Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On Being Nonprofit: A Conceptual and Policy Primer

This concise volume provides a road map to the evolving conceptual and policy terrain of the nonprofit sector. Drawing on prominent economic, political, and sociological explanations of nonprofit activity, Peter Frumkin focuses on four important functions that have come to define nonprofit organisations. The author clarifies the debate over the underlying rationale for the nonprofit and voluntary sector's privileged position in America by examining how nonprofits deliver needed services, promote civic engagement, express values and faith, and channel entrepreneurial impulses. He also exposes the difficult policy questions that have emerged as the boundaries between the nonprofit, business, and government sectors have blurred. Focusing on nonprofits' growing dependence on public funding, tendency toward political polarisation, often idiosyncratic missions, and increasing commercialism, Peter Frumkin argues that the long-term challenges facing nonprofit organisations will only be solved when they achieve greater balance among their four central functions.
Dividend Smoothing and Debt Ratings

Abstract We find that firms that regularly access public debt (bond) markets are more likely to pay a dividend and subsequently follow a dividend smoothing policy than firms that rely exclusively on private (bank) debt. In particular, firms with bond ratings follow a traditional Lintner (1956) style dividend smoothing policy, where the influence of the prior dividend payment is very strong and the current dividend is relatively insensitive to current earnings. In contrast, firms without bond ratings flow through more of their earnings as dividends and display very little dividend smoothing behavior. In effect, they seem to follow a residual dividend policy.
UC Office of the President Recent Work Title Context-dependent bidirectional regulation of the mutS homolog 2 by transforming growth factor β contributes to chemoresistance in breast cancer cells

The TGF-b, a tumor suppressive cytokine in normal cells, is abused in cancer to promote the malignancy. In this study, we reported that TGF-b downregulated the mutS homolog 2 (MSH2), a central component of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) system, in HER2-transformed MCF10A mammary epithelial cells and in breast cancer (BC) cells. This was mediated by a TGF-b–induced micro RNA (miRNA), miR-21, which targeted the 30 untranslated region of MSH2 mRNA and downregulated its expression. A negative correlation between the expression of TGF-b1 and MSH2 was also detected in primary breast tumors. In contrast, TGF-b upregulated MSH2 in nontransformed cells through Smad-mediated, p53-dependent promoter activation, which was absent in BC cells with impaired p53 function. Although this upregulating mechanism also existed in MCF10A/HER2 and p53-proficient BC cells, both basal and TGF-b–induced MSH2 promoter activities were significantly lower than those in MCF10A. Moreover, the basal and TGF-b–induced miR-21 levels were markedly higher in transformed cells, suggesting that the preset levels of miR-21 and MSH2 promoter activity, which is affected by the p53 status, determine the outputs of the bidirectional regulation of MSH2 by TGF-b in a certain cellular context. We further found that by downregulating MSH2, TGF-b contributed to resistance to DNA-damaging chemotherapy agents in cancer cells. Our results indicated a regulatory antagonism between promoter activation and miRNA-mediated posttranscriptional inhibition underlying a dual effect of TGF-b on the DNA repair machinery, which may influence the genomic stability in a context-dependent manner and contribute to chemoresistance in cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 8(12); 1633–42. 2010 AACR.
Far from the Madding Crowd: Slow Innovators, Information Value, and the Geography of Innovation

The open innovation paradigm has become central for understanding firm-level innovation, and is being refined and questioned as researchers explore its limits. However, it has been rather uncritically adopted by many economic geographers since it provides backing for a variety of theories and observations that point towards innovation occurring in geographically concentrated clusters and cities and towards the role that proximity plays. Evidence that innovation can and does occur outside of clusters and cities, whilst widespread, has not displaced the prevailing idea that innovation and geographic concentration are intimately linked. In this paper, I first go over these arguments, focussing on the reasons why innovation is thought to be associated with cities and clusters. I then propose a framework that accounts for the clustering of innovative firms, for the role of cities, and for the fact that empirical work consistently shows that firms introduce first-to-market innovations in a wide variety of geographic contexts, including isolated and peripheral ones. The framework (re)introduces time and place as key factors, which determine not the diffusion, but the value to innovators, of different types of information.
Adverse events of intravenous glucocorticoid pulse therapy in inflammatory diseases: a meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES To systematically analyse the literature on reported adverse events (AEs) of intravenous pulse glucocorticoids (GCs) (≥ 250 mg prednisone equivalent) for inflammatory diseases. METHODS A literature search was done using PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases. Studies were selected by two reviewers (NAMS and ND). Available data on the prevalence of GC-related AEs in patients with inflammatory diseases were retrieved. RESULTS In only 8 studies (344 patients), 4 placebo-controlled and 4 not placebo-controlled studies, intravenous pulse GC-related AEs had been documented (in total 323 AEs), with an AE rate of 35/100 patient-years. In the 4 placebo-controlled studies among RA and systemic sclerosis patients, most of the odds ratios of individual AEs were not statistically significant, except for flushing, heart rhythm disorder, disturbance of taste, lower respiratory infection, and headache. In the 4 not placebo-controlled studies increased diastolic blood pressure was most frequent, followed by flushing and diabetes mellitus. Adverse events seen in more than 15% of patients of all included studies were increased blood pressure, flushing, headache, disturbance of taste, tachycardia and hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS GC pulse therapy results in a high AE rate, i.e. 35/100 patient-years. Cardiovascular AEs are most frequently reported in the literature. Furthermore, flushing had the highest odds ratio in the placebo-controlled studies and also a high event rate in the not placebo-controlled studies.
Managerial Ownership Structure and Earnings Management

This study examines the relation between managerial ownership structure and earnings management. Unlike previous research which treats insiders as a homogeneous group, we further classify insiders into executives, outside directors, and blockholders to conduct an in‐depth study. Earnings management is captured by discretionary accruals that are estimated using the modified Jones model. For a large sample of Taiwanese listed firms over the period 1997 and 2004, we find that discretionary accruals first increase and then decrease with executive ownership, forming an inverted U‐shaped relationship. However, discretionary accruals are positively affected by director ownership and blockholder ownership. The results suggest that equity stake owned by top officers of a firm should be encouraged in order to reduce agency cost, thus enhancing information content of earnings.
Income Mobility in Russia (2000-2005)

Although much research has been conducted on annual income inequality in Russia, little has been know about longer-run measures of income inequality and on income mobility. Using the data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey, this paper investigates income mobility in Russia during the period of rapid economic growth. Employing a broad set of mobility indices, we show that there is much mobility in household incomes from one year to the next in Russia. There is some evidence of greater mobility for those in the tails of the income distribution relative to the middle. However, income movements in Russia over this period are largely associated with transitory rather than permanent changes.
Spatial sequence memory and spatial error monitoring in the Groton Maze Learning Task (GMLT): A validation study of GMLT sub-measures in healthy children

The stepping-stone variant of the hidden pathway maze learning (HPML) task paradigm has been extensively used to investigate cognitive functions in neuropsychology and neuropharmacology. Previous studies have used total error across trials, as well as rule-break errors and learning errors, to define spatial memory and/or executive function in healthy and impaired adults and children. However, the construct validity of performance measures on HPML tasks has not been established in healthy children. To assess the construct validity of measures of exploratory and rule-break errors on the Groton Maze Learning Task (GMLT) measures of spatial sequence memory (Corsi Blocks Task) and spatial error monitoring (Continuous Paired Associate Learning; CPAL) were used. The results indicate that Corsi span predicted GMLT spatial sequence memory and CPAL accuracy predicted GMLT spatial error monitoring. The construct validity of the GMLT as a measure of spatial memory and executive function are discussed with regard to prior research using HPML tasks in neuropsychological contexts.
Plasmapheresis in nephrology: an update

Purpose of reviewIn the past, recommendations for the use of plasmapheresis were based on findings reported from pilot studies or anecdotes. New results from several randomized controlled trials have changed the indications for the use of plasma exchange. Recent findingsA large randomized controlled study of patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis showed benefit of plasmapheresis in those with severe renal disease. Patients receiving plasmapheresis compared with methylprednisolone as adjuvant therapy were more likely to be alive and dialysis independent. Plasmapheresis, following publication of a recent randomized controlled trial, should no longer be used for patients with myeloma and acute renal failure. Standard therapy with five to seven plasma exchanges was compared with standard therapy alone. There was no difference in those patients reaching the composite endpoints between the two treatments. New indications include desensitization protocols, using plasmapheresis and intravenous immunoglobulin, which have allowed transplantation across immunological barriers. Highly sensitized patents and ABO incompatible patients compared with their potential donors are now being transplanted with excellent results. Studies still need to be done to assess the best desensitization protocol. SummaryThe use of plasmapheresis requires further validation by randomized clinical trials. Recent published trials should alter practice but further studies are required.
The non-permissive infection of insect (gypsy moth) LD-652 cells by Vaccinia virus.

The members of Poxviridae family are among the most complex of animal viruses and subfamily members infect both vertebrate (Chordopoxvirinae) and invertebrate (Entomopoxvirinae) hosts, respectively. Vaccinia virus (VV) is the most commonly studied vertebrate virus and the entomopoxvirus of Amsacta moorei (AmEPV) is the prototypic insect virus. AmEPV, while not able to productively infect vertebrate cells, does enter vertebrate cells and expresses early genes after which the infection aborts although the cells survive (Y. Li, R. L. Hall, and R. W. Moyer. J.Virol. 71(12), 95579562, 1997). We show here that a recombinant VV, containing the lacZ gene regulated by the cowpox virus A-type inclusion (ATI) late promoter, likewise does not productively infect insect cells. Our results suggest that the recombinant VV enters insect cells, host protein synthesis is inhibited, early gene expression is normal, and viral DNA replication occurs as does late protein synthesis. However, little if any proteolytic processing of late viral proteins, typical of morphogenesis, is observed. Electron micrographs of infected cells suggest that while cytoplasmic virosomes (factories) are formed, there is little indication of further morphogenesis or any formation of mature virions. Therefore, while both orthopoxviruses and entomopoxviruses fail to replicate in heterologous hosts, the nature of abortive infections is quite different.
Congenital platelet disorders and understanding of platelet function

Genetic defects of platelets constitute rare diseases that include bleeding syndromes of autosomal dominant, recessive or X‐linked inheritance. They affect platelet production, resulting in a low circulating platelet count and changes in platelet morphology, platelet function, or a combination of both with altered megakaryopoiesis and a defective platelet response. As a result, blood platelets fail to fulfil their haemostatic function. Most studied of the platelet function disorders are deficiencies of glycoprotein mediators of adhesion and aggregation while defects of primary receptors for stimuli include the P2Y12 ADP receptor. Studies on inherited defects of (i) secretion from storage organelles (dense granules, α‐granules), (ii) the platelet cytoskeleton and (iii) the generation of pro‐coagulant activity have identified genes indirectly controlling the functional response. Signalling pathway defects leading to agonist‐specific modifications of platelet aggregation are the current target of exome‐sequencing strategies. We now review recent advances in the molecular characterization of platelet function defects.
Xenophobia and Ethnopolitical Extremism in Post-Soviet Russia: Dynamics and Growth Factors

The concept of “political extremism” is one of those complex and multifaceted public phenomena that escapes easy definition and inevitably ends up being inconsistent and contradictory. Even among students of law, who usually are capable of finding at least instrumental definitions of similar phenomena, there is a divergence of opinions with regards to the definition of “political extremism. ” Despite the disagreements over the definition of “political extremism,” there seems to be, nevertheless, some principal agreement among scholars in Russia about one species of “political extremism”— ethnopolitical extremism. The federal law “On Combating Extremist Activity,” as well as a number of alternative bills which underwent public discussion, describes extremism as the activities of “organizations or physical persons in planning, organizing, preparing and carrying out acts aimed at inciting national, racial or religious hatred. ” This aspect of political extremism was perhaps the only one over which there generally were no disputes during the process of developing legislation aimed at countering extremism. The reason for such unanimity of opinion is quite clear, as precisely this version of extremism is prevalent in Russian society today. Whether it is the attacks against African diplomats or Russian citizens from the Caucasus region, or hostage taking by terrorists in Beslan (differing perhaps in scope and form), they all express precisely the ethnopolitical variety of extremism, based on ethnic fear and hatred, i.e. xenophobia (ethnophobia), leading ultimately to violence. Extremism and xenophobia are interconnected, but they also possess fundamental distinctions. Xenophobia is usually understood as various expressions of intolerance towards groups which are perceived in the public consciousness as “strangers. ” The term xenophobia itself signifies fears, suspicion, and ill will (i.e. phobias) towards strangers. A particular form of xenophobia is ethnophobia—fears directed both against concrete ethnic groups and against those loosely grouped together as ethnic “others” (“Caucasians,” “southerners,” “foreigners”). Xenophobia is a feature of mass consciousness that is largely spontaneous in nature, even in cases when it develops under the influence of coordinated propaganda efforts,
When Do War Chests Deter?

I present a repeated election model of campaign fund-raising and spending where the incumbent may use money not spent in one election for a future election, i.e. may create a war chest. I characterize the conditions where an incumbent creates a war chest for deterrence. The strongest incumbents do not create the largest war chests since they deter the challenger on their own. It is the weaker incumbents who must create the larger war chests to deter the challenger.
A novel mutation in the deoxyguanosine kinase gene causing depletion of mitochondrial DNA

Recently, a homozygous single‐nucleotide deletion in exon 2 of the deoxyguanosine kinase gene (DGUOK) was identified as the disease‐causing mutation in 3 apparently unrelated Israeli‐Druze families with depleted hepatocerebral mitochondrial DNA. We have discovered a novel homozygous nonsense mutation in exon 3 of DGUOK (313C→T) from a patient born to nonconsanguineous German parents. This finding shows that mutations in DGUOK causing mitochondrial DNA depletion are not confined to a single ethnic group.
Charting Latency Transcripts in Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus by Whole-Genome Real-Time Quantitative PCR

ABSTRACT The division into a latent or lytic life cycle is fundamental to all herpesviridae. In the case of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) (human herpesvirus 8), latent genes have been implicated in cell autonomous transformation, while certain lytic genes procure a tumor friendly milieu through paracrine mechanism. To query KSHV transcription, we devised and validated a high-throughput, high-specificity, high-sensitivity, real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR array. This novel methodology is applicable to many human pathogens. Its first use demonstrated that the mRNA levels for KSHV LANA, v-cyclin, and v-FLIP do not increase at any time after viral reactivation. The mRNA for LANA-2/vIRF-3 is similarly resistant to viral reactivation. In contrast, every other latent or lytic message was induced. Hence, LANA, v-FLIP, v-cyclin, and LANA-2 constitute a group of uniquely regulated transcripts in the KSHV genome.
Efficacy of a potentized homoeopathic drug (Arsenicum-album-30) in reducing cytotoxic effects produced by arsenic trioxide in mice: III. Enzymatic changes and recovery of tissue damage in liver.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether the potentized homoeopathic drug Arsenicum Album-30 can induce enzymatic and some other biochemical changes to repair tissue damage caused by the injection of arsenic trioxide in mice. DESIGN Controlled laboratory study. METHODS Mice injected with arsenic trioxide and then orally administered the homoeopathic drug were compared with control animals who either received saline only, or injections of arsenic trioxide, or injections of arsenic trioxide followed by orally administered dilute alcohol. Activities of the enzymes acid and alkaline phosphatases, lipid peroxidation and reduced glutathione, which are used as 'marker' enzymes for cytotoxicity levels, were assessed by standard methods. Histopathological slide preparations of liver were made by routine microtechnique method of tissue sectioning and staining with haematoxylin- eosin for histological examination. RESULTS The mice fed homoeopathic drug showed positive results of tissue recovery both in terms of enzymatic and histological changes, compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS The homoeopathic drug is capable of preventing or repairing liver damage induced by arsenic trioxide and the positive changes were also confirmed by the activities of the enzymatic markers.
The Impact of Short Selling on the Price-Volume Relationship: Evidence from Hong Kong

This paper considers the relationship between traded volume and volatility. We employ short sales data to discriminate between transactions that close existing long positions and transactions that establish new short positions. We test for, and where appropriate, incorporate non-linearity and asymmetry into the modelling process. The evidence supports a non-linear, bi-directional relationship between volume and volatility. The results suggest (i) that the market displays greater volatility following a period of short selling and (ii) that asymmetric responses to positive and negative innovations to returns appear to be exacerbated by short selling.
A genetic algorithm based on quantum chromosome

In this paper, we propose a novel genetic algorithm based on the quantum chromosome - QGA. We adopt quantum chromosome to represent a linear superposition of solutions, after the observation that simulates the quantum collapse. The algorithm has better diversity than its counterpart. In addition, the quantum evolutionary operator - quantum mutation is constructed, which is used to speed up the convergence. Rapid convergence and global search capacity characterize the performance of QGA. The paper also gives some simulation experiments to prove its superiority over the classical genetic algorithm.
Wealth-Robust Intertemporal Incentive Contracts

We study optimal incentive contracts in a continuous time principal-agent setting with hidden actions. The agent, whose effort controls the output, has a concave utility function which is non-separable in wealth and monetary cost of effort. The principal is risk neutral and optimally selects the effort to be induced and the contract design. Output follows a mean-reverting process with random coefficients. We characterize the class of W-robust compensation schemes that elicit a desired effort which is immune to the principal's mispecifications of the future wealth of the manager. We demonstrate the existence of a solution to the principal's problem, characterize the optimal effort policy, derive the optimal W-robust contract and show that our contract dominates randomized contracts
Hook2 Localizes to the Centrosome, Binds Directly to Centriolin/CEP110 and Contributes to Centrosomal Function

Centrosomes serve as microtubule‐organizing centers. However, centrosome function depends on microtubule organization and protein transport because the formation, positioning and maintenance of centrosomes require microtubule‐dependent retrograde transport. Linker proteins that associate with the motor protein dynein, organelles and microtubules facilitate loading of cargos for retrograde transport and thus contribute to the composition and placement of the centrosome and other juxtanuclear protein complexes. Members of the hook family of proteins may function as adaptors to link various organelle cargos to dynein for transport and have also been implicated directly in centrosome positioning. Here, we show that mammalian hook2, a previously uncharacterized member of the hook family, localizes to the centrosome through all phases of the cell cycle, the C‐terminal domain of hook2 directly binds to centriolin/CEP110, the expression of the C‐terminal domain of centriolin/CEP110 alters the distribution of endogenous hook2 and mislocalized wild‐type or mutant hook2 proteins perturb endogenous centrosomal and pericentrosomal proteins in cultured mammalian cells. In addition, interference with hook2 function results in the loss of the radial organization of microtubules and a defect in regrowth of microtubules following their nocodazole‐induced depolymerization. Thus, we propose that hook2 contributes to the establishment and maintenance of centrosomal structure and function.