Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative biodisposition and metabolism of 14C-(+/-)-fenfluramine in mouse, rat, dog and man.

1. The comparative metabolism of fenfluramine was investigated in mouse, rat, dog and man following a single oral dose of 14C-(+/-)-fenfluramine hydrochloride (1 mg/kg), and also in rat after eight consecutive 12-h subcutaneous doses (24 mg/kg). 2. Main route of excretion of radioactivity in all species and at all doses was into urine (> 80%), with only minor amounts of radioactivity found in faeces. 3. From all species examined a total of 11 metabolites were observed in urine and plasma by t.l.c. and h.p.l.c. analysis and no metabolite was present in the plasma which was not present in urine. 4. All species dealkylate fenfluramine to the active metabolite norfenfluramine, to a relative greater or lesser extent, with plasma metabolic ratios (norfenfluramine/fenfluramine) showing inter-animal variation (rat >> dog >> mouse = man). 5. These differences are due to the efficient deamination of both compounds to polar inactive metabolites in man, with less dealkylation and lower plasma levels of norfenfluramine compared with the other species studied. 6. In conclusion, major species differences in the metabolism of (+/-)-fenfluramine, both qualitative and quantitative were observed, and no one species had a similar metabolic profile to that found in man.
Managing core competences to create value for customers

This article investigates the role of company's core competences in increasing product value for customers. The conceptual model included the steps of managing a company's core competences confirms that developing core competences makes company's products more valuable for its customers and thus provides its competitiveness in the global market. Nowadays Russian poultry farming enterprises are facing with the growing competition from the direction of foreign companies. The quality of Russian poultry products in terms of its benefits for customers would be better if national companies give more attention to developing their core competences. However the survey indicated that very often companies don't give enough attention to their core competencies in this regard. The implication is that core competences should be used for making company's products more valuable for its customers. A better understanding of company's core competencies allow to satisfy customers' needs better in order to become more competitive in the global market.
Emiratisation: determining the factors that influence the recruitment decisions of employers in the UAE

The Arab Gulf's labour market is being overhauled. The private sector is increasingly being ‘obliged’ to more actively support nationalisation programmes. This study seeks to quantitatively determine the recruitment decisions of the employers. We collated the views of just under 250 UAE-based HRM personnel, in order to identify which factors (social, cultural, economic, regulatory, educational and motivational) are most significant as cited in the relevant literature. Not having the necessary educational qualifications and high reservation wage demands were found to have less of a bearing than does the perceived lack of vocationally orientated motivation and the ambiguities over the differing rights afforded to employees.
Travel Personae of American Pleasure Travelers: A Network Analysis

ABSTRACT Travel style has been shown to be a useful concept for understanding travelers. In this study it is argued that the portfolio of trips (specifically, the portfolio of various trip styles) one takes can be used to describe his/her overall travel persona. Network analysis was used to examine the structural relationships between types of trips based upon the assumption that each travel style may be considered as a “node,” and its association with other travel styles may be represented by the links within the network. Analyses indicate that American travelers take on a wide range of different travel personae which, in turn, are related to their choices of places visited and their response to advertising materials. It was concluded that the framework provided by these findings along with new tools on the Internet offer the potential to develop highly personalized communications with existing and potential visitors.
Determinants of role orientation and organisational commitment under skill-based pay: a path model

There is very little research that sheds light on employee attitudes under skill-based pay (SBP), in particular whether employees under SBP indeed exhibit attitudes essential for successful operation of such a pay plan. The current study uses a path analysis approach to examine how SBP affects employees' attitudes with particular focus on organisational commitment and role orientation. Based on data from a large sample of employees, it finds that selected perceived SBP plan characteristics are significant direct and indirect predictors of organisational commitment and role orientation. The study discusses various theoretical and practical implications that result from these findings.
Who have been the most harmed by the crisis? Evidence from Spain

The aims of this research are to assess the initial impact of the current economic crisis on poverty and social exclusion in Spain and to identify the most vulnerable sectors of society. We apply Probit models to Spanish Income and Living Conditions Surveys of 2007 and 2009 to analyze income poverty and financial function ings of basic material deprivation linking pecuniary and health aspects. Our results show an increment of poverty, above all, extreme poverty, and a worsening of the deprivation risk not only for those with a weaker position in the Spanish labour-market, but for employers and self-employed, as well.In addition, we found changes in risk factors such as educational level and age. These findings should be taken into account when designing the regulatory reforms of social policies and labour market regulations.
Cancer Therapy : Preclinical Arylsulfonamide KCN 1 Inhibits In Vivo Glioma Growth and Interfereswith HIF Signaling byDisrupting HIF-1 a Interaction with Cofactors p 300 / CBP

Purpose: The hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) plays a critical role in tumor adaptation to hypoxia, and its elevated expression correlates with poor prognosis and treatment failure in patients with cancer. In this study, we determined whether 3,4-dimethoxy-N-[(2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromen-6-yl)methyl]-N-phenylbenzenesulfonamide, KCN1, the lead inhibitor in a novel class of arylsulfonamide inhibitors of the HIF-1 pathway, had antitumorigenic properties in vivo and further defined its mechanism of action. Experimental Design: We studied the inhibitory effect of systemic KCN1 delivery on the growth of human brain tumors inmice. To definemechanisms of KCN1 anti-HIF activities, we examined its influence on the assembly of a functional HIF-1a/HIF-1b/p300 transcription complex. Results: KCN1 specifically inhibited HIF reporter gene activity in several glioma cell lines at the nanomolar level. KCN1 also downregulated transcription of endogenous HIF-1 target genes, such as VEGF, Glut-1, and carbonic anhydrase 9, in a hypoxia-responsive element (HRE)-dependentmanner. KCN1potently inhibited the growth of subcutaneous malignant glioma tumor xenografts with minimal adverse effects on thehost. It also induced a temporary survival benefit in an intracranialmodel of gliomabut hadno effect in a model ofmelanomametastasis to the brain. Mechanistically, KCN1 did not downregulate the levels of HIF1a or other components of the HIF transcriptional complex; rather, it antagonized hypoxia-inducible transcription by disrupting the interaction of HIF-1a with transcriptional coactivators p300/CBP. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the new HIF pathway inhibitor KCN1 has antitumor activity in mouse models, supporting its further translation for the treatment of human tumors displaying hypoxia or HIF overexpression. Clin Cancer Res; 18(24); 6623–33. 2012 AACR.
Les relations entre la grande distribution et ses fournisseurs : bilan et limites de trente ans de régulation

[eng] The paper aims at assessing the French regulation of the retailing sector, focusing on the relationships between retailers and suppliers, from the Royer law in 1973 to the 2001 law on the "new economic regulation". We distinguish between the control of firms behaviors, relying on both standard competition law and specific sectorial regulation, and the control of market structures, in particular concentration and shops' setting-up. We bring to light an important gap between the objectives and the effects of the different laws. Even if the recent modifications due to the "new economic regulation" improve the law, we show that many inefficiencies remain.
Increasing the transparency of stated choice studies for policy analysis: Designing experiments to produce raw response graphs

We believe a lack of transparency undermines both the credibility of, and interest in, stated choice studies among policy makers. Unlike articles reporting the results of contingent valuation studies, papers in the stated choice literature rarely present simple tabulations of raw response data (that is, a table or graph showing the percentage of respondents agreeing to purchase a good or service, or vote for a proposed management plan as a function of price). We describe an approach for adding “policy” tasks to a standard orthogonal-in-attribute-levels research design that allows the researcher to plot raw responses as a function of changes in only one characteristic of the offered good or service. We demonstrate this approach using data from a stated choice study of private demand for cholera and typhoid vaccines in Kolkata, India, carried out in the summer of 2004. © 2006 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Failures and Coping Strategies in Indigenous Technology Capability Process

This paper reports on a theory building effort aimed at understanding persistent difficulties with efforts at developing plant-level indigenous technology in a developing country. The firms, having obtained the technology from a donor firm or a laboratory find that implementation and adaptation issues are difficult due to tacit technology knowledge and lack of technical or managerial or market-related systems and experiences. These lead to technological failures referring to situations where serious deviations from expected opportunities and outcomes occur. The failures include loss of entry opportunities, or rejection of technology by the market, or failure at improving processes. With insights offered from 92 organizations in India we identify the different technological failures that occur and ways used to overcome these problems. Exploratory results suggest four major technological failures. (1) Failure due to inappropriate choice of technology leading to longer-than-expected time for establishing production, or inefficient production process, and/or market losses due to poor image of the poorly calibrated product. (2) Failure due to inadequate planning and support for innovation occurs when firms do not invest sufficiently in plant level data collection and analysis, thus missing important avenues for incremental innovation. (3) Failures due to inappropriate processes reveal how short-term orientation and low integration amongst different functional groups thwart the firm’s adaptive and innovative abilities. (4) Finally, failure due to product‐market mismatch and inadequate market survey occurs when market desired features are not maintained, or the incorporated changes are not cost effective. The coping strategies adopted by the firms are also discussed.
Development of states and forms of capitalism: An empirical examination of their relationship

Given the current economic crisis, we find this time of economic analysis to be both timely, and useful in determining which economic “style” is most supportive countries’ development in global capitalism. The goal of this paper is to determine which form of capitalism is most supportive the country’s development. The hypothesis that is raised in this paper is “The countries with the Liberal Market Economics system are more developed than Coordinated Market economics system countries”. This paper uses Hall and Soskice’s (2001) theoretical approach to varieties of capitalism to analyze countries’ competitiveness according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) and International Institute For Development Management (IMD) competitiveness indices. We use Knell and Srholec’s (2005) introduced methodology to calculate the index of coordination, which determines a country’s type of capitalism. The index consists of 12 variables, which later are divided into 4 groups according to the factor analysis results. Calculations confirmed the main differences, indicated in the literature, between two forms of capitalism at opposite extremes: Liberal Market Economies (LME) and Coordinated Market Economies (CME). Moreover, we discovered that CME is more supportive according to the human development rankings
China’s Africa trade and investment policies: review of a “Noodle Bowl”

Increasing China-Africa economic integration has raised concurrent expectations for 20th Century goals of mutual development and fears of renewed African eco-nomic subjugation. Economic policies will be a key determinant of the degree to which either or both evolve. Given that importance, surprisingly few studies ex-plore the composition, distribution and multipliers of African or Chinese economic policies on the evolution and outcomes of China-Africa ties, nationally or intra-regionally. A step toward addressing that shortfall and also serving to highlight the pressing need for more research, this paper reviews China’s current set of sover-eign-level Africa-related trade and investment policies, their economic context and the associated impacts where known. Related policies are found to be a complicat-ed cross-continental matrix, in turn inspiring us to re-apply the ”noodle bowl” phrase that has elsewhere been used to describe bi-lateral policy overlap between
Socio-Cultural Constraints Faced by Girls Regarding Access to their Secondary Education in Mardan,

The study was aimed to explore the socio-cultural constraints (SCCs) faced by girls regarding access to secondary education (SE) in Mardan District, Khyber Pukhtoonkhuwa for which a five point likert type rating scale, consisted of 36 items was developed by following the systematic procedure. The value of Alpha Reliability coefficient was . 722. A sample of one hundred and twenty (120) girls with the age limit of fifteen to thirty five (15-35) was taken through snow-ball sampling technique. Parent’s education, and family income were the demographic variables of the research. The data after analysis demonstrated that girls in Mardan are far behind in education because of the distance from schools, family permission, low family income, sexual harassment, purdah restrictions, preference of male education over female education, concept of honor, early marriages, lack of awareness regarding the importance of female education, wrong perception about the investment on female education and inferior position of females in the society. It has been recommended that comprehensive awareness raising programs may be incorporated at community level to promote positive attitude among the community regarding the girl’s education.
Stock Prices And Inflation: Evidence From 12 Developed & Emerging Economies

Using a dynamic model that allows direct estimation of short and long-run impacts of changes in goods prices on stock prices, we find that the long-run Fisher elasticities of stock prices with respect to goods prices exceed unity in 12 developed and emerging economies. Our results provide significant support for Darby’s tax version of the Fisher effect. We also find that inflation and stock prices are negatively related in the short-run.
Do Family Farms Really Converge to a Uniform Size? The Role of Unobserved Farm Efficiency

We analyse the growth of family farms in Israeli cooperative villages during a period of economic turmoil. We use instrumental variables to account for the endogeneity of initial farm size, and correct for selectivity as a result of farm survival. We also include a technical efficiency index, derived from the estimation of a stochastic frontier production model, as an explanatory variable. Our aim is to check whether ignoring efficiency could have been the reason for convergence results obtained elsewhere in the literature. We found that technical efficiency is an important determinant of farm growth, and that not controlling for technical efficiency could seriously bias the results. In particular, larger farms are found to grow faster over time, while without controlling for technical efficiency the farm growth process seemed to be independent of initial farm size. The increasing polarisation of farm sizes in Israel has ramifications for the inefficiencies induced by the historical quota system, for the political power of the farm sector and for the social stability of farm communities.
FATAL CASE OF STREPTOCOCCUS SUIS INFECTION IN A YOUNG WILD BOAR (SUS SCROFA) FROM SOUTHWESTERN SPAIN

Abstract: Streptococcus suis is a recognized pathogen that may cause important diseases in pigs and humans. This microorganism has been repeatedly isolated from wild boar (Sus scrofa). However, its health implications for this wild species are still unknown. This article reports a detailed description of a fatal case of septicemia by S. suis affecting a young wild boar. The affected animal, about 15 days old, was found near death and exhibiting neurologic signs at a wild boar estate in southwestern Spain. Postmortem examination showed generalized congestion, brain hemorrhages and lobular pneumonia. Histopathological evaluation demonstrated the presence of meningitis and encephalitis with marked congestion and suppurative bronchopneumonia. Streptococcus suis serotype 2 isolates exhibiting important virulence factors (extracellular factor, muramidase-released protein, and suylisin) were isolated from the affected animal. This study confirms the presence of potentially virulent and zoonotic strains of S. suis in wild boar from Spain.
Parental Tobacco and Alcohol Use and Risk of Hepatoblastoma in Offspring: A Report from the Children's Oncology Group

Background: Hepatoblastoma is a rare pediatric liver tumor that has significantly increased in incidence over the last several decades. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently classified hepatoblastoma as a tobacco-related cancer. Parental alcohol use has shown no association. We examined associations between parental tobacco and alcohol use around the time of pregnancy and hepatoblastoma in a large case–control study. Methods: Maternal interviews were completed for 383 cases diagnosed in the United States during 2000–2008. Controls (n = 387) were identified through U.S. birth registries and frequency-matched to cases on birth weight, birth year, and region of residence. We used unconditional logistic regression to calculate ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between parental smoking and maternal drinking and offspring hepatoblastoma. Results: We found no association between hepatoblastoma and maternal smoking at any time (OR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.7–1.4), within the year before pregnancy (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.8–1.6), early in pregnancy (OR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.7–1.6), or throughout pregnancy (OR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.5–1.6). We observed marginally positive associations between hepatoblastoma and paternal smoking in the year before pregnancy (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.0–2.0) and during pregnancy (OR, 1.4; 95% CI, 0.9–2.0). Maternal alcohol use was not associated with hepatoblastoma. Conclusion: Our results do not provide evidence for an etiologic relationship between maternal smoking or drinking and hepatoblastoma, and only weak evidence for an association for paternal smoking in the year before pregnancy. Impact: Our study provides limited support for hepatoblastoma as a tobacco-related cancer; however, it remains wise to counsel prospective parents on the merits of smoking cessation. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 22(10); 1837–43. ©2013 AACR.
The (Continuing) Importance of Industry Studies in Industrial Relations

In the context of a recent tendency towards industrial relations studies at the level of either the nation or the enterprise, the aim of this article is to demonstrate the continuing importance of industry studies. Three main arguments are advanced to support this assertion, based respectively on the empirical and public policy relevance of industries and the potential of industry studies to develop theory.
Managing Proprietary and Shared Platforms

In a platform-mediated network, users rely on a common platform (provided by one or more intermediaries) that encompasses infrastructure and rules required by users to transact with each other. A fundamental design decision for firms that aspire to develop platform-mediated networks is whether to preserve proprietary control or share their platform with rivals. A proprietary platform has a single provider that solely controls its technology (for example, Federal Express, Apple Macintosh, or Google). With a shared platform such as Visa, DVD, or Linux, multiple firms collaborate in developing the platform's technology and then compete in offering users different but compatible versions of the platform. This article examines factors that favor proprietary versus shared models when designing platforms and then explains how management challenges differ for proprietary and shared platform providers when mobilizing new networks.
On-line neuroevolution applied to The Open Racing Car Simulator

The application of on-line learning techniques to modern computer games is a promising research direction. In fact, they can be used to improve the game experience and to achieve a true adaptive game AI. So far, several works proved that neuroevolution techniques can be successfully applied to modern computer games but they are usually restricted to offline learning scenarios. In on-line learning problems the main challenge is to find a good trade-off between the exploration, i.e., the search for better solutions, and the exploitation of the best solution discovered so far. In this paper we propose an on-line neuroevolution approach to evolve non-player characters in The Open Car Racing Simulator (TORCS), a state-of-the-art open source car racing simulator. We tested our approach on two on-line learning problems: (i) on-line evolution of a fast controller from scratch and (ii) optimization of an existing controller for a new track. Our results show that on-line neuroevolution can effectively improve the performance achieved during the learning process.
Increasing the torque density of permanent-magnet synchronous machines using innovative materials and winding technologies

Due to the progress of system integration, the increase of energy efficiency and device mobility it is worthwhile to investigate alternative materials for electrical machines and methods of producing electric windings. In this paper the influence of innovative materials on the machine behaviour as well as the machine design are discussed. This includes FeCo, FeNi and SMC. For each of these materials design guidelines are defined. Beyond this the screen printing technology - so far used since a couple of years especially for producing cheap windings for small-power electrical motors - is generalized to a wide range of machine sizes. A possible benefit over classic copper wire windings regarding torque density is determined.
A Revised Proposal, Proposal

Receiving thoughtful comments in this symposium from 19 of the discipline's most innovative empirical researchers is gratifying and goes a long way toward bringing issues of replication and data accessibility into public view. The progress made in the preceding pages clearly demonstrates the virtues of a community of scholars willing to share sufficient information to benefit from each other's work.