Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anesthetic Properties of 4-Iodopropofol: Implications for Mechanisms of Anesthesia

Background Positive modulation of &ggr;-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor function is recognized as an important component of the central nervous system depressant effects of many general anesthetics, including propofol. The role for GABAA receptors as an essential site in the anesthetic actions of propofol was recently challenged by a report that the propofol analog 4-iodopropofol (4-iodo-2,6-diisopropylphenol) potentiated and directly activated GABAA receptors, yet was devoid of sedative–anesthetic effects in rats after intraperitoneal injection. Given the important implications of these findings for theories of anesthesia, the authors compared the effects of 4-iodopropofol with those of propofol using established in vivo and in vitro assays of both GABAA receptor–dependent and –independent anesthetic actions. Methods The effects of propofol and 4-iodopropofol were analyzed on heterologously expressed recombinant human GABAA &agr;1&bgr;2&ggr;2 receptors, evoked population spike amplitudes in rat hippocampal slices, and glutamate release from rat cerebrocortical synaptosomes in vitro. Anesthetic potency was determined by loss of righting reflex in Xenopus laevis tadpoles, in mice after intraperitoneal injection, and in rats after intravenous injection. Results Like propofol, 4-iodopropofol enhanced GABA-induced currents in recombinant GABAA receptors, inhibited synaptic transmission in rat hippocampal slices, and inhibited sodium channel–mediated glutamate release from synaptosomes, but with reduced potency. After intraperitoneal injection, 4-iodopropofol did not produce anesthesia in mice, but it was not detected in serum or brain. However, 4-iodopropofol did produce anesthesia in tadpoles (EC50 = 2.5 ± 0.5 &mgr;m) and in rats after intravenous injection (ED50 = 49 ± 6.2 mg/kg). Conclusions Propofol and 4-iodopropofol produced similar actions on several previously identified cellular and molecular targets of general anesthetic action, and both compounds induced anesthesia in tadpoles and rats. The failure of 4-iodopropofol to induce anesthesia in rodents after intraperitoneal injection is attributed to a pharmacokinetic difference from propofol rather than to major pharmacodynamic differences.
Stochastic modeling of the hypothalamic pulse generator activity.

Luteinizing hormone (LH) is released by the pituitary in discrete pulses. In the monkey, the appearance of LH pulses in the plasma is invariably associated with sharp increases (i.e, volleys) in the frequency of the hypothalamic pulse generator electrical activity, so that continuous monitoring of this activity by telemetry provides a unique means to study the temporal structure of the mechanism generating the pulses. To assess whether the times of occurrence and durations of previous volleys exert significant influence on the timing of the next volley, we used a class of periodic counting process models that specify the stochastic intensity of the process as the product of two factors: 1) a periodic baseline intensity and 2) a stochastic regression function with covariates representing the influence of the past. This approach allows the characterization of circadian modulation and memory range of the process underlying hypothalamic pulse generator activity, as illustrated by fitting the model to experimental data from two ovariectomized rhesus monkeys.
Migration, effort, and voter sentiment towards temporary migration

The sentiments felt by capital owners and local workers and consumers towards migrants may improve when temporary migration policies are adopted. The observed level of exertion of effort by migrants, which decreases during their duration in the host country, positively affects production, real wages and capital owners' profits. We show that the acceptance of job offers by migrants results in the displacement in employment of national workers by immigrants, but it increases the exertion of effort by workers, reduces prices, and acts as a counterweight to anti-immigrant voter attitudes.
Markets for marama beans in southern Africa: Linking sustainable products with sustainable livelihoods

Indigenous natural food plants are critical to rural livelihoods, especially in arid and semi-arid regions where they contribute significantly to food security and social and economic welfare. The sustainability of these plants is therefore of paramount importance. This paper analyses the market conditions for marama bean (Tylosema esculentum) products, taking into account economic, social and cultural conditions. Information on local livelihoods was gathered through focus groups and in-depth interviews with key informants in Botswana, South Africa and Namibia. The market analysis for marama products was conducted using an STP (segment, target, position) framework, and willingness to pay for prototype products was evaluated using the contingent valuation method to analyse structured questionnaires directed at retail outlets. The study found that assuring the sustainability of local people's livelihoods while creating a larger market is only achievable through community organisations supported by a broad marketing strategy and using cultivated marama.
Sponge-like porous carbon/tin composite anode materials for lithium ion batteries

A novel sponge-like porous C/Sn composite is synthesized by dispersing SnO2 nanoparticles into a soft-template polymer matrix followed by carbonization. The mesoporous C/Sn anodes can deliver a capacity as high as 1300 mAh g−1 after 450 charge/discharge cycles, and provide a capacity of 180 mAh g−1 even at 4000 mA g−1 charge/discharge current density. An extra reversible capacity over the theoretical value of the porous C/Sn anode is observed, which is attributed to the reversible formation/decomposition of the gel-like polymers formed on the mesoporous C/Sn composite due to the catalytic effect of the Sn nanoparticles. The high capacity, long cycle life, high power, ∼100% Coulombic efficiency, and inexpensive production method make the sponge-like porous C/Sn composite an attractive anode material in Li-ion batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.
Comparing nurse managers and nurses' perceptions of nurses' self-leadership during capacity building.

AIMS This paper compares the perceptions of nurse managers and nurses about self-leadership of professional nurses while taking ownership of capacity building during unit management. BACKGROUND The Nursing Strategy for South Africa states that the competency of nurses is dependent upon factors that lead to capacity building. METHOD A quantitative design was followed by conducting a survey. The target population included nurse managers and professional nurses working at an academic public hospital in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. RESULTS The findings indicate shortcomings in relation to advising professional nurses about self-direction while taking ownership of their daily pressures and stresses associated with unit management. CONCLUSION Professional nurses should develop their confidence by focusing on their self-leadership strengths when managing a unit. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSE MANAGERS Recommendations are made to promote self-leadership while taking ownership of nurses during capacity building of unit management.
The Winner's Curse Problem, Interest Costs and the Underpricing of Initial Public Offerings

This paper provides the first direct test of the winner's curse problem proposed by K. Rock (1986) as an explanation to the underpricing of initial public offerings. Moreover, it tests the proposition that the underpricing of initial public offerings in the United Kingdom is due to the combined effect of the winner's curse problem and the particular nature of the settlement mechanism applicable in the British new issues market. The evidence demonstrates that when these two factors--winner's curse problems and interest rate costs--are taken into consideration, the emerging first day net returns are, on average, markedly lower than the level of actual underpricing. Consistently, superior performance can only be achieved by predicting the market's response to the individual new issue. The results, however, indicate that such predictive ability is largely unattainable. Copyright 1990 by Royal Economic Society.
Voting Power and Shareholder Activism: A Study of Swedish Shareholder Meetings

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This paper analyses the impact of voting power on shareholder activism using unique data on activism at Swedish shareholder meetings. We hypothesize that there is a positive relationship between shareholder activism and a measure of the largest shareholder's sensitivity to increased participation by small shareholders. Research Findings/Insights: We find that firms' amenability to small shareholder influence leads to more proposals by the nomination committee, but fewer proposals by other shareholders and fewer proposals voted against. We interpret this as evidence that the shareholder elected nomination committees effectively channel shareholder concerns and preempt other kinds of activism. In addition, we find more shareholder activity in large firms and less activity in leveraged firms. Theoretical/Academic Implications: This paper offers a new voting power approach to the study of shareholder activism. We show the empirical implications of this approach, but also the importance of local institutions such as nomination committees in shaping the nature of shareholder activism. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Politicians and companies that desire active shareholders could improve the amenability of firms to shareholder influence by ownership transparency, shareholder committees, contacts with shareholder associations and other vehicles for collective action.
Gestió de la comunicació interactiva amb els empleats: efectes de les senyals de presència social, personalització, i velocitat de retroalimentació

Objecte: Cada vegada mes, les organitzacions estan mes conscienciades que l’exit empresarial s’aconsegueix amb el treball constant i energic de tots els seus integrants. Aspectes com el compromis i la motivacio son cabdals. Aquest article, fa referencia a la necessitat cada vegada mes creixent d’utilitzar els canals de comunicacio en linia per gestionar mes eficacment les relacions amb els empleats. Disseny/metodologia: Prenent com a base la teoria de la riquesa dels mitjans de comunicacio, es fa una proposta per a examinar els factors que afecten en una comunicacio eficac, relacionant les senyals d’informacio, la personalitzacio, i la velocitat en dues situacions diferents. Aportacions i resultats: Aquest treball ofereix vuit propostes per tal d’estimular la investigacio futura en els canals emergents. Limitacions: En l’estudi nomes es consideren dos canals de comunicacio basats en internet: correu electronic i missatgeria instantania. Implicacions practiques: Coneixer la percepcio dels treballadors es fonamental per tal de millorar els processos comunicatius en organitzacions i institucions. Els resultats d’aquest recerca poden oferir una visio clara dels efectes de l’us eficient de nous canals de comunicacio. Implicacions socials: La capacitat dels nous dispositius mobils amb connexio permanent online ha afavorit l’us massiu de nous canals de comunicacio. Coneixer els factors determinats que influeixen en la percepcio dels usuaris sobre els nous canals, es un factor determinat en l’eleccio dels mitjans de comunicacio. Valor afegit: Tot i que es manifest l’us intensiu dels nous canals de comunicacio, son pocs els estudis que analitzin els efectes i repercussions del seu us en organitzacions i institucions.
An introduction to the Enterprise Risk Scorecard

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of an Enterprise Risk Scorecard.Design/methodology/approach – With the accelerating growth in global risk levels leading to an intense current demand for risk management solutions, an analysis was conducted on whether a scorecard framework could be applied to risk measurement. This analysis included a survey of Kaplan and Norton's voluminous and seminal writings on the Balanced Scorecard, in which, surprisingly, relatively little on the measurement of risk was found.Findings – The findings suggest that a scorecard framework could be an effective risk measurement, management and communication tool. For both design and organizational reasons it is recommended that risk scorecards be separate from performance scorecards.Research limitations/implications – Utilizing two scorecards – one for performance and a separate one for risk – could provide strategy‐focused organizations with a more comprehensive diagnostic control system. The research impli.
Decreased Cytomegalovirus Expression Following Proinflammatory Cytokine Treatment of Primary Human Astrocytes1

Understanding the influence of immune effector mechanisms on CMV infection of the CNS may facilitate the development of immunotherapies for viral encephalitis. Using cultures of highly purified, fully permissive primary human astrocytes, proinflammatory cytokines, but not antiinflammatory cytokines or β-chemokines, were found to inhibit CMV expression, DNA synthesis, and replication. Treatment with certain proinflammatory cytokines 24 h before CMV infection markedly suppressed viral expression in astrocytes. TNF-α, IL-1β, and IFN-γ all inhibited CMV expression (70 ± 4.2%, 65 ± 3.4%, and 82 ± 3.6% inhibition of viral expression, respectively, n = 5). In contrast, no viral suppression was observed following IL-6 treatment. Suppressive activity was dependent on the addition of cytokines before CMV infection. Cytokine pretreatment did not affect CMV entry into primary astrocytes, and the observed cytokine-induced suppressive activity was not affected by the NO synthase inhibitor NG-monomethyl-l-arginine (NGMA). Instead, the suppressive effect appeared to be mediated through a mechanism involving inhibition of CMV major immediate early promoter activity. These results support the hypothesis that proinflammatory cytokines possess anti-CMV activity in brain cells and may lead to new interventions for CMV encephalitis based upon immunotherapy.
The spatial dynamics of postmodern urbanism: social polarisation and fragmentation in Saão Paulo and Johannesburg1

Numerous urban theorists have focused on the changing morphological characteristics of urban landscapes and, in particular, on the use, management, and regulation of city space. 2 In looking at the fragmentation of the urban realm into what Harvey (2000:152) calls “a patchwork quilt of islands of relative affluence struggling to secure themselves in a sea of spreading decay”, these scholars have drawn our attention to the spatiality of contemporary cities. By highlighting such spatial features as ‘edge cities’, gated residential communities and other ‘privatopias’, fortified office citadels, downtown renaissance zones, festival marketplaces and other enclosed shopping-mall extravaganzas as they appear in cities around the world, these urban theorists have made us aware of the evolving patterns of spatial restructuring associated with a distinctive kind of polynucleated and fragmented city form, one which some scholars have called ‘postmodern urbanism’ (Dear 2000; Dear and Flusty 1998; Soja 2000; Hannigan 1995). Unlike other urban paradigms (such as the ‘global cities’ or ‘world cities’ perspectives) which take urban political economy as their point of departure, the theorists of postmodern urbanism lay particular stress on the spatial dynamics of the urban landscape, looking upon the cityscape as a contested terrain where spatial politics involve struggles over the use of urban space, particularly in regard to who belongs where and with what entitlements or citizenship rights (Harvey 2000; Holston 1999:157–73).
A genetic framework for fruit patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana

In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, the establishment of organ polarity leads to the expression of FILAMENTOUS FLOWER (FIL) and YABBY3 (YAB3) on one side of an organ. One important question that has remained unanswered is how does this positional information lead to the correct spatial activation of genes controlling tissue identity? We provide the first functional link between polarity establishment and the regulation of tissue identity by showing that FIL and YAB3 control the non-overlapping expression patterns of FRUITFULL (FUL) and SHATTERPROOF (SHP), genes necessary to form stripes of valve margin tissue that allow the fruit to shatter along two defined borders and disperse the seeds. FIL and YAB3 activate FUL and SHP redundantly with JAGGED (JAG), a gene that also promotes growth in organs, indicating that several pathways converge to regulate these genes. These activities are negatively regulated by REPLUMLESS (RPL), which divides FIL/JAG activity, creating two distinct stripes of valve margin.
The Exploration of the Causes of Financing Difficulties of China’s Small and Micro Businesses

Small and micro businesses play an important role in China’s economy. But the small and micro businesses are confronted with financing difficulties at the present stage. After introduce the current financing situation of the small and micro businesses, this article analyses the causes of financing difficulties of the small and micro businesses, including the general causes and the special factors. These factors assume the businesses’ own factors, information asymmetry in the financing market, disequilibrium of the financial structure, and imperfection of the credit system, etc. Key words: Small and micro businesses; Financing difficulties; The causes
The physical base of communication on natural language

The goal of this paper is to shed light on the physical basement of communication in case of natural languages, which is just an assumption in trying to understand why words exist and are organized while Digital Society is going to replace them by artificial electronic models. The natural language is considered to be positioned on two well-known physical levels — Newtonian and Quantum mechanics. The formation of word (a portion of sound, having a portion of meaning) is thought to happen on the quantum level, while the arrangement of words and word complexes is believed to take place on the classical mechanical level. The notion of semifinitive is introduced and developed to cover the categories of time, space, mass and energy as the categories, constituting the most parts of a language, which have concern to verbal and substantive units to be considered as being profound communication units.
A critical assessment of Trinidad and Tobago as a cruise homeport: doorway to the South American cruise market?

The Caribbean is the number one cruise region in the world, and given the cruise industry's continued growth, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago (GOTT) has earmarked cruise tourism as a niche market to be developed. Reports indicate that there is an increased interest in the South American market by the cruise ship industry, which presents an ideal opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago, given its geographical location, to be considered a cruise hub in the southern Caribbean. This article analyses the potential of Trinidad and Tobago as a cruise homeport and seeks to determine if it can be a gateway to the South American cruise market. Using specific criteria for homeports as identified from existing cruise research, respondents were asked to rate the port in Port of Spain, Trinidad, as a potential homeport. Research findings indicate that, at present, the destination is not prepared to be a homeport given its inadequate facilities and infrastructure. Respondents' recommendations included the need to develop basic infrastructural facilities to accommodate mega cruise ships, greater incentives to cruise companies in order to start homeport operations as well as the development of a National Cruise Tourism Policy.
Long-term output growth as a predictor of stock returns

The predictive ability is examined of information contained in long-term output growth about future stock returns. If consumption is a function of long-term income, the solution to a general equilibrium model should put asset returns as a function of the long-term income (output) instead of the aggregate income. Exploiting the predictive relations implicit in equilibrium solutions, the importance of long-term output growth is analysed. The results show that long-term output growth is much more significant than aggregate growth for forecasting not only the aggregate but also medium- and short-term movements of asset returns.
Perioperative Stroke in Noncardiac, Nonneurosurgical Surgery

Perioperative stroke after noncardiac, nonneurosurgical procedures is more common than generally acknowledged. It is reported to have an incidence of 0.05–7% of patients. Most are thrombotic in origin and are noted after discharge from the postanesthetic care unit. Common predisposing factors include age, a previous stroke, atrial fibrillation, and vascular and metabolic diseases. The mortality is more than two times greater than in strokes occurring outside the hospital. Delayed diagnosis and a synergistic interaction between the inflammatory changes normally associated with stroke, and those normally occurring after surgery, may explain this increase. Intraoperative hypotension is an infrequent direct cause of stroke. Hypotension will augment the injury produced by embolism or other causes, and this may be especially important in the postoperative period, during which monitoring is not nearly as attentive as in the operating room. Increased awareness and management of predisposing risk factors with early detection should result in improved outcomes.
Growing Artificial Entrepreneurs: Advancing Entrepreneurship Research Using Agent-Based Simulation Approach

Purpose: This paper offers agent-based modelling (ABM) as an alternative approach to advance research in entrepreneurship. It argues that ABM allows entrepreneurship researchers (i.e., the designers) to find better ways in generating entrepreneurial outcomes by understanding alternative histories and examining plausible future. Design: This paper begins with an overview of ABM, and discusses the shared conceptual foundations of entrepreneurship and ABM as the motives for the adoption of ABM as an appropriate methodology to study entrepreneurship. It offers a roadmap in using ABM approach for entrepreneurship research and illustrates this using a contemporary research question in entrepreneurship: the study of success/failure in business venturing. Findings: This paper suggests the shared foundations between ABM and entrepreneurship as the basis for bringing the methodology and research domain closer. It offers a roadmap for advancing entrepreneurship research using agent-based simulation approach and explains the contribution of ABM to further advance entrepreneurship research. Originality/Value: This paper addresses the methodological gap in entrepreneurship research and develops the argument for a wider adoption of ABM simulation approach to study entrepreneurship. It bridges the gap by examining the possibility of formalizing entrepreneurship processes by grounding an agent-based model on empirical facts and generally-accepted foundations of entrepreneurship. It offers a contribution to the literature by showing that ABM is a useful and appropriate methodological approach for entrepreneurship research in addition to the conventional variance and process approach.