Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Exports: Productivity or Fixed Export Costs

The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework to take several key determinants of exports into consideration and to propose an empirical model to identify which factors affect firms’ export performance, whether to start exporting (export extensity) and how much they will export (export intensity). Extending the Melitz (2003) model, in our theoretical part, we consider firm heterogeneity in two dimensions; fixed cost as well as productivity. As a result, when a firm with low productivity engages in exporting, there can also be a higher productive firm facing relatively high fixed cost. This allows us to resolve the difficulty in interpreting controversial empirical results, for example, whether productivity or firm size is a key determinant of export. Furthermore, in our empirical part, by using Korean firm-level data, we conclude that productivity plays an important role when a firm decides whether to start exporting, while fixed export costs variables are important determinants of fractions of outputs to be exported.
Organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP)-mediated transport of coproporphyrins I and III

Abstract 1. Organic anion-transporting polypeptides (OATPs) 1B1 and 1B3 are polyspecific transporters that mediate the transport of organic acids into hepatocytes. Inactivating mutations of both OATP1B1 and OATP1B3 alleles lead to Rotor syndrome, a disease characterized by coproporphyrinuria, an elevated urinary excretion of coproporphyrins I and III. It was hypothesized that transport of coproporphyrins I and III was mediated by OATP1B1 and OATP1B3. 2. This hypothesis was tested using cells transfected with OATP1B1 and OATP1B3. OATP1B-mediated transport of coproporphyrin was time-dependent and concentration-dependent. OATP1B1-mediated transport of coproporphyrins I and III (Km = 0.13 and 0.22 µM, respectively), as did OATP1B3 (Km = 3.25 and 4.61 µM, respectively). The OATP1B-mediated transport of each coproporphyrin was inhibited by rifampicin. 3. The specificity of coproporphyrin transport was also investigated where OATP2B1 demonstrated meaningful transport of coproporphyrin III (Km = 0.31 µM), while OCT1, OCT2, OAT1, OAT3 and NTCP were negative for coproporphyrin transport. 4. The identification of coproporphyrins as OATP substrates in vitro more clearly defines the role of OATPs in the hepatic disposition and renal excretion of coproporphyrins I and III and provides compelling evidence for future in vivo exploration of coproporphyrins as biomarkers of OATP activity.
Tuning a Nitrate Reductase for Function

Bacterial cytoplasmic assimilatory nitrate reductases are the least well characterized of all of the subgroups of nitrate reductases. In the present study the ferredoxin-dependent nitrate reductase NarB of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 was analyzed by spectropotentiometry and protein film voltammetry. Metal and acid-labile sulfide analysis revealed nearest integer values of 4:4:1 (iron/sulfur/molybdenum)/molecule of NarB. Analysis of dithionite-reduced enzyme by low temperature EPR revealed at 10 K the presence of a signal that is characteristic of a [4Fe-4S]1+ cluster. EPR-monitored potentiometric titration of NarB revealed that this cluster titrated as an n = 1 Nernstian component with a midpoint redox potential (Em) of –190 mV. EPR spectra collected at 60 K revealed a Mo(V) signal termed “very high g” with gav = 2.0047 in air-oxidized enzyme that accounted for only 10–20% of the total molybdenum. This signal disappeared upon reduction with dithionite, and a new “high g” species (gav = 1.9897) was observed. In potentiometric titrations the high g Mo(V) signal developed over the potential range of –100 to –350 mV (Em Mo6+/5+ = –150 mV), and when fully developed, it accounted for 1 mol of Mo(V)/mol of enzyme. Protein film voltammetry of NarB revealed that activity is turned on at potentials below –200 mV, where the cofactors are predominantly [4Fe-4S]1+ and Mo5+. The data suggests that during the catalytic cycle nitrate will bind to the Mo5+ state of NarB in which the enzyme is minimally two-electron-reduced. Comparison of the spectral properties of NarB with those of the membrane-bound and periplasmic respiratory nitrate reductases reveals that it is closely related to the periplasmic enzyme, but the potential of the molybdenum center of NarB is tuned to operate at lower potentials, consistent with the coupling of NarB to low potential ferredoxins in the cell cytoplasm.
Formation and Uptake of Arylhydroxylamine-Haptenated Proteins in Human Dendritic Cells

Bioactivation of sulfonamides and the subsequent formation of haptenated proteins is believed to be a critical step in the development of hypersensitivity reactions to these drugs. Numerous lines of evidence suggest that the presence of such adducts in dendritic cells (DCs) migrating to draining lymph nodes is essential for the development of cutaneous reactions to xenobiotics. Our objective was to determine the ability of human DCs to form drug-protein covalent adducts when exposed to sulfamethoxazole (SMX), dapsone (DDS), or their arylhydroxylamine metabolites [sulfamethoxazole hydroxylamine (S-NOH) and dapsone hydroxylamine (D-NOH)] and to take up preformed adduct. Naive and immature CD34+ KG-1 cells were incubated with SMX, DDS, or metabolites. Formation of haptenated proteins was probed using confocal microscopy and ELISA. Cells were also incubated with preformed adduct (drug-bovine serum albumin conjugate), and uptake was determined using confocal microscopy. Both naive and immature KG-1 cells were able to bioactivate DDS, forming drug-protein adducts, whereas cells showed very little protein haptenation when exposed to SMX. Exposure to S-NOH or D-NOH resulted in protein haptenation in both cell types. Both immature and naive KG-1 cells were able to take up preformed haptenated proteins. Thus, DCs may acquire haptenated proteins associated with drugs via intracellular bioactivation, uptake of reactive metabolites, or uptake of adduct formed and released by adjacent cells (e.g., keratinocytes).
Calcium Chloride Versus Calcium Gluconate: Comparison of Ionization and Cardiovascular Effects in Children and Dogs

A randomized prospective study in both children and dogs compared ionization of calcium chloride and calcium gluconate. Five conditioned dogs under halothane anesthesia received calcium chloride (4, 8, 12 mg/kg) and calcium gluconate (14, 28, 42 mg/kg) intravenously. Ten children scheduled for burn wound excision and grafting received both calcium chloride (2.5 mg/kg) and calcium gluconate (7.5 mg/kg) injected through a central venous cannula. Ionized calcium was measured at 0, 0.5, 1,3,5, and 10 min in the children, and 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, and 45 min in the dogs. The authors conclude that equal elemental calcium doses of calcium gluconate (10%) and calcium chloride (10%) (approximately 3:1), injected over the same period of time, are equivalent in their ability to raise [Ca++] during normocalcemic states in children and dogs; the changes in [Ca++] following calcium administration are shortlived (minutes); rapidity of ionization seems to exclude hepatic metabolism as an important factor in the dissociation of calcium gluconate; and equivalent rises in [Ca++] produced by calcium gluconate or calcium chloride resulted in equivalent cardiovascular effects. The authors feel that either form of calcium salt would be satisfactory if indicated during cardiopulmonary resuscitation or for the treatment of ionized hypocalcemia due to massive blood transfusion.
Mammal Population Losses and the Extinction Crisis

The disappearance of populations is a prelude to species extinction. No geographically explicit estimates have been made of current population losses of major indicator taxa. Here we compare historic and present distributions of 173 declining mammal species from six continents. These species have collectively lost over 50% of their historic range area, mostly where human activities are intensive. This implies a serious loss of ecosystem services and goods. It also signals a substantial threat to species diversity.
Policy Based Framework for Securing Enterprise Data on Smartphone

There is increase in threat to Enterprise data resident on employee’s smartphone, as android has Inter Component Communication and Inter Process Communication as a part of core application functionality. Due to this sensitive data can be stole by applications. In this paper Inter Component Communication is controlled by enforcing policies in android Middleware. Static Enterprise data is also protected by modifying android Linux kernel and granting or denying application to access static data resident on users smartphones according to policies evaluated in android middleware.
Non-linear adaptive impedance controller for rehabilitation purposes

Rehabilitation robotics is a field of research in continuous growth and evolution. Its main purpose is to develop suitable robotics devices and control strategies to assist patient's movements during training. To do that, advanced control strategies and implementation of suitable force feedback for these robotic devices have been developed for rehabilitation purposes. This paper describes a novel control strategy, focused in a nonlinear adaptive impedance controller based on position errors, whose aims are: to adapt the exercise to the type and level of injury of patients, to avoid the phenomenon of slack and to help to evaluate performance indices of training sections. Moreover, thanks to the simplicity of the control algorithm and the no additional sensors it can be easily applied in low-cost devices. Several tests are presented using a five-bar linkage robotic device used for upper limbs rehabilitation therapies. The related results help to evaluate performances of this adaptive controller and show its “assist-as-needed” feature.
Inducible Gene Trapping with Drug-Selectable Markers and Cre/loxP To Identify Developmentally Regulated Genes

ABSTRACT Gene trapping in mouse embryonic stem cells is an important genetic approach that allows simultaneous mutation of genes and generation of corresponding mutant mice. We designed a selection scheme with drug selection markers and Cre/loxP technology which allows screening of gene trap events that responded to a signaling molecule in a 96-well format. Nine hundred twenty gene trap clones were assayed, and 258 were classified as gene traps induced by in vitro differentiation. Sixty-five of the in vitro differentiation-inducible gene traps were also responsive to retinoic acid treatment. In vivo analysis revealed that 85% of the retinoic acid-inducible gene traps trapped developmentally regulated genes, consistent with the observation that genes induced by retinoic acid treatment are likely to be developmentally regulated. Our results demonstrate that the inducible gene trapping system described here can be used to enrich in vitro for traps in genes of interest. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the cre reporter is extremely sensitive and can be used to explore chromosomal regions that are not detectable with neo as a selection cassette.
Age, Typicality, and Task Effects on Categorization of Objects

Object categories seem to have a prototypic structure: a central core of typical members and a periphery of atypical, borderline cases. Our internal concepts of categories must include representations of this prototypic structure. Given such concepts, however, people may use different processing strategies for judging membership in a category. These depend on a person's age and the demands of the categorization task. 3-, 4-, 5-yr. -old, and adult subjects were tested in three different categorization tasks with the same materials. Some of the items to be categorized were central and some were peripheral category members. For 3-yr. -olds there were strong effects of typicality on all three tasks, suggesting that these children were matching items and judging membership in a category on the basis of a wholistic process of comparison. Slightly older children and adults, however, showed differential effects of typicality across tasks, suggesting that they were using various processing strategies in different situations. In some of the tasks, older children and adults may have been using abstraction skills, and for one of the tasks adults may have been using logical classification skills.
Corporate Governance Best Practices: Strategies for Public, Private, and Not-for-Profit Organizations

Preface. Acknowledgments. PART I: BEST PRACTICES FOR ALL ORGANIZATIONS. 1. Why Is Corporate Governance Important? 2. Summary of Major Corporate Governance Principles and Best Practices. 3. Best Practices to Monitor Risk in Different Organizational Departments. 4. Monitoring and Changing the Corporate Culture. 5. The Internal Audit Function. 6. Compensation Committees of Public, Private, and Not-for-Profit Organizations. 7. Other Committees. 8. Independent Directors and Their Committees. PART II: INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. 9. IT Content: Best Corporate Governance Practices. 10. IT Security Best Corporate Governance Practices. PART III: THE PUBLIC COMPANY AUDIT COMMITTEE. 11. Who Can Qualify for a Public Company Audit Committee? 12. Public Company Audit Committee: Personal Liability of Audit Committee Members. 13. Minimum Responsibilities of Public Company Audit Committees. 14. Other Public Company Audit Committee Functions. 15. 30 Best Practice Considerations for the Public Company Audit Committee. 16. Who Is an Independent Auditor? PART IV: PRIVATE AND NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. 17. Corporate Governance for Family-Owned and Other Private Businesses. 18. Corporate Governance for Not-for-Profit Organizations. PART V: APPENDIXES. A: Summary of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. B: Risk Assessment Chart under Auditing Standard No. 2. C: "Uncooking the Books: How Three Unlikely Sleuths Discovered Fraud at WorldCom. " D: Suggested Corporate Governance Web Site Resources. Index.
Reinvestigation of distributed state observer for a spatially interconnected system

In this paper we reinvestigate the distributed state observer for a spatially interconnected system composed of many subsystems interacting with each other. Several LMI based conditions are provided which are less conservative than or complement with the existed ones. These conditions utilize effectively the block-diagonal characteristic of system parameters and the sparseness of subsystem connection matrix. Numerical simulations show the validity of the derived approaches.
Variability in reexcision following breast conservation surgery.

CONTEXT Health care reform calls for increasing physician accountability and transparency of outcomes. Partial mastectomy is the most commonly performed procedure for invasive breast cancer and often requires reexcision. Variability in reexcision might be reflective of the quality of care. OBJECTIVE To assess hospital and surgeon-specific variation in reexcision rates following partial mastectomy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS An observational study of breast surgery performed between 2003 and 2008 intended to evaluate variability in breast cancer surgical care outcomes and evaluate potential quality measures of breast cancer surgery. Women with invasive breast cancer undergoing partial mastectomy from 4 institutions were studied (1 university hospital [University of Vermont] and 3 large health plans [Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Group Health, and Marshfield Clinic]). Data were obtained from electronic medical records and chart abstraction of surgical, pathology, radiology, and outpatient records, including detailed surgical margin status. Logistic regression including surgeon-level random effects was used to identify predictors of reexcision. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Incidence of reexcision. RESULTS A total of 2206 women with 2220 invasive breast cancers underwent partial mastectomy and 509 patients (22.9%; 95% CI, 21.2%-24.7%) underwent reexcision (454 patients [89.2%; 95% CI, 86.5%-91.9%] had 1 reexcision, 48 [9.4%; 95% CI, 6.9%-12.0%] had 2 reexcisions, and 7 [1.4%; 95% CI, 0.4%-2.4%] had 3 reexcisions). Among all patients undergoing initial partial mastectomy, total mastectomy was performed in 190 patients (8.5%; 95% CI, 7.2%-9.5%). Reexcision rates for margin status following initial surgery were 85.9% (95% CI, 82.0%-89.8%) for initial positive margins, 47.9% (95% CI, 42.0%-53.9%) for less than 1.0 mm margins, 20.2% (95% CI, 15.3%-25.0%) for 1.0 to 1.9 mm margins, and 6.3% (95% CI, 3.2%-9.3%) for 2.0 to 2.9 mm margins. For patients with negative margins, reexcision rates varied widely among surgeons (range, 0%-70%; P = .003) and institutions (range, 1.7%-20.9%; P < .001). Reexcision rates were not associated with surgeon procedure volume after adjusting for case mix (P = .92). CONCLUSION Substantial surgeon and institutional variation were observed in reexcision following partial mastectomy in women with invasive breast cancer.
Normal Hearing in Patients With Acoustic Neuroma

We reviewed the cases of 614 patients who had operation for acoustic neuroma. In 38 cases, hearing was either normal or decreased symmetrically. Almost all patients had unilateral otologic complaints. All patients with unilateral otologic complaints should be evaluated for acoustic neuroma even if results of routine audiometry are unremarkable.
Dietary intake of some essential micronutrients in China.

OBJECTIVE Based on the data collected in the 1992 national nutrition survey in China, the food consumption and nutrients intake were calculated, and the consumption of some micronutrients was evaluated. METHOD Dietary data were obtained by using a three days' inventory change plus food weighing in combination with 24 hours recall method for three consecutive days. The food consumption and nutrients intake were calculated in accordance with the Chinese food composition table. The consumption of some micronutrients was evaluated in reference to the Chinese RDAs. RESULTS The average intakes of niacin, ascorbic acid and vitamin E were sufficient, whereas that of zinc, selenium and thiamin were between 80% and 90% RDAs. The consumption of calcium, retinol equivalent and riboflavin was low compared with the Chinese RDAs. Calcium was the most insufficient nutrient in Chinese diet. CONCLUSION Food fortification seems necessary for improving the nutritional status of some micronutrients in China.
300 K operating full-CMOS integrated Single Electron Transistor (SET)-FET circuits

We demonstrate the first Single Electron Transistor (SET) with high-k/metal gate operating at room temperature (at VD=0.9 V) cointegrated with fully depleted SOI (FDSOI) MOSFET (with 20 nm gate length) to realize a hybrid SET-FET circuit. Our resulting circuit exhibits typical SET oscillations upto record milliampere range. We also demonstrate a SET-FET based Negative Differential Resistance (NDR) device with 104 peak-valley-current-ratio and also a literal gate for multivalued logic applications.
A 2.1-Mpixel Organic Film-Stacked RGB-IR Image Sensor With Electrically Controllable IR Sensitivity

This paper describes an RGB-infrared (IR) organic CMOS image sensor with electrically controllable IR sensitivity. The sensitivities of all the pixels in the image sensor, which has the structure of two directly stacked organic layers with a high resistance ratio, are simultaneously controlled by changing the applied voltage to the organic films. The fabricated image sensor, with a pixel pitch of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3~\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, has 2.1 Mpixels (1920 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> 1080) in both the RGB and IR regions. The sensor can switch between color imaging and IR imaging modes frame by frame without requiring a mechanically retractable IR-cut filter.
The Fear of New Technology: A Naturally Occurring Phenomenon

Historically, consideration of the ethical uses of new technologies has always trailed behind the development and applications of the technologies themselves. Nuclear fission and the resulting applications in power generation and weapons is a prime example. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is another contemporary example of this pattern in society. For fMRI, the physicists and engineers that developed the technology and the neuroscientists who apply the technology are often separated according to discipline and collaborate only after the application phase has been entered. As stated in the article by Fenton and colleagues (2009), “Few technologies, however, have captured the imagination of scientists, policymakers, and the general public like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)” (3). As a measure of the enthusiasm for this technology, Poldrack (2008) identified no less than 12,000 literary hits for fMRI by the end of 2007. Even broader exposure of this technology to the general public has occurred in popular television shows such as Law and Order and Grey’s Anatomy, creating the impression that a medically or legally conclusive fMRI study is available at the local county hospital. The rise to stardom by fMRI is well deserved when one looks at its potential in advancing clinical neuroscience in childhood (Holland et al. 2007, Schmithorst and Holland 2004; Wilke et al. 2003). In our quest to see the ’truth,’ no other imaging method, including positron emission tomography, offers to combine the study of cognition and function with the superb anatomic detail offered by fMRI. This process began in the 1990s under the National Institute of Health (NIH 1993) (Bethesda, MD) designation The Decade of the Brain, which ordained the national quest to accelerate our understanding of brain biology, function and behavior. However, despite it meteoric rise, we must keep in mind that fMRI is nothing more than a hammer in search of a nail, and as with all such tools, ethical issues are an important part in its proper application. While fMRI technology, like the hammer, is neither good nor bad, the article by Fenton and colleagues (2009) attempts to address some of the ethical issues related to its application in children. In their target article, Fenton and colleagues (2009), explore the ethical issues for the use of fMRI in non-clinical ap-
COI1 is a critical component of a receptor for jasmonate and the bacterial virulence factor coronatine

Jasmonate (JA) is a lipid-derived hormone that regulates diverse aspects of plant immunity and development. An amino acid-conjugated form of JA, jasmonoyl–isoleucine (JA–Ile), stimulates binding of the F-box protein coronatine-insensitive 1 (COI1) to, and subsequent ubiquitin-dependent degradation of, jasmonate ZIM domain (JAZ) proteins that repress transcription of JA-responsive genes. The virulence factor coronatine (COR), which is produced by plant pathogenic strains of Pseudomonas syringae, suppresses host defense responses by activating JA signaling in a COI1-dependent manner. Although previous data indicate that COR acts as a molecular mimic of JA–Ile, the mechanism by which JA–Ile and COR are perceived by plant cells remains unknown. Here, we show that interaction of tomato COI1 with divergent members of the JAZ family is highly specific for JA–Ile and structurally related JA conjugates and that COR is ≈1,000-fold more active than JA–Ile in promoting this interaction in vitro. JA–Ile competes for binding of COR to COI1–JAZ complexes, demonstrating that COR and JA–Ile are recognized by the same receptor. Binding of COR to the COI1–JAZ complex requires COI1 and is severely impaired by a point mutation in the putative ligand-binding pocket of COI1. Finally, we show that the C-terminal region of JAZ3 containing the highly conserved Jas motif is necessary and sufficient for hormone-induced COI1–JAZ interaction. These findings demonstrate that COI1 is a critical component of the JA receptor and that COR exerts its virulence effects by functioning as a potent agonist of this receptor system.