Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Positional cloning of heart and soul reveals multiple roles for PKC lambda in zebrafish organogenesis.

BACKGROUND The Par-3/Par-6/aPKC complex is a key regulator of cell polarity in a number of systems. In Drosophila, this complex acts at the zonula adherens (adherens junctions) to establish epithelial polarity and helps to orient the mitotic spindle during asymmetric neuroblast divisions. In MDCKII cells, this complex localizes to the zonula occludens (tight junctions) and appears to regulate epithelial polarity. However, the in vivo role of this complex during vertebrate embryogenesis is not known, due to the lack of relevant mutations. RESULTS We have positionally cloned the zebrafish heart and soul (has) mutation, which affects the morphogenesis of several embryonic tissues, and show that it encodes atypical protein kinase C lambda (aPKC lambda). We find that loss of aPKC lambda affects the formation and maintenance of the zonula adherens in the polarized epithelia of the retina, neural tube, and digestive tract, leading to novel phenotypes, such as the formation of multiple lumens in the developing intestine. In addition, has mutants display defects in gut looping and endodermal organ morphogenesis that appear to be independent of the defects in epithelial polarity. Finally, we show that loss of aPKC lambda leads to defects in spindle orientation during progenitor cell divisions in the neural retina. CONCLUSIONS Our results show that aPKC lambda is required for the formation and maintenance of the zonula adherens during early epithelial development in vertebrates and demonstrate a previously undescribed yet critical role for this protein in organ morphogenesis. Furthermore, our studies identify the first genetic locus regulating the orientation of cell division in vertebrates.
Environmental management beyond the boundaries of the firm: definitions and constraints

When firms look outward and consider how issues related to the natural environment are likely to affect them directly they can distinguish two main forms of influence. One is environmental and related regulation which comes in a variety of forms. The other partly overlapping form is market influences. As firms try to adapt to these influences, either they can take an internally focused approach or they can accept that environmental impacts are related to all the stages of life a product passes through and take the inter-organizational consequences in terms of required co-operation. Pursuing inter-organizational environmental management, however, involves a choice of approaches, which are likely to vary greatly in terms of the degree of physical exchange and the cost of arranging and maintaining inter-organizational relations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Foreign Portfolio Investment and Its Impact on Indian Capital Market

This paper examines the properties of foreign portfolio investment into India in the 1990’s, particularly during the period when liberalisation measures were implemented in the financial sector. It also analyses the structure, composition and trends of foreign portfolio investment in India.The focus of this study is foreign portfolio investment is compare with other foreign capital flows to check the volatility. Foreign portfolio investment has contributed to the development of the capital market of India and thereby the development of the economy as a whole.At the same time it is also well known that foreign portfolio investment has increased the volatility of the Indian capital market. Therefore this study helps to evaluate foreign portfolio investment is favourable or unfavourable to the Indian economy.
Reproductive isolation among two interfertile Rhododendron species: low frequency of post‐F1 hybrid genotypes in alpine hybrid zones

Hybrids between the acid‐loving species Rhododendron ferrugineum and the basic soil species Rhododendron hirsutum occur on soils of intermediate pH in the European Alps. Material from two hybrid zones ~500 m apart, and also nearby populations of each parent species, was surveyed for presence/absence of 31 random amplified polymorphic DNA markers that distinguish parents. Based on morphological assessment, the material comprised 51 putative hybrids, 18 putative R. ferrugineum individuals and 26 putative R. hirsutum plants. RAPD data were analysed using a Bayesian approach implemented by the program newhybrids, and also by principal coordinates analysis. The identity of all R. ferrugineum plants examined was confirmed; however, of the putative R. hirsutum individuals examined, two were certainly and 11 possibly hybrid derivatives. Among all hybrid derivatives examined, about half were designated as F1s or a similar class, otherwise backcrosses to R. hirsutum appeared to be common whereas other hybrid classes were rare and backcrosses to R. ferrugineum possibly absent. Despite this, artificially generated seed of F2 class and backcrosses in each direction showed greater viability than one parent (R. hirsutum). Introgression from R. ferrugineum was also detected in a population that from morphology appeared to contain only R. hirsutum. Hence, the direction of backcrossing might be highly asymmetric within hybrid zones, causing unidirectional gene flow from R. ferrugineum into R. hirsutum. Conversely, the rarity of backcrosses to R. ferrugineum, F2s and later hybrid generations, which might be due to phenology effects and habitat‐mediated selection, could play a part in restricting gene flow towards R. ferrugineum.
“Pricing Dynamic Investment Fund Protection”, Hans U. Gerber and Gérard Pafumi, April 2000

Hans U. Gerber and Gerard Pafumi extend the classical results from financial economics by Black and Scholes (1973) and Merton (1973). One potentially interesting application of these results is the valuation of different types of guarantees included in many (if not most) real-world life insurance products. Here I will use the opportunity to compare the authors’ dynamic investment protection with some alternative types of guarantees, more precisely with maturity guarantees and annual minimum rate of return guarantees. To facilitate this comparison I assume that the time horizon T is a natural number representing a fixed number of years (thus disregarding T 1). I restrict attention to the dynamic fund protection presented in Section 4 of the paper, the product of which includes a guaranteed rate of return . The first product is a maturity guarantee guaranteeing an amount KT Ke at maturity T, that is, the T
Environmental NGOs and Business

Although businesses once could ignore most, if not all, environmental activists, recent indications are that firms do so today at their peril. In recent years, environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) have succeeded in influencing the operations of numerous business firms. The suggestion that a company’s actions pose a threat to human health or the natural environment can have long-term consequences for the firm’s reputation. Firms not proactive in such situations may find themselves shouldering significant corporate damage-control expenses. Only by understanding activists’concerns and what they consider red flags can the firm develop a reasonable environmental policy and strategy. At the same time, ENGOs would like to see environmental progress made more quickly and efficiently. Local, regional, and smaller national
Trade and wages in Colombia

This paper examines the impacts of real devaluation, trade liberalization and the growing relative supply of skill on wage dispersion in Colombia’s seven principal cities over 1976-1994. The Hecksher-Ohlin-Samuelson(HOS) framework predicts that while labor supply shifts and devaluation should not affect wage dispersion, trade liberalization should compress wages in LDC’s. My findings differ: growth in the supply of skills lowers, and liberalization and real devaluation raise, wage dispersion. This is not due to failure of the HOS assumptions of factor-diversified trade or that Colombia is skilled relative to the world average. The data are consistent with non-HOS assumptions where devaluation and liberalization encourage capital and embodied technical flows.
The sustainability of human populations

We live on an over‐crowded Earth whose population is 6 billion and rising. How many people can the planet feed, clothe and water? Is there a limit to the number that the earth can sustain? And have we passed that limit already? Martin Desvaux looks at the weight of our numbers.
Taking Stock at the New Millennium: A Study of Twelve Stock Markets

Illustrates the impact of major events on UK share prices/returns in the last 35 years and the time series trends of Asian stock markets. Looks at the impact of the 1997 Asian crisis on Asian financial markets from the US investor’s point of view, comparing 1994‐1999 data for the “tiger markets” with the mature markets of the USA, UK and Japan using a conservative investment strategy to “minimize the probability of loss”. Shows that a mixed portfolio gave higher returns than US domestic returns with less risk. Confirms this using the tail index based on extreme value theory; and shows that correlation has a positive relationship with volatility but a negative relationship with returns. Adds that, during stock market downturn, the increase in correlation and volatility may cancel out the benefits of diversification.
Effects of an Equalization Tax on Multinational Investments and Transfer Pricing

This paper analyzes effects of equalization tax on the decisions of a multinational company. Equalization tax is an extra corporation tax on dividend distributions to ensure that the underlying profit of a dividend has borne a tax in the corporate sector equal to the imputation credit given to the shareholder. Equalization tax is shown to increase incentives for home-country real and financial investments and for transfer pricing to shift taxable income even from low-tax countries to high-tax home-countries of the parent companies. The current EU process of exchanging the imputation system and an equalization tax for a classical system may thus have adverse tax revenue effects in the countries concerned, but improves efficiency of the global economy.
Molecular characterization of Camberwell virus and sequence variation in ORF3 of small round‐structured (Norwalk‐like) viruses

Five small round‐structured viruses (SRSVs) associated with gastroenteritis in Victoria, Australia, from January to November 1994 were examined by sequencing cDNA prepared from faecal samples using RT‐PCR. The sequence of the 3′ half (3.8 kb) of the genome of one of these viruses, Camberwell, was determined. Camberwell virus was related most closely to Bristol and Lordsdale viruses, and belonged to the genetic group of SRSVs containing Bristol, Lordsdale, Toronto, OTH‐25, Mexico, and Hawaii viruses. The amino acid identities between Camberwell and Bristol viruses for proteins encoded by ORF1 (partial), ORF2, and ORF3 were 99%, 98%, and 90%, respectively. A highly variable region in ORF3 corresponding to amino acid residues 123 to 169 (Bristol and Camberwell numbering) were identified. Short segments of ORF1 (polymerase region) and the highly variable ORF3 region was analysed for the other four viruses. The results obtained indicated the potential usefulness of the variable region in distinguishing between closely related viruses. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
'Entropy production rate' and 'entropy' for neural networks

Two new quantities for neural networks, entropy production rate and entropy, are derived. In the Hopfield neural model, Hopfield introduced a quantity, energy, and the energy minimum corresponds to a possible good solution to a problem. It is shown that the energy function does not match the physical meaning of energy in physics; a better physical interpretation can go through entropy production rate and entropy in physics. These new quantities can be further extended to general nonequilibrium open systems for neural networks. <<ETX>>
The Transfer of Training at Macro Level in Least Developed Countries: A Case Study of the ‘Brain‐Drain’ in Eritrea

Over the past four decades, governments in the least developed countries (LDCs – a categorization adopted by the United Nations) have been attempting to improve the skills and knowledge of their public servants by providing local and international training programs. Despite these training activities, however, many LDCs continue to experience acute shortages of high‐level technical and managerial skills. This is because LDCs are increasingly unable to retain trained personnel employed in the public sector, resulting in a ‘brain‐drain’. The present study critically assesses that part of a major human resource development project implemented in Eritrea, an LDC, between 1998 and 2005, which provided overseas scholarships for 674 public servants. Almost two‐thirds did not return to Eritrea, and the study seeks to establish the reasons for nonreturn. It identifies from the literature five factors that appear to influence return and examines the relationship between these and nonreturn. Economic and political conditions and lack of peace and stability were significant in explaining changes in nonreturn. The results point to the areas of change needed to enable LDCs to retain highly qualified nationals. These areas involve significant changes in government policy, but training providers themselves may be able to take some steps to minimize the lack of benefit from their human resource development investment. The conclusion is that the retention and effective utilization of trained people by LDCs remains challenging. In theoretical terms, the concern of this study can be seen as a macro‐level expression of the transfer problem.
ACTIVATION OF CYTOSOLIC PHOSPHOLIPASE A2[alpha] THROUGH NITRIC OXIDE‐INDUCED S‐NITROSYLATION: INVOLVEMENT OF INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE AND CYCLOOXYGENASE‐2

Cytosolic phospholipase A2α (cPLA2α) is the rate‐limiting key enzyme that releases arachidonic acid (AA) for eicosanoid production. This study describes that cPLA2α protein is S‐nitrosylated and its activity is enhanced by nitric oxide (NO). Forced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in human epithelial cells induced cPLA2α S‐nitrosylation, enhanced its catalytic activity and increased the release of AA. The iNOS‐induced cPLA2α activation is blocked by the specific iNOS inhibitor, 1400W. Addition of the NO donor, GSNO, to isolated cell lysates induced S‐nitrosylation of cPLA2α, in vitro. Incubation of cultured cells with the iNOS substrate L‐Arginine and NO donor significantly increased cPLA2α activity and AA release. Furthermore, COX‐2 induction or expression markedly enhanced iNOS‐induced cPLA2α S‐nitrosylation and activation, leading to 9, 23, 20 fold increase of AA release and 100, 38, 88 fold of PGE2 production in A549, SG231, and HEK293 cells, respectively, whereas COX‐2 alone leads to less than 2 fold change. These results indicate that COX‐2 has the ability to enhance iNOS‐induced cPLA2α S‐nitrosylation and that maximal PG synthesis is achieved by the synergistic interaction among iNOS, cPLA2α and COX‐2. These findings disclose a novel link among cPLA2α, iNOS and COX‐2 which form a multiprotein complex leading to cPLA2α S‐nitrosylation and activation.
'A New Century of Corporatism?' Corporatism in Spain and Portugal

This article analyses the resurgence of national-level social bargaining in Portugal and Spain. It argues that this development was the result of the reorientation of the strategies of the social actors. In a new economic and political context, marked by a process of institutional learning and the increasing autonomy by unions from political parties, trade unions have supported social bargaining as a defensive strategy to retake the initiative and influence policy outcomes. The incentives leading governments and employers to agree to new social pacts reflect their failure to control wages in a relatively fragmented and decentralised wage setting. Finally, co-operation among the social actors has been helped by the emergence of state institutions for tripartite macroeconomic and social bargaining.
Music Perception by Cochlear Implant and Normal Hearing Listeners as Measured by the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the utility/possibility of using the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) test (Peretz, et al., Ann N Y Acad Sci, 999, 58–75) to assess the music perception abilities of cochlear implant (CI) users. Design: The MBEA was used to measure six different aspects of music perception (Scale, Contour, Interval, Rhythm, Meter, and Melody Memory) by CI users and normal-hearing (NH) listeners presented with stimuli processed via CI simulations. The spectral resolution (number of channels) was varied in the CI simulations to determine: (a) the number of channels (4, 6, 8, 12, and 16) needed to achieve the highest levels of music perception and (b) the number of channels needed to produce levels of music perception performance comparable with that of CI users. Results: CI users and NH listeners performed higher on temporal-based tests (Rhythm and Meter) than on pitch-based tests (Scale, Contour, and Interval)—a finding that is consistent with previous research studies. The CI users’ scores on pitch-based tests were near chance. The CI users’ (but not NH listeners’) scores for the Memory test, a test that incorporates an integration of both temporal-based and pitch-based aspects of music, were significantly higher than the scores obtained for the pitch-based Scale test and significantly lower than the temporal-based Rhythm and Meter tests. The data from NH listeners indicated that 16 channels of stimulation did not provide the highest music perception scores and performance was as good as that obtained with 12 channels. This outcome is consistent with other studies showing that NH listeners listening to vocoded speech are not able to use effectively F0 cues present in the envelopes, even when the stimuli are processed with a large number (16) of channels. The CI user data seem to most closely match with the 4- and 6-channel NH listener conditions for the pitch-based tasks. Conclusions: Consistent with previous studies, both CI users and NH listeners showed the typical pattern of music perception in which scores are higher on tests measuring the perception of temporal aspects of music (Rhythm and Meter) than spectral (pitch) aspects of music (Scale, Contour, and Interval). On that regard, the pattern of results from this study indicates that the MBEA is a suitable test for measuring various aspects of music perception by CI users.
Study on the structure of “Internet of Things(IOT)” business operation support platform

The main contribution of this paper is to propose the structure of Internet of Things(IOT) business operation support platform(BOSP). The paper introduces the development of IOT, and focuses on carriers that play leader role in IOT industry chain. The importance of building BOSP for carriers is pointed out after analyzing their demands on operating IOT services. The proposed BOSP is formed by access layer, devices management layer, and ability formation layer. Access layer provides multi-networking capability over ubiquitous networks. Devices management layer offers convenient measures to monitor and control massive devices. Ability formation layer creates capabilities to quickly build networks and fulfill applications.
Small cell dynamic TDD transmissions in heterogeneous networks

Future wireless communication systems feature heterogeneous networks (HetNets), with small cells underlying existing macrocells. In order to maximize the off-loading benefits of small cells and mitigate the interference from the macrocell tier to the small cell tier, cell range expansion (CRE) and almost blank subframes (ABSs) have been designed for small cells and macrocells, respectively. Besides, enhanced 4th generation (4G) networks are also envisaged to adopt dynamic time division duplexing (TDD) transmissions for small cells to adapt their communication service to the fast variation of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) traffic demands. However, up to now, it is still unclear whether it is technically feasible to introduce dynamic TDD into HetNets. In this paper, we investigate this fundamental problem and propose a feasible scheme to enable small cell dynamic TDD transmissions in HetNets. Simulation results show that compared with the static TDD scheme with CRE and ABS operations, the proposed scheme can achieve superior performance gains in terms of DL and UL packet throughputs when the traffic load is low to medium, at the expense of introducing the DL-to-UL interference cancellation (IC) functionality in macrocell base stations (BSs) and/or small cell BSs.
Better Monetary Control May Decrease the Distortion of Stabilisation Policy: A Comment

Higher uncertainty about the effects of policy instruments reduces a policymaker's inclination to actively engage in shaping economic policy. If a credibility problem exists, then this is beneficial. However, in the case where the policymaker has private information about an economic shock, higher uncertainty is costly. Hence, the policymaker faces a trade-off when he decides on the degree of control of monetary instruments. It is shown that the optimal degree of uncertainty about the effects of policy depends on the economic preferences of the policymaker and the magnitude of the variance of the shock which is private information. Copyright 1997 by The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics.
Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in Action

Cross Site Scripting (XSS) is the most common security vulnerability that can be found in web applications of today. Any web application that is generating an output based on the user’s input but without validating the content is virtually exposed to XSS. The user input validation by filtering and escaping is the most effective way to prevent the XSS attacks.
Influence of Warm Ischemia on Isolation and Primary Culture of Hepatocytes from Rat Liver for a Hybrid Artificial Liver

To assess the possibility of using hepatocytes from ischemic liver, as a bioreactor of a hybrid artificial liver, we investigated the influence of warm ischemia on the isolation and culture of hepatocytes in rats. Warm ischemia was induced by clamping the liver hilus and the animals were divided into 3 groups according to the duration of ischemia: group A (no ischemia), group B (10 minutes) and group C (20 minutes). Hepatocytes were isolated by the collagenase perfusion method and cultured for 5 days. The yield and viability of the isolated hepatocytes were lower in group C. Rate of attachment was decreased as the duration of ischemia increased. There was no significant difference observed in functions in culture. Sufficient hepatocytes, as a bioreactor, can be isolated and cultured from warm ischemic liver within 10 minutes. Though the number of available hepatocytes were diminished, hepatocytes procured from longer warm ischemic liver could be utilized as a bioreactor.
Abiraterone acetate for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer post-docetaxel

Abiraterone acetate (AA) 1000-mg daily, a selective irreversible androgen biosynthesis inhibitor of cytochrome P450 c17 (CYP17) enzyme, is used in combination with prednisone 10-mg daily to treat docetaxel-treated patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Several studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of this compound in men with mCRPC. Interim results from a randomized Phase III study in CRPC patients previously treated with docetaxel demonstrated an improvement in overall survival (OS) for the AA–prednisone group versus the placebo–prednisone group (14.8 vs 10.9 months; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.646, p < 0.001). An updated survival analysis showed an improvement in median OS in the treatment group (15.8 vs 11.2 months, HR = 0.740, p < 0.0001). The objective is to critically analyse the emerging role of AA as novel, orally administered androgen synthesis inhibitor and its place for treatment of mCRPC patients following failure of docetaxel chemotherapy. This manuscript.