Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long‐Term Survival of Photoreceptors Transplanted into the Adult Murine Neural Retina Requires Immune Modulation

Stem cell therapy presents an opportunity to replace photoreceptors that are lost as a result of inherited and age‐related degenerative disease. We have previously shown that murine postmitotic rod photoreceptor precursor cells, identified by expression of the rod‐specific transcription factor Nrl, are able to migrate into and integrate within the adult murine neural retina. However, their long‐term survival has yet to be determined. Here, we found that integrated Nrl.gfp+ve photoreceptors were present up to 12 months post‐transplantation, albeit in significantly reduced numbers. Surviving cells had rod‐like morphology, including inner/outer segments and spherule synapses. In a minority of eyes, we observed an early, marked reduction in integrated photoreceptors within 1 month post‐transplantation, which correlated with increased numbers of amoeboid macrophages, indicating acute loss of transplanted cells due to an inflammatory response. In the majority of transplants, similar numbers of integrated cells were observed between 1 and 2 months post‐transplantation. By 4 months, however, we observed a significant decrease in integrated cell survival. Macrophages and T cells were present around the transplantation site, indicating a chronic immune response. Immune suppression of recipients significantly increased transplanted photoreceptor survival, indicating that the loss observed in unsuppressed recipients resulted from T cell‐mediated host immune responses. Thus, if immune responses are modulated, correctly integrated transplanted photoreceptors can survive for extended periods of time in hosts with partially mismatched H‐2 haplotypes. These findings suggest that autologous donor cells are optimal for therapeutic approaches to repair the neural retina, though with immune suppression nonautologous donors may be effective. STEM CELLS 2010;28:1997–2007
QTL architecture of resistance and tolerance traits in Arabidopsis thaliana in natural environments

Quantitative‐genetic approaches have offered significant insights into phenotypic evolution. However, quantitative‐genetic analyses fail to provide information about the evolutionary relevance of specific loci. One complex and ecologically relevant trait for plants is their resistance to herbivory because natural enemies can impose significant damage. To illustrate the insights of combined molecular and ecological research, we present the results of a field study mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance and tolerance to natural rabbit herbivory in the genetic model, Arabidopsis thaliana. Replicates of the Ler × Col recombinant inbred lines were planted into field sites simulating natural autumn and spring seasonal germination cohorts. Shortly after flowering, herbivores removed the main flowering inflorescence (apical meristem). We found several main‐effect QTL for resistance within each seasonal cohort and significant QTL–season interactions, demonstrating that the loci underlying resistance to a single herbivore differ across seasonal environments. The presence of QTL × environment also shows that variation at specific loci is only available to selection in some environments. Despite significant among‐line variance components, no QTL for tolerance were detected. The combined results of the quantitative‐genetic and QTL analyses demonstrate that many loci of small effect underlie tolerance to damage by rabbits, and counter the hypothesis of locus‐specific tradeoffs between resistance and tolerance. The results also provide insights as to the locus‐specific nature of evolutionary constraints, i.e. some loci influence flowering time and resistance in both seasonal cohorts. Our results show how linking molecular‐genetic tools with field studies in ecologically relevant settings can clarify the role of specific loci in the evolution of quantitative traits.
The importance of early academic career opportunities and gender differences in promotion rates

Based on previous studies it has been found that women have a smaller chance than men of attaining professorships. It has also been found that gender differences in career development have been observed in many different countries. This study aims to contribute to these discussions by analyzing the extent to which gender differences in career development can be explained by early career opportunities, specifically the prestigious postdoctoral fellowship which is particular to the Swedish university system. This study concluded that women and men have the same probability to achieve a postdoctoral fellowship and that among men and women who have achieved this we observed that they had equal chances of becoming professors. However, it was also shown that women are substantially worse off than men for the study group of those who have not achieved a postdoctoral fellowship. This indicates that a meritocratic system does not seem do discriminate against women whereas as vacancy system seems to do so.
The constitution of a European immigration policy domain: a political sociology approach

At the 1999 Tampere summit, EU member states committed themselves to developing a comprehensive immigration and asylum policy. Although directives harmonizing border controls or anti-discrimination instruments have been adopted, it remains an incomplete and complex European policy area. This article seeks to explain the timing, form and content of this new domain. It combines the insights of March and Olsen's "garbage can' model with a sociological approach that emphasizes power competition among actors in the same field. Diverse actors have seized upon EU opportunities. Law and order officials in charge of migration control seeking to gain autonomy in intergovernmental settings linked their action to the single market and transnational crime. NGOs providing expertise to Commission units seeking competence in non-economic areas jumped on the "social exclusion' bandwagon by proposing anti-discrimination legislation. These developments - superimposed on policies regarding free movement of workers and services - are thus often contradictory and adhocratic.
RELATION BETWEEN THE KARYOPYKNOTIC INDEX AND PLASMA OESTROGEN CONCENTRATIONS AFTER THE MENOPAUSE

The karyopyknotic index correlated significantly (p <0.001) with the plasma oestradiol but not plasma oestrone concentration in 38 postmenopausal women. This ties in with previous findings that postmenopausal women with superficial dyspareunia have a more severe degree of vaginal atrophy than asymptomatic women, and that oestradiol is probably more important biologically than oestrone.
Innovation, spillovers, and university-industry collaboration: An extended knowledge production function approach

This paper analyses the effect of knowledge spillovers from academic research on regional innovation. Spillovers are localized to the extent that the underlying mechanisms are geographically bounded. However, university-industry collaboration - as one of the carriers of knowledge spillovers - is not limited to the regional scale. Consequently, we expect spillovers to take place over longer distances. The effect of university-industry collaboration networks on knowledge spillovers is modelled using an extended knowledge production function framework applied to regions in the Netherlands. We find that the impact of academic research on regional innovation is mediated not only by geographical proximity but also by social networks stemming from collaboration networks.
Quantifying entrepreneurship and its impact on local economic performance: A spatial assessment in rural Switzerland

Regional and rural development policies in Europe increasingly emphasize entrepreneurship to mobilize the endogenous economic potential of rural territories. This study develops a concept to quantify entrepreneurship as place-dependent local potential to examine its impact on the local economic performance of rural territories in Switzerland. The short-to-medium-term impact of entrepreneurship on the economic performance of 1706 rural municipalities in Switzerland is assessed by applying three spatial random effects models. Results suggest a generally positive relationship between entrepreneurship and local development: rural municipalities with higher entrepreneurial potential generally show higher business tax revenues per capita and a lower share of social welfare cases among the population, although the impact on local employment is less clear. The explanatory power of entrepreneurship in all three models, however, was only moderate. This finding suggests that political expectations of fostering entrepreneurship to boost endogenous rural development in the short-to-medium term should be damped.
The value of life extension and the marginal rate of time preference: a pilot study

The aim of this paper is to introduce and test a new approach for the measurement of the marginal rate of time preference for life-years gained based on contingent valuation techniques. A simple binary willingness to pay question is administered in a general public sample of two age groups (34-5 years and 64-5 years). In this pilot study, the estimated marginal rate of time preference is 1.3%.
The Spanish automotive industry: scale economies and input relationships

This paper investigates the existence of economies of scale in the Spanish automobile industry as well as the substitution possibilities between input pairs and the direct and cross price elasticities of demand for the various inputs by estimating a translog cost function for both a three input model involving capital, labour, and intermediate goods as well as a four input model where energy is separated from other intermediate goods. The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis of economies of scale in the Spanish automobile industry, particularly at the low and mean levels of output. These results also are consistent with the hypothesis that capital is a substitute for the other inputs, but that labour and intermediate goods are complements. Labour and energy also appear to have a complementary relationship over most of the data points in this study. The significance of a complementary relationship between labour and intermediate goods is that any attempt by the Spanish government to restrict imports of these inputs, resulting in higher domestic prices for them, may aggravate an already serious domestic unemployment problem.
An alternative theoretical approach to the evaluation of liner shipping Part II. Choice criteria

The article examines the assessment of shippers' attitudes, using factor analysis and identifying speed and reliability as the largest common attitudinal dimensions in carrier choice decisions in the freight market. Other important factors identified include: assistance in changing rate classifications; total transit time; honoring of routing requests from shipper; knowledge of the shipper's needs; and reputation for reliability.
The Contraction of Collective Bargaining in Britain

Collective bargaining has been transformed since the Donovan Commission reported. Their prescription for reform has been fulfilled by both the decline in multi-employer agreements and the greater control exercised by the single-employer agreements that have displaced them. It has, however, been confounded by the substantial contraction in the coverage of collective agreements, the narrowing in the scope of bargaining, the decline in the depth of union involvement and the erosion of unions' organizational security. In so far as this has been caused by the recent reversal of government policy towards collective bargaining, it cannot be assumed to be permanent.
Experiences of ethnic minority immigrant women entrepreneurs in contrast to male counterparts

The incidence of ethnic women entrepreneurs has risen in modern multi-cultural societies as women from ethnic minority immigrant backgrounds seek greater economic and societal recognition. Many migrant-receiving countries seek to support this entrepreneurial behaviour, but the difficulty lies in the often different roads travelled by immigrant entrepreneurs with respect to ethnicity, gender, value systems, and cultural heritages. This study considered the migration, settlement, cultural and business issues as they present themselves in different forms, depending on a complex and dynamic combination of ethnic women immigrant entrepreneurs' characteristics and the receiving country's socio-economic infrastructure. The study then compares these issues with male counterparts. The findings confirm that ethnic women immigrant entrepreneurs display many of the classic entrepreneurial traits and attributes of migrant peoples, but also many of the gender challenges. Significant differences between ethnic women immigrant entrepreneurs and their male counterparts were also identified, such as motivations, business types, and competencies.
Involving British line managers in HRM in a small non‐profit work organisation

Purpose – The paper seeks to detail the formal and informal aspects of involving line managers in human resource management (HRM). Design/method/approach – The investigation was conducted by interviewing line managers at one work organisation.Findings – Formally, line managers state that they accept their HR roles, are competent in HRM, and have time/support to do it effectively, but informally do not place much reliance on written HR policies, revealing a degree of “loose coupling” between the formal/informal elements of their involvement in HRM.Research limitations/implications – Future research could ascertain if the findings herein on the formal and informal development of managers by their seniors and peers in HRM are common to other work organisations. Limitations are that this is a single case relying on qualitative data, meaning issues of generalisability of findings arise.Practical implications – It may be of benefit to discover to what extent the informal internal networks line managers use to ma.
Treatment outcome in subgroups of uncooperative child dental patients: an exploratory study.

OBJECTIVES The principal aims of this study were to evaluate the treatment outcome in subgroups of uncooperative child dental patients and to test the validity of these subgroups, which were based on fear and personality characteristics. DESIGN An exploratory, intervention study using quantified questionnaire, interview and observation data. SAMPLE AND METHODS Eighty-six 4 to 12-year-old uncooperative child dental patients (of whom 81 were divided retrospectively into four subgroups) and their accompanying parents were followed up during treatment at a specialist paediatric dental clinic in Sweden. Treatment was based on behaviour management techniques, supported by nitrous oxide/oxygen sedation if necessary. At baseline, parents answered a questionnaire including questions on child dental and general fear, temperament and behaviour, and parental dental fear, emotional stress, locus of control, parenting efficacy and attitudes to dental care, some of which were repeated post-treatment. The treating dentist rated child behaviour according to the acceptance of a maximum of 14 treatment steps at each visit. RESULTS Approximately 90% of all children managed to undergo the dental treatment. Child dental fear and parental emotional stress decreased during treatment. Externalizing, impulsive children showed lower acceptance. In fearful, inhibited children, integrated use of sedation appeared to facilitate acceptance. Validity of the subgroups characterized as 'fearful, extrovert, outgoing', 'fearful, inhibited' and 'externalizing, impulsive' was supported, while heterogeneity within the group of 'non-fearful, extrovert, outgoing' children made validation difficult. CONCLUSION Fear and personality characteristics may serve as diagnostic aids when planning treatment of uncooperative child dental patients. Controlled outcome studies using differentiated treatment methods for children with different fear and personality profiles are needed.
Use of Fully Biodegradable Panels to Reduce Derelict Pot Threats to Marine Fauna

Fishing pots (i.e., traps) are designed to catch fish or crustaceans and are used globally. Lost pots are a concern for a variety of fisheries, and there are reports that 10–70% of deployed pots are lost annually. Derelict fishing pots can be a source of mortality for target and bycatch species for several years. Because continual removal of derelict gear can be impractical over large spatial extents, modifications are needed to disarm gear once it is lost. We tested a fully biodegradable panel with a cull or escape ring designed for placement on the sides of a crab pot that completely degrades into environmentally neutral constituents after approximately 1 year. This panel is relatively inexpensive, easy to install, and can be used in multiple fisheries. We used the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) fishery as a test case because it is a large pot fishery and blue crab pots are similar to traps used in other pot fisheries. We had commercial fishers deploy pots with panels alongside standard pots in Chesapeake Bay (U.S.A.) to assess potential effects of our experimental pots on blue crab catch. We compared the number, biomass, and size of crabs captured between standard and experimental pots and evaluated differences in catch over a crabbing season (March–November) at five locations. There was no evidence that biodegradable panels adversely affected catch. In all locations and time periods, legal catches were comparable in abundance, biomass, and size between experimental and standard pots. Properly designed biodegradable panels appear to be a viable solution to mitigate adverse effects of derelict pots.
Tuition Fees and the Dual Income Tax: The Optimality of the Nordic Income Tax System Reconsidered

Abstract We examine the optimal tax and education policy in the case of a dual income tax. Incorporating an educational sector and endogenous capital taxation, we show that the results in Nielsen and Sørensen’s study are vulnerable with respect to assumptions on the elasticity of unskilled labor supply. Tax progressivity results residually, whereas educational policy guarantees an optimal tax wedge on, but not necessarily efficiency in, educational investment. The less elastic are the unobservable educational investment and skilled labor (the latter relative to unskilled labor supply), and the more educational policy cares about the skilled labor supply, the more progressive the tax system will be. Education will be subsidized on a net basis if the complementarity effect on the skilled labor supply is strong and important; however, there is also an offsetting substitutability effect of the unskilled labor supply at play.
Exploration Versus Acquisition: A Comparison of First-Time and Repeat Visitors

This article reports on a study of the motives for visiting and intended activities of first-time and repeat pleasure tourists to Hong Kong. The study revealed significant differences in motivation that resulted in the intention to participate in different activities. First-time visitors were motivated to visit Hong Kong to explore, while repeat visitors came to consume. First-time visitors intended to participate in a wide range of geographically dispersed activities, while repeat visitors intended to shop, dine, and spend time with family and friends.
Adaptive Transmission Bandwidth Based Packet Scheduling for LTE Uplink

UTRAN long term evolution is currently under standardization within 3GPP with the aim of providing a spectral efficiency 2 to 4 times higher than its predecessor HSUPA/HSDPA release 6. Single carrier FDMA has been selected as multiple access for the uplink. This technology requires the subcarriers allocated to a single user to be adjacent. The consequence is a reduced allocation flexibility which makes it challenging to design effective packet scheduling algorithms. This paper proposes a channel aware packet scheduling algorithm which exploits the bandwidth flexibility offered by the system to perform an allocation which closely resembles the frequency domain envelope of the metric to be optimized. Compared to a fixed bandwidth approach, the proposed algorithm provides a greater flexibility given the inbuilt adaptation to different scenarios and loads, as well as an improvement in term of performance for the Macro 3 case. In this case the uplink capacity is increased by approximately 20% in average cell throughput and 10% in UE outage compared to a fixed bandwidth channel aware approach.
Expressive and Enforceable Information Security Policies

Declassification and erasure are both common, and often crucial, security requirements. Declassification occurs when the confidentiality of information is weakened; erasure occurs when the confidentiality of information is strengthened, perhaps to the point of completely removing the information from the system. This dissertation presents and explores a framework for declassification and erasure information security policies, and it shows how these policies can help in building trustworthy systems. First, this dissertation demonstrates that the declassification and erasure policies can be provably enforced. It presents a type system that, in conjunction with run-time mechanisms, can enforce the declassification and erasure policies on information from the start of the program until its termination, regardless of how the information propagates through the system, or where it enters and leaves. The dissertation defines a novel, precise, end-to-end semantic security condition, noninterference according to policy, and proves that all well-typed programs satisfy it. Thus, enforcement of declassification and erasure policies provides well-defined security guarantees. Second, this dissertation investigates declassification and erasure in the presence of mutual distrust: the principals with a security concern in the system do not necessarily trust each other. Mutual distrust is pervasive. The dissertation defines decentralized robustness, a semantic security condition that ensures that each principal is convinced declassification and erasure occur only at appropriate times, regardless of the actions of principals he distrusts. A type system to enforce decentralized robustness is presented. Finally, this dissertation demonstrates the practicality of declassification and erasure policies. The enforcement mechanisms for the policies and decentralized robustness are incorporated into the Jif programming language (an extension of the Java programming language with information-flow control). The resulting language is used to implement a secure remote voting system. The use of erasure and declassification policies provides additional assurance that the voting system implementation satisfies some of its security requirements.