Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do Large Residential Subdivisions Induce Further Development?

Problem: Most previous research on land use change has been conducted at coarse scales with aggregated data, and there are relatively few studies that attempt to establish and examine these linkages at a disaggregate level. In addition, the cumulative effects of large residential developments have been little investigated as potential drivers of land use change. Purpose: We hypothesize that residential subdivisions of 10 acres or more exert detectable priming effects and influence the rate of subsequent development in the vicinity. We use parcel-level data to test whether unilateral development decisions have spillover effects across both space and time. Methods: We analyze parcel changes and then conduct a spatially explicit hazard analysis of land use change in Mecklenburg County, NC, to identify a set of factors that predict which vacant land parcels are most likely to experience a subdivision event (be subdivided) during a given one-year time period. We also perform a sensitivity analysis to assess how the specification of the priming effect measure affects the analysis, and to gain insight into the spatial extent of the hypothesized relationship between large residential subdivisions and subsequent development. Results and Conclusions: We find evidence of a positive association between large residential subdivision events and an increased likelihood of subsequent subdivision activity. The sensitivity analysis suggests that this relationship is robust to changes in how the priming effect measure is specified and declines with distance. This corroborates previous assumptions that major residential subdivisions drive land conversion. Takeaway for Practice: These results suggest that the project review process should consider impacts at a broader scale. Large residential subdivisions warrant attention not only for their localized impacts on traffic, stormwater, schools, and emergency services, but also for the signals they communicate to the larger development community. We find the effects of converting land to residential use cumulate not only over space, but also over time. Thus, they should be examined within the context of existing land use plans as well as infrastructure and service-delivery capabilities. By understanding the factors that explain parcel subdivision events and considering their capacity to induce further residential development, planners and the communities they serve will be in a stronger position to manage growth. Research Support: None.
Helicobacter pylori Promotes the Production of Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin by Gastric Epithelial Cells and Induces Dendritic Cell-Mediated Inflammatory Th2 Responses

ABSTRACT Helicobacter pylori colonizes the stomach and induces strong, specific local and systemic humoral and cell-mediated immunity, resulting in the development of chronic gastritis in humans. Although H. pylori-induced chronic atrophic gastritis is characterized by marked infiltration of T helper type 1 (Th1) cytokine-producing CD4+ T cells, almost all of the inflamed gastric mucosae also contain focal lymphoid aggregates with germinal centers. In addition, typical H. pylori-induced chronic gastritis in children, called follicular gastritis, is characterized by B-cell follicle formation in the gastric mucosa. The aim of this study was to examine whether thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), an epithelial-cell-derived cytokine inducing a dendritic cell (DC)-mediated inflammatory Th2 response, is involved in Th2 responses triggering B-cell activation in H. pylori-induced gastritis. Here, we show that H. pylori triggered human gastric epithelial cells to produce TSLP, together with the DC-attracting chemokine MIP-3α and the B-cell-activating factor BAFF. After DCs were incubated with supernatants from H. pylori-infected epithelial cells, the conditioned cells expressed high levels of costimulatory molecules, such as CD80, and triggered naïve CD4+ T cells to produce high levels of the Th2 cytokines interleukin-4 and interleukin-13 and of the inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha and gamma interferon. In contrast, after incubation of the supernatants with the neutralizing antibodies to TSLP, the conditioned DCs did not prime T cells to produce high levels of Th2 cytokines. These results, together with the finding that TSLP was expressed by the epithelial cells of human follicular gastritis, suggest that H. pylori can directly trigger epithelial cells to produce TSLP. It also suggests that TSLP-mediated DC activation may be involved in Th2 responses triggering B-cell activation in H. pylori-induced gastritis.
Investment in General Human Capital and Turnover Intention

A key area of personnel economics focuses on the provision of human resource practices by firms, such as why one type of compensation is offered over another (Edward P. Lazear and Paul Oyer 2007). While this area of research includes various types of wage compensation, it also includes types of nonwage compensation, which have been shown to have sizable effects on worker behavior, such as mobility in the case of health insurance and traditional pension plans. The present analysis examines the effect of employer sponsored investment in general human capital, administered through tuition reimbursement programs, on employee turnover. Employer provided tuition reimbursement is a widespread program in which firms provide financial assistance for the direct cost of coursework taken by employees. Estimates of the percentage of firms that offer this program are as high as 85 percent (Peter Cappelli 2004). These programs support investment in an employee’s general human capital—skills that are transferable across employers—because accredited academic institutions are responsible for curriculum development, instruction, and certification and serve students employed at a wide variety of establishments. These programs represent a puzzle because firms are unlikely to make general human capital investments without some expectation of receiving an ex post return, but standard human capital theory Human Capital, Work, and outComes
The construction of cost accounting systems in Britain to 1900: the case of the coal, iron and steel industries

Research into the development of costing systems during the last 20 or so years has begun to challenge the previously widely held view that little by way of progress was made before the end of the nineteenth century. Much of this later research, however, did not include consideration of developments between c.1830 and 1900. The paper does two things: it attempts to fill this gap by presenting the results of our recent archival research into costing systems used by British companies in the coal, iron and steel industries and, in the light of this and other work, suggests that a new conventional wisdom as to the development of accounting systems in British industry in the nineteenth century needs to be adopted by historians. In particular, we find that the widely held view that cost and financial accounting had separate roots is not supported by the evidence, which instead shows that British managers in the industries examined developed a system of integrated accounting to help them manage business that were becoming increasingly larger and more complex. Furthermore, despite the lack of any significant discussion of the problems faced by businessmen within the accounting literature until the end of the nineteenth century, there was a significant degree of diffusion in key areas of accounting practice. Such areas included the preparation of costs sheets to establish departmental costs of production, the apportionment of overheads to identify total cost, and the use of transfer prices to track the movement of goods between departments.
Broadening without Intensification: The Added Value of the European Social and Sectoral Dialogue

The framework of the European social dialogue (ESD) has enabled interest organizations at the European level to conclude agreements on a wide range of social policy issues. This applies both at the inter-sectoral level and within the various sectors, and has led in the last few decades to the creation of a large number of joint texts. This article addresses the issue of the added value of these results for the parties concluding them. It is argued that the ESD does not constitute a system of industrial relations at the European level, but serves as an alternative lobbying channel for the social partners involved.
A Potent Human Anti-Eotaxin1 Antibody, CAT-213: Isolation by Phage Display and in Vitro and in Vivo Efficacy

The CC chemokine, eotaxin1 (CCL11) is an important regulator of eosinophil function. A marked accumulation of eosinophils in tissues has been correlated with the up-regulation of eotaxin1 expression in several diseases. The potential therapeutic value of neutralizing the effects of eotaxin1 in inflammatory conditions (including asthma) is under investigation. A human single-chain fragment variable antibody that neutralizes human eotaxin1 (CAT-212) was produced using antibody phage display and converted to whole antibody IgG4 format (CAT-213). A novel approach to lead optimization in which the length of the variable heavy chain complementarity-determining region 3 was reduced by one amino acid resulted in an increase in potency of >1000-fold compared with the parent anti-eotaxin1 antibody. The optimized antibody binds eotaxin1 with high affinity (80.4 pM) and specificity. CAT-213 and CAT-212 do not bind or neutralize a range of other human proteins including human monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, a structurally similar chemokine. CAT-213 neutralizes the ability of eotaxin1 to cause an increase in intracellular calcium signaling (with an IC50 value of 2.86 nM), migration of CCR3-expressing L1.2 cells (with an IC50 value of 0.48 nM), and inhibition of the eotaxin1-evoked shape change of human eosinophils in vitro (with an IC50 of 0.71 nM). Local administration of CAT-213 to mice (1–100 μg kg–1) attenuates dermal eosinophilia induced by human eotaxin1, achieving >90% inhibition of eosinophil influx. CAT-213 may therefore be of therapeutic value in inhibiting diseases in which eotaxin1 and eosinophils play a major role, for example, severe asthma.
Parents' interpretation of instructions to control the dose of fluoridated toothpaste used with young children.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to determine the average amounts of fluoridated toothpaste applied by parents to a child's toothbrush in response to instructions to limit the quantity to a "pea-sized" or "smear" amount. METHODS Fifty parents of 12- to 71-month-old children participated in this study. They were presented with three toothbrushes and asked to apply the amount of toothpaste they use typically with their child-a smear or a pea-sized quantity. The results were compared to the recommended weights of 0.25 g (pea-sized) and 0.125 g (smear). RESULTS The mean amount applied in response to a "smear" weighed 0.21 ± 0.19 g, which differed from the recommended weight of 0.125 g (P=.002). The mean amount applied in response to a "pea" weighed 0.30 ± 0.21 g, which was greater than but not statistically significantly different from the recommended weight of 0.25 g (P=.10). Parents applied, on average, 0.33 ± 0.24 g of toothpaste when instructed to apply the amount they typically use with their child. CONCLUSIONS Most parents use more fluoridated toothpaste than is recommended for young children and verbal instructions to limit the dose are ineffective. Education by demonstrating a smear and pea-sized amounts of fluoridated toothpaste is recommended.
O Comportamento da Política Fiscal Brasileira no Século XXI: Uma Análise a partir do Impulso Fiscal

Este artigo apresenta uma analise para a politica fiscal brasileira no periodo 2000-2010 a partir da elaboracao de um indicador de impulso fiscal. Os resultados obtidos mostram que houve uma postura expansionista entre 2000 e 2010. Entretanto, a analise a partir de cada ano permitiu identificar duas fases na conducao da politica fiscal. Entre os anos 2000 e 2004 houve um “periodo de ajuste”, e entre 2005 e 2010 (“periodo de amadurecimento”) a politica fiscal passou a funcionar como uma ferramenta anticiclica. Alem disso, este estudo revela que, na maioria dos anos, o ambiente economico contribui para superestimar o resultado fiscal do governo federal.
Dietary diversity score is a useful indicator of vitamin A status of adult women in Northern Kenya

Diets consisting of diverse food items provide a wide range of nutrients that can enhance nutritional quality of the diet. Few studies have, however, assessed dietary diversity and its effects on micronutrient health in rural populations in field settings. This study assesses how well Dietary Diversity Score (DDS), an indicator of dietary diversity based on a simple count of food groups consumed, predicts the micronutrient status, focusing on serum vitamin A concentration.
Altered Organization of Collagen in the Apex of Keratoconus Corneas

Purpose: In 15 keratoconus corneas, the three-dimensional arrangement of collagen lamellae was investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy. Methods: Keratoconus corneas without visible scars were obtained during perforating keratoplasty. The noncollagenous matrix of the stroma was removed with sodium hydroxide. Descemet’s membrane was removed mechanically and deeper layers of the stroma were exposed by cutting the tissue tangentially to the corneal surface with an ultramicrotome. The apical and the para-apical regions of keratoconus were compared to the central regions of normal corneas. Results: In the apical regions of 11 out of the 15 keratoconus corneas (73%), the arrangement of the collagen lamellae differs from those of the para-apical regions and normal corneas. Their collagen fibrils form uniform layers and no delimited collagen lamellae can be differentiated. Interlacing between adjacent layers is extremely decreased or even absent. In the para-apical region of keratoconus corneas the three-dimensional arrangement of collagen lamellae does not differ from that in normal corneas. Conclusion: Stromal thinning and conical ectasia in the apex of keratoconus corneas alters the organization of collagen. This will certainly affect the biomechanical properties of the cornea and further lead to a progression of keratoconus irrespective of its primary pathogenesis.
Dovitinib: rationale, preclinical and early clinical data in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder

Introduction: Bladder cancer (BC) is the third and fifth cancer in men in terms of incidence and mortality in the US. Overexpression and mutations of fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) are frequently found in BC and can represent a very interesting therapeutic target. Different FGFR3-targeted strategies have been investigated through in vitro and in vivo settings, including FGFR3 tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as dovitinib. Areas covered: The authors review the data that provide a scientific rationale for FGFR3-targeted therapy in BC. They also provide an evaluation of the currently available in vitro and in vivo data on the use of dovitinib in BC patients. Expert opinion: The development and progression of BC rely on a very complex signaling network that involves many different receptors aside from FGFR3 and VEGFR2. The involved signaling network can also be very different from one BC to the other, and can also evolve through time in the same patient. Inhibiting only one single target may thus not be sufficient to achieve a complete downstream oncogenic signaling blockage. Additionally, in vitro data on the use of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies targeting FGFR3 show that it can be a more efficient strategy to reach the same goal, with the potential advantage of less toxicity.
The Information Content of Dividend Changes: Cash Flow Signaling, Overinvestment, and Dividend Clienteles

Abstract We examine the cash flow signaling, overinvestment, and dividend clientele explanations for the information content of dividend change announcements. After simultaneously controlling for the standardized dividend change, dividend yield, and Tobin's Q, we find that announcement period excess returns are positively related to the magnitude of the standardized dividend change and to the dividend yield, but unrelated to Tobin's Q. We provide further evidence on the cash flow signaling and overinvestment hypotheses by examining revisions in analysts' earnings forecasts and changes in capital expenditures following dividend change announcements. We find that analysts significantly revise their earnings forecasts following dividend changes and that Q < 1 firms actually increase their capital expenditures following dividend increases and decrease them following dividend decreases. Overall, our findings support the cash flow signaling and dividend clientele hypotheses for stock price reactions to dividend change announcements, but provide little support for the overinvestment hypothesis.
Orthogonal GARCH Matrixes in the Active Portfolio Management of Defined Benefit Pension Plans: A Test for Michoacán

This paper presents the usefulness of an active portfolio management process with orthogonal GARCH (OGARCH) matrixes in order to achieve a 7.5% actuarial target return in defined benefit pension funds such as the Direccion de Pensiones Civiles del Estado de Michoacan. To prove this, four discrete event simulations were performed using, in the first scenario, a passive portfolio management process with a target position rebalancing discipline and, in the other three, an active portfolio management with a range portfolio rebalancing one. In these last three simulations, a constant covariance, a Gaussian distribution OGARCH and a Student's t-distribution OGARCH covariance matrix were used. The attained results suggest that the Student's t-distribution OGARCH matrix is the most suitable for the investment process.
Digital PLL design challenges for cellular RFICs

Digital PLL design challenges for cellular RFICs are presented. 5 digital PLLs are integrated in 28nm CMOS to support 3-Rx carrier aggregation (CA)/2-TxCA of FD-LTE/TD-LTE, GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA, and TD-SCDMA. The 400 kHz fractional spur of GSM/EDGE Tx LO is < −68 dBc for all channels. The integrated phase noise (IPN) degradation due to DCO-to-DCO coupling is < 0.5 dB even if two fractional PLLs are locked at same frequency.
Power Module Integration: A new approach

Power modules are used in telecommunications equipment, computer servers, industrial equipment, and consumer electronics to provide an integrated power management solution. Nonisolated stepdown modules are the most widely used in today's distributed power systems, which must support integrated circuits (ICs) with lower supply voltages. They are composed of an integrated buck regulator [or a controller with two metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs)], an inductor, input and output capacitors, and some auxiliary components. In a small package, the power modules should integrate all of the functions of their counterparts designed with discrete components so that the systems design engineers do not need to spend too much time on the power supply solution, saving time for product development.
A sample application of supercapacitor storage systems for suburban transit

The advance in energy storage technologies allows to improve significantly the performances of electrified light transportation systems. This is aligned with the massive requirement of competitiveness compared to other transportation technologies in terms of sustainable energy and high reduction of environmental impact. The installation of stationary storage devices, as widely recognized, allows the recovery of the braking energy for increasing the energy efficiency as well as lower line voltage drops. In the paper, the storage system under investigation is based upon a bidirectional dc-dc converter with supercapacitors, characterized by high power density. The main parameters of the storage system are determined by employing an optimization technique, which in a quite general way is capable of taking into account contemporaneously several aspects in an integrated manner. Some simulations of lines of a suburban railways in Southern Italy managed by Sepsa Company are presented, pointing out how supercapacitors can be practically designed with the proposed technique.
Compensation for respiratory motion by gated radiotherapy: an experimental study

Respiratory organ motion is known to be one of the largest intrafractional organ motions. Therefore, it is important to investigate the potential benefit of gated dose delivery approaches which aim to account for the respective dose uncertainties. In this study respiration is simulated by a moving lung phantom; the movement is not restricted to a normal sinusoidal progression and simulates the one of the embedded lung tumour in the cranial–caudal direction. An IMRT plan with a total of 29 beam segments was designed for the treatment of this tumour. It was irradiated in its resting position—which is the position at exhalation—and during movement. Furthermore the irradiation was triggered using different amplitude thresholds, which means that the irradiation only proceeded if the deviation of the tumour's position from its resting position is smaller than the given threshold. We determined the gating-related increase of the treatment time for various gating procedures. We also measured the resulting dose distribution in specific slices of the phantom perpendicular to the direction of the movement using film dosimetry and compared it to the dose distribution of the static case. Since these film measurements cannot be done inside the whole tumour, additionally the movement and gating was simulated using the planning software to calculate the 3D dose distribution inside the tumour and to generate dose volume histograms for different treatment modalities. The total treatment time was observed to increase by 20%–100% depending on the individual gating threshold and can be calculated easily. The analysis of the films showed that irradiation without gating leads to significant underdosages up to 33%, especially at the edge of the tumour. With gating it is possible to considerably reduce this underdosage down to 9% depending on the trigger threshold. The calculation of the dose volume histograms makes it possible to find a reasonable compromise between the improvement of the dose distribution and the increase of the treatment time.