Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cellular Disorganization and Extensive Apoptosis in the Developing Heart of Mice that Lack Cardiac Muscle α-Actin: Apparent Cause of Perinatal Death

Mice that lack cardiac muscle α-actin die during the perinatal period. Approximately 56% of mice that are homozygous null (−/−) for a functional cardiac α-actin gene do not survive to term, and the remainder generally die within 2 wk of birth. We found that there were neither morphologic differences nor differences in the extent of apoptosis between the mutant and normal hearts on embryonic day (E) 12 and E14 of development. However, apoptosis was greater in the hearts of homozygous null mice on E17 and postnatal day 1 when compared with wild-type hearts. The antiapoptotic factor Bcl-x/L was localized in regions adjacent to where apoptosis was detected. The distribution patterns of the apoptosis triggering protein p53 were similar to those of apoptotic cells. The growth of the prenatal and postnatal hearts of the cardiac α-actin–deficient mice was retarded, and the cytoplasmic filaments were disorganized. Although apoptotic cells were observed in both the atria and ventricles in the hearts of the homozygous null animals, the frequency was greater in the ventricles than in the atria. Our results indicate that the functional and structural disturbances in the mice with a homozygous lack of cardiac α-actin seem to be due to disorganized development of acto-myosin filaments in the affected cardiomyocytes. Other actin isoforms cannot compensate for the lack of cardiac α-actin, and this seems to induce apoptosis in defective cardiac myocytes, which are not able to cope with the increased workload in the perinatal phase.
Exposure of Pregnant Mice to an Air Pollutant Aerosol Increases Asthma Susceptibility in Offspring

Air pollution contributes to both exacerbation and development of bronchial asthma. Studies showed that coexposure to air pollution directly promotes sensitization to inhaled allergen in neonatal mice. The aim of this study was to investigate whether prenatal exposure to air pollution could also increase susceptibility to development of asthma in early life. Pregnant female BALB/c mice were exposed to aerosolized leachate of residual oil fly ash (ROFA, 50 mg/ml, 30 min) at 5, 3, and 1 d before delivery. Offspring were treated once at 3 d of age with ovalbumin (OVA, 5 μg) and alum (ip), an intentionally suboptimal dose for sensitization, exposed to aerosolized OVA (1%, 10 min) at 12–14 d or 32–35 d of age, and evaluated 2 d after the final exposure. The offspring of ROFA-exposed mothers (ROFA group) revealed increasing airway hyperresponsiveness (higher enhanced pause [Penh] to methacholine challenge) and elevated substantial numbers of eosinophils in the bronchoalveolar lavage flued (BALF). Histopathology revealed prominent inflammation in the lungs of ROFA group and showed increased allergen-specific IgE and IgG1 levels. Their cultured splenocytes showed an enhanced interleukin (IL)-4/interferon (IFN)-γ cytokine, indicating Th2 skewed immunity. Data indicate that exposure of pregnant female mice to an air pollutant aerosol increased asthma susceptibility in their offspring.
Gastronomy as a tourism resource: profile of the culinary tourist

The aim of this paper is to explore the characteristics and motivations of culinary tourists whose destination is the city of Córdoba (Spain) while attempting to determine whether gastronomy is an important aspect of the trip or if it is perceived simply as a secondary activity. Fieldwork was carried out among a series of restaurant establishments in the city of Córdoba. A demand survey was conducted in 10 particular establishments that were selected among those offering local dishes and which are regularly visited by tourists and the questionnaire was distributed among clients obtaining 206 valid answers. Our results reveal the strengths and weaknesses of Córdoba's restaurant sector. While 10% state that the cuisine is one of the main reasons for visiting the city, 68% believe that the local cuisine is an important but not an essential aspect of their trip and the rest view it as being secondary. These three types of tourists exhibit different kinds of motivation. This suggests that strategies should be designed and developed to promote gastronomy as one of the city's chief tourist attractions. Good tourism management based on initiatives such as the creation of culinary routes could be an alternative for implementing strategies aimed at the social and economic development and promotion of particular areas, for example turning typical food from rural areas in certain regions into a marketable attraction.
STRUCTURAL DETERMINANTS OF MARKET INTEGRATION: THE CASE OF RICE MARKETS IN BANGLADESH

PATIAL market integration refers to co-movements of prices, and, more generally, to the smooth transmission of price signals and information across spatially separated markets. In this paper, the topic of spatial market integration, as opposed to inter-temporal price integration and vertical price integration, will be generically referred to as market integration. There are several reasons for studying market integration. Such study makes it possible to identify groups of integrated markets, so as to avoid duplication of intervention. If locations A, B, and C are well integrated, then the government may think of withdrawing from, or at least reduce, its effort to influence the price process in those locations. A scarcity in A will be quickly transmitted to B and C, making it redundant to duplicate the same program (for example, an open market sale operation or a procurement activity) in all three locations. Moreover, by giving a more detailed picture of the process of transmission of incentives across the marketing chain, knowledge of market integration is relevant to the success of policies such as market liberalization or price stabilization. Market integration ensures that a regional balance occurs among food-deficit and food-surplus regions, and regions producing nonfood cash crops (see Delgado [8]). If price transmission does not occur, the localized scarcities and abundances may result in excessive strain on the population (see Ravallion [21]). Finally, the identification of the structural factors responsible for the integration of markets may improve policy oriented toward market development. The study of market integration has usually tried to characterize the degree of co-movement of prices across spatially separated markets. Since prices are the most readily available and often the most reliable information on developing country marketing systems, market integration studies have almost exclusively referred to events resulting in price changes. Most specifically, market integration is restricted to the interdependence of price changes across spatially separated locations in a market (Wyeth [23]). Past research has identified various measures of market integration including The Developing Economies, XXXIII-2 (June 1995)
Guest editor's introduction: strategic human resource challenge: managing diversity

In the recent past, managing diversity has emerged as a strategic challenge in the area of human resources/industrial relations (HRJIR). Governments and industry in many countries have initiated programmes and policies to contend with this phenomenon. In this special issue, we seek to explore some of the fundamental issues associated with managing diversity, such as: What does managing diversity mean? what has accounted for this interest in managing diversity? why is it important to manage diversity? and how can we manage diversity? The papers in this special issue came from two sources: manuscripts submitted in response to a 'call for papers' for this journal and papers accepted for presentation in Track 1 of the Tenth World Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association (IIRA) held in Washington, DC, 31 May-3 June 1995. Track 1's theme was 'The global human resource challenge: managing diversity in international settings'. Through an arrangement with the current president of IIRA, Professor Thomas Kochan of the Sloan School of Management, MIT, the papers from both sources were combined for publication here and for presentation at the IIRA World Congress.
Advances in pig molecular genetics, gene mapping and genomics.

Ad vanees in the fields of molecular genetics and genomics have been considerable and these have led to the development of very useful Jinkage and physical maps of the pig genome. The genetic linkage map now has over l.900 loc i including approximately 300 genes. The physical genetic map has over 1.000 loc i includ ing a grow ing number of known genes. The deve lopment of new maps including those incorporating large numbers of AFLP markers map are also well underway and will add 2,000 additi onal markers. b1inging the total to nearly 4,000 genes and marke rs. Severa] recent quantitati ve tra it loci scans and candidate gene analyses have identified important ch romosomal regions and individual genes associated with trait s of economi c interest in the pi g. These include QTL fo r growth and bacHar. meat quality traits. ancl reprocluction. The causati ve mutations fo r porcine stress syndrome (HAL or CRC 1) and the RN disorder, ca ndiclate genes for litter size (ESR, PRLR. RBP4) , growth (MC4R), meat quality (hFABP. aFABP), di sease res istance (FUTI. SLA, NRAMP). and coa! color (KIT, MC 1 R) have also been identified. The commercial pig ind usrry is ac tiveJy using thi s information ancl in-house research to improve pig producti on by marker ass isted selecti on (MAS). Furthermore, research to stucly the co expression of hundreds of genes is now beginning. This research will aid in our understanding of genetic systems and how to alter their reJationships to improve pig production.
ONLINE SERVICE PROVISION: ARE MUNICIPALITIES REALLY INNOVATIVE? THE CASE OF LARGER MUNICIPALITIES IN ITALY

The employment of information and communication technologies for the delivery of information and services has been considered a major objective of the modernization agenda of municipalities. This article contributes to the advances in the e-government literature by assessing the current status of ICT adoption among larger Italian municipalities and investigating whether the municipalities at a more mature stage of e-government adoption share any distinctive characteristics. The results show that some organizational factors, rather than environmental ones, show a positive association. However, the analysis also shows that most of the Italian municipalities involved have undertaken a non-linear e-government adoption process, which currently results in low diffusion of more mature stages of ICT adoption for the delivery of services to citizens and businesses.
Behavioural Pharmacology in Classical Conditioning of the Proboscis Extension Response in Honeybees (Apis mellifera)

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are well known for their communication and orientation skills and for their impressive learning capability1,2. Because the survival of a honeybee colony depends on the exploitation of food sources, forager bees learn and memorize variable flower sites as well as their profitability. Forager bees can be easily trained in natural settings where they forage at a feeding site and learn the related signals such as odor or color. Appetitive associative learning can also be studied under controlled conditions in the laboratory by conditioning the proboscis extension response (PER) of individually harnessed honeybees3,4. This learning paradigm enables the study of the neuronal and molecular mechanisms that underlie learning and memory formation in a simple and highly reliable way5-12. A behavioral pharmacology approach is used to study molecular mechanisms. Drugs are injected systemically to interfere with the function of specific molecules during or after learning and memory formation13-16. Here we demonstrate how to train harnessed honeybees in PER conditioning and how to apply drugs systemically by injection into the bee flight muscle.
Mapping of human non‐muscle type cofilin (CFL1) to chromosome 11q13 and muscle‐type cofilin (CFL2) to chromosome 14

Cofilin is a widely‐distributed, intracellular, actin binding protein which is involved in the translocation of actin‐cofilin complex from cytoplasm to nucleus. We have cloned a non‐muscle‐type cofilin (CFL1) from a human promyelocytic cDNA library and mapped this to human chromosome 11 by PCR amplification of 3' untranslated sequence in a panel of rodent‐human somatic cell hybrids, and to the interval 11q12‐q13.2 in a chromosome 11 somatic cell hybrid mapping panel. Confirmation of regional localisation to 11q13 has been obtained by fluorescent in situ hybridisation of genomic cosmid clones, by demonstration of the presence of both SEA (the human homologue of avian retrovirus pro viral tyrosine kinase, 11q13) and CFL1 in some of these clones and by close linkage of CFL1 to SEA in a panel of high‐dose irradiation hybrids.
Dynamics of Sector Switching: Hazard Models Predicting Changes from Private Sector Jobs to Public and Nonprofit Sector Jobs

Policy makers and public managers emphasize the importance of bringing private sector experience and skills into the public and nonprofit sectors. One result is an increased focus on privatization and contracting out, developments to which researchers have been attentive. However, the long-standing practice of hiring people with industrial experience into the public and nonprofit sectors has received remarkably little attention. Using event history analysis, this article looks at switching patterns.
DIET, PLASMA CAROTENOIDS, AND SEXUAL COLORATION IN THE ZEBRA FINCH (TAENIOPYGIA GUTTATA)

Abstract Carotenoid-based colors serve important sexual-signaling functions in many animals, but the proximate factor(s) underlying their expression has sparked controversy. In particular, the relative contributions of dietary and physiological mechanisms have been questioned of late. However, no studies have concurrently quantified levels of food intake or pigment processing in any species to examine the comparative effects of pigment acquisition and use on integumetary coloration. Here, we studied within- and between-sex patterns of food intake and plasma pigment circulation in the Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata) to assess how sexually dichromatic, carotenoid-based bill pigmentation serves as an indicator of pigment access in the diet and carotenoid transport through the bloodstream. First, in a food-choice study, we found that males and females did not consume different types or amounts of food, despite dramatic sex differences in bill coloration. Similarly, variability in carotenoid-based bill pigmentation within each sex was uncoupled from levels of food consumption. Next, we used high-performance liquid-chromatography (HPLC) to quantify the types and amounts of carotenoids circulating through blood. Male and female Zebra Finches circulated the same four major carotenoid pigments in blood plasma (lutein, zeaxanthin, anhydrolutein, and β-cryptoxanthin), but males circulated a significantly higher concentration of plasma carotenoids than did females. Within both sexes, individuals that circulated more carotenoid pigments displayed more brightly colored bills. In sum, these results suggest that physiological factors such as pigment transport may play a more important role in shaping variability in carotenoid-based bill coloration in this species than does diet. Future studies should be aimed at identifying the proximate determinants of plasma carotenoid circulation in these birds as well as how circulated pigments are used to produce maximum color displays.
Public sector human resource management reform across countries: from performance appraisal to performance steering?

New public management approaches in government emphasise the application of business-like techniques to the delivery of public sector services. One of the most prevalent HRM implications of this trend has been the increasing use of Performance Management (PM) by public organisations. Our objective is to describe trends in PM practice as they have emerged in public organisations undertaking new management reforms across the world. Reviewing the literature during the period between 1988 and 2009, we consider the application of PM in the pursuit of different objectives and in alternative types of civil service systems. We find that some elements of this approach, such as performance appraisal, have been adopted in most nations, but much remains to be done before PM can truly contribute to the 'performance steering' envisioned by advocates of customer-driven and managerialist perspectives.
The pKO2 Linear Plasmid Prophage of Klebsiella oxytoca

ABSTRACT Temperate bacteriophages with plasmid prophages are uncommon in nature, and of these only phages N15 and PY54 are known to have a linear plasmid prophage with closed hairpin telomeres. We report here the complete nucleotide sequence of the 51,601-bp Klebsiella oxytoca linear plasmid pKO2, and we demonstrate experimentally that it is also a prophage. We call this bacteriophage φKO2. An analysis of the 64 predicted φKO2 genes indicate that it is a fairly close relative of phage N15; they share a mosaic relationship that is typical of different members of double-stranded DNA tailed-phage groups. Although the head, tail shaft, and lysis genes are not recognizably homologous between these phages, other genes such as the plasmid partitioning, replicase, prophage repressor, and protelomerase genes (and their putative targets) are so similar that we predict that they must have nearly identical DNA binding specificities. The φKO2 virion is unusual in that its phage λ-like tails have an exceptionally long (3,433 amino acids) central tip tail fiber protein. The φKO2 genome also carries putative homologues of bacterial dinI and umuD genes, both of which are involved in the host SOS response. We show that these divergently transcribed genes are regulated by LexA protein binding to a single target site that overlaps both promoters.
Response to “Discussion Note on Paper ‘A Wavelet Network Model for Short-Term Traffic Volume Forecasting”’

The discussion note refers to Jiang and Adeli’s work (2005a) a number of times. We started working on this article (Xie and Zhang, 2006) at the beginning of year 2005 and submitted the manuscript in October. At the time of the submission, we were not aware of Jiang and Adeli’s work. Although both papers investigated the application of wavelet networks in traffic volume forecasting, they looked at quite different aspects and there are three major differences between the two articles. Firstly, our research focused on using wavelet networks for predicting short-term traffic flow data (e.g., in the next five minutes), while Jiang and Adeli’s study applied a Wavelet Neural Network (WNN) model to forecast hourly traffic volume for the next few hours or days even though the authors claimed that their WNN model can be used for both short-term and long-term traffic flow forecasting. Compared with traffic flow predictions for the next few hours or days, short-term traffic flow predictions for the next few minutes in our article are more useful for traffic operations and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications. Secondly, the wavelet networks used in these two studies are different. Jiang and Adeli (2005a) used a dynamic wavelet neural network with time delay inputs. While in our research, a network structure more similar to conventional multilayer feed-forward neural networks was considered.
Regulation of expression of the amino acid transporter gene BAP3 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The BAP3 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a protein with a high similarity to the BAP2 gene product, a high‐affinity permease for branched‐chain amino acids. In this paper, we show that, like BAP2, the expression of the BAP3 gene in S. cerevisiae is induced by the addition of branched‐chain amino acids to the medium. Unexpectedly, most other naturally occurring L‐amino acids found in proteins (with the exception of proline, lysine, arginine and histidine) have the same effect on the expression of BAP3. The induction of BAP3 expression appears to be dependent on Stp1p, a nuclear protein, previously shown to be involved in pre‐tRNA maturation and also required for the expression of BAP2, as induction is no longer observed in an stp1 − mutant. The transcriptional regulator Leu3p is not involved in the induction of BAP3 expression, but may act as a repressor of BAP3 expression in the absence of leucine, as can be inferred from a transcriptional analysis in a Δleu3 mutant. By extensive deletion analysis of the BAP3 promoter fused to a GUS reporter, as well as by fusions of different parts of the BAP3 promoter to a LacZ reporter, we have found that a portion of the BAP3 promoter from − 418 to − 392 relative to the ATG start codon is both necessary and sufficient for the Stp1p‐dependent induction of BAP3 expression by (most) amino acids. We have therefore named this sequence UASaa (amino acid‐dependent upstream activator sequence). Neither Stp1p nor Leu3p appear to bind to the UASaa, at least in vitro, as judged from gel retardation assays. Sequences similar to the UASaa can be found in the promoters of BAP2, PTR2 and TAT1 ; genes that, like BAP3, encode permeases inducible by amino acids, suggesting that amino acid induction of all these genes is exerted via a common mechanism.
Discussion: The 2007 Farm Bill and Crop Insurance: Implications for Crop Producers in the South

The crop insurance program has grown significantly since passage of the 2002 Farm Bill. Total premiums more than doubled from $2.9 billion in 2002 to $6.6 billion in 2007. This growth in the crop insurance program is due to a combination of greater participation by growers at higher levels of coverage, an increased number of crops with coverage available, and a general rise in commodity prices. Not unexpectedly, there has been a corresponding increase in the cost of program delivery. The total amount of expense subsidy and underwriting gains paid to crop insurance companies increased from around $1 billion in 2001 to over $2.5 billion in 2007.
Tassi di interesse reali, rischio di lungo periodo e cicli economici

Real interest rates, long run risks and business cycles. Standard theoretical model under power utility preferences generates time series for real yields and output that are not consistent with the cyclical properties of the macroeconomic data. In particular real interest rates of the model are highly procyclical, while measured real interest rates are countercyclical. Following recent developments in equity premium literature we explore this question in a long run risk environment with generalized isoleastic preferences. This approach explains equity premium puzzle, but it fails to fit real bond prices and their dynamics in relation to business cycles if we model exogenous consumption growth with a persistent component and time-varying volatility.
Determinantes espaciais e socioeconômicos do suicídio no Brasil: uma abordagem regional

Suicide is considered a public health issued by the World Health Organization. Suicide is amongst the ten most frequent causes of death in all ages, in addition to being the second or third cause of death between 15 and 34 years of age. Estimates show that for every suicide there are at least ten suicides attempts that require medical attention and for every suicide attempt recorded, four are not known. The aim of this paper is to analyze the socioeconomic determinants of suicide rates for Brazilian micro-regions, taking into account spatial aspects of the problem. The hypothesis of this paper is that there is a "spatial contagion effect" for suicide, that is to say, the neighborhood suicide rates are an important determinant of the regional suicide rate. This is achieved by the use of spatial econometrics techniques to assess whether there is spatial dependence for suicide rates in micro-regions.