Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What matters for the quality of education in South Asia: An empirical examination with a QEI

Globally, there has been a significant focus regarding the educational attainment up until now, yet when we move our concentration towards educational quality, we see quite the contrary. The perceptible dearth of existing literature, particularly on developing nations and South Asia, leads us to attempt to investigate this South Asian void in the education sector. With the assistance of data from World Bank and Penn World Table, this paper endeavours to construct a Quality of Education Index (QEI) for 139 countries for 25 years and discover the determinants affecting quality. In this regard, the paper has employed OLS, Random-effects GLS and Fixed-effects techniques to identify the dominant factors in a panel regression over 16 years, and has found public expenditure on education and infrastructural quality as two key driving forces for quality, while other factors, such as control of corruption, likewise have a part to play. In addition to providing a descriptive comparison between South Asia and Southeast Asia based on the QEI, policy prescriptions and potential avenues for further widening the scope of the QEI in the future are also mentioned.
The effects of Alcea rosea L., Malva sylvestris L. and Salvia libanotica L. water extracts on the production of Anti‐egg albumin antibodies, interleukin‐4, gamma interferon and interleukin‐12 in BALB/c mice

Polysaccharides obtained from certain plants have been reported to have immunomodulatory properties. As a consequence of these reports the aim of this study was to investigate some immunomodulatory properties of water extracts of Alcea rosea L. (ARE), Malva sylvestris L. (MSE) and Salvia libanotica L. (SLE).
Selling Hollywood to China

Abstract From the 1980s to the present, Hollywood’s major distributors have been able to redistribute U.S. theatrical attendance to the advantage of their biggest blockbusters and franchises. At the global scale and during the same period, Hollywood has been leveraging U.S. foreign power to break ground in countries that have historically protected and supported their domestic film culture. For example, Hollywood’s major distributors have increased their power in such countries as Mexico, Canada, Australia and South Korea. This paper will analyze a pertinent ‘test case’ for Hollywood’s global power: China and its film market. Not only does China have a film-quota policy that restricts the number of theatrical releases that have a foreign distributor ( 20 to 34 films per year), the Communist Party has helped the Chinese film business grow to have steady film releases and its own movie star system. Theoretically, China would be a prime example of a film market that would need to be opened with the assistance of the U.S. government. Empirically, however, the case of Chinese cinema might be a curious exception; we can investigate how a political economic strategy rooted in explicit power is reaching a limit. Hollywood is, potentially without any other option, taking a more friendly, collaborative approach with China’s censorship rules and its quota and film-production laws.
Voluntary Mobility of Employees for Better Job Opportunities Given a Temporary Contract: Insights Regarding an Age-Varying Association Between the Two Events

Abstract What mechanisms govern the mobility of employees who voluntarily switch employers for better opportunities, given a temporary contract (TC)? We attempt to answer this question by exploring this issue in Southern and Central European countries. We use cross-sectional data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions survey for the 2005–2016 period. We estimate a flexible simultaneous equation model for binary responses by assuming the presence of an age-varying association between voluntary mobility and having a TC. After accounting for several socio-demographic and economic variables, we find a nonlinear decreasing relation between age and the outcomes, while we detect heterogeneous nonlinear patterns in the association between voluntary mobility and having a TC across countries. These insights can support policy-makers aiming to promote initiatives that facilitate the professional mobility of employees given a TC for an efficient allocation of human capital in the production system.
Energy balance adiposity and breast cancer – energy restriction strategies for breast cancer prevention

Excess adiposity over the pre‐ and postmenopausal years is linked to risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Weight loss could potentially reduce risk amongst those with excess weight via beneficial effects on the hormonal (decreased circulating levels of oestradiol, testosterone, insulin) and secretory profiles of adipocytes (decreased production of leptin, tumour necrosis factor‐α, interleukin 6 and increased production of adiponectin). Only modest reductions in adipose tissue are achieved and sustained with current weight loss programmes, which makes strategies to mitigate the adverse metabolic effect of adiposity a priority for cancer prevention. The adverse hormonal and secretory effects of adipose tissue are influenced substantially by acute changes in energy balance prior to changes in adiposity. Human and animal studies have shown dietary energy restriction to bring about favourable changes in circulating levels of insulin, leptin, sex hormone binding globulin, insulin‐like growth factor‐1, oestradiol, testosterone, reactive oxygen species, and the production and secretion of locally acting adipokines and inflammatory cytokines, that is, increased adiponectin and decreased interleukin‐6. Achieving and sustaining energy restriction remains a difficult challenge. Intermittent energy restriction is a potential strategy for promoting periods of energy restriction on a long‐term basis. Animal and human data suggest that intermittent energy restriction may have cancer preventative effects beyond that of chronic energy restriction and weight loss. Intermittent energy restriction may be a potential strategy for the primary prevention of breast cancer.
Induction of a Specific Olfactory Memory Leads to a Long-Lasting Activation of Protein Kinase C in the Antennal Lobe of the Honeybee

In this study we investigated the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in associative learning of Apis mellifera. Changes in PKC activity induced by olfactory conditioning were measured in the antennal lobes, a brain structure involved in associative learning. Multiple conditioning trials inducing a memory different from that induced by a single conditioning trial specifically cause an increase in PKC activity. This increase begins 1 hr after conditioning, lasts up to 3 d, and is attributable to an increased level of constitutive PKC. The increased level of constitutive PKC consists of an early proteolysis-dependent phase and a late phase that requires RNA and protein synthesis. Inhibition of the pathways resulting in constitutive PKC selectively impairs distinct phases of multiple-trial induced memory. The inhibition of the proteolytic mechanism has an instant effect on an early phase of multiple-trial induced memory but does not affect acquisition and the late phase of memory. Blocking of the transient PKC activation during conditioning does not affect the induction of memory formation. Thus, the constitutive PKC in the antennal lobe seems to contribute to the early phase of memory that is induced by multiple-trial conditioning.
A Model for Tax Level Influence on Population Dynamics

Disparity and poverty is one important problem in most countries in the world. Taxation aims at meeting public needs and may be spent by government to overcome the economic problems. However, there is a dilemma about the level of tax that government’s stated. A mathematical model could give some understanding about this phenomenon. The goal of this research is to obtain a mathematical model that can describe the influence of tax level on economic population dynamic. The research is theoretical based on relevance references. From the analytical analysis and numerical simulation, we conclude that both high and low level tax have the similar dynamical behaviour, but the high level of tax bring the better proportion of welfare equilibrium. Keywords—Mathematical model, population dynamic, tax level.
The detection and prevention of errors in laboratory medicine

The last few decades have seen a significant decrease in the rates of analytical errors in clinical laboratories. Evidence demonstrates that pre- and post-analytical steps of the total testing process (TTP) are more error-prone than the analytical phase. Most errors are identified in pre-pre-analytic and post-post-analytic steps outside of the laboratory. In a patient-centred approach to the delivery of health-care services, there is the need to investigate, in the TTP, any possible defect that may have a negative impact on the patient. In the interests of patients, any direct or indirect negative consequence related to a laboratory test must be considered, irrespective of which step is involved and whether the error depends on a laboratory professional (e.g. calibration/testing error) or non-laboratory operator (e.g. inappropriate test request, error in patient identification and/or blood collection). Patient misidentification and problems communicating results, which affect the delivery of diagnostic services, are recognized as the main goals for quality improvement. International initiatives aim at improving these aspects. Grading laboratory errors on the basis of their seriousness should help identify priorities for quality improvement and encourage a focus on corrective/preventive actions. It is important to consider not only the actual patient harm sustained but also the potential worst-case outcome if such an error were to reoccur. The most important lessons we have learned are that system theory also applies to laboratory testing and that errors and injuries can be prevented by redesigning systems that render it difficult for all health-care professionals to make mistakes.
Is it the

Using data from 16 OECD countries from 1981 to 2014 we study the effects on output of fiscal adjustments as a function of the composition of the adjustment – that is, whether the adjustment is mostly based on spending cuts or on tax hikes – and of the state of the business cycle when the adjustment is implemented. We find that both the “how” and the “when” matter, but the heterogeneity related to the composition is more robust across different specifications. Adjustments based upon permanent spending cuts are consistently much less costly than those based upon permanent tax increases. Our results are generally not explained by different reactions of monetary policy. However, when the domestic central bank can set interest rates – that is outside of a currency union – it appears to be able to dampen the recessionary effects of consolidations implemented during a recession.
The Reactome pathway Knowledgebase

The Reactome Knowledgebase (www.reactome.org) provides molecular details of signal transduction, transport, DNA replication, metabolism and other cellular processes as an ordered network of molecular transformations—an extended version of a classic metabolic map, in a single consistent data model. Reactome functions both as an archive of biological processes and as a tool for discovering unexpected functional relationships in data such as gene expression pattern surveys or somatic mutation catalogues from tumour cells. Over the last two years we redeveloped major components of the Reactome web interface to improve usability, responsiveness and data visualization. A new pathway diagram viewer provides a faster, clearer interface and smooth zooming from the entire reaction network to the details of individual reactions. Tool performance for analysis of user datasets has been substantially improved, now generating detailed results for genome-wide expression datasets within seconds. The analysis module can now be accessed through a RESTFul interface, facilitating its inclusion in third party applications. A new overview module allows the visualization of analysis results on a genome-wide Reactome pathway hierarchy using a single screen page. The search interface now provides auto-completion as well as a faceted search to narrow result lists efficiently.
The impacts of corporate social responsibility on organization citizenship behavior and task performance in hospitality

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the impacts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on employee organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and task performance in hospitality. The existing research emphasizes the effects of CSR on organizational performance at a macro level. There is a need to explore social responsibility at a micro level, more precisely, the effects on employee OCB and task performance. Significant evidence shows that CSR positively affects employee OCB. However, there is scant research explaining how CSR impacts OCB and consequently task performance. The main purpose of this investigation was to bridge this gap by analyzing how CSR influences employee OCB and task performance in hospitality based on social identity theory.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model was proposed and tested through sequential mediation regressions based on a survey of 296 employees in the hospitality sector in China.FindingsThe results showed that CSR has a positive effect on social identity, which in turn influences employee OCB and consequently task performance. Social identity and OCB play sequential mediation roles between CSR and task performance. Additionally, there is an inverted U-shape relationship between OCB and task performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis research illustrates how and why CSR impacts employee OCB and task performance based on social identity theory. More specifically, a sequential mediation chain exists between CSR and task performance. The study suggests that hospitality businesses adopting CSR promote employee identification with their companies that leads to enhanced OCB and task performance. This may be an effective way to motivate employees through hospitality businesses accepting greater social responsibility. Additionally, it was found that OCB has a positive effect on task performance, and there is an inverted U-shape relationship between OCB and task performance.Originality/valueCSR can be applied as the employee management practice in the hospitality sector. CSR has a positive impact on organizational identification that contributes to individual outcomes such as OCB and task performance at work.
The Extent of K-12 Online Teacher Development

This chapter, updated for the second edition of this volume, reviews the current research specific to the characteristics and preparation of those involved in K–12 online teaching. While few teacher education programs integrate any aspect of online teaching into their coursework or field experiences, existing programs are discussed. Limited, but notable progress is being made with respect to K–12 online teacher preparation. However, there continues to be gaps in the literature examining the extent to which teachers are being educated, trained, and otherwise prepared to function in online settings. Over the past decade, the need for teacher education programs and current K–12 online schools to work together to prepare teachers has become increasingly clear. Effective online teaching techniques must be defined, empirically proven, and then efficiently implemented by both future and current K–12 online teachers to ensure quality online educational experiences and outcomes for students.
Suppression of Antitumor Immunity by IL-10 and TGF-β-Producing T Cells Infiltrating the Growing Tumor: Influence of Tumor Environment on the Induction of CD4+ and CD8+ Regulatory T Cells1

We examined the hypothesis that a failure of the immune system to eradicate tumors is due to the immunosuppressive environment created by the growing tumor, which is influenced by the site of tumor growth. We demonstrated that T cell responses to a bystander Ag in mice were suppressed by a growing CT26 tumor. T cells purified from the growing tumor expressed mRNA for IL-10, TGF-β, and Foxp3. Intracellular cytokine staining revealed a high frequency of IL-10-secreting macrophages, dendritic cells, and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells infiltrating the tumor. In contrast, T cell IFN-γ production was weak and CD8+ CTL responses were undetectable in mice with CT26 lung metastases and weak and transient following s.c. injection of CT26 cells, but were enhanced in the presence of anti-IL-10 and anti-TGF-β. Consistent with this, removal of CD8+ T cells abrogated CTL responses and promoted progression of the s.c. tumor. However, in the lung model, depletion of CD8+ T cells significantly reduced the tumor burden. Furthermore, depletion of CD4+ or CD25+ T cells in vivo reduced tumor burden in s.c. and lung models, and this was associated with significantly enhanced IFN-γ production by CD8+ T cells. These findings suggest that tumor growth facilitates the induction or recruitment of CD4+ regulatory T cells that secrete IL-10 and TGF-β and suppress effector CD8+ T cell responses. However, CD8+ T regulatory cells expressing IL-10 and TGF-β are also recruited or activated by the immunosuppressive environment of the lung, where they may suppress the induction of antitumor immunity.
Diagnostic markers for neonatal sepsis

Purpose of review To review the current evidence on the use of infection markers for diagnostic evaluation of sepsis in neonates. Recent findings Recent research in immunology has led to the discovery of cell surface antigens, chemokines, cytokines and acute phase proteins that can potentially be used to ‘rule in’ or ‘rule out’ sepsis. The diagnostic utilities of key inflammatory mediators, including CD11b, CD64, interleukin-6 and interleukin-8, are promising and likely to become increasingly used as markers of infection for both diagnostic and prognostic purposes. Summary Serial measurements and use of combinations of markers have been reported to improve sensitivity and negative predictive value of these tests. Current markers are not infallible, however, and do not permit neonatologists to withhold antibiotics in sick infants with suspected infection. Thus, many have emerged as useful indicators for early discontinuation of unnecessary antimicrobial therapy. Some infection markers are also useful for identifying infants with severe infection and adverse prognosis. Advances in flow cytometry have allowed simultaneous measurement of key markers using only minimal blood volume. Judicious selection of a panel of markers with complementary properties could greatly increase the ability of neonatologists to diagnose infection and discern valuable prognostic information.
BIST technique by equally spaced test vector sequences

Built-in self-test (BIST) strategies require the implementation of efficient test pattern generators (TPG) in order to excite and observe the potential faults of the circuit. Arithmetic additive TPGs (AdTPG) allow the reuse of existing internal datapaths to perform this operation without a penalty in the circuit area. As in pseudo-random generators, AdTPGs need reseeding to efficiently cover hard-to-detect faults. The test vectors targeting hard-to-detect faults are often difficult to be obtained from a simple iterative addition operation. In this paper, a strategy to generate the reseeding for an AdTPG based on a standard ALU is presented. The methodology benefits from the existence of don't-cares in the test vectors and from the insertion of dummy vectors in the test sequence. Thanks to this, a reduction of the memory requirements and the test length is achieved.
BIRO1, a Cell-Permeable BH3 Peptide, Promotes Mitochondrial Fragmentation and Death of Retinoblastoma Cells

Retinoblastoma is the most common pediatric intraocular neoplasm. While retinoblastoma development requires the inactivation of both alleles of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor gene (RB1) in the developing retina, additional genomic changes are involved in tumor progression, which progressively lead to resistance of tumor cells to death. Therapeutics acting at very downstream levels of death signaling pathways should therefore be interesting in killing retinoblastoma cells. The BH3-only proteins promote apoptosis by modulating the interaction between the pro- and antiapoptotic members of the BCL2 protein family, and this effect can be recapitulated by the BH3 domains. This report analyzes the effect of various BH3 peptides, corresponding to different BH3-only proteins, on two retinoblastoma cell lines, Y79 and WERI-Rb, as well as on the photoreceptor cell line 661W. The BH3 peptide BIRO1, derived from the BCL2L11 death domain, was very effective in promoting Y79 and WERI-Rb cell death without affecting the 661W photoreceptor cells. This cell death was efficient even in absence of BAX and was shown to be caspase independent. While ROS production or AIF release was not detected from mitochondria of treated cells, BIRO1 initiated mitochondria fragmentation in a short period of time following treatment. Implications: The BIRO1 peptide is highly effective at killing retinoblastoma cells and has potential as a peptidomimetic. Mol Cancer Res; 13(1); 86–97. ©2014 AACR.
Sequences Adjacent to the 5′ Splice Site Control U1A Binding Upstream of the IgM Heavy Chain Secretory Poly(A) Site*

We have recently shown that the stability of the alternatively expressed immunoglobulin M heavy chain secretory mRNA is developmentally regulated by U1A. U1A binds novel non-consensus sites upstream of the secretory poly(A) site and inhibits poly(A) tail addition in undifferentiated cells. U1A's dependence for binding and function upon a stem-loop structure has been extensively characterized for the consensus sites. We therefore probed the structure surrounding the novel U1A binding sites. We show that two of the three novel binding sites represent the major single-stranded regions upstream of the secretory poly(A) site, consistent with a major role at this site. The strength of binding and ability of U1A to inhibit poly(A) polymerase correlate with the accessibility of the novel sites. However, long range interactions are responsible for maintaining them in an open configuration. Mutation of an RNase V1-sensitive site 102 nucleotides upstream, directly adjacent to the competing 5′ splice site, changes the structure of one the U1A binding sites and thus abolishes the binding of the second U1A molecule and the ability of U1A ability to inhibit poly(A) polymerase activity at this site. These sites bind U1A via its N-terminal domain but with a 10-fold lower affinity than U1 small nuclear RNA. This lower binding affinity is more conducive to U1A's regulation of poly(A) tail addition to heterologous mRNA.