Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Advantage of Incumbency in House Elections

This article offers another perspective on the electoral advantage of incumbents in House elections. The explanation (or theory) builds on the contributions of Richard Fenno, Morris Fiorina, David Mayhew, and Anthony Downs. The basic premise is that the electoral advantage enjoyed by House incumbents is a function of their ability to focus constituent attention on aspects of their job performance, or characteristics related to job performance, that produce favorable impressions of their overall performance. Incumbents are able to focus constituent attention, because they exercise a great deal of control over the dissemination of information about themselves. Since congressional elections are low information contests, the voting decision is reduced to a vote for, or against, change. Voters are likely to vote against change-electoral support for incumbents—because the information they receive about (and from) the incumbent convinces them that their congressman is doing a good job in looking after the interests of the district; they also fear that the challenger might do a worse, rather than a better, job than the incumbent in looking after the district.
Corporate Public Affairs: Commitment, Resources, and Structure

Using resource dependency and institutional theories, we create and test a model examining the relationships among senior management commitment, resource allocations, and the structure of public affairs departments. Using a large sample of U.S.-based firms, we find a positive relationship between senior management commitment to the public affairs function and the level of human and monetary resources allocated to the public affairs department. Furthermore, firms structure their public affairs responsibilities into three common activity sets: communications, collaborations, and local activities. These common activities are, in turn, positively associated with senior management commitment and resources allocated to the public affairs department.
DNA-dependent transregulation by IE1 of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus: IE1 domains required for transactivation and DNA binding

IE1 is the principal early transregulator of Autographa californica multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV). The 582-residue protein stimulates viral transcription and binds as a dimer to 28-bp palindromic repeats (28-mers) comprising the AcMNPV homologous region (hr) transcription enhancers. To define IE1 domains responsible for hr-dependent transactivation, we first constructed a series of IE1 fusions to the DNA binding domain of the yeast GAL4 transactivator. In transfection assays, GAL4-IE1 fusions stimulated transcription from a TATA-containing AcMNPV promoter only upon cis linkage to GAL4 DNA binding sites. IE1 N-terminal residues 8 to 118 were sufficient for GAL4-binding-site-dependent transactivation. To identify IE1 residues required for hr interaction, we tested a series of IE1 mutations for 28-mer binding by using electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Deletion of IE1 residues other than the N-terminal transactivation domain eliminated 28-mer binding. Of 14 insertion mutations, only IE1(I425) and IE1(I553) failed to bind the 28-mer either as homodimers or as heterodimers with functional IE1. In contrast to insertion IE1(I425), IE1(I553) also failed to compete with wild-type IE1 for DNA binding and suggested a defect in oligomerization. Consistent with loss of oligomerization, substitutions within a hydrophobic repeat (residues 543 to 568) at the IE1 C terminus abolished 28-mer binding and demonstrated that this helix-loop-helix-like domain is required for DNA interaction. These data confirm that IE1 contains separable domains for transactivation and oligomerization-dependent DNA binding. Furthermore, they support a model wherein hr-mediated transactivation by IE1 involves sequence-specific DNA binding that contributes to transcriptional stimulation by interaction with components of the basal transcription complex.
Exchange Rate Pass - Through in Algeria

This paper examines the exchange rate pass-through on producer and consumer price indexes in the Algerian economy through an empirical analysis using a VAR Model (Vector Autoregressive Model) upon quarterly data for the 2002-2011. The empirical findings show that the consumer price increases in response to an appreciate foreign exchange rates against the Algerian Dinar, while the pass-through of Euro against the Algeria Dinar exchange rate is ‘complete’ and more increasing in the time horizon compared the pass-through of US dollar /DZ exchange rate. In the contrast, the exchange rate pass-through involves a negligible reaction on producer price index (PPI). In the second step of the variance decomposition estimate, the magnitude contribution of demand shocks to explain CPI and PPI change is ranges from 50% and 17% after thirty quarterly respectively, whereas supply shock (oil price) continue to contribute largely to CPI fluctuations (30%) and quite modestly to PPI (5%). For the main explanations can be explain these results are consist firstly by an increase in world commodity prices and dismantling Algerian trade barriers after entered into force of the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association without mentioning that this union is the largest trading partner about ½ of the Algerian imports. Moreover, the quite modest of pass-through on producer prices clearly reflect the Dutch Disease effect on Algeria economy and highlighted how the manufacture sectors is underdeveloped, while it’s emphasizes how the policy maker help to swell the Algerian imports instead of trying to curtailment by replacing with domestic production. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015. v6n2p195
The Agreement on the Guarani Aquifer: a new paradigm for transboundary groundwater management?

Transboundary water-resources management is usually characterized by prior existence of conflicts. The Agreement on Guarani Aquifer, signed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, is one of the few treaties signed in a precautionary context. Although the Plata Basin has faced many conflicts regarding surface waters, there are no conflicts in the use of shared groundwater. This paper focuses on analyzing the structure of this agreement and its capacity to prevent future conflicts and deepen the cooperation between the states.
Outward potassium currents activated by depolarization in rat globus pallidus

Voltage‐dependent potassium currents play a key role in shaping the firing pattern of central neurons. Their pharmacological and physiological identification is rather important in the structures which are involved in the filtering of inputloutput messages. In this regard, globus pallidus external segment (GPe) is indicated as a crucial station in the well‐known indirect pathway of the basal ganglia. Among the potassium conductances which have been indicated to condition the firing behavior and the neuronal integrative properties in many central neurons, we analysed the depolarization‐activated ones by means of patchclamp recordings in the whole‐cell configuration. Two main families of calcium‐independent outward potassium currents are activated by depolarization in GPe neurons acutely isolated from the adult rat. From depolarized holding potentials (−50/−45 mV), a slowly‐activating, sustained current is evoked; it manifests very little inactivation and it is available at rather depolarized potentials (−30 mV/−20 mV). This current is relatively resistant to 4‐aminopyridine (4‐AP)but it is blocked by tetraethilammonium ions (TEA) and consequently it resembles delayed rectifier current (Ik). From negative holding potentials (−8O/−lOO mV), on the other hand, A‐like conductances are activated. Together with a fast‐inactivating transient current, another component is observed in a significant proportion of recordings (45%). This current shows half‐inactivation voltage around −90 mV, peculiar sensitivity to micromolar doses of 4‐AF' and a slow rate of recovery from inactivation. The presence and the modulation of these A‐like currents may be a very critical aspect in the membrane physiology of pallidal neurons. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Constructive Proof that Learning in Repeated Games Leads to Nash Equilibria

This paper extends the convergence result in Kalai and Lehrer (1993a, 1993b) to a class of games where players have a payoff function continuous for the product topology. Provided that 1) every player maximizes her expected payoff against her own beliefs, 2) every player updates her beliefs in a Bayesian manner, and 3) prior beliefs of other players' strategies have a grain of truth, we construct a Nash equilibrium such that, after some finite time, the equilibrium outcome of the above game is arbitrarily close to the constructed Nash equilibrium.
Macrophage depletion impairs skeletal muscle regeneration: The roles of regulatory factors for muscle regeneration

Though macrophages are essential for skeletal muscle regeneration, which is a complex process, the roles and mechanisms of the macrophages in the process of muscle regeneration are still not fully understood. The objective of this study is to explore the roles of macrophages and the mechanisms involved in the regeneration of injured skeletal muscle. One hundred and twelve C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into muscle contusion and macrophages depleted groups. Their gastrocnemius muscles were harvested at the time points of 12 h, 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 d post‐injury. The changes in skeletal muscle morphology were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) stain. The gene expression was analyzed by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. The data showed that CL‐liposomes treatment did affect the expression of myogenic regulatory factors (MyoD, myogenin) after injury. In addition, CL‐liposomes treatment decreased the expression of regulatory factors of muscle regeneration (HGF, uPA, COX‐2, IGF‐1, MGF, FGF6) and increased the expression of inflammatory cytokines (TGF‐β1, TNF‐α, IL‐1β, RANTES) in the late stage of regeneration. Moreover, there were significant correlations between macrophages and some regulatory factors (such as HGF, uPA) for muscle regeneration. These results suggested that macrophages depletion impairs skeletal muscle regeneration and that the regulatory factors for muscle regeneration may play important roles in this process.
House Dust Mite-Derived Chitin Enhances Th2 Cell Response to Inhaled Allergens, Mainly via a TNF-α-Dependent Pathway

Purpose Chitin is a potent adjuvant in the development of immune response to inhaled allergens in the airways. According to other studies, chitin is known as multi-faced adjuvants which can induce Th2 responses. Recently, we found that TNF-α is a key mediator in the development of Th2 cell response to inhaled allergens. Here, we evaluated the immunologic mechanisms in the development of airway hypersensitivity to inhaled allergens, enhanced by house dust mite (HDM)-derived chitin. Methods The role of TNF-α and TLRs was evaluated in an airway hypersensitivity mouse model induced by a sensitization with an allergen (ovalbumin, OVA) and HDM-derived chitin using mice with the null mutation of target genes. Results The present study showed that airway sensitization with HDM-derived chitin plus OVA enhanced OVA-induced airway inflammation v. OVA alone. This phenotype was associated with the increased expression of Th1, Th2, and Th17 cytokines and also with the enhanced production of OVA-specific IgE, IgG1, and IgG2a. As for T cell responses, OVA-specific Th2 cell response, enhanced by chitin, was abolished by the treatment of chitinase, whereas Th1 and Th17 cell responses enhanced by this treatment. Moreover, the null mutation of the TNF-α gene revealed similar effects as the chitinase treatment. In contrast, all the OVA-specific T cell responses, enhanced by chitin, were blocked by the absence of TLR2, but not of TLR1, TLR4, or TLR6. Conclusions In conclusion, these data suggest that HDM-derived chitin may enhance airway hypersensitivity to inhaled allergens, via the TLR2-dependent pathway, and that chitin-induced TNF-α can be a key mediator in the development of Th2 cell response to inhaled allergens.
New High Dose Pulsed Hyaluronidase Protocol for Hyaluronic Acid Filler Vascular Adverse Events

&NA; The purpose of this article is to update the changes to the author's protocols used to manage acute filler related vascular events from those previously published in this journal. For lack of a better term, this new protocol has been called the High Dose Pulsed Hyaluronidase (HDPH) protocol for vascular embolic events with hyaluronic acid (HA) fillers. The initial protocol used involved many different modalities of treatment. The current protocol is exceedingly simple and involves solely the use of hyaluronidase in repeated high doses. Despite the simplicity of the treatment, it has proven itself to be very successful over the past two years of clinical use. There has been no partial or complete skin loss associated with this protocol since its implementation if the protocol was implemented within 2 days of the ischemic event onset. The protocol involves diagnosis and repeated administration of relatively high doses hyaluronidase (HYAL) into the ischemic tissue repeated hourly until resolution (as detected clinically through capillary refill, skin color, and absence of pain). The dosage of HYAL varies as the amount of ischemic tissue, consistent with the new underlying hypothesis that we must flood the occluded vessels with a sufficient concentration of HYAL for a sufficient period of time in order to dissolve the HA obstruction to the point where the products of hydrolysis can pass through the capillary beds. Although vascular embolic events are rare, it is important to note that the face has higher risk and lower risk areas for filler treatment, but there are no “zero risk” areas with respect to filler treatments. Even with good anatomic knowledge and correct technique, there is still some nonzero risk of vascular embolic events (including highly skilled, experienced injectors). However, with careful low pressure, low volume injection technique, and adequate preparation for treatment of acute vascular events, the risk is quite manageable and the vast majority of adverse events are very treatable with an excellent prognosis, with a few exceptions. This new protocol offers excellent results, but requires further research to determine optimal parameters for various HA fillers.
A Longitudinal Model to Decompose the Effects of an Advertising Stimulus on Family Consumption

A general model describing individual consuming unit response to an advertising stimulus is developed. The measure of behavior utilized is consumption. In the model, the various effects of advertising on behavior are decomposed. These are price-advertising interactions, transitory or short-run effects, and permanent or long-term effects. Specific parameterized forms of the model demonstrate how alternative theories of the effects of advertising can be tested.
HISTOCHEMICAL STUDY OF CHANGES OCCURRING DURING THE DEGENERATION OF MYELIN *

ON THE basis of histochemical and biochemical studies (WOLMAN, 19% and 6 ) it has been suggested that the normal myelin sheath contains an acidic plysaccharide, and that this compound is liberated during demyelinization. In order to test this, the effect of treatment of tissues by various osmium tetroxide reagents was studied (WOW, 1957) and a method for the differential staining of acidic tissue compounds was worked out (WOLMAN, 1956~). This paper deals with the application of these new techniques to the study of the changes occurring during the degeneration of myelin in the rat.
Multi-events earthquake early warning algorithm using a Bayesian approach

Current earthquake early warning (EEW) systems lack the ability to appropriately handle multiple concurrent earthquakes, which led to many false alarms during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake sequence in Japan. This paper uses a Bayesian probabilistic approach to handle multiple concurrent events for EEW. We implement the theory using a two-step algorithm. First, an efficient approximate Bayesian model class selection scheme is used to estimate the number of concurrent events. Then, the Rao-Blackwellized Importance Sampling method with a sequential proposal probability density function is used to estimate the earthquake parameters, that is hypocentre location, origin time, magnitude and local seismic intensity. A real data example based on 2 months data (2011 March 9–April 30) around the time of the 2011 M9 Tohoku earthquake is studied to verify the proposed algorithm. Our algorithm results in over 90 per cent reduction in the number of incorrect warnings compared to the existing EEW system operating in Japan.
Co-Complexes of MASP-1 and MASP-2 Associated with the Soluble Pattern-Recognition Molecules Drive Lectin Pathway Activation in a Manner Inhibitable by MAp44

The lectin pathway of complement is an integral component of innate immunity. It is activated upon binding of mannan-binding lectin (MBL) or ficolins (H-, L-, and M-ficolin) to suitable ligand patterns on microorganisms. MBL and ficolins are polydisperse homo-oligomeric molecules, found in complexes with MBL-associated serine proteases (MASP-1, -2, and -3) and MBL-associated proteins (MAp19 and MAp44). This scenario is far more complex than the well-defined activation complex of the classical pathway, C1qC1r2C1s2, and the composition of the activating complexes of the lectin pathway is ill defined. We and other investigators recently demonstrated that both MASP-1 and MASP-2 are crucial to lectin pathway activation. MASP-1 transactivates MASP-2 and, although MASP-1 also cleaves C2, MASP-2 cleaves both C4 and C2, allowing formation of the C3 convertase, C4bC2a. Juxtaposition of MASP-1 and MASP-2 during activation must be required for transactivation. We previously presented a possible scenario, which parallels that of the classical pathway, in which MASP-1 and MASP-2 are found together in the same MBL or ficolin complex. In this study, we demonstrate that, although MASPs do not directly form heterodimers, the addition of MBL or ficolins allows the formation of MASP-1–MASP-2 co-complexes. We find that such co-complexes have a functional role in activating complement and are present in serum at varying levels, impacting on the degree of complement activation. This raises the novel possibility that MAp44 may inhibit complement, not simply by brute force displacement of MASP-2 from MBL or ficolins, but by disruption of co-complexes, hence impairing transactivation. We present support for this contention.
Exploring the Use of Explicit Trust Links for Filtering Recommenders: A Study on Epinions.com

The majority of recommender systems predict user preferences by relating users with similar attributes or taste. Prior research has shown that trust networks improve the accuracy of recommender systems, predominantly using algorithms devised by individual researchers. In this work, omitting any specific trust inference algorithm, we investigate how useful it might be if explicit trust relationships are used to select the best neighbors or predictors, to generate accurate recommendations. We conducted a series of evaluations using data from Epinions.com, a popular collaborative reviewing system. We find that, for highly active users, using trusted sources as predictors does not give more accurate recommendations compared to the classic similarity-based collaborative filtering scheme, except in improving the precision to recommend items that are of users' liking. This cautions against the intuition that inputs from trusted sources would always be more accurate or helpful. The use of explicit trust links, however, provides a slight gain in prediction accuracy when it comes to the less active users. These findings highlight the need and potential to adapt the use of trust information for different groups of users, besides to better understand trust when employing it in the recommender systems. Parallel to the trust criterion, we also investigated the effects of requiring the candidate predictors to have an equal or higher experience level.
Creating Value For The Organization Through Marketing

Purpose: Analyzing value created by marketing should cover at least two important points of view. The fi rst is related to the problem of value created by marketing for customers, and the second is related to the value created for the organization (enterprise). This article is focused on the second point of view. Each organization formulates some expectations toward marketing, and next evaluates the results of using marketing in a more or less systematic way. The purpose of the article is to establish a theoretical model of this evaluation using three dimensions: marketing effectiveness, marketing effi ciency and marketing productivity. Methodology: This study was of a conceptual character. Findings: In presented concept, the expectations toward marketing and value created by marketing are expressed by marketing performance. In turn, marketing performance can be perceived in the three dimensions of marketing effectiveness, marketing effi ciency and marketing productivity Originality: The problem of value created by marketing for the organization (enterprise) isn’t too often analyzed in the literature. Existing literature offers an analysis all these dimensions but in most cases in separate way or with some important inconsequences.
The South Korean financial crisis: competing explanations and policy lessons for financial liberalization

There are two types of explanations of the Asian financial crisis: the ‘fundamentalist’, which focuses on macroeconomic imbalances; and the ‘self-fulfilling’, which ascribes the crisis to beliefs. This article argues that while both have some merit in explaining the Korean crisis, neither fits the facts very well. The authors put forward a new explanation which emphasizes the role played by financial liberalization and the structural weaknesses in the banking system. They explain that the combination of these factors created conditions that made the Korean banking system vulnerable to the sentiments of foreign investors, simultaneously eroding the ability of the Korean central bank to act effectively as a lender of last resort. The authors examine how various policy mistakes aggravated the crisis and draw some conclusions that may be useful for other emerging market economies.