteomic data to study the molecular patterns that distinguish pathological and physiological LVH. Methods and Results—A network-based analysis using graph theory methods was undertaken on 127 genome-wide expression arrays of in vivo murine LVH. This revealed phenotype-specific pathological and physiological gene coexpression networks. Despite >1650 common genes in the 2 networks, network structure is significantly different. This is largely because of rewiring of genes that are differentially coexpressed in the 2 networks; this novel concept of differential wiring was further validated experimentally. Functional analysis of the rewired network revealed several distinct cellular pathways and gene sets. Deeper exploration was undertaken by targeted proteomic analysis of mitochondrial, myofilament, and extracellular subproteomes in pathological LVH. A notable finding was that mRNA–protein correlation was greater at the cellular pathway level than for individual loci. Conclusions—This first combined gene network and proteomic analysis of LVH reveals novel insights into the integrated pathomechanisms that distinguish pathological versus physiological phenotypes. In particular, we identify differential gene wiring as a major distinguishing feature of these phenotypes. This approach provides a platform for the investigation of potentially novel pathways in LVH and offers a freely accessible protocol (http://sites.google.com/site/cardionetworks) for similar analyses in other cardiovascular diseases.
Small RNA Profile of the Cumulus-Oocyte Complex and Early Embryos in the Pig1

ABSTRACT Small RNA represent several unique noncoding RNA classes that have important function in the development of germ cells and early embryonic development. Deep sequencing was performed on small RNA from cumulus cells (recovered from germinal vesicle [GV] and metaphase II-arrested [MII] oocytes), GV and MII oocytes, in vitro fertilization-derived embryos at 60 h postfertilization (4- to 8-cell stage), and Day 6 blastocysts. Additionally, a heterologous miRNA microarray method was also used to identify miRNA expressed in the oocyte during in vitro maturation. Similar to the results of expression analysis of other species, these data demonstrate dynamic expression regulation of multiple classes of noncoding RNA during oocyte maturation and development to the blastocyst stage. Mapping small RNA to the pig genome indicates dynamic distribution of small RNA organization across the genome. Additionally, a cluster of miRNA and Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) was discovered on chromosome 6. Many of the small RNA mapped to annotated repetitive elements in the pig genome, of which the SINE/tRNA-Glu and LINE/L1 elements represented a large proportion. Two piRNA (piR84651 and piR16993) and seven miRNA (MIR574, MIR24, LET7E, MIR23B, MIR30D, MIR320, and MIR30C) were further characterized using quantitative RT-PCR. Secretory carrier membrane protein 4 (SCAMP4) was predicted to be subject to posttranscriptional gene regulation mediated by small RNA, by annotating small RNA reads mapped to exonic regions in the pig genome. Consistent with the prediction results, SCAMP4 was further confirmed to be differentially expressed at both transcriptional and translational levels. These data establish a small RNA expression profile of the pig cumulus-oocyte complex and early embryos and demonstrate their potential capacity to be utilized for predictions of functional posttranscriptional regulatory events.
Orally administered diflunisal stabilizes transthyretin against dissociation required for amyloidogenesis

Objective. Rate-limiting transthyretin (TTR) tetramer dissociation and monomer misfolding enable misassembly into numerous aggregate morphologies including amyloid, a process genetically linked to and thought to cause amyloid pathology. T119M TTR trans-suppressor subunit inclusion into tetramers otherwise composed of disease-associated subunits ameliorates human amyloidosis by increasing the tetramer dissociation barrier. Diflunisal binding to the 99% unoccupied L-thyroxine binding sites in TTR also increases the tetramer dissociation barrier; hence, we investigated the feasibility of using diflunisal for the treatment of human TTR amyloidosis using healthy volunteers. Methods. Diflunisal (125, 250 or 500 mg bid) was orally administered to groups of 10 subjects for 7 days to evaluate serum diflunisal concentration, diflunisal binding stoichiometry to TTR, and the extent of diflunisal imposed TTR kinetic stabilization against urea- and acid-mediated TTR denaturation in human serum. The rates of urea-mediated tetramer dissociation and acid-mediated aggregation as a function of diflunisal concentration were also evaluated in vitro, utilizing physiologically relevant concentrations identified by the above experiments. Results. In the 250 mg bid group, 12 h after the 13th oral dose, the diflunisal serum concentration of 146 ± 39 μM was sufficient to afford a TTR binding stoichiometry exceeding 0.95 ± 0.13 (≈1.75 corrected). Diflunisal binding to TTR at this dose slowed urea-mediated dissociation and acid-mediated TTR aggregation at least, threefold (p < 0.05) in serum and in vitro, consistent with kinetic stabilization of TTR. Conclusion. Diflunisal-mediated kinetic stabilization of TTR should ameliorate TTR amyloidoses, provided that the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug liabilities can be managed clinically.
GOVERNANCE FORM AND VALUE CREATION IN IT OUTSOURCING

This research-in-progress considers the make/buy dichotomy common in research on IT outsourcing (ITO) transaction arrangements. Recent strategic management research finds that several kinds of transaction arrangements exist and categorizes them on three independent dimensions of control. Using a sample of 100+ ITO transactions from a small consulting firm, I plan to empirically test the relationship between use of these arrangements in ITO transactions and value created and captured by the transaction partners. Expected findings of the completed research will contribute to the outsourcing literature by validating a more nuanced means of analyzing outsourcing transactions. In addition, this research aids scholars’ understanding of how transaction arrangements contribute to the creation of value for transaction partners. Finally, this research contributes an additional IS perspective on a prominent theory of the firm, transaction cost economics (TCE), and contributes to ongoing debate in the IS literature regarding the applicability of TCE to ITO transactions.
Microscopic characterisation of filamentous microbes: towards fully automated morphological quantification through image analysis

Mycelial morphology is a critically important process property in industrial fermentations of filamentous microorganisms, as particular phenotypes are associated with maximum productivity. The morphological form that develops in a given process results from the combination of various environmental factors, together with the genotype of the organism itself. The design of systems capable of rapidly and accurately characterising morphology within a given process represents a significant challenge to biotechnologists, as the complex phenotypes that are manifested are often not easily quantified.
Acquisition and Automatization of a Complex Task: An Examination of Three-Ball Cascade Juggling

Abstract The learning patterns of 3-ball cascade juggling from acquisition until automaticity were examined in 10 participants. On the basis of outcome measures derived from 26 practice sessions and 4 periodic probe sessions, the authors differentiated participants into 3 distinct learning types: a proficient group, an emerging group, and a single late learner. The proficient group was distinguished by how rapidly they learned and automatized performance. Most interesting, an inverse response cost (i.e., performance boost) on the secondary task was found in the majority of proficient group members during the dual-task condition. The present results are discussed in relation to the P. L. Ackerman model (1987, 1988) of complex skill acquisition as is the significance of the inverse response cost finding.
MEASURING INDIAN PATIENTS' SATISFACTION: A CASE OF PRIVATE HOSPITALS

Exposure to global markets and competitors has placed increasing demands on all sectors of the Indian market. Introducing consumer choice was one of the key motivations underpinning the various healthcare utility privatization of the Indian Hospitals in 1980s, along with enhancing the quality of service provided to consumers. Customer satisfaction is becoming increasingly important for organizational survival, let alone prosperity. This paper aims to study the effect of service facilities provided to patients in private hospitals of India. Suitable satisfaction drivers are identified from the literature and talks with experts. A new customer satisfaction index is discussed. This index is based on American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The concept is developed specially for the private hospitals operating in New Delhi and NCR market of India. A survey was carried out and 180 responses were collected. Application of factor analysis for satisfaction drivers shows that these variables are well represented by four dimensions, viz. information, process, service and expectation. From the point of view of the user, an advantage of the new customer satisfaction index, which can be named the Patients Satisfaction Index (PSI), is that the values of the coefficients of the satisfaction drivers give clear hints on potential improvements for researchers and practitioners. Classification- JEL:
Long-Term Results of Wounds Closed under a Significant Amount of Tension

Background: The authors present the long-term follow-up of scars on various locations up to 7 years postoperatively, after closure of large skin defects with the use of a skin-stretching device. Methods: In a prospective, nonrandomized study of 30 patients whose initial wound could not be closed primarily without using a significant amount of tension, a complete follow-up of 24 cases was possible. Patients were observed preoperatively, postoperatively, and at long-term follow-up (mean, 7 years) for wound control and scar evaluation. Results: In 28 cases (93 percent), successful closure of a large defect was achieved. In the other two cases, a split-thickness skin graft was needed for wound closure. With respect to long-term scar formation after 7 years (24 cases), scarring was observed mainly on the scalp (average, 56 percent), back (average, 52 percent), and shoulder (average, 53 percent). On the extremities, including thigh and groin, there was significantly less scarring (p = 0.0004; average, 10 percent). Three weeks after the operation, 23 percent of the total scar formation had already occurred, whereas 57 percent occurred by 3 months postoperatively and 83 percent occurred by 6 months postoperatively. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the considerable difference in scar formation among scalp, back, and shoulder defects compared with those on the extremities, groin, and thigh.
Self-Directed Learning Contention: Student and Faculty Views

Self-directed learning (SDL) is a pedagogical technique that is commonly practiced within the framework of project-based learning (PjBL) SDL has been found to be useful in the development of skills necessary for engineering careers, including open-ended problem-solving, life-long learning, and critical thinking. Implemented in a variety of ways, SDL is primarily characterized by developing student autonomy. According to Stefanou et al.’s framework, student autonomy can be promoted at three different levels: organizational, procedural, and cognitive. These three levels include varying degree of student choice: organizational autonomy takes into account the environment (e.g., due dates), procedural autonomy incorporates form (e.g., deliverable form), and cognitive autonomy involves content (e.g., designing projects). This range of possible SDL experiences allows for a wide interpretation of the role and value of SDL and student autonomy by both students and faculty. Using methods of grounded theory, three research questions were addressed: (a) How do the pedagogical practices in the first-year mathematics, physics, and engineering classes fit into Stefanou et al.’s autonomy framework? (b) How does the level of student autonomy impact student’s participation, interest, and perception of performance in these classrooms? and (c) How do student and faculty perspectives on student autonomy affect the classroom environment? Our results indicate that students and faculty have mixed feelings regarding SDL, which drive frustration and discomfort with open-ended learning in the classroom. In general, students often do not feel well-supported in SDL environments and exhibit a lowered sense of competency and expectancy. On the other hand, faculty present blindness towards structural supports necessary for effective SDL classroom environment and specifically their own roles in scaffolding students’ SDL experiences.
UINSUSKA-TiTech at SemEval-2017 Task 3: Exploiting Word Importance Levels for Similarity Features for CQA

The majority of core techniques to solve many problems in Community Question Answering (CQA) task rely on similarity computation. This work focuses on similarity between two sentences (or questions in subtask B) based on word embeddings. We exploit words importance levels in sentences or questions for similarity features, for classification and ranking with machine learning. Using only 2 types of similarity metric, our proposed method has shown comparable results with other complex systems. This method on subtask B 2017 dataset is ranked on position 7 out of 13 participants. Evaluation on 2016 dataset is on position 8 of 12, outperforms some complex systems. Further, this finding is explorable and potential to be used as baseline and extensible for many tasks in CQA and other textual similarity based system.