Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Astrocyte cultures from conditional connexin43‐deficient mice

Connexin43 (Cx43) mainly provides the molecular basis for astrocytic gap junctions. Interastrocytic coupling is thought to mediate extracellular ion homeostasis, long‐range signaling, and neuroprotection in the brain. Cx43 has been implicated in astrocytic growth control and is also expressed in other cell types in the brain, such as leptomeningeal and vascular cells. Cx43 function has been studied in astrocyte cultures of Cx43‐deficient mice, which lack Cx43 in all cell types. We have generated conditionally deficient mice with an astrocyte‐directed inactivation of Cx43, which leaves expression in other cell types unaffected. Other connexins have been detected in astrocytes. For the study of astrocytes lacking Cx45 and Cx26 in vitro, which deficiencies are embryonic lethal, conditionally deficient astrocyte cultures are essential. In the present study, we describe the developmental kinetics of Cx43 inactivation and loss of intercellular communication in astrocyte cultures derived from conditional Cx43‐deficient mice. Conditional ablation of Cx43 is efficient, reaches a plateau at 4 weeks in culture, but retains Cx43 expression in contaminating nonastrocytic cells. Our findings indicate that conditional knockout astrocytes are a promising tool for the study of embryonic lethal genes in astrocyte cultures. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A home energy management algorithm with smart plug for maximized customer comfort

Energy management systems are used for more efficient use of electric energy. Energy management systems generally just contain demand-side management. A possible solution for demand side management in the existing structures is the use of smart plugs. The smart plug can be defined as a port that monitors and records the parameters such as power consumed, the current drawn and connection point voltages of plugged devices and allows remote turning on/off of the plugged device when required. In this study, a new smart plug design is investigated that can provide power reduction without turning the plugged device off. The advantages of the developed smart plug based energy management system are stated in terms of consumer comfort and energy consumption.
Econometric analysis of forest conservation: the Finnish experience

This paper examines the dynamic effects of forest conservation measures. Both short-term and long-term impacts on timber markets are studied using a Finnish example. Forest conservation is interpreted as an exogenous negative shock in the standing timber growth owned by private forest owners, and its effects are retrieved through an impulse response analysis based on a dynamic demand–supply and timber stock model. The results show that timber markets are influenced by forest conservation. The conservation of forest assets reduces traded quantities and increases timber prices. These effects are of the same relative magnitude, thus leaving the annual timber-selling income of private forest owners unchanged. The results suggest that some of the negative short-run impacts of conservation on commercial timber stock will be compensated in the long run by intensified use of the remaining stock. This may to some extent reduce the ecological usefulness of the conservation policies. While the timber markets converge in the long run towards a new post-conservation state the short-term interruptions suggest that caution should be used in establishing set-asides in privately owned forestland.
Adaptive Tracking Control for A Class of Nonlinear Systems With a Fuzzy Dead-Zone Input

This paper focuses on a problem of adaptive control for a class of nonlinear strict-feedback systems with a fuzzy dead zone and immeasurable states. By using the adaptive backstepping technique, an adaptive fuzzy output-feedback controller is constructed. The proposed control method requires only one adaptive law for an nth-order system. Compared with the conventional deterministic dead-zone models in previous articles, the main advantage of this paper is that the proposed dead-zone model is uncertain and fuzzy. By defuzzifying for fuzzy dead zone ~Γ(u) and employing an integrated design, an integrated fuzzy controller is constructed. It is proved that, even though the dead-zone input ~Γ(u) is fuzzy, the integrated fuzzy controller can make the closed-loop system semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded and the tracking error converge to a small neighborhood of the origin. Finally, simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Vardenafil in pulmonary arterial hypertension: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

RATIONALE Although the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors sildenafil and tadalafil have demonstrated efficacy in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), monotherapy with these agents has not been conclusively shown to reduce clinical worsening events. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor vardenafil in Chinese patients with PAH. METHODS In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 66 patients with PAH were randomized 2:1 to vardenafil (5 mg once daily for 4 wk then 5 mg twice daily; n = 44) or placebo (n = 22) for 12 weeks. Patients completing this phase were then treated with open-label vardenafil (5 mg twice daily) for a further 12 weeks. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS At Week 12, the mean placebo-corrected 6-minute walking distance was increased with vardenafil (69 m; P < 0.001), and this improvement was maintained for at least 24 weeks. Vardenafil also increased the mean placebo-corrected cardiac index (0.39 L·min(-1)·m(-2); P = 0.005) and decreased mean pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance (-5.3 mm Hg, P = 0.047; -4.7 Wood U, P = 0.003; respectively) at Week 12. Four patients in the placebo group (20%) and one in the vardenafil group (2.3%) had clinical worsening events (hazard ratio 0.105; 95% confidence interval, 0.012-0.938; P = 0.044). Vardenafil was associated with only mild and transient adverse events. CONCLUSIONS Vardenafil is effective and well tolerated in patients with PAH at a dose of 5 mg twice daily.
Granting and Renegotiating Infrastructure Concessions: Doing it Right

In most developing and industrial countries, infrastructure services have traditionally been provided by government enterprises, but in developing countries at least, these enterprises have often proven to be inefficient, unable to provide much-needed investments, and manipulated to achieve political objectives. By contrast, many studies have shown that over the past 30 years, private (or privatized) enterprises in developing countries have, on average, delivered superior performance and needed investments. Explanations differ on why this discrepancy exists. Private enterprises are driven by a desire for profits and may have more professional know-how in management, operating procedures, and use of appropriate technology. But perhaps the most important reason for their stronger performance is that privatization makes intervening in enterprise operations difficult for governments and politicians, so government manipulation is less likely. However, the issue, in general, has been how to ensure that the improved performance and efficiency gains are passed through to the users through lower tariffs and increased coverage, while allowing firms to earn a fair rate of return on their investments.
The Importance of Quality, Satisfaction, Trust, and Image in Relation to Rural Tourist Loyalty

In the past decade, tourism firms have become aware of the great benefits of maintaining a solid base of loyal customers. Because rural tourism is a relatively new phenomenon in some countries, the main antecedent of tourism loyalty remains infrequently studied in rural lodgings. In this work, a structural equations model is explored, with PLS technique, giving relevance to the interrelationships among image, quality, satisfaction, and trust and among these variables and the tourists' behavior variables. Instruments are identified and exploratory research was undertaken among rural tourists of the main rural lodgings in two border regions of Spain and Portugal. The results confirm image as a direct antecedent of perceived quality, satisfaction, trust, and loyalty for rural tourism, too. The analysis also confirmed that quality has a positive influence on satisfaction and loyalty, and trust has a positive influence on loyalty. Image is shown as a key factor to rural lodging managers. This study may help rural tourism managers to develop and implement effective relationship marketing strategies.
Distributional Effects of Maize Price Increases in Malawi

Abstract In the wake of highly volatile world prices of staple commodities, we examine the impacts of increases in maize prices on various categories of households in Malawi. Using household-level data, changes in household income are calculated taking into account the net maize production status of the household and food price elasticities estimated from a censored demand system. While maize price increases have unequivocal deleterious effects on the incomes of urban households, rural households experience differential impacts. Net producing households in rural areas benefit from price increases with households above the poverty line obtaining proportionally higher incomes.
Parameters that Provide Higher Explanation Estimating Betas in the Portuguese Stock Market¹

Abstract During decades, tests have been developed to verify whether the beta is the best tool to explain the returns of securities on the stock market. Moreover, the value of the beta and its coefficient of determination (R-squared) vary with different parameters used for estimating the beta. In this paper, we investigate for the parameters that provide a higher explanation when we estimate the beta on the Portuguese stock market. We use all nine economic groups listed on the Euronext Lisbon and, for each of those groups, determine which company has the highest market capitalization and highest turnover at the same time, measured in millions of Euros and thousands of Euros, respectively. The linear regression and correlation coefficient between each of the companies can be calculated by studying two national indexes (PSI20 and PSI General) to determine if they get better results with respect to a given period, frequency data or index. We conclude that the explanatory power of R-squared in the Portuguese stock market is very low, independent of the parameters used. When analyzing the year 2008 using linear regression, it remains unclear whether it is preferable to use daily returns or weekly returns, since half of the surveyed companies report the highest yield using either method. The explanatory power of R-squared is higher when using extended time periods and monthly returns, and the results become more accurate when doing the regressions with the PSI20 Index.
Mitochondrial sequence variation suggests an African influence in Portuguese cattle

A total of 49 samples from indigenous Portuguese cattle breeds were analysed for sequence variation in the hypervariable region of the mitochondrial DNA D–loop. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analyses revealed that haplotypes fell into two distinct groups. These corresponded with two separate haplotype clusters into which, respectively, all African, or alternatively all sequences of European origin, have previously been shown to fall. Here, the majority of sequences of African type were encountered in three southern, as compared to three northern breeds. This pattern of African influence may reflect an intercontinental admixture in the initial origins of Iberian breeds, or it is perhaps an introgression dating from the long and influential Moorish occupation of the south of the Iberian peninsula.
Accountability Challenges in Networks and Partnerships: Evidence from Educational Partnerships in the United States

The study from which this article is drawn constitutes one of the first attempts to remedy the paucity of research on accountability in the context of interorganizational networks and public–private partnerships. The data for the study were drawn from field research focusing particularly on partnerships formed between K-12 public schools and private and/or non-profit organizations in the United States. The most frequently cited difficulties associated with accountability in partnerships were the availability of and access to information, sectoral and personal differences, and frequent changes in personnel, resources, and partners.
White-Knuckle Externalities

Congestion generates travel delays and other unobservable but palpable costs, such as stress and frustration. This paper exploits a unique empirical setting to estimate these unobservable costs and the externalities that they imply. Results suggest that the size of these externalities is comparable to the size of travel delay externalities. This paper also demonstrates that common methods for estimating travel delay externalities can reasonably approximate the combined externalities of delayed travel and unobservable congestion costs. (JEL R41, R48, D62)
Dynamical Effects of Equivalent Series Resistance of Output Capacitor in Constant On-Time Controlled Buck Converter

Equivalent series resistance (ESR) of output capacitor has a significant effect on the control performance of constant on-time (COT) controlled switching dc-dc converters. In this paper, a discrete-time model of COT-controlled buck converter, with variable sampling frequency, is established. Based upon which, the dynamical effects of the ESR of output capacitor on COT-controlled buck converter are revealed and analyzed. The time-domain numerical simulations of the exact switched state equations, the bifurcation diagrams, and maximal Lyapunov exponents of the discrete-time model are obtained. These results verified by experimental circuit indicate that the ESR of output capacitor is a critical factor for COT-controlled buck converter, which can eliminate the unique pulse bursting phenomenon and shift operation mode from discontinuous conduction mode to continuous conduction mode, as well as control stability.
The politics of sports regulation in the European Union

The European Union (EU) intends to use sport to implement a range of social, cultural and educational policy objectives. However, the rapid commercialization of European sport threatens to obstruct this goal. Traditionally, the sports sector has developed rules which have attempted to maintain a competitive balance between participants. Given the extent of commercialization in European sport, the maintenance of these rules is considered by many as essential. Increasingly, however, these alleged pro-competitive rules have been regarded as anti-competitive by the EU. Commercialization therefore not only threatens the competitive balance within sport, it also obstructs the EU's desire to use sport to implement other policy objectives. As such, a body of opinion has emerged seeking greater protection for these rules. Key actors have strategically exploited institutional venues in the EU in order to achieve this. By doing so they have contributed to the establishment of a "new approach' for dealing with sporting issues in the EU.
Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) Down-regulates the Bcl-2 Homology 3 (BH3) Domain-only Protein Bim and Suppresses Its Proapoptotic Activity by Phosphorylation*

Bim is a proapoptotic, BH3-domain-only member of the Bcl-2 family that plays a role in death of trophic factor-deprived sympathetic neurons as well as in other paradigms of apoptotic death. We report here that nerve growth factor (NGF) leads to both a slow down-regulation of Bim expression in neuronal PC12 cells and rapid Bim phosphorylation. Both effects appear to be mediated by the MEK/MAPK pathway. An assay for Bim-mediated death revealed that NGF-promoted phosphorylation suppresses the proapoptotic activity of Bim. The phosphorylation sites responsible for this effect in the extra long form of rBim were identified as Ser-109 and Thr-110. Thus, NGF protects neurons from the proapoptotic effects of Bim both by acute phosphorylation and the longer term repression of expression.
Amplification of a 500-Base-Pair Fragment from Cultured Isolates of Mycobacterium bovis

ABSTRACT The presence of a 500-bp fragment which amplifies a region from the genome of Mycobacterium bovis (J. G. Rodriguez, G. A. Meija, P. Del Portillo, M. E. Patarroyo, and L. A. Murillo, Microbiology 141:2131–2138, 1995) was evaluated by carrying out PCR on 121 M. bovis isolates. TheM. bovis strains, previously characterized by culture and biochemical tests, were isolated from cattle in different regions of Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia. Four additional strains isolated from sea lions that belong to the M. tuberculosiscomplex were also included in the study. All of the isolates tested were PCR positive, rendering the expected 500-bp band and giving a correlation of 100% with previous microbiological characterization. Southern blot analysis revealed a common band of 1,800 bp and a polymorphic high-molecular-mass hybridization pattern. The results show that this assay may be useful for diagnosis and identification ofM. bovis in cattle.
The Role of State Policy in Promoting College Affordability

This article considers trends in state policies that determine college affordability, including trends in state general appropriations, institutional tuition and fees, and state student financial aid. Taken together, these trends demonstrate erosion in college affordability. This article also examines one recent federal policy intervention that has shaped state policy for higher education affordability, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). My analysis of ARRA shows that the “maintenance of effort” provision in the law was effective, as there was no drop in state general appropriations for higher education (including federal ARRA funds) following implementation. However, in a related analysis, I show that ARRA is negatively associated with state spending on student financial aid. Collectively, state policy trends and the ARRA analyses underscore the need for improved state policy in promoting college affordability, as an affordable college education is out of reach for an increasing proportion of students.
Epigenetics in cardiovascular disease

Purpose of review To provide an overview of the biological processes implicated in chromatin-based pathways that control endothelial gene expression patterns in both health and disease and highlight how these processes are relevant to cardiovascular disease. Recent findings Epigenetics refers to chromatin-based pathways important in the regulation of gene expression and includes three distinct, but highly interrelated, mechanisms: DNA methylation, histone density and posttranslational modifications, and RNA-based mechanisms. It is of great interest that epigenetic regulation of genes enriched in the vascular endothelium is a prominent regulatory pathway. How environmental cues within the vasculature, such as hemodynamic forces or hypoxia, influence these epigenetic mechanisms will be reviewed. Summary Although a newer area for study, exciting new evidence identifies that epigenetic processes are highly dynamic and respond to a myriad of environmental stimuli. Integrating chromatin-based pathways into our understanding of gene expression offers newer insight into disease processes.
Eco-friendly Attitudes, Barriers to Participation, and Differences in Behavior at Green Hotels

A deeper understanding of customers’ desire for and participation in green activities can lead to organizations designing more efficient and effective green programs. This research finds that the guests’ assessment of the importance of being environmentally friendly has the greatest effect on their intention to stay in a green hotel. Second, the research identifies the following customer barriers to participation: inconvenience, perceptions of cost cutting, and decreased luxury—all of which significantly affect consumers’ intention to stay at a green hotel or pay more for a room in such a hotel. Third, the results show that customers believe that hotels should have certain green practices, but did not consider it important to stay in a hotel that actually maintains the thirteen green practices tested here. Fourth, the results find that customers behave with greater environmental responsibility at home than they do in a hotel. Among the implications of these findings is the idea that hotel managers’ communications and actions must be relevant to guests’ concerns by educating customers, increasing convenience to participate in green programs, and decreasing perceptions of cost cutting.
The Development of Family Companies: Management and Ownership Imperatives

This study explores management and ownership imperatives facing 427 independent unquoted (i.e., nonpublic) companies in the United Kingdom. To detect real rather than sample differences, the study used a matched pairs methodology. Chi-square and student's T-tests confirmed several similarities among the 73 family companies and the comparable 73 nonfamily companies. The tenure periods of CEOs in both groups of firms before being appointed to the CEO position were similar. CEOs in family firms had not remained in this position for significantly longer periods than CEOs in nonfamily firms, and the majority of directors in family and nonfamily firms did not hold outside directorships in other companies. Several significant differences were also detected. CEOs from the kinship group owning the family business had been in the CEO position for much longer than “outside” CEOs in family firms. Furthermore, the proportion of total shares owned by directors in family firms was significantly more than the proportion owned by directors in nonfamily firms. A significantly larger proportion of nonfamily rather than family firms had employed a nonexecutive director. In concluding, it is highlighted that a firm's identification of itself as a family firm is important in defining family firms and that firms that do not currently perceive themselves to be family firms may in the future.
A New Switched Beam Smart Antenna Model for Extending Inet Omnet++ Framework

Smart Antenna Systems (SAS) are providing a strong increasing impact in digital wireless communication systems. Due to their great advantages regarding nodes power saving and coverage enhancing, SAS are largely employed on pervasive network environments such as MANET. Because almost the whole of existing network simulators use omnidirectional antennas on nodes, we propose a new version of Inet framework of Omnet++ that extends its operation also for network scenarios in which nodes are equipped with directional antennas. Furthermore, we created a new directional antenna module that simulates the behaviour of a Phased Array System and a very simple algorithm for power management in channel. The new proposed model presents some modifications to key-modules that are involved in a normal wireless communication scenario, in order to support asymmetrical communications between nodes.
Traffickers, Brokers, Employment Agents, and Social Networks: The Regulation of Intermediaries in the Migration of Ethiopian Domestic Workers to the Middle East 1

This paper examines the regulatory regimes surrounding the operations of intermediaries who facilitate Ethiopian women's employment as contract domestic workers in the Middle East. Drawing on empirical research in Ethiopia, Lebanon, and Kuwait, the paper focuses on the commonly observed problem of “regulatory failure,” as states and international agencies frequently fail to achieve their objectives in the regulation of intermediaries of migration. This paper argues that a decentered approach to regulation can provide a productive diagnosis of regulatory failure, one that recognizes how power may be dispersed between social actors and (non-unitary) state actors and how it is differentially exercised across multiple regulatory regimes within this migration trajectory.