Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The History and Development of Purchasing Management and Its Theoretical Framework: A Review of Transaction Cost Economics

Purchasing as a management or academic field of study has seen a rise in its awareness. The strategic role it assumes in most organizations and businesses is as a result of the need for firms to reduce cost and to counter increased competition. However, this recognition evolved from ‘‘humble’’ beginnings up to the strategic importance it assumes today in some organizations and as a major field of study in the academia. The historical development of purchasing is worth studying so as to better understand and appreciate the important role it now assumes. Much literature and many theoretical frameworks have been developed to help explain various phenomena in the purchasing field. Transaction cost economics is one of such theories that have been applied. The contribution of transaction cost economics to the growth of knowledge in the purchasing and channel studies has been enormous.
State-strategies for games in Fσδ ∩ Gδσ

The Cantor-Bendixson theorem says: For every closed set , ∣∣ ≤ ω0 ∨ ⊇ perfect (and therefore is countable or has the power of the continuum). W. H. Young proved the alternative for Gδ-sets, and Hausdorff extended it to Souslin-sets. Cantor used his ordinals to prove the theorem (I like to think he invented them for this purpose). In Hausdorff's Mengenlehre ordinals do not officially enter in either of the three proofs. You should try to put them back. It is very important never to hide away ω1 when it actually is there, and it is there when the continuum problem is the subject. In Davis [6] you find that Cantor's alternative is equivalent to another alternative: (I wins ) ∨ (J wins ). Here means a lopsided game in which one of the players makes long moves on the game tree. So, the classical theorems can be restated as determinacy results for lopsided games, and now I make this observation: The original CB-proof “actually presents” a winning strategy. The HD-proofs do no such thing; all you know at the end is existence of a winning strategy (and Davis' remark is needed to gain this knowledge). You understand now why I like CB-proofs, particularly for determinacy of games. They do exist also for games in which both players make short moves. Many years ago I tried to publish such a proof for determinacy of Fσ-games. The referee said it was not worth the trouble. I say you should remake this proof (it is a special case of the one presented in this paper), because it is the ideal of a determinacy proof.
Genotype, Age, Tissue, and Environment Regulate the Structural Outcome of Glucosinolate Activation1[W][OA]

Glucosinolates are the inert storage form of a two-part phytochemical defense system in which the enzyme myrosinase generates an unstable intermediate that rapidly rearranges into the biologically active product. This rearrangement step generates simple nitriles, epithionitriles, or isothiocyanates, depending on the structure of the parent glucosinolate and the presence of proteins that promote specific structural outcomes. Glucosinolate accumulation and myrosinase activity differ by plant age and tissue type and respond to environmental stimuli such as planting density and herbivory; however, the influence of these factors on the structural outcome of the rearrangement step remains unknown. We show that the structural outcome of glucosinolate activation is controlled by interactions among plant age, planting density, and natural genetic variation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) rosette leaves using six well-studied accessions. We identified a similarly complex interaction between tissue type and the natural genetic variation present within these accessions. This raises questions about the relative importance of these novel levels of regulation in the evolution of plant defense. Using mutants in the structural specifier and glucosinolate activation genes identified previously in Arabidopsis rosette leaves, we demonstrate the requirement for additional myrosinases and structural specifiers controlling these processes in the roots and seedlings. Finally, we present evidence for a novel EPITHIOSPECIFIER PROTEIN-independent, simple nitrile-specifying activity that promotes the formation of simple nitriles but not epithionitriles from all glucosinolates tested.
Lessons from 40 years' surveillance of influenza in England and Wales

SUMMARY The influenza virus continues to pose a significant threat to public health throughout the world. Current avian influenza outbreaks in humans have heightened the need for improved surveillance and planning. Despite recent advances in the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs, seasonal epidemics of influenza continue to contribute significantly to general practitioner workloads, emergency hospital admissions, and deaths. In this paper we review data produced by the Royal College of General Practitioners Weekly Returns Service, a sentinel general practice surveillance network that has been in operation for over 40 years in England and Wales. We show a gradually decreasing trend in the incidence of respiratory illness associated with influenza virus infection (influenza-like illness; ILI) over the 40 years and speculate that there are limits to how far an existing virus can drift and yet produce substantial new epidemics. The burden of disease caused by influenza presented to general practitioners varies considerably by age in each winter. In the pandemic winter of 1969/70 persons of working age were most severely affected; in the serious influenza epidemic of 1989/90 children were particularly affected; in the millennium winter (in which the NHS was severely stretched) ILI was almost confined to adults, especially the elderly. Serious confounders from infections due to respiratory syncytial virus are discussed, especially in relation to assessing influenza vaccine effectiveness. Increasing pressure on hospitals during epidemic periods are shown and are attributed to changing patterns of health-care delivery.
Prediction of Employment Status Choice Intentions

The present research applied the theory of planned behavior to predict employment status choice, defined as the intention to enter an occupation as a wage or salaried individual or as a self-employed one. The role of family background, sex, and prior self-employment experience was also investigated. Using a sample of 128 Norwegian undergraduate business students, the findings strongly support the theory of planned behavior as applied to employment status choice intentions. Moreover, demographic characteristics were found to influence employment status choice intentions only indirectly through their effect on attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control.
Sigmund Freud: A New Appraisal

The title of this book is misnamed. More correctly it is an introduction to German psychiatry. Written by the Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Munich, it attempts to present an accurate survey of the history of psychiatry from the 18th century to the present time for an audience which differs widely in interest and sophistication. Whenever an author attempts to write for a group of persons who are mixtures of sophisticated professionals and more or less sophisticated laymen, he runs the risk of presenting the material superficially. This book by Professor Kolle is a collection not only of superficial remarks but of simple truths, gross errors, unfair criticism, chauvinistic opinion and nonsense. Experimental psychologists would not be pleased to be grouped with graphologists as among those contributing to an "objective representation of the psyche. " Historians and admirers of the great German psychiatrist Kraepelin will question the accuracy of the statement that "fifty per cent of his diagnoses were wrong," and the wisdom of such a critical assessment of one's predecessor. Among the errors is the statement that toxoplasmosis is caused by a virus; modern treatment of syphilis is carried no farther than injections with salvarsan. Among the oddities is the author's conviction that the psychiatrist's "main diagnostic tool is the outward appearance of the patient," and that, "in many instances a psychiatrist during a stroll through the city can diagnose a mania or schizophrenia on the basis of fashion. " This strong trust in clinical observation for an accurate diagnostic assessment contrasts with the author's frequently stated opinion that future development of psychiatry depends on research, particularly biochemical investigations. This book shows that German psychiatry continues to be what it has always been, a discipline of medicine primarily concerned with neurology and organic pathological conditions of the brain. Freud and psychoanalysis are mentioned briefly, and the word sociology is used once; this is hardly assessment enough of the important contributions which have come from psychoanalytic therapy, and from epidemiological and sociological studies of mental phenomena. Finally, the author pleads for a continued linkage between teaching and research and for reform in education which will rank psychiatry higher on the list of academic subjects than it now seems to occupy in German medical education. To this we say, "Amen. "
13C-Carrier DNA Shortens the Incubation Time Needed To Detect Benzoate-Utilizing Denitrifying Bacteria by Stable-Isotope Probing

ABSTRACT The active bacterial community able to utilize benzoate under denitrifying conditions was elucidated in two coastal sediments using stable-isotope probing (SIP) and nosZ gene amplification. The SIP method employed samples from Norfolk Harbor, Virginia, and a Long-Term Ecosystem Observatory (no. 15) off the coast of Tuckerton, New Jersey. The SIP method was modified by use of archaeal carrier DNA in the density gradient separation. The carrier DNA significantly reduced the incubation time necessary to detect the 13C-labeled bacterial DNA from weeks to hours in the coastal enrichments. No denitrifier DNA was found to contaminate the archaeal 13C-carrier when [12C]benzoate was used as a substrate in the sediment enrichments. Shifts in the activity of the benzoate-utilizing denitrifying population could be detected throughout a 21-day incubation. These results suggest that temporal analysis using SIP can be used to illustrate the initial biodegrader(s) in a bacterial population and to document the cross-feeding microbial community.
A randomized, controlled trial of oral high-dose methylprednisolone in acute optic neuritis

Objective: To assess the efficacy of oral high-dose methylprednisolone in acute optic neuritis (ON). Background: It has been determined that oral high-dose methylprednisolone is efficacious in attacks of MS. Methods: A total of 60 patients with symptoms and signs of ON with a duration of less than 4 weeks and a visual acuity of 0.7 or less were randomized to treatment with placebo (n = 30) or oral methylprednisolone (n = 30; 500 mg daily for 5 days, with a 10-day tapering period). Visual function was measured and symptoms were scored on a visual analog scale (VAS) before treatment and after 1, 3, and 8 weeks. Primary efficacy measures were spatial vision and VAS scores the first 3 weeks (analysis of variance with baseline values as the covariate), and changes in spatial vision and VAS scores after 8 weeks. A significance level of p < 0.0125 was employed. Results: The VAS score (p = 0.008) but not the spatial visual function (p = 0.03) differed in methylprednisolone- and placebo-treated patients during the first 3 weeks. After 8 weeks the improvement in VAS scores (p = 0.8) and spatial visual function (p = 0.5) was comparable with methylprednisolone- and placebo-treated patients. A post hoc subgroup analysis suggested that patients with more severe baseline visual deficit and patients treated early after onset of symptoms had a more pronounced response to treatment. The risk of a new demyelinating attack within 1 year was unaffected by treatment. No serious adverse events were seen. Conclusion: Oral high-dose methylprednisolone treatment improves recovery from ON at 1 and 3 weeks, but no effect could be demonstrated at 8 weeks or on subsequent attack frequency.
HIV‐1 protein Tat reduces the glutamate‐induced intracellular Ca2+ increase in cultured cortical astrocytes

The trans‐activator protein Tat of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) is regarded as an injurious molecule in the pathogenesis of HIV‐1 associated encephalopathy (HIVE). We investigated the effects of Tat on neuroligand‐induced intracellular Ca2+ increase in cultured astroglial cells. Rat cortical astrocytes, human glioblastoma cells and glial restricted precursor cells, from a human embryonic teratocarcinoma cell line, were incubated with recombinant Tat (100 ng/mL for 60 min) which induced a significant reduction of glutamate or ATP‐induced intracellular Ca2+ increase (‘glutamate response’, ‘ATP response’). The reduction of the glutamate response was also observed following cell incubation with cell extracts of HeLa‐T4+ cells transiently transfected with an expression plasmid coding for Tat. However, inactivation of the transcriptional trans‐activity of Tat, by using a mutant form of Tat, as well as inhibition of de novo protein synthesis by cycloheximide abolished the effect on the glutamate response. This suggests that Tat acts upon induction of a so far unknown cellular gene whoes gene product causes the reduction of glutamate responses. As the effect of Tat resembles the effect of TNFα on glutamate responses [Köller et al. (2001) Brain Res., 893, 237–243] which is locally released within the brains of HIVE patients, we also tested for synergistic effects of Tat and TNFα on the glutamate response. Low concentrations of Tat in combination with subthreshold concentrations of TNFα also elicited a marked reduction of astroglial glutamate responses. Our data suggest that Tat and TNFα, both by itself and synergistically, induce astroglial dysfunction.
Area MT Encodes Three-Dimensional Motion

We use visual information to determine our dynamic relationship with other objects in a three-dimensional (3D) world. Despite decades of work on visual motion processing, it remains unclear how 3D directions—trajectories that include motion toward or away from the observer—are represented and processed in visual cortex. Area MT is heavily implicated in processing visual motion and depth, yet previous work has found little evidence for 3D direction sensitivity per se. Here we use a rich ensemble of binocular motion stimuli to reveal that most neurons in area MT of the anesthetized macaque encode 3D motion information. This tuning for 3D motion arises from multiple mechanisms, including different motion preferences in the two eyes and a nonlinear interaction of these signals when both eyes are stimulated. Using a novel method for functional binocular alignment, we were able to rule out contributions of static disparity tuning to the 3D motion tuning we observed. We propose that a primary function of MT is to encode 3D motion, critical for judging the movement of objects in dynamic real-world environments.
The role of activation-induced cytidine deaminase in lymphomagenesis

Purpose of reviewActivation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is expressed in germinal center B cells and initiates the events that lead to somatic hypermutation and class switch recombination of immunoglobulin genes. In addition to this fundamental role in immune diversification, aberrant targeting of AID activity contributes to point mutations and translocations of oncogenes associated with B-cell lymphoma. This review discusses recent findings on the role of AID in lymphomagenesis. Recent findingsAID is expressed in many malignancies of mature B-cell origin and contributes to the development of lymphoma in several mouse models. The mechanism that guides AID to its genetic target is unknown and may be relatively nonspecific, as numerous nonimmunoglobulin genes appear to be targeted by AID in both normal and neoplastic B cells. Indeed, AID binds to genes on every chromosome throughout the genome and can induce double-stranded DNA breaks that lead to chromosome translocations at these sites. SummaryEmerging evidence supports a key role of AID in lymphomagenesis through genome-wide off-target induction of point mutations and chromosome translocations. Additional work is needed to further define the full scope and consequences of off-target AID activity in human lymphoma as well as to understand the protective mechanisms that break down during the development and progression of disease.
Dynamics and Bifurcations in a Silicon Neuron

In this paper, the nonlinear dynamical phenomenon associated with a silicon neuron are described. The neuron has one transient sodium (activating and inactivating) channel and one activating potassium channel. These channels do not model specific equations; instead they directly mimic the desired voltage clamp responses. This allows us to create silicon structures that are very compact (six transistors and three capacitors) with activation and inactivation parameters being tuned by floating-gate (FG) transistors. Analysis of the bifurcation conditions allow us to identify regimes in the parameter space that are desirable for biasing the circuit. We show a subcritical Hopf-bifurcation which is characteristic of class 2 excitability in Hodgkin-Huxley (H-H) neurons. We also show a Hopf bifurcation at higher values of stimulating current, a phenomenon also observed in real neurons and termed excitation block. The phenomenon of post-inhibitory rebound and frequency preference are displayed and intuitive explanations based on the circuit are provided. The compactness and low-power nature of the circuit shall allow us to integrate a large number of these neurons on a chip to study complicated network behavior.
EIT image reconstruction based on a hybrid FE-EFG forward method and the complete-electrode model

This paper presents the application of the hybrid finite element–element free Galerkin (FE-EFG) method for the forward and inverse problems of electrical impedance tomography (EIT). The proposed method is based on the complete electrode model. Finite element (FE) and element-free Galerkin (EFG) methods are accurate numerical techniques. However, the FE technique has meshing task problems and the EFG method is computationally expensive. In this paper, the hybrid FE-EFG method is applied to take both advantages of FE and EFG methods, the complete electrode model of the forward problem is solved, and an iterative regularized Gauss–Newton method is adopted to solve the inverse problem. The proposed method is applied to compute Jacobian in the inverse problem. Utilizing 2D circular homogenous models, the numerical results are validated with analytical and experimental results and the performance of the hybrid FE-EFG method compared with the FE method is illustrated. Results of image reconstruction are presented for a human chest experimental phantom.
GDNF and ET-3 differentially modulate the numbers of avian enteric neural crest cells and enteric neurons in vitro.

Vagal (hindbrain) neural crest cells migrate rostrocaudally in the gut to establish the enteric nervous system. Glial-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its receptor(s), and endothelin-3 (ET-3) and its receptor, are crucial for enteric nervous system development. Mutations interrupting either of these signaling pathways cause aganglionosis in the gut, termed Hirschsprung's disease in humans. However, the precise functions of GDNF and ET-3 in enteric neurogenesis are still unknown. We isolated precursor cells of the enteric nervous system from the vagal level neural crest of E1.7 quail embryos prior to entry into the gut and from the developing midgut at stages corresponding to migrating (E4.7) and longer resident differentiating cells (E7) using HNK-1 immunoaffinity and magnetic beads. These cells were tested for their response to GDNF and ET-3 in culture. ET-3 and GDNF had little effect in vitro on the growth, survival, migration, or neurogenesis of E1.7 vagal neural crest cells. In contrast, GDNF increased the proliferation rate and numbers of enteric neural precursors isolated from the E4.7 and E7 gut. Also, many more neurons and neurites developed in cultures treated with GDNF, disproportionately greater than the effect on cell numbers. At high cell density and in the presence of serum, ET-3, and GDNF had an additive effect on proliferation of neuron precursor cells. In defined medium, or low cell density, ET-3 reduced cell proliferation, overriding the proliferative effect of GDNF. Regardless of the culture condition, the stimulatory effect of GDNF on neuron numbers was strikingly diminished by the simultaneous presence of ET-3. We propose first that GDNF promotes the proliferation in the migratory enteric neural precursor cell population once the cells have entered the gut and is especially crucial for the differentiation of these cells into nonmigrating, nonproliferating enteric neurons. Second, we suggest that ET-3 modulates the action of GDNF, inhibiting neuronal differentiation to maintain the precursor cell pool, so ensuring sufficient population numbers to construct the entire enteric nervous system. Third, we suggest that generalized defects in enteric neural precursor cell numbers and differentiation due to mutations in the ET-3 and GDNF systems are converted to distal gut neural deficiencies by the rostrocaudal migration pattern of the precursors. Fourth, we suggest that additional factors such as those found in serum and produced by the enteric neural cells themselves are likely also to be involved in enteric nervous system development and consequently in Hirschsprung's disease.
The Rat Quinone Reductase Antioxidant Response Element

The antioxidant response element (ARE) found in the 5′-flanking region of the rat quinone reductase gene has been further characterized by mutational and deletion analysis. The results indicate that the 31-base pair ARE, which contains a 13-base pair palindromic sequence, can be further separated into three regions, all three of which are required for elevated basal level gene expression. These three regions include the proximal and distal half-sites as well as a 3′-flanking region consisting of 4 adenine nucleotides. Neither the proximal nor the distal half-site alone mediates transcriptional activation by β-naphthoflavone. However, when placed together the two half-sites restore responsiveness to the inducer. Interestingly, the presence of only 1 of the 4 adenine nucleotides in the 3′-flanking region of the proximal half-site is required for responsiveness to the inducer. Point mutations within the ARE indicate that several nucleotides in both the proximal and distal half-sites are required for basal level gene expression. Electrophoretic mobility shift analysis using the ARE as the probe indicates that enhancers found in the glutathione S-transferase Ya and P genes recognize a similar trans-acting factor(s) found in crude nuclear extracts from human Hep G2 cells. Further, this complex can be detected in nuclear extracts from rat liver and rat hepatoma cells but not in mouse Hepa 1c1c7 cells or in human HeLa cells. The ARE-nucleoprotein complex can also be detected in F9 cells which lack significant levels of Jun/Fos proteins. Although the rat ARE resembles the human quinone reductase ARE which contains a consensus TRE, the 2-nucleotide change in the core sequence (TGACTCA versus TGACTTG) eliminates the high affinity TRE motif in the rat ARE. The rat ARE forms a nucleoprotein complex in Hep G2 and other cells with different properties than AP-1.