Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Malaria Parasite-encoded Vacuolar H+-ATPase Is Targeted to the Host Erythrocyte*

The asexual development of malaria parasites inside the erythrocyte is accompanied by changes in the composition, structure, and function of the host cell membrane and cytoplasm. The parasite exports a membrane network into the host cytoplasm and several proteins that are inserted into the erythrocyte membrane, although none of these proteins has been shown to have enzymatic activity. We report here that a functional malaria parasite-encoded vacuolar (V)-H+-ATPase is exported to the erythrocyte and localized in membranous structures and in the plasma membrane of the infected erythrocyte. This localization was determined by separation of parasite and erythrocyte membranes and determination of enzyme marker activities and by immunofluorescence microscopy assays using antibodies against the B subunit of the malarial V-H+-ATPase and erythrocyte (spectrins) and parasite (merozoite surface protein 1) markers. Our results suggest that this pump has a role in the maintenance of the intracellular pH (pHi) of the infected erythrocyte. Our results also indicate that although the pHi maintained by the V-H+-ATPase is important for maximum uptake of small metabolites at equilibrium, it does not appear to affect transport across the erythrocyte membrane and is, therefore, not involved in the previously described phenomenon of increased permeability of infected erythrocytes that is sensitive to chloride channel inhibitors (new permeation pathway). This constitutes the first report of the presence of a functional enzyme of parasite origin in the plasma membrane of its host.
Decline in Deoxynivalenol (Vomitoxin) Concentrations in 1983 Ontario Winter Wheat Before Harvest

Samples of winter wheat were collected in 1983 from five fields in southwestern Ontario that were naturally infected with head blight. The geometric mean concentration of deoxynivalenol (vomitoxin) in the grain declined significantly from 1.56 μg/g on 7 July to 0.21 μg/g on 14 July and 0.11 μg/g on 18 July and did not increase at harvest (20 through 27 July).
Three Essays Examining Household Energy Demand and Behavior

This dissertation consists of three essays examining household energy decisions and behavior. The first essay examines the adoption of energy efficient Energy Star home appliances by U.S. households. Program effectiveness requires that consumers be aware of the labeling scheme and also change their purchase decisions based on label information. The first essay examines the factors associated with consumer awareness of the Energy Star label of recently purchased major appliances and the factors associated with the choice of Energy Star labeled appliances. The findings suggest that eliminating identified gaps in Energy Star appliance adoption would result in house electricity cost savings of $164 million per year and associated carbon emission reductions of about 1.1 million metric tons per year. The second essay evaluates household energy security and the effectiveness of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the single largest energy assistance program available to poor households within the United States. Energy security is conceptually akin to the well-known concept of food security. Rasch models and household responses to energy security questions in the 2005 Residential Energy Consumption Survey are used to generate an energy insecurity index that is consistent with those found in the food insecurity literature. Participating in LIHEAP is found to significantly reduce household energy insecurity score in the index. Further, simulations show that the elimination of the energy assistance safety net currently available to households increases the number of energy insecure households by over 16 percent. The third essay develops a five equation demand system to estimate household own-price, cross-price and income elasticities between electricity, natural gas, food at home, food away from home, and non-durable commodity groups. Household cross-price elasticities between energy and food commodities are of particular importance. Energy price shocks reduce food expenditures for low-income households, as indicated by negative cross-price elasticity estimates for food and energy commodities. Additionally, low-income households reduce energy expenditures more than other households, further indicating “heat or eat” behavior. Results from all three essays provide policy makers with helpful information to shape future federal energy programs. Research supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Needs Fellowship in Bio-Fuel Systems, agreement 2008-38420-18742, and the Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) Center for Targeted Studies at the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC)
Política de dividendos, na prática, é importante?

This article treats the empiric results about the importance of financing policies, especially dividend policies. Three focuses were discussed: the Signalling Hypothesis, the Agency Hypothesis and the Dividend Clientele Hypothesis. Some tendency can be observed in the first two approaches. Administrators believe that dividends contain signs of organizational future and that dividends tend to be used as reducers of agency conflict problems. However, in the three approaches, there still does not exist conclusive empiric evidence, especially because the specific characteristics of different markets may lead management to establish differentiated policies.
Predictors of recurrent ingestion of gastrointestinal foreign bodies.

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal foreign bodies are commonly encountered; however, little knowledge exists as to the causes of foreign body ingestions and why they occur repeatedly in some patients. OBJECTIVE To identify and define patients at high risk for recurrent foreign body ingestion. METHODS A retrospective chart review of foreign body ingestion was conducted at a tertiary care medical centre over an 11-year period. Variables analyzed included age, sex, incarceration status, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV diagnosis, success of endoscopy, type of sedation used, method of extraction, complications, presence of gastrointestinal pathology, and incidence of recurrent food impaction or foreign body. RESULTS A total of 159 patients with a foreign body ingestion were identified. One hundred fourteen (77%) experienced a single episode of ingestion and 45 (23%) experienced multiple ingestions. Of the patients with multiple ingestions, 27 (60%) had recurrent food impactions while 18 (40%) ingested foreign objects. In the recurrent ingestor group, a psychiatric disorder had been diagnosed in 16 patients (35.6%) and there were 13 incarcerated individuals (28.9%). The average number of recurrences was 2.6 per patient (117 total recurrences). Individuals with a psychiatric disorder experienced 3.9 recurrences per patient, while prisoners averaged 4.1 recurrences per patient. The combination of a psychiatric disorder and being incarcerated was associated with the highest recurrence rate (4.33 per patient). Multivariable logistic regression revealed that male sex (OR 2.9; P=0.022), being incarcerated (OR 3.0; P=0.024) and the presence of a psychiatric disorder (OR 2.5; P=0.03) were risk factors for recurrent ingestion. CONCLUSION Risk factors for recurrent ingestion of foreign bodies were male sex, being incarcerated and the presence of a psychiatric disorder.
True Monopolistic Competition as a Result of Imperfect Information

The paper restates Hart's [1985a, 1985b] definition of large group monopolistic competition, distinguishes it from oligopolistic competition, and raises the question of whether there are reasonable circumstances that give rise to true monopolistic competition as defined. The purpose is to show that consumers' imperfect information may create conditions that will turn an otherwise oligopolistic market into a truly monopolistically competitive one.
A Note on the Applicability of an Organizational Commitment Model

The applicability of Porter's commitment model was tested among two employee levels in a manufacturing and service company. Data were obtained from supervisory and shopfloor employees using a structured questionnaire. The findings indicate that the model is moderately adequate in predicting commitment among both levels of respondents in the two organizations, but the antecedents differ among respondents within and between organizations. Second, the commitment-outcome component of the model is only applicable to the service company in predicting performance, turnover intentions, and extra-role behaviors but not to the manufacturing company (except extra-role behaviors of shopfloor respondents). It is suggested that managers who wish to enhance the behavioral outcomes of commitment should first test the applicability of the model to their specific organizations.
A sparse controller structure with small closed-loop roundoff noise gain

This paper investigates the roundoff noise effect in the digital controller on the closed-loop output for a discrete-time feedback control system. Based on a polynomial parametrization approach, a sparse controller structure is derived. The performance of the proposed structure is analyzed by deriving the corresponding expression of closed-loop roundoff noise gain and the problem of finding optimized sparse structures is solved. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the design procedure and the performance of the proposed structure compared with those of some existing well-known structures.
Constrained Momentum Investment

The previous literature on momentum investments has only considered the so called unconstrained momentum return. This paper will investigate budget constrained momentum returns by using two different datasets. The conclusion is that unconstrained momentum returns systematically overestimate the positive returns and underestimates the negative returns. This has not previously been understood. Such a result has important implications for applied portfolio investments and the attractiveness of such strategy.
Estimation of autonomic nervous activity toward affective human-robot interaction

The purpose of this study is to enable a communication robot to estimate emotion state of a person based on autonomic nervous activity toward human-robot ‘emotional’ interaction. In this paper, a microwave Doppler sensor is used as a non-contact technique in order to measure heart rate variability (HRV) which reflects the activity of the autonomic nervous system. The preliminary experiment was conducted to confirm whether HRV of subjects can be precisely measured by analyzing heartbeat interval (R-R interval) from the signal obtained by the microwave Doppler sensor. The result showed that HRV was fluctuated according to subject's internal state during watching different genre of videos. The subsequent experiment was carried out to investigate the influence of subject's speaking on the output signal of the sensor, and we attempted to improve the extracting accuracy of heartbeat signal even when the subject was speaking. As the result, it was confirmed that the measurement of HRV using the microwave Doppler sensor has a potential to be applicable for estimating user's internal state in human-robot interaction.
Suppression of Real Power Back Flow of Nonregenerative Cascaded H-Bridge Inverters Operating Under Faulty Conditions

When the faulty cells of a nonregenerative cascaded H-bridge inverter are bypassed, it is necessary to inject a zero-sequence voltage into the inverter phase voltages so as to achieve the maximum balanced line-to-line voltage. However, the injected zero-sequence voltage may lead to a back flow of real power (BFRP) in at least one phase so that the dc voltage will rise to an intolerable level. To solve the problem, this paper proposes a new method of generating zero-sequence voltages. This method can not only maximize the available output voltage but also suppress the BFRP effectively. The zero-sequence voltage is always limited to an appropriate range to achieve the maximum output voltage through linear modulation. Closed-loop control is used to minimize the fundamental component of the zero-sequence voltage so that the power is less likely to flow back. Compared with the conventional methods, the proposed method allows the inverter to drive a load with a lower power factor not inducing BFRP or degrading the output voltage capability. As a result, the probability of overvoltage on the dc side is reduced. The experimental results show that the proposed method is effective and feasible.
The short- and medium-term impacts of the recession on the UK income distribution

We study the short- and medium-term impacts of the recent recession on the distribution of net household income in the UK. We document trends in the distribution of income during and immediately after the economy's 6.3 per cent contraction between 2008Q1 and 2009Q2. We then use a tax and benefit microsimulation model combined with macroeconomic and demographic forecasts to project the distribution of income up to 2015-16. As in other countries, immediate impacts of the recession on net household incomes are remarkably hard to detect, but the pain was merely delayed until 2010-11 and beyond. We find that the major difference between income groups is in the timing of the reductions in income, rather than in their magnitude. For those in the middle and upper parts of the distribution, dependent mainly on labour market income, falls in real income happened largely between 2009-10 and 2011-12. For those towards the bottom, dependent more on benefit incomes, falls in real income will happen largely as a result of the post-recession fiscal tightening between 2010-11 and 2015-16. We explore the sensitivity of the results to different scenarios for employment and earnings: the central and qualitative conclusions prove robust. © 2013 Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Clinically diagnosed presenile dementia of the Alzheimer type in the Northern Health Region: ascertainment, prevalence, incidence and survival

Synopsis Potential cases of presenile dementia of the Alzheimer type (PDAT) in the Northern Health Region (estimated population aged 45–64, 655800) were ascertained for the years 1979–86 from in-patient ICD-9 codes and other sources. An algorithm was applied to the casenote information to distinguish between Alzheimer-type and other forms of dementia. A search of the NHS central register was made to establish date and place of death. Estimates were made for patients with missing case records. The point prevalence rate for PDAT was estimated as 34·6 per 100000 with an annual incidence of 7·2 per 100000 in the 45–64 age range. These rates are compared with those reported in other studies. Five-year survival following diagnosis for incident cases of PDAT was 64% with a longevity quotient (LQ), the percentage of expected time actually survived, of 69%. There was no evidence of a more malignant course in PDAT when compared with survival in older patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) in other studies. Sixty-six per cent of deaths occurred in hospital, 19% at home and 15% in residential homes.
Testing the Random Walk Behavior and Efficiency of the Gulf Stock Markets

Inferences drawn from tests of market efficiency are rendered imprecise in the presence of infrequent trading. As the observed index in thinly traded markets may not represent the true underlying index value, there is a systematic bias toward rejecting the efficient market hypothesis. For the three emerging Gulf markets examined in this paper, correction for infrequent trading significantly alters the results of market efficiency and random walk tests. The Beveridge-Nelson (1981) decomposition of index returns is done to estimate the underlying index. Copyright 2002 by the Eastern Finance Association.
Rituximab: mechanism of action and resistance.

Rituximab (Rituxan; Genentech, Inc, South San Francisco, CA, and IDEC Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA)-mediated killing of CD20-positive tumor cells is likely caused by a combination of immune-mediated effects including complement-mediated lysis and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity and direct effects induced by CD20 ligation. In vivo, the clearance of damaged or preapoptotic cells through specific receptors for phosphatidylserine translocated to the outer cell membrane may also be important. Direct effects, including growth inhibition and apoptosis, have been shown in vitro; however, their contribution to the clinical effect is not known. Currently, most data suggest that the predominant effector mechanism is antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, with a minor role of complement. With treatment, resistance to rituximab-mediated killing may emerge. Little is known regarding the molecular pathogenesis of this resistance. In rare cases, the CD20 antigen may be lost. Complement-resistance proteins may also increase, but it is not clear that this is the reason for loss of sensitivity. A better understanding of these mechanisms should allow combination therapy with agents capable of augmenting antibody-based killing.
Effects of CYP2C19 variant alleles on postclopidogrel platelet reactivity and clinical outcomes in an actual clinical setting in China

Whether the current pharmacogenetic knowledge of clopidogrel could be translated into Chinese clinical practice is yet to be defined. To address this issue, we assessed the relation of single nucleotide polymorphisms within genes modulating clopidogrel absorption (ABCB1), metabolic activation (CYP2B6, CYP2D6, CYP3A4, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19), and biologic activity (P2RY12) to the response of clopidogrel as measured by ex-vivo platelet reactivity and ischemic events during half a year of follow-up. Only CYP2C19*2 and *3, of the investigated polymorphisms, were associated with postclopidogrel platelet aggregation and the presence of high platelet reactivity. Moreover, the effect of the CYP2C19*2 versus the *3 allele on platelet reactivity did not differ. Although the carriage of one or two CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles, irrespective of the CYP2C19*2 or *3 allele, increased the propensity for high platelet reactivity, only the two loss-of-function allele carriage was associated with clinical outcome in the first 6 months.
Lifelong learning and SMEs: issues for research and policy

Research evidence suggests that SMEs are significantly less likely than larger employers to provide or fund formal training leading to qualifications for employees. The training (or more accurately learning) that does take place in most SMEs tends to be informal, on‐the‐job and related to short‐term business objectives or problems. There are strong arguments to suggest that this type of approach is perfectly rational from the point of view of the small business, but may not produce the optimum level or mix of skills for the economy as a whole. Moreover, there is little convincing evidence to suggest that increased investment in formal training leads automatically to improved business performance for SMEs. Research findings raise a number of issues for policy makers and others who are trying to promote the concept of lifelong learning, and associated policy initiatives, to those who own, manage and/or work in SMEs. This paper suggests a number of directions that should be taken by researchers’ policy makers, to promote lifelong learning among SMEs.
International Spillover of Economic Fluctuations: A Dynamic Optimization Approach

After the 1990 Japanese stock market crash the Japanese economy began to stagnate whereas the U.S. economy began to expand, yet the yen tended to appreciate against the dollar. Such a phenomenon is difficult to explain in conventional models. This paper examines its mechanism using a two-country dynamic model that accommodates a liquidity trap and unemployment. If the marginal utility of consumption relative to that of liquidity declines in a country, its current account improves, which appreciates the home currency against the foreign currency. Consequently, home products lose competitiveness, causing home employment to decrease and foreign employment to increase.
The Somali Coup of 1969: the Case for Soviet Complicity

The potential for superpower confrontation on the Horn of Africa in 1977 and 1978 focused world attention on Somalia. For a few brief months, the popular press published regular accounts of President Siad Barre's military campaign in the Ogaden desert against neighbouring Ethiopia. The U.S. Department of State heralded the rôle of Soviet and Cuban advisers in the conflict. When Somalia ousted the Russian forces and abrogated the Treaty of Friendship and Co-operation with the U.S.S.R. , the move was interpreted as a major diplomatic setback for Moscow. Now, as quickly as it erupted, the news flow about the Horn has halted.
The Entropy of Health and Disease: Dementia in Canada

The object of this paper is to combine two concepts which have developed on the interface between public health and demography: health expectancy and the analysis of linkage in demographic models. The paper addresses in the general case the question: what are the marginal effects of changes in incidence or mortality rates on the expectation of life with and without a particular irreversible non-communicable disease or type of disability? A simple model of disease in a population is described and general solutions for the two components of the expectation of life are obtained. It is shown that under certain conditions the entropy of the expectation of disease free life with respect to changes in incidence can be approximated by an extension of Sullivans index. Data on dementia among elderly Canadians obtained from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging are used for illustration. (EXCERPT) (SUMMARY IN FRE)
Epithelioid sarcoma in the upper extremity.

Eighteen patients who had epithelioid sarcoma in the upper extremity were divided into two groups on the basis of treatment: marginal resection of the tumor or wide or radical resection of the tumor. Historical, demographic, histological, and staging data were recorded and were correlated with the type of treatment and the outcome. Marginal resection (excision through the reactive zone or pseudocapsule surrounding the tumor, with confirmation of a negative margin by a pathologist), with or without adjuvant therapy, led to a dismal outcome in patients who had been treated in this manner initially or secondarily (fifteen failures after seventeen procedures). Disease-free survival at ten years was significantly improved when wide resection (intracompartmental en bloc excision with a cuff of normal tissue of more than three centimeters) or radical resection was either the initial or the secondary treatment; success then was noted in nine of thirteen operations. Of twelve patients in whom a marginal resection had been done initially, three had had a recurrence, three had had a metastasis, and five had died, at a mean follow-up of seven years (range, twenty-seven months to sixteen years). At a mean follow-up of six years (range, two to fifteen years), only one of five patients in whom a secondary lesion had been treated with marginal resection was free of disease. Of the six patients who had been treated with wide or radical resection initially, none had died, one had had a recurrence, and one had had a metastasis, at a mean follow-up of seven years (range, twenty-two months to fourteen years). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)