Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identification of a Cytochrome P4502E1/Bid/C1q-dependent Axis Mediating Inflammation in Adipose Tissue after Chronic Ethanol Feeding to Mice*

Background: Chronic alcohol consumption leads to inflammation in adipose tissue, disrupting normal metabolic activity of adipocytes. Results: Expression of an alcohol metabolizing enzyme, cytochrome P4502E1, initiates inflammation in adipose. Bid-dependent apoptosis and activation of complement then exacerbate this initial response. Conclusion: Adipose inflammation during alcohol feeding develops in response to cytochrome P450 expression. Significance: Preventing adipose inflammation may prevent the pathphysiological effects of ethanol. Chronic, heavy alcohol exposure results in inflammation in adipose tissue, insulin resistance, and liver injury. Here we have identified a CYP2E1/Bid/C1q-dependent pathway that is activated in response to chronic ethanol and is required for the development of inflammation in adipose tissue. Ethanol feeding for 25 days to wild-type (C57BL/6J) mice increased expression of multiple markers of adipose tissue inflammation relative to pair-fed controls independent of increased body weight or adipocyte size. Ethanol feeding increased the expression of CYP2E1 in adipocytes, but not stromal vascular cells, in adipose tissue and Cyp2e1−/− mice were protected from adipose tissue inflammation in response to ethanol. Ethanol feeding also increased the number of TUNEL-positive nuclei in adipose tissue of wild-type mice but not in Cyp2e1−/− or Bid −/− mice. Apoptosis contributed to adipose inflammation, as the expression of multiple inflammatory markers was decreased in mice lacking the Bid-dependent apoptotic pathway. The complement protein C1q binds to apoptotic cells, facilitating their clearance and activating complement. Making use of C1q-deficient mice, we found that activation of complement via C1q provided the critical link between CYP2E1/Bid-dependent apoptosis and onset of adipose tissue inflammation in response to chronic ethanol. In summary, chronic ethanol increases CYP2E1 activity in adipose, leading to Bid-mediated apoptosis and activation of complement via C1q, finally resulting in adipose tissue inflammation. Taken together, these data identify a novel mechanism for the development of adipose tissue inflammation that likely contributes to the pathophysiological effects of ethanol.
Squaring lean supply with supply chain management

Lean supply ‐ the system of purchasing and supply chain management required to underpin lean production ‐ has been characterized as “beyond partnership”. Re‐examines this idea, comparing the techniques which constitute lean supply with those contained in supply chain management, partnership sourcing, and strategic purchasing. The observations and conclusions are based on research principally in the automotive and electronics industries in the UK, Italy, Scandinavia, the USA and Japan.
Understanding the Volatility Characteristics and Transmission Effects in the Indian Stock Index and Index Futures Market

The present paper examines the characteristics of return volatilities in the equity market and the index futures market in India. Volatility in the NSE Nifty index and that in its futures market are both seen to exhibit features of mean reversion, volatility clustering and a fair degree of volatility persistence, estimates of which give an idea of the impact and duration of a particular information shock to the market. The returns volatility is found to exhibit significant asymmetric response in times of market retreats and advances, with volatility arising in times of market decline being much sharper and more persistent. The study also provides evidence of volatility linkages between the spot and futures markets. Contemporaneous transmission effects across volatilities of the Indian (NSE) Stock and Index futures markets are tested on daily data, using an asymmetric (threshold) GARCH framework. These results have implications for understanding the pattern of information flows between the two markets. The results indicate that the futures market plays a leading role in assimilating information and thus moderating, though to a small extent, the spot market volatility.
Analyzing effects of ordering vectors in mutation schemes on performance of Differential Evolution

Differential Evolution (DE) is a simple powerful evolutionary algorithm for solving global continuous optimization problems. The especial characteristic of DE algorithm is calculating a weighted difference vector of two random candidate solutions in the population to generate the new promising candidate solutions. A major operation of the DE algorithm is the mutation which can affect its performance. The main goal of this study is investigating the influence of ordering vectors on various mutation schemes. We design some Monte-Carlo based simulations to analyze several mutation schemes by calculating the probability of closeness of a new trial solutions to a random optimal solution. These simulations indicate that mutation schemes can enhance the performance of the DE algorithm which they consider right ordering of the vectors in their mutation operators. Also, we introduce a new mutation scheme which considers in ordering vectors in the mutation scheme. We benchmark the modified DE algorithm with the ordered mutation scheme (DE/order) on CEC-2014 test functions with three dimensions 30, 50, and 100. Simulation results confirm that DE/order obtains a promising performance on the majority of the test functions on all mentioned dimensions.
Adaptive Distributed Load Balancing Algorithm Based on Live Migration of Virtual Machines in Cloud

EUCALYPTUS, an open source cloud-computing framework, is still lack of load balancing. In the paper, we provide a kind of implementation by adaptive live migration of virtual machines. We design and implement a simple model which decreases the migration time of virtual machines by shared storage and fulfills the zero-downtime relocation of virtual machines by transforming them as Red Hat cluster services. During the migration process, we also keep the inclusion relationship between VLAN and virtual machines. We propose a distributed load balancing algorithm COMPARE_AND_BALANCE based on sampling to reach an equilibrium solution. The experimental results show that it converges quickly.
A Tale of Three Cities: Is an Electronic Public Order Book Appropriate for Transition Economies?

Computerized order-driven trading systems have proven highly successful in developed market economies with deep and liquid markets, but is an electronic public order book the best choice for a transition economy? We examine the experience of three newly created stock exchanges in the formerly planned economies of Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia, each of which adopted an electronic public order book developed in co-operation with the Paris Bourse. The exchanges in Warsaw, Vilnius, and Riga have followed a similar pattern of development from a single-price call auction once a week, to daily call auctions, to the introduction of continuous variable price trading using a public order book using state-of-the-art technologies. We find that only Warsaw has successfully concentrated liquidity in a single-price call auction, while in both Vilnius and Riga, the order books are largely empty for the majority of listed securities. An examination of trading by market segments reveals that Warsaw trades the bulk of its shares in the single-price call auction, block trades predominate in Vilnius, while continuous variable price trading accounts for most of the turnover in Riga. We observe sharply divergent results in both how shares are traded, as well as in the level of economic "function" achieved by the exchanges. Our findings suggest a set of "necessary" conditions in order for an order-driven trading system to succeed in a transition economy environment. Careful attention must be paid to listing requirements, price fluctuation limits and the minimum size of trades, the provision of liquidity, and tick size, so that the intended "function" of the electronic public order book is realized.
The Jobless Recovery: Does it Signal a New Era of Productivity-Led Growth?

By far the most widely noted and puzzling aspect of the current economic recovery is its failure to create jobs. While payroll employment in seven previous recessions increased a full 7 percent in the first twenty-three months following the NBER business cycle trough, such employment increased by only 0.8 percent - just over one-tenth as much - from March 1991 to March 1993. Part of the explanation of negligible job growth lies in the recovery's relatively slow pace of output growth, which has been little more than one-third the usual postwar pace. The remaining part of the job puzzle stems from the ebullient performance of productivity - that is, output per hour in the nonfarm business sector - which registered a growth rate of 3.2 percent in the four quarters ending in 1992:4, the most rapid rate recorded in any similar period for more than sixteen years. The share of output growth accounted for by productivity growth in the current recovery is 112 percent, far exceeding the 47 percent average of the previous postwar recoveries at the same stage. For any given pace of output growth, more rapid productivity growth by definition implies less rapid growth in labor input. This suggests that the recent revival in productivity growth may be the key to understanding the puzzling absence of job creation in the recovery. Productivity-led growth is nothing but good news. In the two decades ending in mid-1992, the nonfarm business sector registered an average annual productivity growth rate of less than 1 percent: 0.85 percent, to be exact. Imagine the benefits to the economy if the recent good news on productivity were to imply, as some have suggested, a doubling in productivity growth to a rate of 1.7 percent over the next decade. For any given path of labor input, nonfarm private business output in the year 2003 would be almost 9 percent larger - some $450 billion more - allowing that much more private and/or public spending. Productivity-led growth does not imply a jobless recovery in anything but the shortest run. Instead, any beneficial shock to productivity growth sets the stage for lower inflation that enables policy makers to stimulate output growth sufficiently to create the same number of jobs that would have occurred in the absence of the shock. If the jobless character of the 1991-93 recovery indeed has been caused by a benign productivity shock, then its jobless character implies that there has been too little stimulus to output growth, not that a productivity surge must necessarily rob the nation of jobs.
Hotel management contract: impact on performance in the Korean hotel sector

This study investigates the influence of hotel management contract on the performance of super-deluxe hotels in Korea and identifies how the 1996–1997 tourism recessions affected the relationship between management contract and the performance of the hotels. The Mann–Whitney U test, stepwise logistic regression, and multivariate analysis of variance statistical analyses indicate that management contract is positively related to the performance of the hotels, and the 1996–1997 tourism recessions caused the management contract–performance link to vary. From the industry application perspective, this study provides hotel owners with empirical information relating to: (1) a means to assess the performance of hotels under management contract and (2) a decision rule to apply an appropriately matched operating arrangement to an environmental state for maximum performance. The results obtained present an invaluable analysis tool for all owners involved in charting a hotel's future.
Specification and Estimation of a Simultaneous-Equation Model with Limited Dependent Variables

Single equation models with limited dependent variables have received considerable attention in the econometrics literature, but little is known about the specification and estimation of simultaneous-equation models in which some or all endogenous variables are limited. The one relevant published paper by Amemiya [1974] considers a model in which all endogenous variables are truncated at zero, reveals certain necessary restrictions on the model, and suggests a method of estimation. But his model is not applicable to all situations and the merits of his estimation procedure are confined to consistency and tractability. Here we propose an alternative specification which may be more appropriate than Amemiya's for many problems and discuss a relatively simple limited-information estimation procedure.
Connecting reason to power: assessments, learning, and environmental policy integration in Swedish energy policy

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to understanding what makes a policymaking system better at integrating sustainability concerns into its processes. Three questions are in focus. First, how can policy integration be understood analytically and what is its actual status in sector policy? Second, what conditions have facilitated or constrained policy integration? Third, how should institutions and assessment systems be set up to enhance the potential for policy integration as a learning process? The thesis presents a framework for analysing environmental policy integration as a policy-learning process in which sectors reframe their understanding of key problems, objectives, and strategies towards sustainable development. This framework combines theoretical perspectives such as policy networks, learning, institutionalism, and knowledge-to-policy studies. The empirical study analyses patterns of policy learning and policy integration in Swedish energy policymaking processes, tracing these processes and their outcomes in different rounds and stages of policy formation over the last two decades. The development of nuclear and climate policy in Sweden is examined and related to institutional rules and assessments. According to this analysis policy learning occurs when there is a moderate level of interest conflict with an international stream pushing the agenda; and for processes with leadership from the sector mainstream that lends credibility and trust to the process and that focus on building up joint-problem understandings and making explicit goal conflicts and policy dilemmas. Finally, a practical policy-analytic application is performed to understand how factors believed to contribute to policy learning are represented in real applications of existing assessment methods. The exercise confirms that an understanding of the decision-making context is necessary as an integral part of the assessment.
A population-based epidemiological and genetic study of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa.

PURPOSE To perform a nation-wide elucidation of the prevalence and the mutation spectrum in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP), and to make genotype-phenotype comparisons. METHODS The study comprised 96 affected males and 149 female carriers from 42 families representing all identified XLRP individuals in the Danish population (5.4 million inhabitants). RPGR and RP2 were screened for mutations in 34 families, the medical files of the patients were scrutinized, and phenotype data were extracted. RESULTS The prevalence of affected males was estimated to be 1:26,200 and 1:18,000 of female carriers. A rough estimate, however, indicates that the real prevalence of affected males was approximately 1:15,000. The cumulated life risk of development of XLRP in carriers was strongly age dependent and included one third of the carriers older than 60 years. Molecular analysis of RP2 and RPGR uncovered 28 different mutations in 33 of 34 index cases analyzed. Twelve patients carried a mutation in RP2, 12 in exons 1 to 14, and 9 in open reading frame (ORF) 15 of RPGR. Males with RP2 mutations tended to have higher degrees of myopia, lower visual acuities, and more preserved visual fields than did males with RPGR mutations at the same age. No significant differences in phenotype were found in age of onset and type of mutation in either RP2 or RPGR. CONCLUSIONS A very high mutation detection rate in familial cases makes genetic testing a valuable clinical tool for genetic counseling and prenatal testing. The proportion of RP2-mediated XLRP in the Danish population is higher and the proportion of RPGR-ORF15 is lower than reported in other studies. Thus, strategies for diagnostic procedures should take into account the population-specific mutation spectrum.
ILLICIT DRUG USE, ABSENTEEISM, AND EARNINGS AT SIX U.S. WORKSITES

Considerable national attention has focused recently on the adverse consequences of illicit drug use. While several studies estimate the relationship between illicit drug use and wages, the findings are inconsistent. Surprisingly, some researchers identify a positive and statistically significant relationship between wages and drug use for young adults. Motivated by this counter-intuitive finding, this paper compiles unique data on employees at six worksites in order to explore the relationships among drug use, wages, and absenteeism. Using various measures of current and lifetime drug use and accounting for alcohol-use comorbidity, the authors find predominantly insignificant relationships (both direct and indirect) between drug use and both wages and absenteeism, regardless of gender. Copyright 1998 Western Economic Association International.
Development of prediction models of stress and long-term disability among claimants to injury compensation systems: a cohort study

Objectives We sought to develop prognostic risk scores for compensation-related stress and long-term disability using markers collected within 3 months of a serious injury. Design Cohort study. Predictors were collected at baseline and at 3 months postinjury. Outcome data were collected at 72 months postinjury. Setting Hospitalised patients with serious injuries recruited from four major trauma hospitals in Australia. Participants 332 participants who made claims for compensation for their injuries to a transport accident scheme or a workers’ compensation scheme. Primary outcome measures 12-item WHO Disability Assessment Schedule and 6 items from the Claims Experience Survey. Results Our model for long-term disability had four predictors (unemployed at the time of injury, history of a psychiatric disorder at time of injury, post-traumatic stress disorder symptom severity at 3 months and disability at 3 months). This model had good discrimination (R2=0.37) and calibration. The disability risk score had a score range of 0–180, and at a threshold of 80 had sensitivity of 56% and specificity of 86%. Our model for compensation-related stress had five predictors (intensive care unit admission, discharged to home, number of traumatic events prior to injury, depression at 3 months and not working at 3 months). This model also had good discrimination (area under the curve=0.83) and calibration. The compensation-related stress risk score had score range of 0–220 and at a threshold of 100 had sensitivity of 74% and specificity of 75%. By combining these two scoring systems, we were able to identify the subgroup of claimants at highest risk of experiencing both outcomes. Conclusions The ability to identify at an early stage claimants at high risk of compensation-related stress and poor recovery is potentially valuable for claimants and the compensation agencies that serve them. The scoring systems we developed could be incorporated into the claims-handling processes to guide prevention-oriented interventions.
Diurnal variations of humidity and ice water content in the tropical upper troposphere

Abstract. Observational results of diurnal variations of humidity from Odin-SMR and AURA-MLS, and cloud ice mass from Odin-SMR and CloudSat are presented for the first time. Comparisons show that the retrievals of humidity and cloud ice from these two satellite combinations are in good agreement. The retrieved data are combined from four almost evenly distributed times of the day allowing mean values, amplitudes and phases of the diurnal variations around 200 hpa to be estimated. This analysis is applied to six climatologically distinct regions, five located in the tropics and one over the subtropical northern Pacific Ocean. The strongest diurnal cycles are found over tropical land regions, where the amplitude is ~7 RHi for humidity and ~50% for ice mass. The greatest ice mass for these regions is found during the afternoon, and the humidity maximum is observed to lag this peak by ~6 h. Over tropical ocean regions the variations are smaller and the maxima in both ice mass and humidity are found during the early morning. Observed results are compared with output from three climate models (ECHAM, EC-EARTH and CAM3). Direct measurement-model comparisons were not possible because the measured and modelled cloud ice masses represent different quantities. To make a meaningful comparison, the amount of snow had to be estimated from diagnostic parameters of the models. There is a high probability that the models underestimate the average ice mass (outside the 1-σ uncertainty). The models also show clear deficiencies when it comes to amplitude and phase of the regional variations, but to varying degrees.
Economic Modeling of Income, Different Types of Capital and Natural Disasters

This paper provides empirical estimates of the impacts of natural disasters on different forms of capital (with a focus on human and intangible capital and natural capital), and on real gross domestic product per capita. The types of disaster considered are droughts, earthquakes, floods, and storms and their impacts are measured in terms of the number of people affected or people affected per capita. The authors find statistically significant reductions on the values of human and intangible capital and land capital as a consequence of the disasters, and these reductions are greater when the impacts last for longer periods. Based on the assumption that natural disasters indirectly affect the level of income via losses in capital, the authors estimate a Cobb-Douglas production function using the different forms of capital as inputs. The losses in income are found to vary across different countries and the type of natural disaster studied. However, a common finding is that the losses in income depend generally on two factors: the relative magnitude of impacts of a natural disaster and the values of different forms of capital. The estimates in this paper are national level figures and cannot be useful in predicting the cost of damages at the local level, where much larger amounts can be experienced per capita. Nevertheless, the estimates provide some indication of magnitudes for different disasters and for different groups of countries. More work and more data are needed to get a dynamic profile for the losses of capital and income. But given the study's results, the time profile is estimated to range typically between two and five years.
Antisolvent vapor precipitation: the future of pulmonary drug delivery particle production?

Pulmonary drug delivery requires particles with a fine and uniform size distribution, 1 – 5 µ hydrodynamic diameter, for targeted delivery and higher uptake within the pulmonary tract. The antisolvent vapor precipitation method is a new alternative method to generate particles with such characteristics. Development so far has shown that the technique is applicable to disaccharides (lactose), magnesium sulfate, hydrophobic and protein particles. The method may also be extended to generate fine encapsulation particles and to produce disaccharides (lactose) and protein particles blend in a single step.