Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Helical Peptides Derived from Lactoferrin Bind Hepatitis C Virus Envelope Protein E2

Hepatitis C virus is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma infecting more than 170 million people. Hepatitis C virus envelope 2 glycoprotein (E2) binds several cell‐surface molecules that act as receptor candidates mediating hepatitis C virus entry into hepatocytes. Peptides derived from human lactoferrin have been shown to bind hepatitis C virus‐E2 protein thereby preventing hepatitis C virus entry in cultured hepatocytes. In this study, starting from a 33‐residue human lactoferrin‐derived peptide, a number of biotin‐linked α‐peptides were synthesized and investigated for their E2 protein binding activity. E2 protein from hepatitis C virus genotype 1b was expressed in 293 human embrionic kidney cells and purified using affinity chromatography. A biotin‐streptavidin based binding assay was developed to determine the binding affinity of the synthetic peptides for E2 protein. Two of the peptides bound E2 specifically with submicromolar to low micromolar affinity [equilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) of 0.569 and 28.8 μm]. Further, these two peptides had the highest helical content in solution as observed by circular dichroism spectroscopy, suggesting that binding affinity increases with increase in helicity. These results have provided new lead peptides for future investigations of hepatitis C virus entry inhibitors that may provide an interesting approach to prevent hepatitis C virus infectivity.
URBAN REGIMES AND THE CAPACITY TO GOVERN: A Political Economy Approach

ABSTRACT: Regime theory starts with the proposition that governing capacity is not easily captured through the electoral process. Governing capacity is created and maintained by bringing together coalition partners with appropriate resources, nongovernmental as well as governmental. If a governing coalition is to be viable, it must be able to mobilize resources commensurate with its main policy agenda. The author uses this reasoning as the foundation/or comparing regimes by the nature and difficulty of the government tasks they undertake and the level and kind of resources required for these tasks. Political leadership, he argues, is a creative exercise of political choice, involving the ability to craft arrangements through which resources can be mobilized, thus enabling a community to accomplish difficult and nonroutine goals.
CSF 5‐HIAA, suicide intent and hopelessness in the prediction of early suicide in male high‐risk suicide attempters

Objective: To study the predictive value of the Beck Suicide Intent Scale (SIS), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and of 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA) in the cerebrospinal fluid for future early suicide in a group of high‐risk male suicide attempters.
Returns from investing in Australian equity superannuation funds, 1991–1999

In this analysis of investment manager performance, two questions are addressed. First, do managers that actively trade stocks create value for investors? Second, can the multifactor model of Gruber capture the cross-section of average fund returns for the Australian setting? The answers from this study are as follows: as an industry, investment managers destroyed value for superannuation investors for the period 1991 through 1999, under-performing passive portfolio returns by 2.80–4.00 per cent per annum on a risk-unadjusted basis and 0.50–0.93 per cent per annum on a risk-adjusted basis. Evidence is provided in support of the four-factor model of Gruber; however, the model fails to capture the impact of investment style for the Australian setting. The findings suggest that Australian superannuation investors would transform their retirement savings into retirement income more efficiently through the use of passive alternatives to the stock selection problem.
Effects of interval exercise training programme on the indices of adiposity and biomarker of inflammation in hypertension: a randomised controlled trial.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Hypertension remains a significant risk factor in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of 8 weeks interval training programme on blood pressure, aerobic capacity (VO max), indices of adiposity and marker of inflammation in black African men with essential hypertension. PATIENTS AND METHODS Two hundred and forty five (245) male subjects with stage 1 and 2 (systolic blood pressure [SBP] between 140-179 & diastolic blood pressure [DBP] between 90-109 mmHg) essential hypertension were age matched and grouped into experimental and control groups. The experimental (n=140; 58.90 ± 7.35 years) group involved in an 8 weeks interval training (60-79% HRmax) programme of between 45 and 60 minutes, while age-matched control hypertensive (n=105; 58.27±6.24 years) group remain sedentary during this period. All subjects in both groups were on antihypertensive drugs throughout the study period. Cardiovascular parameters (SBP, DBP) & VO max and percent body fat [%BF], waist to hip ratio [WHR] and C-reactive protein [CRP] were assessed. Independent t-test and Pearson correlation test were used in data analysis. RESULTS Findings of the study revealed significant decreased effects of interval training programme on SBP, DBP, %BF, WHR and CRP and significant increased effect on VO max at p< 0.05. Also, changes in CRP as a result of exercise training significantly and positively correlated with changes in SBP, DBP, %BF, WHR, CRP and negatively correlated with VO max at p< 0.05.
Economic significance of risk premiums in the S&P 500 option market

Option pricing is complicated by the theoretical existence of risk premiums. This article utilizes a testable methodology to extract the pricing impact resulting from these risk premiums. First, option prices (based on the full dynamics of the underlying) are computed under the assumption that these risk premiums are not priced. The pricing methodology is independent of any particular option‐pricing model or distributional assumptions on the return process for the underlying. The difference between the actual market prices and these “no‐premium base case” prices reflects the effect of risk premiums. For at‐the‐money, 13‐week S&P 500 options trading from 1989 until 1993, the effect of risk premiums is statistically significant and averages slightly over 20% (in units of Black–Scholes implied volatility). A simple delta‐hedging strategy is used to demonstrate the economic significance of risk premiums, as the trading strategy provides enough profit to absorb a crash similar in magnitude to the 1987 crash once every 6.20 years. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 22:1147–1178, 2002
Damping of subsynchronous oscillations and improve transient stability for wind farms

This paper investigates the application of STATCOM to stabilize the torsional oscillations of sub-synchronous resonance (SSR) of a wind energy conversion system (WECS). The IEEE system-1 of the second benchmark model for computer simulation of subsynchronous resonance is adopted with integrating aggregated induction generator-based wind turbine to perform the study. A small signal analysis is conducted to study the impact of the series compensation levels and torsional dynamics on system stability. EMTDC/PSCAD is used to simulate the system under study. Due to its simplicity, robustness and ease of implementation, a proportional integral (PI) controller along with auxiliary feedback signals are used to control the inverter firing angle to control the reactive power exchange between the AC system and the STATCOM. The performance of the controller is tested in steady state as well as transient conditions.
Rule Induction-Based Knowledge Discovery for Energy Efficiency

Rule induction is a practical approach to knowledge discovery. Provided that a problem is developed, rule induction is able to return the knowledge that addresses the goal of this problem as if-then rules. The primary goals of knowledge discovery are for prediction and description. The rule format knowledge representation is easily understandable so as to enable users to make decisions. This paper presents the potential of rule induction for energy efficiency. In particular, three rule induction techniques are applied to derive knowledge from a dataset of thousands of Irish electricity customers' time-series power consumption records, socio-demographic details, and other information, in order to address the following four problems: 1) discovering mathematically interesting knowledge that could be found useful; 2) estimating power consumption features for customers, so that personalized tariffs can be assigned; 3) targeting a subgroup of customers with high potential for peak demand shifting; and 4) identifying customer attitudes that dominate energy conservation.
The 'Good Wife': Struggles over Resources in the Kenyan Horticultural Sector

This paper examines how the contracting of French beans has engendered conflict over rights, obligations and resources in Meru District, Kenya. In response to pressure for agricultural diversification and the expanding European market for "gourmet" vegetables, horticulture, the historical domain of women, has been rapidly intensified, commoditized and in many cases, appropriated by men. Women have responded to the erosion of their rights in ways that appear paradoxical -- some undergoing Christian conversion while others poison their husbands -- practices that simultaneously affirm and contest the prevailing norms of the "good wife". In Meru, gender relations are key to the negotiation of household resources and the potential for capital accumulation in the export horticultural sector.
Importance and contribution of intangible assets: SME managers' perceptions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in an attempt to cover the gap in research on intellectual capital (IC) applied to SMEs. The paper informs the debate on the importance of IC by providing empirical evidence of SME managers' perceptions about the importance and contribution of intangible assets to their businesses.Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires were sent to New Zealand SMEs investigating managers' perceptions about the importance of and the contributions that intangible asset components make to their businesses, and to assess their familiarity with the term intellectual capital (IC) and their preferences in using the term IC versus intangible assets. The results pertaining to the importance of intangible assets were statistically analysed.Findings – This paper informs that the broad assumption that intangible assets are important and are value drivers of business' success is valid for small and medium enterprises. The majority of responden.
Ecotourism in Kenya: The Vulnerability of Communities

Community participation in ecotourism planning and development is often regarded as panacea for the social and environmental impacts ascribed to mass tourism. Such prescriptions for more ‘sustainable’ forms of tourism however often disregard the ways in which resource management scenarios are often characterised by inequitable patterns of access to and control over resources. In heterogeneous and politically differentiated social settings achieving equitable broad based ‘participation’ invariably proves problematic. Such conditions weaken the capacity of local residents to negotiate equitable and sustainable relationships with other actors and agencies in ecotourism developments. This paper examines how the highly fragmented community of Kimana in southern Kenya failed to capitalise on its immense ecotourism potential virtue of political rifts between ethnic groups, clans and age sets. Broad-based participation has proven illusive. While the model of ‘community’ based ecotourism has a positive resonance the case study suggests it is naïve to believe the articulation of ‘community’ with external agencies – commercial or governmental – can emerge from purely bottom-up initiatives. Insights from neighbouring ecotourism initiatives indicate the important role external inputs can have to protect the interests of local residents.
Computer-Assisted Surveillance for Detecting Clonal Outbreaks of Nosocomial Infection

ABSTRACT Whole-house surveillance for healthcare-associated infection is no longer the recommended practice because of the large personnel time investment required. We developed a computer-based tracking system using microbiologic data as an aid in detecting potential outbreaks of healthcare-associated infections on a hospital-wide basis. Monthly total isolates of 25 clinically significant hospital pathogens were tallied from 1991 to 1998 to form a database for future comparison. Two different algorithm tools (based on increases of organism numbers over baseline) were applied to determine alert thresholds for suspected outbreaks using this information. The first algorithm (2SD) defined an alert as two standard deviations above the mean monthly number of isolates. The second (MI) defined an alert as either a 100% increase from the baseline organism number over 2 months or a ≥50% increase (compared to baseline) during a three-consecutive-month period. These two methods were compared to standard infection control professional surveillance (ICP) for the detection of clonal outbreaks over 12 months. Overall, a total of seven clonal outbreaks were detected during the 1-year study. Using standard methods, ICP investigated nine suspected outbreaks, four of which were associated with clonal microbes. The 2SD method signaled a suspected outbreak 15 times, of which three were clonal and ICP had detected one. The MI method signaled a suspected outbreak 30 times; four of these were clonal, and ICP had detected one. The sensitivity and specificity values for ICP, 2SD, and MI for detecting clonal outbreaks were 57, 43, and 57% and 17, 83, and 67%, respectively. Statistical methods applied to clinical microbiology laboratory information system data efficiently supplement infection control efforts for outbreak detection.
Activation of bronchopulmonary vagal afferent nerves with bradykinin, acid and vanilloid receptor agonists in wild‐type and TRPV1–/– mice

The vanilloid receptor TRPV1 (formerly VR1) has been implicated in the activation of nociceptive sensory nerves by capsaicin, noxious heat, protons, bradykinin, cannabinoids such as anandamide, and certain metabolites of arachidonic acid. Using TRPV1 knockout mouse (TRPV1–/–) we address the question of whether TRPV1 is obligatory for action potential discharge in vagal C‐fibre terminals evoked by capsaicin, anandamide, acid and bradykinin. The response of a defined subtype of the vagal afferent bronchopulmonary C‐fibres (conduction velocity < 0.7 ms−1) to the putative TRPV1 activators was studied in vitro in the mouse isolated/perfused lung–nerve preparation. Capsaicin (1 μm) evoked action potential discharge of ∼90% (28/31) of C‐fibres in the TRPV1+/+ mice, but failed to activate bronchopulmonary C‐fibres in TRPV1–/– animals (n= 10). Anandamide (3–100 μm) induced concentration‐dependent activation of capsaicin‐sensitive TRPV1+/+ C‐fibres with a threshold of 3–10 μm, but failed to evoke substantive discharge in TRPV1–/– C‐fibres. In the TRPV1+/+ mice, the B2 receptor‐mediated activation by bradykinin (1 μm) was restricted to the capsaicin‐sensitive C‐fibres. Bradykinin was effective in evoking B2 receptor‐mediated action potential discharge in TRPV1–/– C‐fibres, but the response was significantly (P < 0.05) less persistent than in TRPV1+/+ C‐fibres. Exposing the tissue to acid (pH = 5) excited both TRPV1+/+ and TRPV1–/– C‐fibres. We conclude that TRPV1 is obligatory for vagal C‐fibre activation by capsaicin and anandamide. By contrast, whereas TRPV1 may have a modulatory role in bradykinin and acid‐induced activation of bronchopulmonary C‐fibres, it is not required for action potential discharge evoked by these stimuli.
Plant-Level Concession Bargaining

The author investigates the reasons for the diversity in concession bargaining experience among plants in the meatpacking and tire industries. In 1981 negotiations, about one-third of the plants in each industry engaged in concession bargaining and the others did not. The author hypothesizes that this pattern resulted from interplant differences in the likelihood of layoffs or shutdowns, measured by factors such as plant age and size, relative wage level, and nature of product. Regression analysis of the data from union and employer sources supports the author's hypothesis.
Electromagnetic propagation along lossy anisotropic and radially stratified cylindrical structures

In this paper, we present a formulation to analyze the electromagnetic propagation in circular structures filled with complex materials. We consider an uniaxially anisotropy to describes each layer of a stratified cylindrical waveguide. A perfectly matched layer (PML) is used to compute the fields of unbounded waveguides. The mode excitation from an electric current source combined with the mode matching technique (MMT) allows to analyze the propagation through axial discontinuities at the junction between two radially stratified waveguides. Preliminary results are presented.
Incidence of pituitary adenomas in Northern Finland in 1992-2007.

CONTEXT Data on the incidence of pituitary adenomas (PAs) are scant and outdated. A population-based regional cohort with thorough case identification was used to evaluate the incidence of clinically detected PAs in the era of magnetic resonance imaging. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to describe the age- and sex-specific incidence of all PA subgroups, with data on incidentally found PAs, pituitary apoplexies, and time trends. DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PATIENTS This was a retrospective descriptive analysis of PA patients diagnosed during 1992-2007 in Northern Finland (NFi). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE World Health Organization 2000-standardized incidence rates (SIRs) of PAs per 100,000 were measured. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION The final cohort consisted of 355 PAs. The incidence rates of the Oulu University Hospital regional district were used as a reference to assess the applicability of our case finding over the rest of NFi. Incidence rates of all PA subgroups except microprolactinomas were statistically equal between these areas; thus, all presented SIRs are based on the NFi's cohort except Oulu University Hospital regional district-based prolactinomas and PAs overall. Overall SIR of PAs was higher (4.0 per 100,000) than in previous reports. Prolactinomas had the highest SIR: 2.2 per 100,000, followed by clinically nonfunctioning PAs (1.0) and GH-secreting (0.34), ACTH-secreting (0.17), and TSH-secreting (0.03) PAs. The gender-specific SIR was 2.2 per 100,000 in males and 5.9 per 100,000 in females. Pituitary apoplexy occurred as a presenting symptom in 11% of clinically nonfunctioning PA patients. The SIR of incidentally discovered PAs increased significantly from 1992-1999 to 2000-2007 (0.59 to 1.6, respectively; P < 0.01), which accounted for the perceived increasing trend in the overall SIR of PAs (3.8 to 4.2; P > 0.05).
Who Values the Social Security Annuity? New Evidence on the Annuity Puzzle

We examine individuals' self-reported willingness to exchange part of their Social Security inflation-indexed annuity benefit for an immediate lump-sum payment, using an experimental module in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study. Our first finding is that nearly three out of five respondents favor the lump-sum payment if it were approximately actuarially fair, a finding that casts doubt on several leading explanations for why more people do not annuitize. Second, there is some modest price sensitivity and evidence consistent with adverse selection; in particular, people in better health and having more optimistic longevity expectations are more likely to choose the annuity. Third, after controlling on education, more financially literate individuals prefer the annuity. Fourth, people anticipating future Social Security benefit reductions are more likely to choose the lump-sum, suggesting that political risk matters. Other factors such as sex, marital status, income, wealth, or the presence of children are not associated with respondents' relative preferences for the annuity versus the lump-sum.
An Empirical Evaluation of the CPI Home Purchase Index, 1973–1978

This paper examines the accuracy of the home purchase component of the Consumer Price Index. Alternative monthly index series are simulated over the period 1973-1978 using FHA Master Statistical File data. Hedonic indexes derived from monthly regressions are compared to series constructed by the current CPI index method, which utilizes only age and size of house in correcting for intertemporal quality change. Of particular interest is the BLS practice of "linking out" price changes occurring when FHA raises its ceiling on the size of insurable mortgages. This procedure may have led to a significant downward bias in the official index. Copyright American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.
Management of Depression in Patients With Cancer: A Clinical Practice Guideline.

PURPOSE This report updates the Cancer Care Ontario Program in Evidence-Based Care guideline for the management of depression in adult patients with cancer. This guideline covers pharmacologic, psychological, and collaborative care interventions, with a focus on integrating practical management tools to assist clinicians in delivering appropriate treatments for depression in patients with cancer. METHODS Recommendations were developed by synthesizing information from extant guidelines and reviews and searching for randomized controlled trials from the date of database inception (1964 for MEDLINE and 1974 for EMBASE) to January 2015. Quality assessment of guidelines and systematic reviews were conducted by using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II), Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR), and Cochrane Risk of Bias tools. Final recommendations were developed through a standardized Program in Evidence-Based Care multidisciplinary expert and knowledge user review process. RESULTS Two high-quality relevant clinical practice guidelines, eight pharmacologic trials, nine psychological trials, and eight collaborative care intervention trials composed the evidence base upon which the recommendations were developed. Eight specific recommendations were made to establish a standard of care for the management of depression in patients with cancer. The recommendations and practical management tools were reviewed as being well organized and helpful, although systemic barriers to implementation were identified. CONCLUSION This updated guideline supports the previous general recommendation that patients with cancer who have depression may benefit from psychological and/or pharmacologic interventions, without evidence for the superiority of any specific treatment over another. New recommendations for a collaborative care model that incorporates a stepped care approach suggest that multidisciplinary mental health care restructuring may be required for optimal management of depression.