Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The world refuses to shrink: the speed and reliability of information transmission in North and Baltic Sea region, 1750–1825

A sample of merchant letters is used to measure the speed and reliability of information transmission at the end of the preindustrial era. Some previous informal studies suggested no improvements in information transmission in this period. The present study confirms this opinion. Considering technological capabilities, the communication between the major North and Baltic Sea region commercial centers was already relatively fast and remarkably regular in the 1750s and did not improve until the 1820s. The speed and reliability of transmission was limited on maritime postal routes, and by an inability to integrate the smaller trading centers into the national postal service network.
Intrinsic defect in B-lymphoblastoid cell lines from patients with X-linked lymphoproliferative disease type 1. II. receptor-mediated Akt/PKB and ERK1/2 activation and transcription factors expression profile.

BACKGROUND X-linked lymphoproliferative disease type 1 (XLP1) belongs to genetically determined primary immunodeficiency syndromes with mutations in SH2D1A/DSHP/SAP gene. The dramatic increase of the risk of B-cell lymphoma development in XLP1 patients is linked not only to SAP deficiency of NK, NKT and T cells, but probably to the impairment of B cell differentiation. AIM To analyze the receptor-mediated Akt/PKB and ERK1/2 phosphorylation and expression of transcription factors that are involved in B cell maturation in EBV-transformed B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (B-LCLs) from XLP1 patients (XLP B-LCLs) in comparison with conventional B-LCLs. METHODS Studies were performed on EBV-transformed XLP B-LCLs IARC 739, SC-XLP and RP-XLP in comparison with SAP-negative B-LCL T5-1 and SAP-positive B-LCL MP-1. Western blot analysis was used for evaluation of Akt (Ser473) and ERK1/2 (Thr202/Tyr204) phosphorylation in response to ligation of CD150, CD40, and IgM cell surface receptors. The expression levels of transcription factors IRF4, IRF8, BCL6, BLIMP1, SPIB, PU.1 and MITF were assessed using quantitative RT-PCR. RESULTS It was shown that SAP deficiency in XLP B-LCL did not abrogate CD150-mediated Akt and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. At the same time, ligation of CD150 or IgM affects kinetics and amplitude of ERK1/2 activation. In XLP B-LCL the CD150 signaling with IgM coligation play the dominant role in both Akt and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. We found that significantly reduced IRF4, IRF8 and PU.1 expression levels are the key features of XLP B-LCLs. CONCLUSION XLP B-LCLs and conventional B-LCLs have differences in kinetics and amplitude of Akt and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Analysis of transcription factors profile revealed the distinguishing features of XLP B-LCLs with SAP deficiency that may impair B cell differentiation.Key Words: B-lymphoblastoid cell lines, X-linked lymphoproliferative disease type 1, CD150, CD40, BCR, Akt/PKB, ERK1/2, transcription factors.
Category Labels in Similarity Judgment

When two objects carry the same category label, we tend to perceive that these objects are similar. When two objects carry different category labels, we perceive that these objects are dissimilar. How does this happen? In an attempt to clarify the effect of category labels on similarity judgments, pictures of animal tissues were presented with fictitious labels and participants judged the similarity of the pictures. The perceived similarity increased when the labels highlighted the interrelatedness of features; the effect of labels was absent when the labels did not highlight the interrelatedness of features. The results indicate that category labels help clarify inter-relationships of features, and modify our perception of similarity. When two objects carry the same category labels, people tend to think that they have features in common. When they carry different labels, people perceive that these objects have different features. How does this happen? One theory claims that verbal labels attract extra attention, and because of the attention they attract, verbal labels are particularly diagnostic in human induction (Sloutsky & Fisher, 2004). Another theory argues that category labels, unlike other feature labels, have special properties and provoke implicit assumptions about category members; as a result, category labels help integrate underlying features (Gelman & Markman, 1986; Yamauchi & Yu, 2008). In this brief article, we propose another explanation. We argue that category labels help make the interrelatedness of features transparent; in so doing, category labels modify perceived similarities. The interrelatedness among features has been known to affect various cognitive judgments, such as classification and feature inference (Goldstone, 1996). We think that category labels are special in similarity judgment because they clarify the extent to which features are inter-related. Figure 1: Sample stimuli (a. no-label, b. alphabet-label, c. cell-label conditions) Dog kidney cell Dog heart cell Dog kidney cell b. a.
Evaluation of quasi-resonant dc-link technique on generalized three-level inverter

This paper presents a combination of a quasiresonant dc-link (QRDCL) inverter and a generalized three-level inverter. QRDCL inverter can decrease the dc-link voltage to zero in order to provide a zero voltage condition for the power devices. The voltage stresses of the power devices can be released and the switching losses of the inverter can be reduced under zero-voltage switching (ZVS). Generalized multilevel inverter topology provides an alternative way in high level inverter implementation. The generalized multilevel inverter is constructed by several basic cells which enable a higher flexibility in extending the levels of inverter, and moreover it gives the inverter a self voltage balancing ability without any assistance from extra circuits. Control strategy of a generalized three-level QRDCL inverter is proposed. Switching losses of the inverters are also presented to prove the feasibility of a generalized three-level QRDCL inverter.
Joining-Up the Fight Against Undeclared Work in Europe

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to evaluate the degree to which there is cross‐national cooperation when tackling undeclared work and how the fight against undeclared work in Europe might be more effectively coordinated.Design/methodology/approach – A multi‐stage inductive approach is used involving a web survey of 104 senior government officials, trade unions and employer organisations in 31 European countries, 33 follow‐up in‐depth explanatory interviews, four two‐day focus groups in European regions involving 44 stakeholders, and a European‐wide focus group of 20 stakeholders.Findings – Collaboration between European countries is currently partial and very limited when tackling undeclared work. To more effectively collaborate, the consensus amongst the participating stakeholders is that an inclusive network of experts covering the tax, social security and labour aspects of undeclared work needs to be developed which engages in information sharing, capacity building and operational cooperation not on.
Modelling the Demand for Imports and Domestic Output

The paper models domestic output over imports in Norway's expenditure on manufactures. Using Johansen's (1988, 1991) method, we obtain a cointegrating vector between the output-imports ratio, relative prices and a proxy for international specialisation. This vector enters a conditional equilibrium correction model of the output-imports ratio; a model which also includes short-run influences of relative prices and a negative coefficient for domestic capacity utilisation. The utilisation coefficient aside, we do not find significant activity effects on the output-imports ratio. Lastly, the model passes several tests of the Lucas critique.
ets-2 Promotes the Activation of a Mitochondrial Death Pathway in Down's Syndrome Neurons

Down's syndrome (DS) is characterized by mental retardation and development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are both related to neurodegeneration in DS. Several genes in chromosome 21 have been linked to neuronal death, including the transcription factor ets-2. Cortical cultures derived from normal and DS fetal brains were used to study the role of ets-2 in DS neuronal degeneration. ets-2 was expressed in normal human cortical neurons (HCNs) and was markedly upregulated by oxidative stress. When overexpressed in normal HCNs, ets-2 induced a stereotyped sequence of apoptotic changes leading to neuronal death. DS HCNs exhibit intracellular oxidative stress and increased apoptosis after the first week in culture (Busciglio and Yankner, 1995). ets-2 levels were increased in DS HCNs, and, between 7 and 14 d in vitro, DS HCNs showed increased bax, cytoplasmic translocation of cytochrome c and apoptosis inducing factor, and active caspases 3 and 7, consistent with activation of an apoptotic mitochondrial death pathway. Degeneration of DS neurons was reduced by dominant-negative ets-2, suggesting that increased ets-2 expression promotes DS neuronal apoptosis. In the human brain, ets-2 expression was found in neurons and astrocytes. Strong ets-2 immunoreactivity was observed in DS/AD and sporadic AD brains associated with degenerative markers such as bax, intracellular Aβ, and hyperphosphorylated tau. Thus, in DS/AD and sporadic AD brains, converging pathological mechanisms leading to chronic oxidative stress and ets-2 upregulation in susceptible neurons may result in increased vulnerability by promoting the activation of a mitochondrial-dependent proapoptotic pathway of cell death.
Optimal Unemployment Insurance: A Survey

Unemployment insurance improves the allocation of risk bearing at the cost of reduced incentives for work. In the past two decades, a branch of the literature has emerged that deals with the optimal design of unemployment insurance. This literature has been influenced by ideas and methods from information economics and by theories from labor economics. The result is a collection of models designed to highlight a variety of issues pertaining to the provision of optimal unemployment insurance. This paper reviews these issues, summarizes the relevant literature, assesses its accomplishments, and points out problems that require further study.
Visualization: the bridge between commitment and control

Purpose – This paper seeks to point out that visualization of business situations will stimulate the learning processes of managers and employees. Visualization or problem modeling enhances their commitment for improving organizational readiness to perform at a higher level.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology used compares two approaches for performance improvement: the control and commitment models. From observing managerial behavior one can learn that the control model is a widely used (classic) approach. Academics point out that the model neglects the human factor too much. This prevents organizations from becoming high‐performing. The commitment model offers a solution by promoting the strong alignment of employees' personal objectives with organizational objectives. The resulting problem here is how to align performance between the various echelons rather than to align between the various objectives.Findings – It is argued that both control and commitment are important. Management should st.
INFERENCE USING QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION WITH AN APPLICATION TO MONETARY POLICY

The author proposes a framework for drawing inferences about an unobserved variable using qualitative and quantitative information. Using this framework, he studies the timing and persistence of monetary policy regimes and computes probabilistic measures of the qualitative indicator's reliability. These estimates suggest that it is over one and one-half times more likely that monetary policy is not restrictive at any point in time; John Boschen and Leonard Mills's {1995} policy index is a reliable indicator of the stance of monetary policy; and certain qualitative indicators of monetary policy improve interest rate forecasts that are based on linear forecasting models. Copyright 1998 by Oxford University Press.
Ethics and Tax Evasion: Empirical Studies of Korea, Japan and China

The ethics of tax evasion has been discussed sporadically in the theological and philosophical literature for at least 500 years. Martin Crowe wrote a doctoral thesis that reviewed much of that literature in 1944. The debate revolved around about 15 issues. Over the centuries, three main views evolved on the topic. But the public finance literature has paid scant attention to this issue, perhaps because of the belief that tax evasion is always unethical. This paper examines the tax evasion ethics data for Korea, Japan and China that was gathered as part of a much larger study on human beliefs and values. Country comparisons were made as well as comparisons based on gender, age, education, religion and marital status to determine whether views on tax evasion differ based on those demographics.
Graduate Utilisation In British Industry: The Initial Impact Of Mass Higher Education

The recent growth in higher education participation rates in Britain has been so sudden and so rapid that there is now intense public interest in its effects on graduate employment and salary prospects. Particular concern has been expressed about the development of certain phenomena associated with US-style ‘mass higher education‘, for example, an increase in the numbers of graduates who appear to be ‘under-utilised’ in jobs which have not traditionally been filled by degree-holders, and reports of apparent growth in variation in ‘quality’ of the graduates emerging from different kinds of degree course.
Aggressive bougie dilatation and intralesional steroids is effective in refractory benign esophageal strictures secondary to corrosive ingestion.

Endoscopic dilatation of corrosive esophageal strictures is effective, but some patients are refractory to it and require long-term repeated dilatations. The present study was carried out to analyze whether rigorous schedule of endoscopic bougie dilatation along with intralesional injection of triamcinolone in patients refractory to endoscopic dilatation alone could decrease the number and frequency of endoscopic dilatations. The inclusion criterion for this prospective study was patients with refractory corrosive esophageal stricture of any age group. Refractory benign esophageal stricture is defined as an anatomic fibrotic esophageal restriction with inability to achieve dilatation of ≥14 mm or to maintain dilatation for 4 weeks once ≥14 mm diameter is achieved. The patients were followed up prospectively for 1 year. Patients with refractory strictures were subjected to weekly bougie dilatation (Savary-Gilliard) of the strictures along with injections of intralesional triamcinolone (40 mg/mL, 1 mL diluted in 1 mL of saline, 0.5 mL injected per quadrant of stricture) for consecutive 5 weeks, referred to as rigorous schedule. Further dilatation was done on an 'on-demand' basis. Eleven patients were enrolled for the study. Dysphagia score improved from pre-intervention score of 3.54 ± 0.52 to 0.45 ± 0.52 post-intervention (P < 0.001). The maximum dilatation achieved pre-intervention was 9.90+1.04 mm Savary-Gilliard and post-intervention significantly improved to 14.7 + 0.7 mm Savary-Gilliard (P < 0.001). The periodic dilatation index defined as number of dilatations per month also significantly improved from pre-intervention score of 2.54 ± 1.06 to post-intervention score of 0.19 + 0.13 (P < 0.001). No adverse effects were reported by the patients. Rigorous weekly schedule of bougie dilatation and intralesional triamcinolone in combination is safe and effective in achieving significant dilatation, reducing the frequency dilatations, maintaining dilatation and improving dysphagia till 1 year of follow-up.
Interzonal Migration: Some Historical Tests of Spatial-Interaction Models

Observed migration and survival flows between counties and between standard regions are used to test alternative calibrations of a doubly constrained spatial-interaction model. Spatial variation in the propensity to migrate over distance is examined in an analysis of zone-specific decay parameters, and two methods of splitting aggregate migration flows according to reason for move are investigated. The results of the model tests for age/sex-disaggregated data underline regional variations in propensities to migrate and in mean distances migrated.
POTENSI PENERIMAAN PAJAK DARI UNDERGROUND ECONOMY DI INDONESIA

This study aims to estimate the size of underground economy activities in Indonesia. Based on the results of these estimates, further calculated the potential tax loss due to the existence of underground economy activities. This study was conducted using quantitative approaches, namely currency demand model which is estimated by ordinary least square (OLS) method. By using time series (quarterly) data period 2000 – 2009 we found that the size of underground economy is about Rp164, 4 trillion per year on average, equivalent to 6% of GDP. Meanwhile, the potential tax loss due to the activity estimated at Rp20,6 trillion on average per year, or approximately 0.69% of GDP.
A high efficiency and compact size 65nm power management module with 1.2v low-voltage PWM controller for UWB system application

This 65 nm power management module with 1.2 V low-voltage PWM controller aims to integrate with ultra-wideband (UWB) system to get high efficiency and compact size. The on-chip pre-regulator with power conditioning circuit provides a constant and noiseless supply voltage. Thus, the voltage variation of battery has less effect on the low-voltage PWM controller. The proposed compensation enhancement multistage amplifier (CEMA) increases system loop gain and stabilizes the system without off-chip compensation circuit. With excellent line/load transient response, the proposed power management has the highest efficiency about 92% and 0.995 mm2 silicon die area.
Effects of a 1.5-Day Multidisciplinary Outpatient Treatment Program for Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study

Pfeiffer A, Thompson JM, Nelson A, Tucker S, Luedtke C, Finnie S, Sletten C, Postier J: Effects of a 1.5-day multidisciplinary outpatient treatment program for fibromyalgia: A pilot study. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2003;82:186–191. Objective The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effect of a 1.5-day multidisciplinary fibromyalgia treatment program on impact of illness, depression, and life fulfillment. Design A sample of 100 consecutive enrollees in a 1.5-day multidisciplinary group outpatient fibromyalgia treatment program between February 14, 2000, and May 9, 2000, in a tertiary medical center was used for this study. The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, the Life Fulfillment and Satisfaction Scales, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale were administered to subjects immediately preceding the treatment program and by mail 1 mo after completing the program. Results The 78 subjects who returned their surveys 1 mo after treatment demonstrated significant improvement in the area of the impact of illness as measured by the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire total score (51.3–44.7, P < 0.002). There was no significant improvement in depressive symptoms (P < 0.056) or the level of life fulfillment (P < 0.53). Subjects with depression improved on the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire to the same degree as those without depression. The 22 nonresponders did not differ significantly from the responders in the variables of sex, age, pretreatment Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire score, marital status, educational level, family income, duration of symptoms, or history of depression. Conclusions These results suggest that a 1.5-day multidisciplinary fibromyalgia treatment program does have a significant positive effect on the impact of illness among patients with fibromyalgia with or without concomitant depression and may be a cost-effective model for the treatment of these patients.
The Controversial C5a Receptor C5aR2: Its Role in Health and Disease

After the discovery of the C5a receptor C5aR1, C5aR2 is the second receptor found to bind C5a and its des-arginine form. As a heptahelical G protein-coupled receptor but devoid of the intracellular Gα signal, C5aR2 is special and confusing. Ramifications and controversies about C5aR2 are under debate since its identification, from putative ligands and cellular localization to intracellular signals and pathological roles in inflammation and immunity. The ruleless and even conflicting pro- or anti-inflammatory role of C5aR2 in animal models of diverse diseases makes one bewildered. This review summarizes reports on C5aR2, tries to clear up available evidence on these four controversial aspects, and delineates C5aR2 function(s). It also summarizes available toolboxes for C5aR2 study.
Capital and Trade as Engines of Growth in France: An Application of Johansen's Cointegration Methodology

An aggregate production function is estimated using recent cointegrating techniques particularly appropriate for estimating long-run relationships. The empirical results suggest that the growth of output in France has been spurred by increased trade integration within the European Community and by the accumulation not only of business sector capital--the only measure of capital included in most empirical studies--but also by government infrastructure capital, residential capital, and research and development capital. Calculations of potential output indicate that trade and capital--broadly defined--account for all of the growth in the French economy during the past two decades.
Characterization of Th17 and FoxP3+ Treg Cells in Paediatric Psoriasis Patients

Psoriasis is one of the most common inflammatory skin conditions affecting both children and adults. Growing evidence indicates that T‐helper 17 (Th17) cells and CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (Treg) cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. However, the relationship between Th17 and Treg cells and their dynamic variations in paediatric psoriasis remain unclear. In this study, we found that both Th17 and FoxP3+ Treg cells and the ratio of Th17 to Treg cell frequency in the peripheral circulation were increased in patients with paediatric psoriasis and were positively correlated with the disease severity. The function of Treg to suppress CD4+CD25− T cell proliferation and IFN‐γ secretion was impaired during the onset of psoriasis. After disease remission, both the Th17 and Treg cell frequencies were decreased, and the suppressive function of the Treg cells was obviously restored. However, neither Treg cells from the disease onset nor those after remission can regulate IL‐17 secretion by CD4+ T cells. These findings will further our understanding of the associations between Th17 and Treg cells in paediatric psoriasis and their influence on disease severity.