Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Pork Barrel Politics

A growing literature exists on constituency service and pork barrel politics in the United States. Comparative research on an electoral connection between representatives and their constituents has been limited, generally confined to the British case. The research reported here takes an initial step in broadening comparative research on pork barrel politics beyond the American and British cases. Although a case study of the Federal Republic of Germany, this article maintains a strong comparative perspective through its analysis of different types of electoral systems - single- and multimember districts. Our analysis tests the hypothesis that, ceteris paribus, single-member district systems possess stronger incentives than multimember districts for the distributive allocation of pork barrel projects. Through a close-ended mail questionnaire of representatives of the 1983-1986 German Bundestag, this research produces significant evidence to corroborate empirically this theoretical argument. We conclude that district type affects representatives' perceptions of pork barrel allocations as a special type of constituency service.
Differential Requirement for Phospholipase D/Spo14 and Its Novel Interactor Sma1 for Regulation of Exocytotic Vesicle Fusion in Yeast Meiosis*

During sporulation and meiosis of budding yeast a developmental program determines the formation of the new plasma membranes of the spores. This process of prospore membrane (PSM) formation leads to the formation of meiotic daughter cells, the spores, within the lumen of the mother cell. It is initiated at the spindle pole bodies during meiosis II. Spore formation, but not meiotic cell cycle progression, requires the function of phospholipase D (PLD/Spo14). Here we show that PLD/Spo14 forms a complex with Sma1, a meiotically expressed protein essential for spore formation. Detailed analysis revealed that both proteins are required for early steps of prospore membrane assembly but with distinct defects in the respective mutants. In the Δspo14 mutant the initiation of PSM formation is blocked and aggregated vesicles of homogenous size are detected at the spindle pole bodies. In contrast, initiation of PSM formation does occur in the Δsma1 mutant, but the enlargement of the membrane is impaired. During PSM growth both Spo14 and Sma1 localize to the membrane, and localization of Spo14 is independent of Sma1. Biochemical analysis revealed that Sma1 is not necessary for PLD activity per se and that PLD present in a complex with Sma1 is highly active. Together, our results suggest that yeast PLD is involved in two distinct but essential steps during the regulated vesicle fusion necessary for the assembly of the membranous encapsulations of the spores.
Bone marrow-derived osteoblasts seeded into porous beta-tricalcium phosphate to repair segmental defect in canine's mandibula.

BACKGROUND Bone regeneration is often needed for many aesthetic and reconstructive procedures. Tissue engineering provided a promising approach to supplement existing treatment strategies. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of reconstructing mandibular defect by using bioceramics seeded with bone marrow derived osteoblasts. METHODS Canine's autologous marrow stromal cells were Culture-expanded and induced to osteoblastic phenotype, then were seeded into prepared porous beta-tricalcium phosphate, after being incubated in vitro. The cell/ scaffold complexes were implanted into the prepared defect in canines' mandibula and fixed by internal rigid fixation. In control groups, beta-tricalcium phosphate alone and autologous iliums were implanted into the prepared defects. Twelve weeks after implantation, the specimens were examined macroscopically and histologically. RESULTS In experimental group and autologous iliums group, new bone grafts were successfully developed at 12 weeks after implantation and repaired the continuity of the mandibula. Histologically, newly formed bone could be observed on the surface and in the pores of beta-tricalcium phosphate in the cell/scaffold group, whereas incomplete bone repair was found in pure beta-tricalcium phosphate group. CONCLUSION The harvested bone marrow derived osteoblasts possess the ability to form new bone tissue when seeded onto porous beta-tricalcium phosphate, which shows the potential of using this method to repair large segmental mandibular defect clinically.
Chemistry of Mixed Melanogenesis—Pivotal Roles of Dopaquinone †

Melanins can be classified into two major groups—insoluble brown to black pigments termed eumelanin and alkali‐soluble yellow to reddish‐brown pigments termed pheomelanin. Both types of pigment derive from the common precursor dopaquinone (ortho‐quinone of 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine) which is formed via the oxidation of l‐tyrosine by the melanogenic enzyme tyrosinase. Dopaquinone is a highly reactive ortho‐quinone that plays pivotal roles in the chemical control of melanogenesis. In the absence of sulfhydryl compounds, dopaquinone undergoes intramolecular cyclization to form cyclodopa, which is then rapidly oxidized by a redox reaction with dopaquinone to give dopachrome (and dopa). Dopachrome then gradually and spontaneously rearranges to form 5,6‐dihydroxyindole and to a lesser extent 5,6‐dihydroxyindole‐2‐carboxylic acid, the ratio of which is determined by a distinct melanogenic enzyme termed dopachrome tautomerase (tyrosinase‐related protein‐2). Oxidation and subsequent polymerization of these dihydroxyindoles leads to the production of eumelanin. However, when cysteine is present, this process gives rise preferentially to the production of cysteinyldopa isomers. Cysteinyldopas are subsequently oxidized through redox reaction with dopaquinone to form cysteinyldopaquinones that eventually lead to the production of pheomelanin. Pulse radiolysis studies of early stages of melanogenesis (involving dopaquinone and cysteine) indicate that mixed melanogenesis proceeds in three distinct stages—the initial production of cysteinyldopas, followed by their oxidation to produce pheomelanin, followed finally by the production of eumelanin. Based on these data, a casing model of mixed melanogenesis is proposed in which a preformed pheomelanic core is covered by a eumelanic surface.
The Efficiency Effects of Categorical Discrimination in the Insurance Industry

Recent public policy debate has focused concern on the equity dimensions of categorical discrimination based on sex, age, or race in insurance and similar markets. We consider the efficiency effects of such discrimination and establish that costless imperfect categorization always enhances efficiency. When categorization entails a non-negligible resource cost, however, no unambiguous efficiency ranking of informational regimes is possible. When categorization is costless, we demonstrate that government, having no better information than market participants, can effect redistribution without assuming dictatorial control of the market, implying that a market equilibrium with costless categorization is potentially Pareto superior to one without it. When categorization is costly, however, the market may categorize when Pareto improvements are not possible.
The Uncertainty Premium in an Ambiguous Economy

Theuncertainty premiumis the premium that is derived from not knowing the sure outcome (risk premium) and from not knowing the precise odds of outcomes (ambiguity premium). We generalize Pratt's risk premium to uncertainty premium based on Klibanoffet al.'s (2005) smooth model of ambiguity. We show that the uncertainty premium can decrease with an increase in decision maker's risk aversion. This happens because increasing risk aversion always results in a lower ambiguity premium. The positive ambiguity premium may provide an additional explanation to the equity premium puzzle.
Public health insurance expansions and labour supply of married women: the state children's health insurance programme

While the relationships between health insurance and the labour supply of women have been explored in the literature, little is known about the effects of offering public health insurance on the labour supply decisions of married women. This article examines the labour supply decisions of married women using the State Children's Health Insurance Programme. Our empirical analysis implies that certain groups of married women may be leaving the labour force in order to provide public health insurance for their children. We conclude that the programme causes unexpected efficiency losses through distorted labour supply decisions.
A clip domain serine protease involved in moulting in the silkworm, Bombyx mori: cloning, characterization, expression patterns and functional analysis

Clip domain serine proteases (CLIPs), characterized by one or more conserved clip domains, are essential components of extracellular signalling cascades in various biological processes, especially in innate immunity and the embryonic development of insects. Additionally, CLIPs may have additional non‐immune functions in insect development. In the present study, the clip domain serine protease gene Bombyx mori serine protease 95 (BmSP95), which encodes a 527‐residue protein, was cloned from the integument of B. mori. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that BmSP95 is a typical CLIP of the subfamily D and possesses a clip domain at the N terminus, a trypsin‐like serine protease (tryp_spc) domain at the C terminus and a conserved proline‐rich motif between these two domains. At the transcriptional level, BmSP95 is expressed in the integument during moulting and metamorphosis, and the expression pattern is consistent with the fluctuating 20‐hydroxyecdysone (20E) titre in B. mori. At the translational level, BmSP95 protein is synthesized in the epidermal cells, secreted as a zymogen and activated in the moulting fluid. Immunofluorescence revealed that BmSP95 is distributed into the old endocuticle in the moulting stage. The expression of BmSP95 was upregulated by 20E. Moreover, expression of BmSP95 was downregulated by pathogen infection. RNA interference‐mediated silencing of BmSP95 led to delayed moulting from pupa to moth. These results suggest that BmSP95 is involved in integument remodelling during moulting and metamorphosis.
Community renewal and large public housing estates

Abstract The extent of social disadvantage in local neighbourhoods has come to the fore in recent years, partly as a result of the problems that State Housing Authorities have faced in managing the concentrations of socially marginalised populations on larger public housing estates. However, a wider understanding of the processes at play in these neighbourhoods is needed to inform policy development. We consider the evolution of local renewal policy in New South Wales at the present time and suggest potential policy options for the future.
Provider and Center Effect in Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trials of Surgical Specialties: An Analysis on Patient-level Data

Objective:To estimate the importance of center and provider effect and its implication on the estimation of treatment effect in surgical randomized controlled trials. Summary Background Data:Provider and center effect may play an important role in the estimated treatment effect of multicenter surgical randomized controlled trials (RCTs). However, such effects are rarely accounted for in surgical RCTs. Methods:Analysis of patient-level data from 3 large surgical randomized controlled trials. One trial in ophthalmology comparing retinal detachment rate after retinal reattachment in 225 patients operated on by 32 providers across 10 centers; one trial in orthopaedics comparing Harris Hip Score after total hip replacement in 496 patients operated on by 22 providers across 18 centers; one trial in general surgery comparing recurrence rate of hernia repair in 200 patients operated on by 88 providers across 11 centers. A provider effect and a center effect were searched for by comparing nonadjusted and adjusted models. An analysis of volume (ie, number of procedures performed during the course of the trial) effect and, when relevant, a treatment-by-volume interaction was also sought. Results:A significant provider effect was found in ophthalmology (P < 0.0001); center effect was not significant. In orthopaedics, significant provider (P = 0.0037) and volume effect (P = 0.019) were found; a correlation was found between provider effect and volume (r = 0.5, P = 0.018); moreover, a treatment-by-volume interaction was found (P = 0.033); treatment effect became significant when adjusting for volume and provider. In general surgery, center effect was more prominent than provider effect, although none were found significant. Conclusions:Provider and center effects play a significant role in the estimation of treatment effect of large randomized controlled surgical trials. Not accounting for such effects may lead to biased estimates and misleading conclusions. These effects should be accounted for in the design and analysis of such trials.
Autonomous lablet locomotion and active docking by sensomotory electroosmotic drive

In this paper, we show how autonomous microscopic CMOS particles, called lablets, here at the scale of 100μm, are equipped with an electroosmotic drive, and calculate that this can propel them sufficiently to overcome the strong viscous drag at this length scale, depending on the ionic strength and pH of the solution in which they are immersed. We then use this thrust and the currently fabricated lablet design to show in simulation how programmable movement of lablets can be obtained. The lablets are equipped with chemical sensors and simple programmable functionality that we show can form a substrate for chemotactic behaviour and autonomous docking to a target surface (such as a second lablet). We calculate the concentration field induced by an electrically active lablet and show that other lablets can dock by chemotaxis in this field. Lablets can self-assemble to form compartments, and perform chemical operations, and hence provide a potential electronicchemical substrate for building artificial cells. The investigation of autonomous motion capabilities is an important basic functionality for particles of this size, where passive Brownian motion is already slow, when motion has been implicated as a fundamental property of early life [1].
Modèle de communication affective pour agent conversationnel animé, basé sur des facettes de personnalité et des buts de communication "cachés". (Enhancing Affective Communication in Embodied Conversational Agents through Personality-Based Hidden Conversational Goals)

Les Agents Conversationnels Animes (ACA) sont des personnages virtuels interactifs et expressifs, dont l'aspect est tres souvent « humain », exploitant differentes modalites telles que la face, le langage, les gestes, le regard ou encore la prosodie de la voix. Le but est qu'ils s'expriment en langage naturel et puissent dialoguer avec des interlocuteurs humains. Pour developper un ACA, il faut d'abord comprendre que des aspects tels que personnalite, les emotions et leur apparence sont extremement importants. Le travail qui est presente dans cette these a pour objectif d'augmenter l'acceptabilite et la credibilite des agents au moyen de la personnalite, consideree comme une notion centrale a l'interaction ACA-humain. On propose un modele qui dote l'ACA de facettes de personnalite et de buts de communication « caches » et qui module ainsi ses actions conversationnelles. Ce travail presente egalement une application de jeu de type “puzzle”, integrant un ACA dote de facettes de personnalite et de buts « caches », qui a servi de support a plusieurs experimentations et a l'evaluation du modele propose.
Search and the Choice of Shopping Centre: Two Models of Variability in Destination Selection

There is abundant empirical evidence that shoppers allocate their custom for the same goods to a number of centres. Such apparently suboptimal behaviour may be a rational response to either or both of the costs of search and variations in the utility offered by the destinations. Two models of such behaviour are presented and are evaluated alongside data oh spatiotemporal price variations. The results have implications for the calibration of shopping models and for other research areas.
Local Participation in the Planning and Management of Ecotourism: A Revised Model Approach

Ecotourism is increasingly being advanced as a strategy to help address economic and social problems in local communities, and as an appropriate and effective tool of environmental conservation. The full and effective participation of local communities in the planning and management of ecotourism is, however, rarely a feature of ecotourism projects. At best, ecotourism projects tend to aim for the 'involvement' of local people, and at worst, ecotourism projects can ignore the issue of local participation completely. Such projects frequently fail after a relatively short period of time. This paper sets out to identify a number of elements of good practice in incorporating the fundamental principles of local community participation into the processes by which ecotourism projects are planned and managed. Taking lessons from this good practice, and drawing on a model previously developed in the early 1990s by Susan Drake, a revised model approach for local participation in the planning and management of ecotourism is then introduced and discussed. While this revised model approach was originally developed in the context of marine ecotourism in the EU Atlantic Area, it is arguably more generally applicable to different types of ecotourism projects and across a wider spectrum of geographical locations.
Establishing a globally distributed software development system in academic settings: An ergonomic perspective

Global software development is increasingly becoming common practice in the software industry. The ability to develop software at remote sites allows organizations to ignore geographic distances and to benefit from access to a rich resource pool at reduced costs. Recently, global software engineering projects are being introduced at academic institutes as part of computer science and software engineering degree requirements. There are many challenges associated with managing and executing globally distributed software projects in academic settings. In this paper, we will attempt to analyze the framework and components of a collaborative global software engineering system in academic settings from an ergonomic perspective. In our analysis we will apply the Concentric Ring Model to conduct the analysis. This model will allow us to examine the different challenges pertaining to users, machines, workspace, environment and the interlacing factors like time zones, cultural diversity of users, location barriers, in addition to gender issues which are particularly pertinent to Kuwait. The uniqueness of the proposed research lies in two main areas: it examines collaboration between Kuwait and the US; and it investigates the proposed topics from an ergonomic perspective.
Efficacy and safety of quetiapine in children and adolescents with mania associated with bipolar I disorder: a 3-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of quetiapine monotherapy in children and adolescents with mania associated with bipolar I disorder. METHOD Patients aged 10 to 17 years, with a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of a manic episode associated with bipolar I disorder and Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) total score ≥ 20 were randomized to 3 weeks of quetiapine (400 or 600 mg/d) or placebo. The primary efficacy measure was change in YMRS total score. The study was conducted at 34 centers in the United States between August 2004 and July 2006. RESULTS The intent-to-treat population included 277 patients. Least squares mean change in YMRS score from baseline to end point by mixed-model, repeated-measures analysis was -14.25, -15.60, and -9.04 for quetiapine 400 mg/d, quetiapine 600 mg/d, and placebo, respectively (P < .001, each quetiapine dose vs placebo). Significant improvement in YMRS score versus placebo was first observed at day 4 (P = .015) with quetiapine 400 mg/d and day 7 (P < .001) with quetiapine 600 mg/d. Mean changes in body weight at day 21 (observed cases) were 1.7 kg for both quetiapine doses and 0.4 kg for placebo. Numerically larger mean increases in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides were observed with quetiapine than placebo. Adverse events associated with quetiapine were mostly mild to moderate in intensity. CONCLUSIONS In this 3-week study, quetiapine was significantly more effective than placebo in improving manic symptoms in youth with mania associated with bipolar disorder. Treatment was generally well tolerated and adverse events were broadly consistent with the known profile of quetiapine in adults with bipolar disorder. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00090311.
A NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF CAPACITATED POSTPONEMENT

Customer satisfaction can be achieved by providing rapid delivery of a wide variety of products. High levels of product variety require correspondingly high levels of inventory of each item to quickly respond to customer demand. Delayed product differentiation has been identified as a strategy to reduce final product inventories while providing the required customer service levels. However, it is done so at the cost of devoting large production capacities to the differentiation stage. We study the impact of this postponement capacity on the ability to achieve the benefits of delayed product differentiation. We examine a single‐period capacitated inventory model and consider a manufacturing system that produces a single item that is finished into multiple products. After assembly, some amount of the common generic item is completed as non‐postponed products, whereas some of the common item is kept as in‐process inventory, thereby postponing the commitment to a specific product. The non‐postponed finished‐goods inventory is used first to meet demand. Demand in excess of this inventory is met, if possible, through the completion of the common items. Our results indicate that a relatively small amount of postponement capacity is needed to achieve all of the benefits of completely delaying product differentiation for all customer demand. This important result will permit many firms to adopt this delaying strategy who previously thought it to be either technologically impossible or prohibitively expensive to do so.
Technology Strategy and Product Diversity

This paper considers a three-stage game of a differentiated oligopoly: firms first make their entry decisions, then they choose production technologies and in the third stage of the game they decide product prices. The technology choice can be understood as selecting one from a pool of those recently available as well as developing a new technology through innovative activities. The resulting market equilibrium is then compared with the social optimum. The main conclusions are that a monopolistically competitive market will typically undersupply both product variety and production scale. R&D competition in a free entry differentiated oligopoly will lead to insufficient R&D investment at firm and industry levels.
HRM issues and outcomes in African mergers and acquisitions: a study of the Nigerian banking sector

Despite the increasing number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) taking place in Africa, research of this phenomenon, particularly in this continent, is extremely scarce. There is also growing awareness amongst researchers of the importance of human resource management (HRM) practices in general throughout the merger process. This makes an enquiry into its role in this context opportune. By analysing the recent M&A wave in the Nigerian banking sector, this paper explores HRM practices throughout the M&A process. Through interviews of key informants in each merging bank, key HRM practices are identified and conclusions drawn about their contribution to overall M&A outcomes. Implications for theory and practice are discussed and future research directions offered.