Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Listeria monocytogenes can grow in macrophages without the aid of proteins induced by environmental stresses

Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen which is able to survive and grow within phagocytic cells. Some facultative intracellular bacteria have been shown to respond to the hostile environment within phagocytic cells by producing a set of stress proteins. Since L. monocytogenes has a mechanism for intracellular survival that is distinct from those of other bacteria, we studied the phenotypic response of the bacterium to phagocytosis by macrophages. After phagocytosis of L. monocytogenes EGD by J774-1 macrophage cells, the microorganism rapidly increased in numbers about 20-fold during an incubation period of 5 h. In this phase of phagocytosis, the selective induction of 32 proteins was observed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The responses to the environmental stresses of heat and hydrogen peroxide were also studied, and it was found that 14 heat shock proteins and 13 oxidative stress proteins were induced. Five of the induced proteins were common to both heat and oxidative stresses. By amino acid sequencing analysis, homologs of DnaK and GroEL were confirmed among the heat shock proteins. A comparison of the autoradiograms of the two-dimensional gels revealed that none of these stress proteins were among the proteins induced by L. monocytogenes within the macrophages. This behavior is entirely different from that shown by other facultative intracellular pathogens. Stress proteins known to be induced by environmental stresses were absent in intracellularly grown L. monocytogenes in the present study. This absence could be due to the mechanism by which the microorganisms rapidly escape from this stressful environment at a very early phase of phagocytosis.
Merger drivers and the change of bidder shareholders' wealth

A growing number of merger studies concern the causality of firm performance and merger activity in the last decade, but with mixed results. Assuming semi-strong efficiency, this article argues that firms with good stock performance are more likely to acquire other firms. With 412 US-listed bidders, results from the event study method clearly support our hypothesis by showing a strong upward movement of cumulative abnormal returns across groups in the pre-merger period. Results also suggest that bidders of different characteristics have different preference for payment methods and thus the market reactions to them are different, despite the noise that frequently accompanies merger activity. These empirical outcomes are important to both investors and financial services companies including investment banks when knowledge about the market reactions to their clients in mergers is required.
Narrow band imaging of squamous cell carcinoma tumors using topically delivered anti‐EGFR antibody conjugated gold nanorods

Nanoparticles have recently gained interest as exogenous contrast agents in a variety of biomedical applications related to cancer detection and treatment. The objective of this study was to determine the potential of topically administered antibody conjugated gold nanorods (GNRs) for imaging squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the skin using near‐infrared narrowband imaging (NBI). Near‐infrared (NIR) NBI images narrow wavelength bands to enhance contrast from plasmonic particles in a wide field portable and noncontact device that is clinically compatible for real‐time tumor imaging and tumor margin demarcation.
The Labour Market and Technical Change in Endogenous Cycles

The paper examines how a macro model, where there is an endogenous technical progress and strong interdependence between real and monetary aspects in both the labour and capital markets, can generate endogenous business cycles. This approach helps to understand the ambiguity of the NAIRU, the nature of the Phillips curve and the impact of labour productivity changes on the curve itself. Finally, the presence of expectation functions based upon a Markov-switching time series process fosters endogenous dynamics and contributes to make asymmetries an important feature of the cycles.
In Vivo Antithrombotic Effect of Triflavin, an Arg-Gly-Asp Containing Peptide on Platelet Plug Formation in Mesenteric Microvessels of Mice

Summary Triflavin, an Arg-Gly-Asp-containing snake venom peptide, inhibits platelet aggregation through the blockade of fibrinogen binding to the activated platelets. In this study, platelet thrombus formation was induced by irradiation of the mesenteric venules with filtered light in mice pretreated intravenously with fluorescein sodium. Electron microscopy reveals moderately damaged endothelial cells, as well as aggregates consisting almost exclusively of platelets with pseudopod formation, and degranulated appearance. Triflavin (10-20 µg/g) significantly prolonged the lag period of inducing platelet plug formation in mesenteric venules when it was intravenously infused. Triflavin (20 µg/g) prolonged the occlusion time about 2-fold (from control 112 ± 23 to 240 ± 47 s). Furthermore, PGE, briefly prolonged the occlusion time about 1.5-fold (from 105 ± 21 to 168 ± 20 s) when it was given by continuous infusion (40 µg/kg/min). On the other hand, triflavin was also effective in reducing the mortality of ADP-induced acute pulmonary thromboembolism in mice when administered intravenously at dose of 2-4 µg/g. Heparin (1.5 U/g) and indomethacin (200 µg/g) had no significant effect in prolonging the occlusion time or in reducing ADP-induced pulmonary embolism in mice. Therefore, triflavin is an effective antithrombotic agent in preventing the thromboembolism in these two in vivo models.
Line‐of‐sight displacement from ALOS‐2 interferometry: Mw 7.8 Gorkha Earthquake and Mw 7.3 aftershock

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is a key tool for the analysis of displacement and stress changes caused by large crustal earthquakes, particularly in remote areas. A challenge for traditional InSAR has been its limited spatial and temporal coverage especially for very large events, whose dimensions exceed the typical swath width of 70–100 km. This problem is addressed by the ALOS‐2 satellite, whose PALSAR‐2 instrument operates in ScanSAR mode, enabling a repeat time of 2 weeks and a swath width of 350 km. Here we present InSAR line‐of‐sight displacement data from ALOS‐2/PALSAR‐2 observations covering the Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake and its Mw 7.3 aftershock that were acquired within 1 week of each event. The data are made freely available and we encourage their use in models of the fault slip and associated stress changes. The Mw 7.3 aftershock not only extended the rupture area of the main shock toward the east but also left a 20 km gap where the fault has little or no coseismic slip. We estimate this unslipped fault patch has the potential to generate a Mw 6.9 event.
Raster Stereography Versus Radiography in the Long-term Follow-up of Idiopathic Scoliosis

Study Design Raster-stereographic and radiographic evaluation of idiopathic scoliosis without braces in a retrospective longitudinal long-term follow-up study. Objective To investigate the reliability and accuracy of raster stereography in comparison with radiography as the gold standard, using a longitudinal long-term study design in idiopathic scoliosis, to reduce the number of radiographs required during follow-up in scoliosis patients. Summary of Background Data It has been confirmed that raster stereography produces reliable data in patients with conservatively and surgically treated idiopathic scoliosis, up to a Cobb angle of 80 degrees. This means that the method can be used to replace radiography during the follow-up in these patients. However, no data have yet been published on the use of raster stereography in a longitudinal setting during a long-term follow-up period in comparison with radiography as the gold standard. Methods Raster stereographs and digitized anterior-posterior radiographs of 16 patients with idiopathic scoliosis were studied retrospectively in a longitudinal study design, with a mean follow-up period of 8 years (range 3 to 10 y). Lateral vertebral deviation and vertebral rotation were measured between C7 and L4 using raster stereography and radiography, compared with Cobb angles, and correlated. Results During the follow-up period, the Cobb angle increased on average by 13 degrees. The progression of lateral vertebral deviation measured using both techniques, and that of vertebral rotation measured with radiography, was greater than that of the Cobb angle, whereas that of raster-stereographic vertebral rotation was lower. However, there was an excellent correlation between the raster-stereographic and radiographic progression of these parameters (R2≥0.5). The mean difference between raster stereographs and radiographs was 3.21 mm for lateral vertebral deviation and 2.45 degrees for vertebral rotation. Conclusions Using the parameters of lateral vertebral deviation and vertebral rotation, raster stereography accurately reflects the radiographically measured progression of idiopathic scoliosis during the long-term follow-up, but these parameters are not directly comparable with the Cobb angle. In the follow-up of scoliosis patients, the authors would recommend a raster-stereographic examination every 3 to 6 months and a radiographic examination every 12 to 18 months only, provided that raster stereography does not show rapid deterioration of the scoliosis. The patient's radiation exposure can be reduced using this approach.
Strategic performance measurement and management in multinational corporations

For multinational firms, operating as global businesses with global workforces, the challenge of managing diverse operations in diverse environments has never been greater. The need to maintain appropriate consistency and coordinate vastly separated operations presents unique challenges. These simultaneous loose–tight requirements of managing business operations significantly increase the difficulty level. In the area of international human resource management it means the identification and development of strategic international human resource actions that will provide a global consistency of purpose. Strategic international human resource management takes on particular importance in the areas of performance measurement and management in multinational corporations (MNCs). This article focuses around the three components of strategic international human resource management: interunit linkages, internal operations, and competitive requirements. Previous literature is reviewed within this framework, and the work of Pepsi-Cola International is used as an example of how MNCs manage some performance measurement and management issues.
Marine Protected Areas in the Coral Triangle: Progress, Issues, and Options

The six Coral Triangle countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste—each have evolving systems of marine protected areas (MPAs) at the national and local levels. More than 1,900 MPAs covering 200,881 km2 (1.6% of the exclusive economic zone for the region) have been established within these countries over the last 40 years under legal mandates that range from village level traditional law to national legal frameworks that mandate the protection of large areas as MPAs. The focus of protection has been primarily on critical marine habitats and ecosystems, with a strong emphasis on maintaining and improving the status of near-shore fisheries, a primary food and economic resource in the region. This article brings together for the first time a consistent set of current data on MPAs for the six countries and reviews progress toward the establishment of MPAs in these countries with regard to (i) coverage of critical habitat (e.g., 17.8% of the coral reef habitat within the region lies within an MPA), (ii) areas under effective management, and (iii) actions needed to improve the implementation of MPAs as a marine conservation and resource management strategy. The contribution of MPAs to the Coral Triangle MPA System as called for in the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security Regional Plan of Action is clarified. Options for scaling up existing MPAs to networks of MPAs that are more ecologically linked and integrated with fisheries management and responsive to changing climate through the Coral Triangle MPA System development are discussed. A key point is the need to improve the effectiveness of existing MPAs, and plan in a manner leading to ecosystem-based management.
Improving the environmental Kuznets curve for evaluating the relationships between carbon dioxide emissions and economic development

In this study we used an improved approach to test the EKC hypothesis for carbon dioxide emissions by taking the first-order derivative of the traditional quadratic EKC equation. We found the long-term historical carbon dioxide emissions rarely supported the EKC theory at various scales (country to globe), but the short-term (especially the most recent decades) carbon dioxide emissions widely supported the EKC hypothesis. We concluded that though the overall development of a country or region might not follow an EKC pattern, but the EKC hypothesis might still be justified during different periods of the economic growth.
The Empirics of Microfinance: What Do We Know?

Microfinance has received a lot of attention recently, both from policy makers as well as in academic circles. Two of the main topics that have been hotly debated are explaining joint liability group lending and its implications for reducing information asymmetries, and the trade-off between the financial sustainability and outreach of microfinance programmes. This Feature contains three novel empirical contributions providing new insights with respect to why and how joint liability group lending works. It also contains the first large-scale systematic analysis of the trade-off between financial performance and outreach of microfinance institutions.
Improving global accountability: The ICC and nonviolent crimes against humanity

Abstract Scholars have proposed a number of different ways to improve global accountability, but none has adequately addressed how individuals who commit widespread or systematic nonviolent wrongs can be held to account. I argue that for moral reasons individuals should be held accountable for nonviolent crimes against humanity and that an existing legal institution, the International Criminal Court (ICC), has the authority to prosecute such crimes. The ICC’s prosecutor should start exercising this legal authority because widespread or systematic nonviolent harms can be just as morally wrong as violent ones. What matters on my account is the gravity of a wrong, not whether it was committed violently or nonviolently. I situate these arguments in contemporary discussions of accountability, and provide evidence that individuals can cause widespread or systematic nonviolent harms that meet the legal definition of a crime against humanity in the Rome Statute, the ICC’s foundational document.
Distributed joint source-channel coding of video using Raptor codes

Summary form only given. In this paper, we consider the case of a noisy channel in Wyner-Ziv coding (WZC) and address distributed joint source-channel coding (JSCC), while targeting at video transmission over packet erasure channels. Our idea is to use a single Raptor code, for both SWC and erasure protection. Raptor codes are the latest addition to a family of low-complexity rateless fountain codes which consist of a high-rate precode and an LT code. We use IRA codes as the precode of our Raptor code, as IRA codes are well suited for distributed JSCC. For the decoder design, due to the presence of side information, we develop a new iterative soft-decision Raptor decoder for joint decoding that combines the received packets and the side information.
A METHOD OF DETERMINING ACCURACY AND PRECISION FOR DOSIMETER SYSTEMS USING ACCREDITATION DATA

A study of the uncertainty of dosimeter results is required by the national accreditation programs for each dosimeter model for which accreditation is sought. Typically, the methods used to determine uncertainty have included the partial differentiation method described in the U.S. Guide to Uncertainty in Measurements or the use of Monte Carlo techniques and probability distribution functions to generate simulated dose results. Each of these techniques has particular strengths and should be employed when the areas of uncertainty are required to be understood in detail. However, the uncertainty of dosimeter results can also be determined using a Model II One-Way Analysis of Variance technique and accreditation testing data. The strengths of the technique include (1) the method is straightforward and the data are provided under accreditation testing and (2) the method provides additional data for the analysis of long-term uncertainty using Statistical Process Control (SPC) techniques. The use of SPC to compare variances and standard deviations over time is described well in other areas and is not discussed in detail in this paper. The application of Analysis of Variance to historic testing data indicated that the accuracy in a representative dosimetry system (Panasonic® Model UD-802) was 8.2%, 5.1%, and 4.8% and the expanded uncertainties at the 95% confidence level were 10.7%, 14.9%, and 15.2% for the Accident, Protection Level-Shallow, and Protection Level-Deep test categories in the Department of Energy Laboratory Accreditation Program, respectively. The 95% level of confidence ranges were (0.98 to 1.19), (0.90 to 1.20), and (0.90 to 1.20) for the three groupings of test categories, respectively.
Quality of life in preschool children born preterm.

The relationship of preterm birth to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was examined for children aged 1 to 4 years. Three gestational age groups with a NICU history were selected, <32 weeks (n=65), 32 to 36 weeks (n=41), 237 weeks (n=54), and a reference group from the open population (n=50). The main instrument was the TNO-AZL Preschool Quality Of Life (TAPQOL) questionnaire, which was completed by the parents. In addition, other outcome measures obtained from parents or neonatologists were investigated. Children born <32 weeks had significantly lower HRQoL than the reference group in the scales for lungs, stomach, eating disorders, motor functioning, communication, and anxiety. Parental feelings towards the child were related to the child's HRQoL. We found differences between the neonatologists' and parents' perceptions of the children's situation, which can have clinical consequences (e.g. different opinions about what needed treatment). Neonatal intensive care after birth has HRQoL implications for all children, particularly in children born at <32 weeks of gestation.
Financial Market Integration in Europe: On the Effects of Emu on Stock Markets

This paper analyses the integration process of European equity markets since the 1980s. Its central focus is on the role that EMU, and specifically, changes in exchange rate volatility, has played in this process of financial integration. Building on an uncovered interest rate parity condition to measure financial integration, a trivariate GARCH model with time-varying coefficients yields three key results: first, European equity markets have become highly integrated only since 1996. Second, the Euro area market has gained considerably in importance in world financial markets and has taken over from the USA as the dominant market in Europe. Third, the integration of European equity markets is in large part explained by the drive towards EMU, and in particular the elimination of exchange rate volatility and uncertainty in the process of monetary unification. Copyright @ 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. All rights reserved.
DO STRONGER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS INDUCE MORE INNOVATIONS? A CROSS-COUNTRY ANALYSIS

This paper examines the role of IPRs protection on stimulating innovations across countries. To consider the possible difference in the relationship between IPRs and innovations for countries of various development degrees, we employ the technique of panel threshold model to proceed with empirical estimates. Based on a panel dataset of 42 countries over the 1997-2006 period, results show that stronger IPRs protections enhance innovations using conventional panel data model. After considering the threshold effects, IPRs protection remains a significantly positive influence on innovations for high-income countries, but it has no effect on fostering innovations for non-high-income countries.
Detecting Stealthy Spreaders by Random Aging Streaming Filters

Detecting spreaders, or scan sources, helps intrusion detection systems (IDS) identify potential attackers. The existing work can only detect aggressive spreaders that scan a large number of distinct destinations in a short period of time. However, stealthy spreaders may perform scanning deliberately at a low rate. We observe that these spreaders can easily evade the detection because current IDS's have serious limitations. Being lightweight, the proposed scheme can detect scan sources in high speed networking while residing in SRAM. By theoretical analysis and experiments on real Internet traffic traces, we demonstrate that the proposed scheme detects stealthy spreaders successfully.
Young Adults' Provision of Support to Middle-Aged Parents.

OBJECTIVES Middle-aged adults often provide support to aging parents, but researchers know little about support that young adults provide middle-aged parents. This study examined support that young adults provide parents and explanations for that support from both offspring's and parents' perspectives. METHOD Young adults (n = 515, mean age = 22.34) and their parents (n = 364, mean age = 50.09) from the Family Exchanges Study reported support that offspring provide parents. Participants also reported parental personal problems, parental disability status, relationship quality, and support that parents provide offspring. RESULTS Offspring provided parents with emotional support and listening more often than other forms of support. Offspring reported providing more frequent support than parents reported receiving. We examined factors associated with support using multilevel models. Both offspring and parents reported more frequent support provided to parents when they had higher quality relationships and when parents gave more frequent support to offspring. Offspring (but not parents) reported providing more frequent support to parents when parents were disabled. DISCUSSION Findings are consistent with solidarity theory, which suggests that high-quality relationships may explain support. The concept of self-enhancement and generativity in middle-aged parents may explain the intergenerational differences in the association between parental disability and support.