Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing the validity of the logit method for ecological inference

The logit method for ecological inference, presented by Thomsen in 1987, estimates individual level voting behaviour from aggregate election results. Making comparisons with survey results, this article tests the validity of ecological estimates of voter mobility between parties at three Danish, five Swedish and three Finnish election periods. For all three countries, the ecological estimates are rather close to survey results, but in the cases of Denmark and Sweden the validity of the ecological estimates seems lower than the validity of the survey results. However, for both countries, the differences between the ecological estimates and the survey results show a stable pattern which can be interpreted within the framework of a general logit theory.
Signal transduction in host cells by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol toxin of malaria parasites

In this study, we have identified a dominant glycolipid toxin of Plasmodium falciparum. It is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI). The parasite GPI moiety, free or associated with protein, induces tumor necrosis factor and interleukin 1 production by macrophages and regulates glucose metabolism in adipocytes. Deacylation with specific phospholipases abolishes cytokine induction, as do inhibitors of protein kinase C. When administered to mice in vivo the parasite GPI induces cytokine release, a transient pyrexia, and hypoglycemia. When administered with sensitizing agents it can elicit a profound and lethal cachexia. Thus, the GPI of Plasmodium is a potent glycolipid toxin that may be responsible for a novel pathogenic process, exerting pleiotropic effects on a variety of host cells by substituting for the endogenous GPI-based second messenger/signal transduction pathways. Antibody to the GPI inhibits these toxic activities, suggesting a rational basis for the development of an antiglycolipid vaccine against malaria.
Cancer incidence in adults living in the vicinity of nuclear power plants in France, based on data from the French Network of Cancer Registries

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) release toxic emissions into the environment that may affect neighboring populations. This ecologic study was designed to investigate the possibility of an excess incidence of cancer in the vicinity of French NPPs by examining the incidence by municipality of 12 types of cancer in the population aged 15 years and older during the 1995–2011 period. Population exposure to pollution was estimated on the basis of distance from towns of residence to the NPP. Using regression models, we assessed the risk of cancer in a 20‐km zone around NPPs and observed an excess incidence of bladder cancer (Relative Risk (RR), 95% Credibility Interval (95% CI)) in men and women (RRmen = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.17 and RRwomen = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.39). Women living within the 20‐km proximity areas had a significantly reduced risk of thyroid cancer (RRwomen = 0.86; 95% CI: 0.77, 0.96). No excess risk of hematologic malignancies in either sex was seen. The higher than expected incidence of bladder cancer may be due to an excess incidence localized around the Flamanville NPP and the nearby La Hague nuclear waste treatment center, which is a source of chemical contaminants, many (including arsenic) of them known risk factors for bladder cancer. Differences in medical practices could explain the reduced risk of thyroid cancer. In this first study of adults living near NPPs in France, cancer incidence is significantly higher than in the references populations for one of the cancer types studied: bladder cancer.
Learning to Shift Thermostatically Controlled Loads

Demand response is a key mechanism for accommodating renewable power in the electric grid. Models of loads in demand response programs are typically assumed to be known a priori, leaving the load aggregator the task of choosing the best command. However, accurate load models are often hard to obtain. To address this problem, we propose an online learning algorithm that performs demand response while learning the model of an aggregation of thermostatically controlled loads. Specifically, we combine an adversarial multi-armed bandit framework with a standard formulation of load-shifting. We develop an Exp3-like algorithm to solve the learning problems. Numerical examples based on Ontario load data confirm that the algorithm achieves sub-linear regret and performs within 1% of the ideal case when the load is perfectly known.
ECONOMICS OF FOOD AND SAFETY: Risk, Information, and the Demand and Supply of Health

A model of expected utility maximization and a stochastic health production function are used to show how consumer's beliefs, the certainty of beliefs, and the presence of information affects demand for goods as they are driven by the demand for health. Then, it is shown that competitive markets fail to account for the health implications of substances in the production of a commodity that affects health, nor are incentives provided to inform consumers of substance concentrations and its implications to health. This result is shown to not necessarily follow in concentrated industries. Finally, conditions are derived whereby a benevolent government, in the absence of rent seeking, chooses optimal levels of information and taxes to attain Pareto optimal outcomes.
Exchanging best practices through computer-aided systems

Executive Overview Effective companies diffuse best practices with rocket speed. Computer-aided systems should be the launch pad for this diffusion, yet few companies have seized the opportunity that computer-aided systems represent for enhancing the speed of best practice diffusion. We identify four dilemmas that prevent effective transfer of best practices across organizational units. Impediments range from inherent motivational problems in system use to difficulties in demonstrating how the systems improve organizational effectiveness. This article explores the dilemmas and identifies managerial strategies for increasing best practice exchange with computer-aided systems. These strategies deserve attention because increases in best practice exchange provide visible improvements in productivity and quality, and enhance the strategic value of the firm's computer technology.
Photoaffinity Labeling and Mass Spectrometry Identify Ribosomal Protein S3 as a Potential Target for Hybrid Polar Cytodifferentiation Agents*

The ability of a novel class of hybrid polar compounds (HPCs) to induce differentiation and consequent cessation of proliferation of transformed cells has led to their development as potential chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of cancer. Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) is a prototype of a family of hydroxamic acid based compounds (SAHA-like HPCs) that can, at micromolar concentrations, induce a variety of transformed cell lines to differentiate. The mechanism of action of the HPCs is not entirely understood. Searching for a cellular target of the SAHA-like HPCs, we synthesized a photoaffinity labeling reagent structurally based on SAHA, and probed for SAHA-binding proteins in murine erythroleukemia (MEL) cells. Photoaffinity labeling in cell free extracts identified a 32-kDa protein (p32) that was specifically labeled by the photoaffinity reagent. Cell fractionation assays localized p32 to the P100 fraction. p32 was partially purified and identified by mass spectrometry as the 40 S ribosomal protein S3. Expression of epitope-tagged S3 in bacterial lysates followed by photoaffinity labeling confirmed its specific labeling. Identification of a cytodifferentiation agent target may shed light on the mechanism by which the SAHA-like HPCs exert their antitumor effects.
Protection from photoinhibition by low temperature in Synechocystis 6714 and in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: detection of an intermediary state.

Photoinhibition was induced in a cyanobacterium strain, Synechocystis 6714, and a green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, by exposing them to light intensities from 1000 to 4000 microE/(m2.s) at various temperatures. The photoinhibition process was followed by measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence and oxygen evolution. During exposure to high light, fluorescent active reaction centers II became low fluorescent inactive centers. This process involved several reversible and irreversible steps. The pathway from the active state to the inactive low fluorescent state was different in Synechocystis and Chlamydomonas. In the latter there was a reversible intermediary step characterized by an increase of F0. This state was stable at 5 degrees C and slowly reversible at room temperature. The high F0 fluorescence level corresponded to a state of photosystem II centers that were inactive for oxygen evolution. An F0 decrease occurred in the dark in the absence of protein synthesis and was correlated to a restoration of oxygen evolution. Further experiments suggested that the existence of the intermediate fluorescent state is due to modified closed centers in which the reduced primary acceptor is less accessible to reoxidation. In cyanobacteria this reversible state was not detected. In both organisms, the decrease of Fmax reflected an irreversible damage of photosystem II centers. These centers need replacement of proteins in order to be active again. The quenching of Fmax and the irreversible inhibition of oxygen evolution were slowed down in both organisms by decreasing the temperature of the photoinhibitory treatment from 34 to 5 degrees C. We conclude that low temperature protected the reaction center II from irreversible photodamage.
The proactive employee: Managing workplace initiative

Executive Overview Business and behavioral undertakings such as job enrichment, participation, empowerment, and transformational leadership are organizational attempts to expand the employee role. This article examines a number of these undertakings to illustrate how they function as role-expansion mechanisms, and how they implicitly define five role characteristics generally reflective of a proactive employee. While job and task competence, interpersonal effectiveness, and organizational orientation have always been associated with the employee role, the other two role characteristics—enterprising qualities and personal integrity—represent relatively new expectations. These new demands raise some important issues for firms and managers, centered on differences associated with the firm's, the manager's, and the employee's expectations regarding the use of judgment and initiative. The article examines some implications of these differences, discusses person-environment fit considerations, and proposes reco.
Optimization of Submerged Fermentation Medium for Matrine Production by Aspergillus terreus, an Endophytic Fungus Harboring Seeds of Sophora flavescens, Using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract Different endophytes isolated from the seeds of Sophora flavescens were tested for their ability to produce matrine production. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the medium components for the endophytic fungus. Results indicated that endophyte Aspergillus terreus had the ability to produce matrine. The single factor tests demonstrated that potato starch was the best carbon source and the combination of peptone and NH4NO3 was the optimal nitrogen source for A. terreus. The model of RSM predicted to gain the maximal matrine production at 20.67 μg/L, when the potato starch was 160.68 g/L, peptone was 24.96 g/L and NH4NO3 was 2.11 g/L. When cultured in the optimal medium, the matrine yield was an average of 20.63 ± 0.11 μg/L, which was consistent with the model prediction. This study offered an alternative source for the matrine production by endophytic fungus fermentation and may have far-reaching prospect and value.
Comparison of ribotyping and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis for subtyping of Listeria monocytogenes isolates

Ribotyping was compared with multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MEE) for subtyping 305 Listeria monocytogenes isolates from clinical and nonclinical sources. For ribotyping, EcoRI-restricted genomic DNA fragments of L. monocytogenes strains were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, and Southern blots were probed with a cloned Escherichia coli rrnB operon (plasmid pKK3535) labeled with digoxigenin. The L. monocytogenes isolates were divided into 28 distinct ribotypes, while MEE analysis divided the same isolates into 78 electrophoretic types (ETs). On the basis of their ribotype profiles, the strains were divided into two subgroups. The ribotype alpha (RT alpha) subgroup contained serotypes 1/2a, 1/2c, and 3a, and the ribotype beta (RT beta) subgroup contained serotypes 1/2b, 3b, 4b, and 4ab. This division is in complete agreement with MEE analysis, which divides the species into two subgroups (ET groups A and B), with the same serotype distribution in each subgroup. Overall, MEE was more discriminating than ribotyping. However, in several instances ribotyping discriminated between isolates within the same ET. Ribotyping was more discriminating for serotypes 1/2a, 1/2c, and 3a (Simpson's Index for Diversity [DI] = 0.81) than for serotypes 1/2b and 4b (DI = 0.76). A substantial proportion (69%) of serotype 1/2b and 4b strains clustered in five ETs and five ribotypes. These data suggest that ribotyping and MEE do not provide adequate discrimination between strains of serotypes 1/2b and 4b. Methods such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis should be explored for further discrimination of strains of these serotypes.
The impact of accounting information on managerial decisions – Empirical study conducted in the hospitality industry entities in Romania

Our research is an empirical one and it is based on a survey conducted between November 2012 and January 2013, using a questionnaire that consists of 38 questions administered online and on field to managers in the hospitality industry in Bihor county, Romania. The total population consists of 146 entities from Bihor county, authorized to operate in this sector, the sample comprised 91 tourism entities and the response rate to our questionnaire was 62.33%. The study adds value to the literature regarding managerial accounting in the hospitality industry and tourism in Romania. In what regards the limitations of our research, these are related to the restricted area of application of the questionnaires (Bihor county), the large number of questions in the questionnaire that require maximum concentration of the respondents as well as managers losing patience while filling out the questionnaire.
The Stalk Domain and the Glycosylation Status of the Activating Natural Killer Cell Receptor NKp30 Are Important for Ligand Binding*

Background: NKp30 is a major activating receptor of natural killer (NK) cells. Results: The stalk domain of NKp30 increases ligand binding affinity, which is modulated by glycosylation of the ectodomain of NKp30. Conclusion: The stalk domain and the glycosylation status of NKp30 are critical for NK cell killing. Significance: This is the first hint for a novel mode of receptor regulation. The natural cytotoxicity receptors are a unique set of activating proteins expressed mainly on the surface of natural killer (NK) cells. The human natural cytotoxicity receptor family comprises the three type I membrane proteins NKp30, NKp44, and NKp46. Especially NKp30 is critical for the cytotoxicity of NK cells against different targets including tumor, virus-infected, and immature dendritic cells. Although the crystal structure of NKp30 was recently solved (Li, Y., Wang, Q., and Mariuzza, R. A. (2011) J. Exp. Med. 208, 703–714; Joyce, M. G. , Tran, P., Zhuravleva, M. A. , Jaw, J., Colonna, M. , and Sun, P. D. (2011) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 108, 6223–6228), a key question, how NKp30 recognizes several non-related ligands, remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the parameters that impact ligand recognition of NKp30. Based on various NKp30-hIgG1-Fc fusion proteins, which were optimized for minimal background binding to cellular Fcγ receptors, we identified the flexible stalk region of NKp30 as an important but so far neglected module for ligand recognition and related signaling of the corresponding full-length receptor proteins. Moreover, we found that the ectodomain of NKp30 is N-linked glycosylated at three different sites. Mutational analyses revealed differential binding affinities and signaling capacities of mono-, di-, or triglycosylated NKp30, suggesting that the degree of glycosylation could provide a switch to modulate the ligand binding properties of NKp30 and NK cell cytotoxicity.
Rethinking Construction Cost Overruns: Cognition, Learning and Estimation

Purpose – Drawing on mainstream arguments in the literature, the paper presents a coherent and holistic view on the causes of cost overruns, and the dynamics between cognitive dispositions, learning and estimation. A cost prediction model has also been developed using data mining for estimating final cost of projects. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed-method approach was adopted: a qualitative exploration of the causes of cost overrun followed by an empirical development of a final cost model using artificial neural networks. Findings – A conceptual model to distinguish between the often conflated causes of underestimation and cost overruns on large publicly funded projects. The empirical model developed in this paper achieved an average absolute percentage error of 3.67 percent with 87 percent of the model predictions within a range of ±5 percent of the actual final cost. Practical implications – The model developed can be converted to a desktop package for qui.
Microautophagy in mammalian cells: Revisiting a 40-year-old conundrum

The term microautophagy was first used in 1966 by de Duve and Wattiaux1 and subsequently applied, over the following two decades, to processes described in mammalian cells and involving the presence of lysosome-like organelles having multiple vesicles trapped in their lumen (“multivesicular lysosomes”). Concurrently, many studies suggested a view of microautophagy where the lysosomal membrane was either invaginated or projected arm-like protrusions to sequester cytosolic constituents into intralysosomal vesicles. Although microautophagy in mammalian cells has been traditionally considered as a form of autophagy constitutively active in the turnover of long-lived proteins, little is known about the mechanism and regulation of cargo selection. The lack of specific approaches to directly detect microautophagy in mammalian systems, aside from electron microscopy, is the major current limitation to addressing its physiological role(s) and possible contribution to particular disease states. In this review we consider the current state of knowledge about microautophagic processes. We examine some of the main characteristics of microautophagy in yeast with a view to assessing their relevance for our understanding of microautophagy in mammalian cells.
Selective PARP‐2 inhibitors increase apoptosis in hippocampal slices but protect cortical cells in models of post‐ischaemic brain damage

Background and purpose: Poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerases (PARP)‐1 and PARP‐2 play complementary tasks in the maintenance of genomic integrity, but their role in cell death or survival processes is rather different. A recently described series of selective PARP‐2 inhibitors (UPF‐1035, UPF‐1069) were used to study the role of PARP‐1 and PARP‐2 in post‐ischaemic brain damage.
Towards culturally appropriate assessment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional well-being

Objective: Identification of need for specialist assessment and the use of relevant cultural information to inform mental health assessment and care are two key factors in improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander access to and experience of mental health care. This paper describes the Here and Now Aboriginal Assessment tool (HANAA) and the Cultural Information Gathering Tool (CIGT), two instruments developed to be used respectively by non-mental health clinicians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health workers. Method: Following widespread consultations and feedback, two independent groups of mental health clinicians based in Western Australia and Queensland were involved in developing the HANAA and CIGT. Results: Both the HANAA and CIGT fill unmet needs in terms of instruments that can be used by non-specialists working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Conclusions: Preliminary use of the HANAA and CIGT suggests that they are well received, easy to deploy and effective instruments that promote cultural security and communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Teaching in the Knowledge Society

It stimulates growth and prosperity, but its relentless pursuit of profit and self-interest also strains and fragments the social order. Along with other public institutions, our schools must therefore also foster the compassion, community and cosmopolitan identity that will offset the knowledge economy’s most destructive effects. The knowledge economy primarily serves the private good. The knowledge society also encompasses the public good. Our schools have to prepare young people for both of them.
When the Cat's Away, the Mice Will Play: Testing for Moral Hazard in the Car Insurance Market

In this paper we propose and implement parametric and non-parametric tests to detect the existence of moral hazard in the Italian car insurance market. We exploit the poor implementation of the the Italian bonus-malus system which does not keep track of the claims filed in the last two months of the policy-a “grace period"- if the insured decides to change company. We illustrate a dynamic model which incorporate this feature to derive theory-based testable implications to detect the existence of dierent types of moral hazard. The dynamic nature of our tests allow us to separate moral hazard from adverse selection and state dependence. We implement our tests using a unique dataset covering the years 2008-2010 with detailed information on the policies subscribed by insured of multiple insurance companies. We find some evidence of moral hazard corroborating the idea the individuals respond to monetary incentives, while a correct implementation of the bonus-malus system is likely to deliver welfare gains.
Transcriptional Feedback Oscillators: Maybe, Maybe Not...

The molecular mechanism of circadian rhythmicity is usually modeled by a transcription/translation feedback oscillator in which clock proteins negatively feed back on their own transcription to produce rhythmic levels of clock protein mRNAs, which in turn cause the production of rhythmic levels of clock proteins. This mechanism has been applied to all model organisms for which molecular data are available. This review summarizes the increasing number of anomalous observations that do not fit the standard molecular mechanism for the model organisms Acetabularia, Synechococcus, Drosophila, Neurospora, and mouse. The anomalies fall into 2 classes: observations of rhythmicity in the organism when transcription of clock genes is held constant, and rhythmicity in the organism when clock gene function is missing in knockout mutants. It is concluded that the weight of anomalies is now so large that the standard transcription/translation mechanism is no longer an adequate model for circadian oscillators. Rhythmic transcription may have other functions in the circadian system, such as participating in input and output pathways and providing robustness to the oscillations. It may be most useful to think in terms of a circadian system that uses a noncircadian oscillator consisting of metabolic feedback loops, which acquires its circadian properties from additional regulatory molecules such as the products of canonical clock genes.