Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cytochrome C oxidase III interacts with hepatitis B virus X protein in vivo by yeast two-hybrid system.

AIM To screen and identify the proteins which interact with hepatitis B virus (HBV) X protein in hepatocytes by yeast two-hybrid system and to explore the effects of X protein in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS With HBV X gene amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), HBV X bait plasmid, named pAS2-1-X, was constructed by yeast-two hybridization system3 and verified by auto-sequencing assay. pAS2-1-X was transformed into the yeast AH109, and X-BD fusion protein expressed in the yeast cells was detected by Western blotting. The yeast cells cotransformed with pAS2-1-X and normal human liver cDNA library were grown in selective SC/-trp-leu-his-ade medium. The second screen was performed with beta-gal activity detection, and false positive clones were eliminated by segregation analysis, true positive clones were amplified, sequenced and analyzed with bioinformatics. Mating experiment was performed to confirm the binding of putative proteins to X protein in the yeast cells. RESULTS Bait plasmid pAS2-1-X was successfully constructed and pAS2-1-X correctly expressed BD-X fusion protein in yeast AH109. One hundred and three clones grew in the selective SC/-trp-leu-his-ade medium, and only one clone passed through beta-gal activity detection and segregation analysis. The inserted cDNA fragment showed high homology with Homo sapiens cytochrome C oxidase III (COXIII). Furthermore, mating experiment identified that the binding of COXIII to X protein was specific. CONCLUSION COXIII protein is a novel protein that can interact with X protein in vivo by yeast two-hybrid system, and may contribute to the development of HCC through the interaction with X protein.
Multinational Firms, Competition, and Productivity in Host-Country Markets

This paper tests for certain benefits of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sectors of two leading host countries-Canada and Australia. A quest for evidence on the effects of the multinational corporation needs little defence at a time when host and source countries alike incline towards restricting its activities. Economic theory tells us that intramarginal2 gains from foreign investment take diverse forms. An evident and tangible gain to the host government stems from the corporate income tax collected from subsidiaries (net of the incremental cost of public services supplied to them). Other benefits, conjectural and elusive but possibly large, lie in the effects of direct investment on the value productivity of resources owned by the host economy (Macdougall, 1960; Corden, 1967; Caves, 1971). The host nation's private sector does not benefit directly because the foreign subsidiary is efficient, or brings to its shores skilled entrepreneurship or productive knowledge. Rather its gains depend on spill-overs of productivity that occur when the multinational corporation cannot capture all quasi-rents due to its productive activities, or to the removal of distortions by the subsidiary's competitive pressure. These potential benefits can be divided into three classes.
Excess mortality associated with the 2009 pandemic of influenza A(H1N1) in Hong Kong

SUMMARY Reliable estimates of the burden of 2009 pandemic influenza A(pH1N1) cannot be easily obtained because only a small fraction of infections were confirmed by laboratory tests in a timely manner. In this study we developed a Poisson prediction modelling approach to estimate the excess mortality associated with pH1N1 in 2009 and seasonal influenza in 1998–2008 in the subtropical city Hong Kong. The results suggested that there were 127 all-cause excess deaths associated with pH1N1, including 115 with cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and 22 with pneumonia and influenza. The excess mortality rates associated with pH1N1 were highest in the population aged ⩾65 years. The mortality burden of influenza during the whole of 2009 was comparable to those in the preceding ten inter-pandemic years. The estimates of excess deaths were more than twofold higher than the reported fatal cases with laboratory-confirmed pH1N1 infection.
Water Management in the Indus Basin of Pakistan: A Half-century Perspective

This paper surveys the past half-century of water management experiments and experience in the Indus River basin in Pakistan as a way to identify principles for long-term water planning. The survey focuses on three variables: (1) spatial scales of water management; (2) geographic regions of water management; and (3) substantive water problems. These variables help assess changes during the post-colonial transition (1947-60); Indus basin development (1960-75); and management and environmental movements (1975-2000). Taken together, these periods point toward a model of Articulated Adaptive Management, which stresses planning for economic, political and environmental crises; dynamic changes in governance; multiple scales of water management; regional diversity and innovation; and broader scientific experimentation and monitoring of water management alternatives .
The failure of the Californian Mondavi's implantation in France: entrepreneurship and corporatisme

An explanation for why plans to set up business in the small village of Aniane, in the Languedoc region of France, were a failure for Mondavi, the pioneer of California's Napa Valley. Initially, everyone came out a winner. The project nevertheless ground to a halt because of an anti-Mondavi revolt. The leader of this revolt was Aime Guibert, a local wine-grower violently opposed to "industrial wines" and himself the producer of one of France's best wines. The interesting point of this conflict is that it reveals a type of entrepreneur that has been underestimated by entrepreneurship theory. Using the rent-seeking trend as its basis, this article highlights the characteristics of the corporatiste entrepreneur, who prefers avoiding threats to seizing opportunities.
Bursting the Bubble: A Long Run Perspective on Crop Commodity Prices

Contrary to the opinions expressed by many commentators, the recent price spike in agricultural commodities is a transitory phenomenon. Using projections from SIMPLE – a global model of the farm and food system – we argue that, in the long run, food prices will most likely resume their historical downward trend. We begin with an evaluation of the historical period 1961 to 2006 wherein the growth in agricultural productivity outpaced that of global crop demand, the latter being fueled by rising population and incomes. As a consequence, we observed a historical decline in global crop prices, which the SIMPLE model faithfully reproduces. Moving forward to 2051, we establish a set of projections in global crop prices given expected developments in population, incomes, agricultural productivity and biofuel use. We project that global crop prices will continue their long run decline in the coming decades, albeit at a slower pace. However, we recognize that, under some circumstances, global crop prices could still increase by mid-century. To formally assess the likelihood of future price changes, we conduct Monte Carlo simulations given distributions in the growth rates of both drivers and economic responses. Results show that 72% of the realizations produce price declines from 2006 to 2051. Keywords: crop commodity prices, long run projections, population growth, income growth, biofuels, crop productivity JEL: Q11, Q12, Q18
Slow magic: agricultural R&D a century after Mendel.

Reproduced with permission from the International Food Policy Research Institute www.ifpri. org. Originally published as: Pardey, Philip; Beintema, Nienke M. 2001. Slow magic: agricultural R&D a century after Mendel. (Food Policy Report) Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
The welfare state and the crisis: the case of Greece

The paper examines the relationship between the severe economic crisis facing Greece and the country’s social protection system, arguing that this relationship is ambivalent. On one level, the welfare state itself has contributed in a far from trivial way to the fiscal crisis of the state, with its various failures including huge deficits in key programmes such as pensions and health. On a second level, the crisis and the measures to counter it deprive the welfare state of resources, while at the same time setting in motion sweeping changes. On a third level, social protection can help cope with the consequences of the crisis, but enhancing its capacity to do so will require considerable reconfiguration and proper funding of social safety nets. The paper concludes by discussing the prospects for a revival of welfare state building in Greece in the current harsh climate.
Biology and genetic aspects of gastrointestinal stromal tumors: KIT activation and cytogenetic alterations.

Recent studies have done much to reveal the biological and genetic underpinnings of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). Constitutive activation of the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase is a central pathogenetic event in most GISTs and generally results from oncogenic point mutations which can involve either extracellular or cytoplasmic domains of the receptor. Oncogenic mutations enable the KIT receptor to phosphorylate various substrate proteins, leading to activation of signal transduction cascades which regulate cell proliferation, apoptosis, chemotaxis, and adhesion. KIT mutations can be broadly assigned to 2 groups, those that involve the "regulatory" regions responsible for modulating KIT enzymatic activity and those that involve the enzymatic region itself. In vitro studies suggest that GISTs with regulatory-region KIT mutations are more likely to respond to STI-571 than are GISTs with enzymatic-region mutations. A minority of GISTs lack demonstrable KIT mutations, but KIT is nonetheless strongly activated. Such GISTs might contain KIT mutations which are not readily detected by conventional screening methods, or alternately, KIT might be activated by nonmutational mechanisms. Most GISTs have noncomplex cytogenetic profiles, often featuring deletions of chromosomes 14 and 22. Additional chromosomal aberrations are acquired as the GISTs progress to higher histologic grade. These cytogenetic aberrations are undoubtedly important in GIST pathogenesis, but currently they do not play a key role as diagnostic adjuncts.
Randomized phase III trial of gemcitabine compared with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

PURPOSE Ovarian cancer (OC) patients experiencing progressive disease (PD) within 6 months of platinum-based therapy in the primary setting are considered platinum resistant (Pt-R). Currently, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) is a standard of care for treatment of recurrent Pt-R disease. On the basis of promising phase II results, gemcitabine was compared with PLD for efficacy and safety in taxane-pretreated Pt-R OC patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients (n = 195) with Pt-R OC were randomly assigned to either gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 (days 1 and 8; every 21 days) or PLD 50 mg/m2 (day 1; every 28 days) until PD or undue toxicity. Optional cross-over therapy was allowed at PD or at withdrawal because of toxicity. Primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Additional end points included tumor response, time to treatment failure, survival, and quality of life. RESULTS In the gemcitabine and PLD groups, median PFS was 3.6 v 3.1 months; median overall survival was 12.7 v 13.5 months; overall response rate (ORR) was 6.1% v 8.3%; and in the subset of patients with measurable disease, ORR was 9.2% v 11.7%, respectively. None of the efficacy end points showed a statistically significant difference between treatment groups. The PLD group experienced significantly more hand-foot syndrome and mucositis; the gemcitabine group experienced significantly more constipation, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, and neutropenia but not febrile neutropenia. CONCLUSION Although this was not designed as an equivalency study, gemcitabine and PLD seem to have a comparable therapeutic index in this population of Pt-R taxane-pretreated OC patients. Single-agent gemcitabine may be an acceptable alternative to PLD for patients with Pt-R OC.
Teacher Training Quality and Effectiveness in the Context of Basic Education : An Examination of Primary Education Studies (PES) Programme in Two Colleges of Education in Nigeria

The need to ensure quality teachers that will implement basic education motivated this study. Teacher education in Nigeria is aimed at providing trainees with intellectual and professional background adequate for their assignment and to make them adaptable to any changing situations in the country and the world. This goal remains a mere wish as most teachers do not exhibit the required competencies needed, especially to teach at the foundation level. This calls into question the quality of their training. The study therefore undertakes an examination of the Primary Education Studies (PES) curriculum used in training teachers for basic education. Two Colleges of Education were isolated as a case study, using the Integrated Curriculum evaluation model. It employed purposive and random sampling procedures to select subjects from teacher trainees, trainers, in-service teachers, headteachers of basic schools, and offi cials of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE). The fi ndings showed, among other things, that the content of PES curriculum is adequate, but the teaching strategies need a lot of improvement. This has serious implications for the successful implementation of basic education in Nigeria.
Unsatisfactory experience with 'minimal intervention management' for gastroschisis.

PURPOSE The authors report, for cautionary reasons, their trial with "minimal intervention management" for gastroschisis. After the successful innovative experience with this approach, which Bianchi and Dickson described, they utilized it in 4 consecutive patients. METHODS In the delivery room a plastic bag was placed over the intestines, which rested in a dependent position to reduce edema. The stomach was decompressed and the patients kept warm. Intravenous fluid at a maintenance rate was given. After about 5 hours an attempt at closure was undertaken in the newborn intensive care unit without anesthesia. An assistant lifted the anterior abdominal wall by applying upward traction on the umbilical cord. Over about 25 minutes the intestines were placed in the coelom, which was closed with a single suture. RESULTS The outcome was uncomplicated in the first of 4 consecutive patients. The second patient had abdominal compartment syndrome requiring a silo and subsequent resection and has chronic malabsorption 16 months later. The third had an enterocutaneous fistula at 5 weeks that required a small bowel resection. Bedside closure was abandoned in the final case because too much resistance was encountered. She underwent primary repair in the operating room and eventually died of sepsis with intestinal dysmotility. CONCLUSIONS The "minimal intervention approach" can be effective in some patients who have gastroschisis. This experience suggests that selection criteria are needed before this method can be recommended.
Safety Climate and Safety Behaviour

This paper provides an overview of a research program examining the antecedents and consequences of safety climate and safety behaviour. A model is presented identifying the linkages between safety climate, safety knowledge, safety motivation, and safety behaviour. Findings from a series of studies are reviewed that support the hypothesized linkages between safety climate and safety behaviour. Longitudinal analyses have examined the role of additional factors, such as general organisational climate, supportive leadership and conscientiousness as sources of stability and change in safety climate and safety behaviour. Further developments of the model, aimed at integrating safety behaviour into broader models of work effectiveness, are also discussed.
Measuring Self-Control Problems: A Structural Estimation

We perform a structural estimation of the preference parameters in a buffer-stock consumption model augmented with temptation disutility. We adopt a two-stage Method of Simulated Moments methodology to match our simulated moments with those observed in the US Survey of Consumer Finances. To identify the parameters we use liquid and quasi-liquid (retirement) wealth holdings at different ages as target moments. We find evidence of a significantly positive degree of temptation, and estimates under the unrestricted model are more precise than estimates under the restricted model with no temptation. Overall, a model with temptation preferences explains better the observed target moments.
Democratic Consolidation in Africa: The Problematic Case of Ghana

In Africa, many countries, including Ghana, have post-authoritarian regimes. Democratically, to what extent do they differ from their authoritarian predecessors? The evidence presented here suggests that, while there are some signs of democratic consolidation in Ghana, democracy is not yet habitualised. The focus is on both the Jerry Rawlings government (1981-2001), and the successor regime, headed by John Kufuor (2001- ). The overall conclusion is that Kufuor has attempted to distance his rule, both stylistically and in policy terms, from that of Rawlings. However, he has found that, like his predecessor, he is forced to work with international and domestic structures that undermine attempts to deliver changes to the substance of rule.
The Association between Macroeconomic Uncertainty and Analysts' Forecast Accuracy

This study examines whether macroeconomic uncertainty affects the forecast accuracy of financial analysts in an international setting. We use inflation and foreign exchange volatility as measures of macroeconomic uncertainty. We find strong evidence that forecast accuracy decreases in the level of macroeconomic uncertainty. Further, we document that the negative association between forecast accuracy and macroeconomic variables is more pronounced for emerging economies than developed economies. Overall our results suggest that macroeconomic uncertainty represents a unique dimension in the complexities associated with predicting future firm performance.
Contingent Valuation: A Practical Alternative When Prices Aren't Available

A person may be willing to make an economic tradeoff to assure that a wilderness area or scenic resource is protected even if neither that person nor (perhaps) anyone else will actually visit this area. This tradeoff is commonly labeled "passive use value. " Contingent valuation studies ask questions that help to reveal the monetary tradeoff each person would make concerning the value of goods or services. Such surveys are a practical alternative approach for eliciting the value of public goods, including those with passive use considerations. First I discuss the Exxon Valdez oil spill of March 1989, focusing on why it is important to measure monetary tradeoffs for goods where passive use considerations loom large. Although discussions of contingent valuation often focus on whether the method is sufficiently reliable for use in assessing natural resource damages in lawsuits, it is important to remember that most estimates from contingent valuation studies are used in benefitâ€“cost assessments, not natural resource damage assessments. Those working on benefitâ€“cost analysis have long recognized that goods and impacts that cannot be quantified are valued, implicitly, by giving them a limitless value when government regulations preclude certain activities, or giving them a value of zero by leaving certain consequences out of the analysis. Contingent valuation offers a practical alternative for reducing the use of either of these extreme choices. I put forward an affirmative case for contingent valuation and address a number of the concerns that have arisen.
Hyperhomocyst(e)inemia is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation in humans.

BACKGROUND Hyperhomocyst(e)inemia is a risk factor for atherosclerosis and is prevalent in the elderly. The objective of this study was to determine whether hyperhomocyst(e)inemia is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation in humans. METHODS AND RESULTS High-resolution vascular ultrasonography was used to study endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilation in a nonatherosclerotic peripheral conduit artery of 26 elderly hyperhomocyst(e)inemic subjects and 15 age- and sex-matched subjects with normal homocysteine levels. Flow-mediated, endothelium-dependent (nitric oxide-mediated) vasodilation was assessed by measuring the percent change in brachial artery diameter during reactive hyperemia. Endothelium-independent vasodilation was assessed after the administration of 0.4 mg sublingual nitroglycerin. Endothelium-dependent vasodilation was significantly impaired in the hyperhomocyst(e)inemic subjects compared with control subjects (3.7 +/- 0.6% versus 8.1 +/- 1.2%; P = .004), whereas endothelium-independent vasodilation was not different between the two groups (10.1 +/- 1.6% versus 9.3 +/- 1.5%; P = NS). In a linear regression analysis with serum homocysteine concentration, folic acid, age, sex, cholesterol (serum total, LDL, or HDL cholesterol), mean arterial blood pressure, use of antihypertensive medication, and baseline brachial artery diameter included as covariates, serum homocysteine concentration emerged as the only significant predictor of flow-mediated vasodilation. CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that hyperhomocyst(e)inemia is associated with impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilation in humans and suggest that the bioavailability of nitric oxide is decreased in hyperhomocyst(e)inemic humans.
Climate change impacts on coastal urban settlements in Nigeria

This study investigates the possible impact of climate change on the coastal cities of Lagos and Port Harcourt using the Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Induced Climate Change (MAGICC-SCENGEN) and geographical information system (GIS) interpolation techniques. The results confirm that sea level rise may occur with a consequence of submerging all coastal cities of the Niger delta area and a larger part of Lagos. The parts left un-submerged may face the risk of incessant flooding. These will also disrupt communications, damage vital infrastructures and affect urban settlements along the coast. The study establishes that precipitation variability with increased temperature will have serious impacts on the social-economic state of the people living in the coastal cities of Nigeria. The projected impact of this on environmental stability and life in the coastal urban settlements of Nigeria is better imagined than experienced.