Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Partial immunity to Fasciola hepatica in mice after vaccination with FhSAP2 delivered as recombinant protein or DNA construct.

INTRODUCTION We recently reported the biochemical characterization of a novel Fasciola hepatica recombinant antigen termed FhSAP2, which has previously shown to elicit protection to F. hepatica infection in rabbits. Further we reported that intramuscular (IM) injections of BALB/c mice with a pFLAG-CMV(-2) vector carrying cDNA encoding for FhSAP2 (cDNA-FhSAP2) induce high levels of immune response. The aim of the present study is to ascertain whether the immune response induced by this DNA construct may induce protection in mice against subsequent infection with F. hepatica metacercariae (mc). In addition, protection following subcutaneous (SC) injections with recombinant FhSAP2 was evaluated. METHODS Mice received three IM injections with 100 microg of cDNA-FhSAP2 or three SC injections with 20 microg of FhSAP2. Four weeks after the last vaccination mice were challenged orally with 5 F. hepatica me and euthanized 45 days after challenge. RESULTS Mean worm burdens found in mice vaccinated with cDNA-FhSAP2 was reduced by 83.3% and the mean worm burdens found in mice vaccinated with the recombinant protein was reduced by 60% when compared with controls. All vaccinated animals had less liver damage than challenge controls. Vaccination with cDNA-FhSAP2 seems to favor a mixed Th1/Th2-antibody dependent with higher predominance of Th1-regulated antibody response. CONCLUSIONS The vaccination with cDNA-FhSAP2 or recombinant FhSAP2 may protect hosts against F. hepatica infections. The vaccination with cDNA form of FhSAP2 appeared to be a little more efficient preventingthe infection. The predominance of Th1-dependent antibodies in the vaccinated animals may be responsible for the protection but this should be confirmed by Th1-cytokines determinations.
Budgets: a medium of organizational transformation

Abstract This paper describes a case study of delegated budgeting in a New Zealand hospital. The objective of the case study is to explore how the values of the reforms permeated and influenced the organization. Accounting provided a link between the external changes and the internal structures. This role of accounting has not been adequately explored in previous literature. In this case the clinicians appointed as clinical directors played an important moderating or absorbing role in the resistance to the accounting changes.
Cytokines and Sickness Behavior

Abstract: Peripheral and central injections of interleukin‐1 (IL‐1) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induce the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in the brain and have profound depressing effects on spontaneous and learned behaviors. These effects are mediated by vagal afferents, because they are abrogated by section of the vagus nerves at the subdiaphragmatic level in rats and mice. Vagotomy does not interfere with the synthesis and release of proinflammatory cytokines at the periphery, because plasma and tissue levels of interleukin‐1 of vagotomized animals are similar to those of sham‐operated animals. Furthermore, the consequences of vagotomy on the host behavioral response to peripheral cytokines are specific to the intraperitoneal route of administration of cytokines because vagotomized animals are still able to respond to IL‐1 injected intravenously, subcutaneously, and into the lateral ventricle of the brain. Finally, substance P and cholecystokinin do not appear to play a key role in the transmission of the immune message to the brain because pretreatment by capsaicin or by specific antagonists of CCKA and CCKB receptors does not alter the behavioral effects of LPS and IL‐1. All these findings point to the role of neural afferents for transmitting the immune message from the periphery to the brain.
The use of arch index to characterize arch height: a digital image processing approach

Attempts to evaluate foot arch types from footprint parameters have yielded conflicting results in the past. This could be caused by the uncertainty inherent in the definition of some footprint parameters and the inaccuracy during the footprint acquisition and the parameter calculation phases of the traditional methods. In order to avoid these problems, digital image processing methods were used to acquire and to calculate the Arch Index (AI), a parameter which is robust in its definition. A significant correlation (r=-0.70, p<0.0001) was found between AI and arch height. Therefore this study confirms that foot arch type does correlate with the footprint parameter, AI. This was further revealed by a new parameter, the modified arch index (MAI), which incorporates foot pressure information in the evaluation. MAI not only correlated well with arch height (r=-0.71, p<0.0001) but appeared to characterize abnormal foot types better than AI. <<ETX>>
Unretirement in England: An empirical perspective.

Ageing populations place an increasing financial burden on governments. Retired older workers are a source of untapped economic capacity. Maestas (2010) finds 26% of Health and Retirement Study (HRS) sample respondent's `unretire'. We estimate an unretirement rate of 5.11% and 2.70% for women using The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Earlier studies using US longitudinal data include Rust (1980), Gustman and Steinmeier (1984) and Hardy (1990) estimate similar rates. Results suggest: age, education, financial planning, unanticipated increases in debt, spouse and time effects play an important role in the decision for a male to unretire.
Les réformes fiscales en Europe, 1992-2002

Depuis le debut des annees 1990, les pays de l’Union europeenne ont procede a de nombreuses reformes fiscales. Disparates, celles-ci ont toutefois ete influencees par des situations macroeconomiques similaires ou des imperatifs communs. Dans de nombreux pays, la priorite explicite est d’ameliorer la competitivite et l’attractivite du site de production national et de retablir les incitations a travailler plutot que d’etendre la redistribution et les depenses publiques. Les reformes sont maintenant d’inspiration liberale plutot que social-democrate. Toutefois, malgre la mondialisation et les risques de fuite de l’assiette fiscale, la part des prelevements obligatoires et des depenses publiques dans le PIB n’a ete sensiblement reduite dans aucun des pays europeens. Une premiere preoccupation commune concerne la taxation des entreprises multinationales dans un monde de plus en plus globalise. Faut-il appliquer la taxation a la source ou a la residence ? Comment rendre compatibles l’autonomie nationale et la necessite d’une coherence europeenne pour la taxation des entreprises transnationales ? Des problemes similaires se posent pour la taxation des revenus du capital des menages, la question de la taxation des dividendes et de l’avoir fiscal etant le pivot entre les deux problemes. La deuxieme preoccupation est la lutte contre le chomage. De nombreuses pistes ont ete utilisees pour rendre les systemes fiscaux plus favorables a l’emploi : la reduction des cotisations sociales, celles-ci etant remplacees par un prelevement sur l’ensemble des revenus des menages, par une taxe sur la valeur ajoutee ou par des taxes ecologiques ; la baisse des cotisations sociales concentree sur les bas salaires ; la mise en œuvre de mecanismes proches de l’impot negatif pour reduire la desincitation au travail des non-qualifies. Une troisieme preoccupation est celle de la fiscalite ecologique : celle-ci peut-elle etre utilisee pour reduire les consommations d’energie et eviter les emissions de gaz polluants, tout en fournissant un second dividende en permettant reduire la taxation portant sur le travail ? Enfin, se pose la question de l’organisation de la fiscalite locale. Peut-on concilier l’autonomie des collectivites locales, avec le souci de redistribution et d’egalite des citoyens face aux services publics a l’echelle nationale ? L’article evalue les risques de concurrence fiscale et l’urgence de l’harmonisation. Il s’interroge sur l’evolution souhaitable du systeme fiscal europeen. Comment creer un cadre harmonise permettant de preserver la liberte de chaque pays de maitriser le niveau de ses depenses publiques et le niveau de sa redistribution ?
The Benefits and Threats of Pbb: An Assessment of Modern Reform

PBB is more vulnerable to threats from fraud, falsification, and misrepresentation than were previous budgeting systems Vulnerability grows from complexity, dependence on performance data, year-to-year changes in strategic focus, and the great expansion of the numbers of kinds of specialists involved in the process It appears to grow out of PBB's widely recognized benefits Transparency has been put forward as the primary protective device against threats to PBB; however, this has problems with both definition and operationalization. The fix may be a number of coordinated measures, most importantly the inculcation of sound ethical standards throughout an organization using PBB.
Simian virus 40 guanine-cytosine-rich sequences function as independent transcriptional control elements in vitro

We have recently shown that DNA sequences located within the simian virus 40 (SV40) G-C-rich, 21-base-pair repeats constitute an important transcriptional control element of the SV40 late promoter (Brady et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 4:133-141, 1984). To gain further insight into the mechanism by which the SV40 G-C-rich repeats function, we have analyzed the transcriptional properties of several recombinant DNAs. The results presented in this report suggest that the SV40 G-C-rich sequences can function as independent RNA polymerase II transcriptional-control elements. In vitro competition studies demonstrated that sequences within the G-C-rich, 21-base-pair repeats, in the absence of either the SV40 early or late -25 transcriptional-control signals or the major RNA initiation sites, efficiently competed for transcription factors required for SV40 early and late RNA synthesis. Our transcription studies also demonstrated that in the absence of contiguous SV40 transcription control sequences, G-C-rich sequences stimulated initiation of transcription in a bidirectional manner, from proximally located sequences. Finally, we demonstrated that the 21-base-pair-repeat region can stimulate in vitro transcription from the heterologous adenovirus 2 major late promoter.
Talent management: a capital question

Against the backdrop of globalisation with shifting patterns of foreign direct investment and a rise in global mobility, talent identification, development and deployment, along with the national and organisational systems and structures necessary for its effective engagement, management and retention have become a critical focus for academics and practitioners. Framing it as a critical capital question, this introductory paper summarily outlines core debates in this nascent literature. It then introduces the five papers that comprise the issue and highlights the contributions that they make to furthering aspects of the debate on talent and intellectual capital from a variety of perspectives.
The Disclosure of Material Weaknesses in Internal Control after the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act

This paper focuses on a sample of 261 companies that disclosed at least one material weakness in internal control in their SEC filings after the effective date of the Sarbanes‐Oxley Act of 2002. Based on the descriptive material weakness disclosures provided by management, we find that poor internal control is usually related to an insufficient commitment of resources for accounting controls. Material weaknesses in internal control tend to be related to deficient revenue‐recognition policies, lack of segregation of duties, deficiencies in the period‐end reporting process and accounting policies, and inappropriate account reconciliation. The most common account‐specific material weaknesses occur in the current accrual accounts, such as the accounts receivable and inventory accounts. Material weakness disclosures by management also frequently describe internal control problems in complex accounts, such as the derivative and income tax accounts. In our statistical analysis, we find that disclosing a material.
Chymase as a Proangiogenic Factor

We investigated the profound involvement of chymase, an alternative angiotensin II-generating enzyme, in angiogenesis using a hamster sponge implant model. In vivotransfection of human pro-chymase cDNA or a direct injection of purified chymase into the sponges implanted resulted in marked increment of hemoglobin contents in the sponge granuloma tissues, demonstrating that chymase has an ability to elicit angiogenesis and is a potent angiogenic factor. Daily injection of basic fibroblast growth factor into the sponges implanted also induced angiogenesis, which was suppressed by the treatment with chymostatin, an inhibitor of chymase, or TCV-116, an antagonist of angiotensin II (Ang II) type 1 receptor. Expression of chymase mRNA and production of Ang II in the granuloma tissues were enhanced by the stimulation with basic fibroblast growth factor. Chymase activity in the sponge granulomas increased in parallel with the rise in hemoglobin contents, and mast cells observed in the granuloma tissues were positively stained with anti-chymase antibody. Exogenous administration not only of Ang II but of angiotensin I (Ang I) directly into the sponges could enhance angiogenesis. Chymostatin inhibited the angiogenesis induced by Ang I but not Ang II, suggesting the presence of a chymase-like Ang II-generating activity in the sponge granulomas. Our results may suggest a potential ability of chymase to promote angiogenesis through the local chymase-dependent and angiotensin-converting enzyme-dependent Ang II generating system in pathophysiological angiogenesis.
Productivity- and Pareto-Improving Changes in Taxes and Tariffs

The paper investigates the problem of tariff reform in a small open multi-household economy that only has tariffs and domestic commodity taxes as policy instruments. The concept of a productivity improvement in tariffs and taxes is introduced and conditions for its existence are established. We prove that a Pareto-improving change in tariffs and domestic taxes exists if a productivity-improving change in tariffs exists and if the Weymark condition on the matrix of household demands holds. Conditions are established for particular tariff reforms, such as proportional reductions and reductions of extreme rates, to yield Pareto improvements in welfare.
Minimal Molecular Determinants of Substrates for Recognition by the Intestinal Peptide Transporter*

Proton-dependent electrogenic transporters for di- and tripeptides have been identified in bacteria, fungi, plants, and mammalian cells. They all show sequence-independent transport of all possible di- and tripeptides as well as of a variety of peptidomimetics. We used the mammalian intestinal peptide transporter PEPT1 as a model to define the molecular basis for its multisubstrate specificity. By employing computational analysis of possible substrate conformations in combination with transport assays using transgenic yeast cells and Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing PEPT1, the minimal structural requirements for substrate binding and transport were determined. Based on a series of medium chain fatty acids bearing an amino group as a head group (ω-amino fatty acids, ω-AFA), we show that electrogenic transport by PEPT1 requires as a minimum the two ionized head groups separated by at least four methylene groups. Consequently, a > 500 pm < 630 pm distance between the two charged centers (carboxylic carbon and amino nitrogen) is sufficient for substrate recognition and transport. Removal of either the amino group or the carboxyl group in ω-AFA maintained the affinity of the compound for interaction with the transporter but abolished the capability for electrogenic transport. Additional groups in the ω-AFA backbone that provide more hydrogen bonding sites appear to increase substrate affinity but are not essential. The information provided here does (a) explain the capability of the peptide carrier for sequence-independent transport of thousands of different substrates and (b) set the molecular basis for a rational drug design to increase the absorption of peptide-based drugs mediated by PEPT1.
The Productivity Effects of Worker Directors and Financial Participation by Employees in the Firm: The Case of British Retail Cooperatives

In British retail cooperatives, workers have long had the opportunity to participate financially in their enterprises, through such mechanisms as employee ownership, and to serve on boards. Using data from a 1978 sample of 50 cooperatives, the author of this paper presents econometric estimates of the effects on co-op productivity of these channels of participation. He finds that the presence of worker directors modestly increases productivity, whereas, surprisingly, financial participation in the firm by employees reduces productivity. The net impact on productivity of both forms of participation is small but positive.
Open components separation and underlay repair using biological mesh for the treatment of planned ventral hernia after open abdomen surgery

Objective: There are no standard surgical methods for planned ventral hernia (PVH). This paper discusses the possibility of using “open components separation + underlay repair using biological mesh” as a preferred surgical method for PVH. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of PVH patients who received open components separation and underlay repair using biological mesh. Results: Five PVH patients underwent this surgical method from June 2014 to April 2015. All patients were males with an average age of 43.6 ± 17.3 years, body mass index (BMI) of 23.1 ± 2.3 kg/m2, and skin graft width of 15-17 cm. Four patients received a sliding myofascial flap of bilateral musculus rectus abdominis + underlay repair with biological mesh (Biodesign®, Cook Medical, Inc., Bloomington, IN, USA), and 1 patient received a sliding myofascial flap of unilateral musculus rectus abdominis + underlay repair with biological mesh. There was one case of incisional infection and 1 case of abdominal sinus formation 2 weeks after discharge. Both patients were cured using vacuum sealing draining (VSD) for 4 to 5 months without removal of the biological meshes. Five patients were followed up in an outpatient clinic after discharge, and the follow-up time ranged from 13 to 23 months. Abdominal incisions healed well, and abdominal computed tomography (CT) indicated no hernia recurrence in all patients. Conclusions: The “open components separation + underlay repair using biological mesh” method is a safe and feasible treatment method for PVH with good outcomes.
The Treponema denticola Chymotrypsin-Like Protease Dentilisin Induces Matrix Metalloproteinase-2-Dependent Fibronectin Fragmentation in Periodontal Ligament Cells

ABSTRACT Periodontal disease is a bacterially mediated chronic inflammatory disease that results in destruction of the periodontal ligament (PDL) and alveolar bone that surround and support the dentition. While their precise roles are not well understood, periodontal pathogens, including Treponema denticola, are believed to initiate the destructive inflammatory responses and dysregulation of tissue homeostasis that characterize the disease. These responses are believed to result from both proinflammatory effects of acylated bacterial membrane components (lipopolysaccharides and lipoproteins) and degradative effects of secreted bacterial proteases. Host-derived matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are key enzymes both in tissue homeostasis and tissue destruction. MMP expression is modulated in part by specific proteolytic fragments of fibronectin (FN), which are associated with periodontal disease. FN is a predominant extracellular matrix component in the periodontium. We examined the ability of Treponema denticola and its acylated outer membrane PrtP protease complex to induce both activation of MMP-2 and generation of FN fragments in human PDL cell culture supernatants. T. denticola parent and isogenic mutant strains, as well as MMP-2 small interfering RNA and specific inhibitors of MMP-2 and PrtP activity, were used to examine protein expression, gelatinolytic activity, and FN fragmentation in culture supernatants. T. denticola and its purified protease induced both MMP-2 activation and FN fragmentation. Here, we demonstrate that PrtP proteolytic activity induces the activation of MMP-2 and that active MMP-2 is required for FN fragmentation. These results suggest a specific mechanism by which the T. denticola protease may disrupt homeostatic processes required for the maintenance of periodontal health.
Sensitivity Analysis for Direction of Arrival Estimation Using Capon and Music Algorithms in Mobile Radio Environment

— An array antenna system with innovative signal processing can improve the resolution of a source direction of arrival (DoA) estimation. High resolution techniques take the advantage of array antenna structures to better process the incoming waves. They also have the capability to identify the direction of multiple targets. This paper investigates performance of the DOA estimation algorithm namely; Capon and MUSIC on the uniform linear array (ULA). The simulation results show that in Capon and MUSIC algorithm the resolution of the DOA techniques improves as number of snapshots, number of array elements, signal-to-noise ratio and separation angle between the two sources θ increases.
National culture and activity-based costing systems: a note

This research uses Geert Hofstede's taxonomy of work-related cultural values to examine the relationship between national culture and Activity-Based Costing (ABC) systems. Hofstede's work is used to formulate six predictions about how international cultural diversity could affect an ABC implementation. Two of these six predictions are then applied to the case of Harris Semiconductor (HS), which has implemented an ABC system at plants located in Malaysia and the United States. The findings indicate that HS's "top-down" implementation approach coupled with ABC's inherent emphasis on cross-functional team-based work arrangements may have contributed to a higher level of ABC success at HS's plant in Malaysia relative to its U.S. plants.
Approximations of Portfolio Returns: Are the Errors Really Small?

We analyze the systematic errors coming from two approximations in use in financial modelling: that the portfolio logreturn is the weighted average of the asset logreturns, and that the logreturn is equal to the simple return. Usually, the errors inherent in the approximations are taken to be small and so they are simply ignored. We estimate the errors using Monte Carlo simulations with different distributional assumptions on single asset logreturns. We analyze the impacts of the errors in the context of portfolio choice. The approximations are found to significantly underestimate portfolio logarithmic returns, leading investors to systematically select riskier portfolios than actually desired. On a portfolio with a target logreturn of 10% the true mean exceeds the approximated mean by up to 1%, while the error on volatility is about 2.7%. Furthermore, we show that not only does diversification reduce risk, it also increases the portfolio logreturn mean and skewness, whatever assumptions you make on single asset distributions.
A Normative and Statistical Approach to Measuring Classical Horizontal Inequity

A local measure of classical horizontal inequity (HI) in an income tax or tax-benefit system is proposed and aggregated into a global index. This index expresses the revenue gain per capita that would come from eliminating HI welfare-neutrally, and also reveals the loss of vertical performance, in terms of the Blackorby and Donaldson (1984) progressivity index, caused by the presence of HI. Non-parametric estimation procedures are delineated which can be used to tackle the 'identification problem'. An application to the Canadian tax-benefit system between 1981 and 1994 reveals the changing profile of local HI, its sources and its aggregate significance.