Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The STAT2 Activation Process Is a Crucial Target of Sendai Virus C Protein for the Blockade of Alpha Interferon Signaling

ABSTRACT Sendai virus (SeV) C protein functions as an interferon (IFN) antagonist and renders cells unresponsive to both alpha/beta IFN (IFN-α/β) and IFN-γ. We have recently found the physical association of the C protein with signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) in infected cells. However, involvement of the C-STAT1 interaction in the blockade of IFN signaling has remained unclear. We generated here a series of C mutant proteins that retained or lost the STAT1-binding capacity and examined their effects on IFN-α signaling. All of the C mutant proteins with no STAT1-binding capacity lost the ability to inhibit the IFN-α response. In contrast, the C mutant proteins retaining the STAT1-binding capacity suppressed IFN-α-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of both STAT2 and STAT1 to various degrees. Remarkably, their anti-IFN-α capacities correlated well with the inhibitory effect on phosphorylation of STAT2 rather than STAT1. In infected cells, the levels of tyrosine-phosphorylated (pY) STAT2 were below the detection level irrespective of duration of IFN-α stimulation, whereas the levels of pY-STAT1 strikingly increased after long-term IFN-α stimulation. These results suggest that the STAT2 activation process is a crucial target for the blockade of IFN-α signaling. An in vitro binding assay with extracts from (STAT1-deficient) U3A and (STAT1-expressing) U3A-ST1 cells suggested the requirement of STAT1 for the C-STAT2 interaction. Furthermore, expression of STAT1 enhanced the inhibitory effect of the C protein on STAT2 activation in U3A cells. The C protein thus appears to participate in the inhibitory process for STAT2 activation through the STAT1 interaction.
Simulation-Based Optimization of Multi Voltage Automotive Power Supply Systems

Complex multi-voltage automotive power supply systems are difficult to optimize. In this paper a simulation-based method to optimize multi voltage power supply systems is presented. With an electrical-thermal wire model the ampacity and the voltage drop of a cable can be determined. With these criteria cables of the power supply system can be dimensioned. By extending the electric-thermal models with functions defining costs, weight and space of the wires and DC/DC-converter models evaluation and optimization of multi-voltage vehicle systems is possible.
NUCLEAR LOCI AND COALESCENT METHODS SUPPORT ANCIENT HYBRIDIZATION AS CAUSE OF MITOCHONDRIAL PARAPHYLY BETWEEN GADWALL AND FALCATED DUCK (ANAS SPP.)

Abstract Many species have mitochondrial DNA lineages that are phylogenetically intermixed with other species, but studies have rarely tested the cause of such paraphyly. In this study, we tested two hypotheses that could explain mitochondrial paraphyly of Holarctic gadwalls (Anas strepera) with respect to Asian falcated ducks (A. falcata). First, hybridization could have resulted in falcated duck mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) introgressing into the gadwall gene pool. Second, gadwalls and falcated ducks could have diverged so recently that mtDNA lineages have not sorted to reciprocal monophyly. We used coalescent analyses of three independent loci to distinguish between these two hypotheses. Two lines of evidence support introgression. First, analyses of the three loci combined show that some introgression is necessary to explain current genetic diversity in gadwalls. Second, we generated alternative predictions regarding time since divergence estimated from mtDNA: falcated ducks and gadwalls would have diverged between 65,000 and 700,000 years before present (ybp) under the introgression hypothesis and between 11,000 and 76,000 ybp under the incomplete lineage sorting hypothesis. The two independent nuclear introns indicated that these species diverged between 210,000 and 5,200,000 ybp, which did not overlap the predicted time for incomplete lineage sorting. These analyses also suggested that ancient introgression (∼14,000 ybp) has resulted in the widespread distribution and high frequency of falcated-like mtDNA (5.5% of haplotypes) in North America. This is the first study to use a rigorous quantitative framework to reject incomplete lineage sorting as the cause of mitochondrial paraphyly.
Who is the counter‐urban mover? Evidence from the Swedish urban system

This study analyses differences between counter-urban movers and movers heading for other destinations. Through the elaboration of a spatial model based upon settlement structure and functional hinterlands, counter-urban migration can be measured on the ground throughout the urban system. Empirical analysis of the counter-urban mover is rendered possible by access to a comprehensive longitudinal micro-database that contains demographic, socio-economic and detailed geographic information for all Swedish citizens. Binomial and multinomial logit models are estimated to capture the partial effects of variables related to the individual, the household, the labour market, life course events, and regional economic conditions on the choice of migration destination. The results of the analyses show that counter-urban movers are more likely to be older, born in Sweden or any other Scandinavian country, less well-off, having a university qualification, living single, being outside the labour force, and becoming unemployed close to the migration event. The emerging picture of the Swedish counter-urban mover reveals an individual who may be striving for other qualities in life, where career and earnings are of minor importance. Somewhat unexpectedly, the counter-urban movers show no systematic differences depending on their place of departure. No clear hierarchy-specific effects across the urban system can be found. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The role of emotion in hi-tech product adoption: the case of WCDMA in Korea

The purpose of this study is to examine and extend the technology acceptance model (TAM) to the emotional factor of a customer such as ‘perceived enjoyment’ in hi-technology product adoption. The addition of perceived enjoyment to the traditional TAM with only perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use will explain better the use of general hi-technology products that most of us come in contact daily. The model is tested using data of 600 cellular phone users in Korea. This study emphasises that the addition of perceived enjoyment to the traditional TAM with only perceived usefulness and perceived ease-of-use will explain better the use of general hi-technology products that most of us come in contact daily. The result shows that the role of perceived enjoyment is critical to the intention to use a hi-technology product.
Change in UK Bank Branch Networks: A Customer Perspective

Branch networks evolved to attract relatively cheap retail de- posits through the convenience of branch locations and branch-based payment systems. Traditionally, they provided a highly effective mechanism for administering, collecting and de- livering cash and helped to promote an extensive range of associated lending and ancillary services. However, the import- . ance of branch networks is only tenable provided that theconditions which determined their historical position continue to apply. The most important of these conditions are that the market continues to respond to it and that it will remain the basis for existing and emerging patterns of competitive behaviour. With this consideration in mind and against a background of un- precedented change in the financial services markets, the article attempts to assess the future validity of branch networks by obtaining the opinions of customers on a range of important issues currently confronting banking institutions with compre- hensive branch networks.
Patterns of Clustering of Child Mortality in a Rural Area of Senegal

This study assesses the empirical evidence for the presence and the pattern of heterogeneity in child mortality between families in a rural area of Senegal that is apparently homogeneous with regard to the known determinants of mortality. The presence of heterogeneity is assessed by comparing the distribution of child deaths for women with a chance distribution. To weigh the relative contribution of causes of within-and between-family heterogeneity in the risk of child death to the observed pattern of clustering, detailed simulations in which empirical child-based data from the study are used, are undertaken. There are important variations in child mortality between families in this community, and the familial component in child mortality is almost entirely correlated with the size of the family. High-risk women experience repeated child deaths and repeated short birth intervals; they therefore have larger families. Heterogeneity in mortality and selective fertility, however, fail to explain the observed .
Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education

Shortly after the University of Virginia Press published Equity and Excellence in American Higher Education, Bill Bowen, Martin Kurzweil, and I participated in a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution. One of our colleagues on the panel, Amy Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania, and a distinguished political philosopher who has written widely about education, democracy, and human rights, prefaced her remarks by referring to a New Yorker cartoon portraying a little boy tugging at Thomas Jefferson’s coattails, looking up at Mr. Jefferson and saying: “If you hold these truths to be self-evident, then why do you keep harping on them so much? ”
Conditional Exchange-Rate Volatility and the Volume of International Trade: Evidence from the Early 1900s

Exports from Britain to the United States from 1900 to 1940 are examined to ascertain the effect of exchange-rate volatility on the volume of trade. In addition to using a rolling standard deviation measure of exchange-rate uncertainty, the conditional variance of the exchange-rate series modeled.as a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic process is used to generate an alternative measure of exchange-rate uncertainty. The results of estimation using the two measures of exchange-rate volatility suggest that increases in the volatility of the real exchange rate reduce the volume of trade. Copyright 1992 by MIT Press.
Small farmers and the landless in South Asia

The majority of the world's poor are among the 625 million people who reside in the rural areas of Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The rural poor consist predominantly of: (i) small owner and tenant cultivators with operational holdings of less than 5 acres (2 hectares); and (ii) the landless. There are approximately 83 million households with a population of 410 million in these categories. This paper attempts to examine the prospects for improved livelihood for these households and the problems faced by them in the three major countries of South Asia. Improving the livelihood of small cultivators depends, in the absence of any major programs of land redistribution, upon improving their productivity. The availability of abundant family labor and cash scarcity suggests an initial concentration on labor-intensive methods to raise small farmer productivity through improved cultural practices. Further increases in productivity require multiple cropping, increased use of inputs--water, nutrients, pesticides--and the adoption of high-yielding varieties (HYVs). The paper examines both the prospects and the problems involved in pursuing these strategies.
The split equity reform and corporate financial transparency in China

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report the impact of the Chinese capital market split equity (SE) reform in 2005 on the corporate financial transparency of Chinese listed companies. Design/methodology/approach - Using an International Financial Reporting Standards-based checklist, the paper investigates whether the post-reform 2005 annual reports of reformed companies improved transparency compared to pre-reform 2004 reports. The transparency of the reformed companies was also compared to a control group of companies unreformed on December 31, 2005. Findings - Results indicate that the SE reform increased corporate disclosures. Reformed companies had higher mandatory and voluntary disclosures in their post-reform 2005 annual reports compared to their pre-reform 2004 annual reports. In addition, the improvement in mandatory and voluntary disclosures for reformed companies is greater than that of the unreformed control group. Research limitations/implications - The SE reform provides a unique natural experimental setting in which to examine the impact of the SE reform, with its associated change in ownership structure and corporate governance, on corporate disclosure. Practical implications - The results of this paper suggest that the SE reform has had a positive effect on corporate financial transparency in China, thereby indicating the positive response to regulation in this emerging market. Further, the results suggest that as the proportion of government ownership falls, management has increased incentive to voluntarily supply additional information to the market. Originality/value - The SE reform is unique to China and this paper is the first to report on financial reporting disclosure implications of this reform.
Ideology versus reality: New Zealand employer attitudes to legislative change of employment relations

There has been a shift to individualised and workplace-based employment relations in New Zealand. Researchers have canvassed many explanatory factors behind this shift but this paper focuses on the role played by employers. It draws on several surveys of employer attitudes and behaviours. These surveys have shown that the majority of employers have negative attitudes towards collective bargaining and they seek more employer determined flexibility. Employers are very supportive of post 2008 reductions in employment rights. Interestingly, many employers have yet to apply these legislative changes in their own workplace and it is unclear what future impact the legislative changes will have on the development of 'positive employment relationships'.
Hypoxia and Hypoglycemia synergistically regulate mRNA stability

ABSTRACT Ischemic events, common in many diseases, result from decreased blood flow and impaired delivery of oxygen and glucose to tissues of the body. While much is known about the cellular transcriptional response to ischemia, much less is known about the posttranscriptional response to oxygen and glucose deprivation. The goal of this project was to investigate one such posttranscriptional response, the regulation of mRNA stability. To that end, we have identified several novel ischemia-related mRNAs that are synergistically stabilized by oxygen and glucose deprivation including VEGF, MYC, MDM2, and CYR61. This increase in mRNA half-life requires the synergistic effects of both low oxygen (1%) as well as low glucose (≤ 1 g/L) conditions. Oxygen or glucose deprivation alone fails to initiate the response, as exposure to either high glucose (4 g/L) or normoxic conditions inhibits the response. Furthermore, in response to hypoxia/hypoglycemia, the identified mRNAs are released from the RNA binding protein KHSRP which likely contributes to their stabilization.
Using Cost Observation to Regulate Firms

The paper emphasizes the use of accounting data in regulatory or procurement contracts when the supplier (1) has superior information about the cost of the project and (2) invests in cost reduction. The main result states that, under risk neutrality, the supplier announces an expected cost and is given an incentive contract linear in cost overruns. This (optimal) contract moves toward a fixed-price contract as the announced cost decreases. An investment choice is then introduced and the use of a rate-of-return regulation is studied.
What Has Been Happening to Collective Bargaining Under New Labor? Interpreting WERS 2004

The late 20th century saw the rapid decline of collective bargaining, which had hitherto been the dominant means of regulation of employment in Britain. The article uses a comparison of the Workplace Employment Relations Surveys for 1998 and 2004 to assess how far this changed during the later period of economic growth and sympathetic labour legislation. Contrary to expectations, the data show that collective bargaining coverage has continued to fall, although much of this decline is concentrated in small firms in the private sector. The article goes on to analyse the recent change at sectoral level and examines evidence on the extent to which the character, as well as the extent, of collective bargaining had changed. The locus of management decision making has continued to move down organisations, both where collective bargaining occurs and also where unions are absent. Finally, the article evaluates how the perceptions of those involved in the bargaining process have shifted at a time of greatly diminished trade union influence.
Price return autocorrelation and predictability in agent-based models of financial markets

We demonstrate that minority mechanisms arise in the dynamics of markets because of price impact; accordingly the relative importance of minority and delayed majority mechanisms depends on the frequency of trading. We then use mixed Majority/Minority Games to illustrate that a vanishing price return autocorrelation function does not necessarily imply market efficiency. On the contrary, we stress that crucial differences might be present between correlations measured conditionally and unconditionally on external patterns in such models.
Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among 40- and 50-year-old inhabitants of Wroclaw, Poland.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE The metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been discussed for many years, but there is no doubt that those who have confirmed the presence of risk factors comprising the MetS had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of MetS among 40- and 50-year-old (y.o.) inhabitants of Wroclaw, Poland. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study group included Wroclaw inhabitants who were recruited between 2001-2004 into the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Programme. The study group consisted of 18,583 participants (females: 40 y.o.--5,248 and 50 y.o.--5,329; males: 40 y.o.--4,229 and 50 y.o.--3,777). The MetS was defined by IDF/NHLBI/AHA (2009) criteria. RESULTS MetS was found in 12.7% of 40 y.o. and in 33.1% of 50 y.o. females, while in males, respectively, in 30.4% and 42.1%. Overall, MetS occurred in 28.5% of the study group. MetS occurred significantly more frequent among the older than the younger groups, both in females and males. MetS was found significantly more frequent among males than females from Wroclaw, in both 40- and in 50 y.o. participants. Among those females with MetS, the most frequently (more than 90% in both age groups) occurred excessive waist circumference (WC), followed by elevated blood pressure-BP (72.1% of 40 y.o., 86.8% of 50 y.o.). Excessive WC, elevated BP and triglycerides-TG was found in more than 80% of males aged 40 and with diagnosed MetS. Among the older group of males with MetS, the most frequently occurred elevated BP (90.4%), followed by excessive WC (87%) and elevated TG (78.5%). CONCLUSION MetS was diagnosed more frequent in males than females of Wroclaw. Prevalence of MetS increased with age. The most significant impact on reducing the prevalence of MetS in the study group would be the lowering of BP and WC to recommended values.
Causes and prevalence of visual impairment among adults in the United States.

OBJECTIVES To estimate the cause-specific prevalence and distribution of blindness and low vision in the United States by age, race/ethnicity, and gender, and to estimate the change in these prevalence figures over the next 20 years. METHODS Summary prevalence estimates of blindness (both according to the US definition of < or =6/60 [< or =20/200] best-corrected visual acuity in the better-seeing eye and the World Health Organization standard of < 6/120 [< 20/400]) and low vision (< 6/12 [< 20/40] best-corrected vision in the better-seeing eye) were prepared separately for black, Hispanic, and white persons in 5-year age intervals starting at 40 years. The estimated prevalences were based on recent population-based studies in the United States, Australia, and Europe. These estimates were applied to 2000 US Census data, and to projected US population figures for 2020, to estimate the number of Americans with visual impairment. Cause-specific prevalences of blindness and low vision were also estimated for the different racial/ethnic groups. RESULTS Based on demographics from the 2000 US Census, an estimated 937 000 (0.78%) Americans older than 40 years were blind (US definition). An additional 2.4 million Americans (1.98%) had low vision. The leading cause of blindness among white persons was age-related macular degeneration (54.4% of the cases), while among black persons, cataract and glaucoma accounted for more than 60% of blindness. Cataract was the leading cause of low vision, responsible for approximately 50% of bilateral vision worse than 6/12 (20/40) among white, black, and Hispanic persons. The number of blind persons in the US is projected to increase by 70% to 1.6 million by 2020, with a similar rise projected for low vision. CONCLUSIONS Blindness or low vision affects approximately 1 in 28 Americans older than 40 years. The specific causes of visual impairment, and especially blindness, vary greatly by race/ethnicity. The prevalence of visual disabilities will increase markedly during the next 20 years, owing largely to the aging of the US population.
Sentinel node procedure in low-stage/low-grade penile carcinomas

To optimize the indication for sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy according to tumour size in penile carcinoma. This was a retrospective analysis of 23 consecutive patients (median age 65 years; range 49–85 years) with primary penile carcinoma classified according to the TNM classification as stage T1–T3 who were identified as having SLNs in the groins. SLNs were detected by means of preoperative injection of a 99mTc nanocolloid around the tumour and peroperative use of a gamma detector probe. The average tumour size was 2.9±1.3 cm. In 7/25 patients with penile carcinoma examined with the SLN method, metastases to inguinal lymph nodes could be demonstrated. Two out of three patients with primary penile carcinomas classified as T1 according to the TNM classification and tumours > 3 cm in diameter had inguinal lymph node metastases. One of the patients had a micrometastasis, which was detected by means of immunohistochemical analysis. Seven out of eight patients with penile carcinomas > 3 cm in diameter had lymph node metastases. We did not observe any major surgical complications associated with the SLN procedure. These data indicate that penile carcinomas with a diameter of >3 cm should be investigated with SLN biopsy regardless of stage. However, multicentre studies are needed in order to obtain the appropriate number of patients.